Well with Arielle Lorre - 18: SARAH LARSON LEVEY - Building the Y7 Yoga Empire

Episode Date: August 14, 2019

In this episode Arielle talks to Sarah Larson Levey, founder of Y7 Studio, about building a business out of necessity; running said business with her husband; entrepreneurship; walking through fear; how to grow and evolve with a business; and so much more! Sarah is smart, candid, funny, and she keeps it REAL. Enjoy!   Follow Sarah here: www.instagram.com/sarah_ayako   Follow Y7 here: www.instagram.com/y7studio   Follow Arielle here: www.instagram.com/ariellelorreSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

You're listening to the Blonde Files podcast. I'm your host, Ariel Laurie. Today, I'm talking to Sarah Larson Levy. Sarah is the founder of Y7 Studio, which is a yoga studio with locations all over New York City and Los Angeles, and they are going to be opening up a bunch more across the country. So follow her, follow the studio so that you can be abreast of that. It's really unique, which she will talk about in this episode. Sarah's story is really interesting because she didn't plan to do this. She didn't go to school for it. It was really born out of necessity after being really turned off by the yoga scene in New York. So it's fascinating to hear her talk about becoming a business owner, being a female entrepreneur, growing really quickly,

managing a team. She has over 300 employees at this point. And, just evolving with the business. Also, it doesn't hurt that she's just a really cool chick. She's funny. She's fun to talk to. And I think you guys are going to love this episode. All right. So I have Sarah Larson Levy. Thank you so much for coming. Thank you for having me. Yeah, I'm so excited. We're kind of like internet pals. I know. It's the best. The best. Yeah, I love it. You're kind of a big deal. I was like getting ready. for the interview so I was looking at other interviews you've done you were on the cover of ink magazine that's kind of like was that this year uh it came out September 2018 so I'm like way behind

but that's a really big deal thank you and I was watching some other videos that you were you were on like CNBC oh yeah power power launch I was dying I have to say the anchor was like you know the hip hop like I had to I had so much media training for that because it was live. Yeah, you were really good. I was like, wow, I would be really not doing well with this. I mean, thank God, you couldn't see my hands because I was like gripping. I was like gripping them like so tightly.

So I was so nervous. Well, it's live and you never know what questions they're going to ask. Yeah. I don't really know how to do math. So that was really, I was like, oh, please don't ask me about like numbers. I can't do mental math. So it was a lot of just kind of like prepping for, you know, the kinds of questions that they normally ask on those shows, which is something I've never done before.

Yeah. Like a little scary. I feel better about it now. It's very stressful, I would imagine. But it was funny, like, seeing, like, the anchors talking about, like, the vibe of your studio. And then there was another one, like, it was, like, another, like, CBS affiliate or something like that.

And the guy was, like, 125 years old. Oh, I love that guy. It was so cute. Oh, my gosh. He was, I forget his name, but he was wonderful. Yeah. What a guy. Yeah.

Yeah, you did great, though. So you better bring it today. All right. Pressure is on. Just kidding. So obviously, you've built a huge brand in a relatively short amount of time, and I really want to get to that. But what did you, let's like rewind. Sure. What did you see yourself doing when you were younger? Oh my gosh. So I, I'm very bad at like commitment. So when I was younger, I like, I, even when I graduated college, I had no idea. what I was wanted to do, what I wanted to be. Like, I wish, like, I was never one of those people who were like, I'm going to be a doctor. I want to be a dentist. I want to work in, like, finance. Like, I never had that.

I was like, I guess I'll just do something. I guess I'll get a job. So for me, it was, like, so many different things. And I went to a school where it was very heavy on, like, prep. So I went to, I went to country day. So it's just like a small private school. No. Oh, oh.

Okay. You're not from this area, are you? No. Okay. I grew up in the Midwest. And so all my classes were like super, super like preparatory classes, right? So like I got to college and like didn't know there were like things like other career choices other than like teacher, doctor, lawyer, bank finance, all of that. Like I was like shook.

I was like, oh my God. There's so many different things I can do. So I didn't have like a thing. Right. That was the really long answer to your very. No, it's interesting. Was yoga a part of your life back then? No. So I didn't love yoga, but I really, I've always loved the idea of it. Like, I love the mind-body connection. I love, you know, that yoga kind of encompasses more than just a physical movement. It's such a mental practice. It's a way you live your life. Like there's so many different facets to it that I really, really love. But I just couldn't find a studio. that I felt comfortable in. You know, for me, like someone trying to enter the practice as, you know, out of college,

you know, trying to find a studio in the city. It's just I would go in. There's like all these bright lights. Then New York is full of like dancers and models and like all of these people who are like so beautiful and like in shape. And I was like what? Yeah, it's intimidating. And I just, you know, I never felt like I knew enough to be in a studio. You know, there would be, you know, Sanskrit used or Darwin.

I used that I just, I didn't know about and I immediately felt excluded right away. And it made it hard for me to want to, you know, go back and commit and all of that stuff. So that's kind of where, you know, the idea of why seven came about is this space where, you know, we're going to use some Sanskrit, but we're going to make the Dharma really accessible, right? We're going to offer up an idea of, say, you know, attention or awareness. And that's kind, you can even take that however you want. You can take it to be attention to your body. You can take it to mean attention to, you know, your mind or just attention to something you want to focus on. Maybe you're focusing on just being still in the space. And like that's fine too. So it's really, really open and inclusive in terms of,

you know, learning about all the nuances of practice. So how did you learn yoga to begin with? I mean, I, so I actually didn't get certified until like two years into the business. I, when we were training teachers, it was I was just telling them the way I wanted, I wanted to take class and what I wanted out of a class and it was, you know, consistency movement and music and just having fun. Like I wanted to be really, really light. I think especially in New York, like we're going a million miles a minute. We were just talking about this earlier. And like people, the fact that people are spending one hour with me, I think is like pretty amazing. Like I think that people are willing to like pay to spend an hour at Y7. I think that's absolutely incredible. And we should make it as consistent, accessible,

and fun as possible. So you were at college, you moved to the city after. And you were working in fashion, right? I was working in fashion. Yeah, I was an account executive. Okay. So I got to travel a lot. I sold a couple of lines to like boutiques and specialty stores and then, you know,

some of the bigger guys. And you were doing yoga on the side and then I was trying to figure out how you went from that to. It's a great question. I don't remember. I mean, I do. I know how it happened. It was like, you know, it started as a side hustle. I also had, I pinched my sciatic nerve in 2012 and kind of the only thing I was able to do was yoga. They were like, no running. I was like, cool. No spinning. I was like, okay. And I was like, what they were like, listen, you need to like strengthen like your back and like all this stuff. You have to do yoga. I was like, okay. And so that's what really kind of got me into like trying all these different studios and just not resonating with any of them. So. you know, Y-7 that I just wanted my own. Yeah.

And that was kind of it. We started as a pop-up, actually, six years ago this past Saturday. Wow. And it grew from there. It was a thing that was only on weekends. And I had my job. I was able to kind of, like, you know, afford it. We were, like, renting a space by the hour.

And, you know, a month in when we were going to close the pop-up, and that was kind of it. Someone asked to buy a package. so I lied to her and told her we were finding a permanent space and I was like oh like maybe we should do this right um and then you know New York's so cool I think because um at the time there was like all these kind of artist lofts like popping up in Williamsburg in Brooklyn um that was close to where I lived at the time and we found this really great space for like a thousand bucks a month it was like 350 square feet we could fit like eight maths and like that's how it started out of this like tiny little room and, you know, three months in, we were selling out that and we found a

different space. We were able to get like month to month in this like, this building. It was a co-working space still in Williamsburg, but we went to the basement because we didn't need light at all. It was better for us, more convenient. So we did that and, you know, no one wanted that space. So we got a really good deal. And we were on month to month contract and everything's just kind of snowballed from there. That's crazy. So, yeah, the spring of 2015 is when I quit my job. So tell people about, you were saying that you don't need the light.

So tell people about why 7 is different. Like how, yeah. So it is, the studio room is dark. It's candlelit. And we took out all the mirrors. We use infrared heating technology to heat the room. And we move to the beat of the music. So when we're taking, we practice the vinyasa style.

So what that means is one breath, one movement. And we coordinate the breath with the music. And the music gets faster and faster and faster until kind of the peak of class. So you are sweating. Your heart rate is up. Like you're struggling to keep up with that breath. And that's kind of, you know, the point of it is that like you're moving, you're doing this mindful movement, but you're doing a way that's getting your heart pumping and you're moving and getting stronger.

We need to try that, Kennedy, next time we're here. because I'm kind of like I'm in the boat of where you were like maybe in college or whatever. Like I think honestly I've probably only done like five yoga classes ever in my life. And I have that experience of like going to a studio and it's bright and everyone's in their like yoga perfection clothes and doing all the stuff. And I don't even know what they're talking about. And I'm looking in the mirror and I can't keep up. And I'm like, okay, this is not benefiting me at all. And I think the beauty of what we do is that, so, you know, there's a section of class where you take the flow on your own.

And that's an opportunity for someone who's a beginner to maybe like take a child's pose. Like, it's cool. Or maybe take out some of the more advanced poses that they don't want to do and their body's not ready for. Or if you're a little bit more advanced and you want to take the bind, you want to do the arm balance. Like that's your opportunity to really make the practice your own. And I think that's the cool part, right? And to your point, you know, going into a room that's so bright and all these mirrors, it. for me at least and you know I think a lot of other people you look at yourself you're like oh I should look like you know that person over there I should look like the teacher and that's just never going to happen and it also takes you out of the practice you know like my body is completely different than yours we're different heights we probably weigh different things and so how I look in a pose is not how you're going to look at a pose and that's just anatomy that has nothing to do with skill level it's just we have different bodies so you know I think that's that's the thing that's a little tricky

about how some people practice. And yes, you do want to look at your form and all that stuff. But I've found it more beneficial to me if I can feel where my body is in the pose as opposed to see it. Yeah. You must have a lot of feedback because you guys are so inclusive in that way. And you must have had like people probably just, it's probably been life changing, I would imagine for a lot of people because I know people can turn to yoga in hard times.

And I mean, did you have any experience with that? Yeah, I think, you know, I, you know, when I personally practice, I think yoga for me has really been the space where I can actually shut my mind off. And I need to, I need that movement, though. Like, I need to be focusing on something else in order to kind of shut off. If that makes sense. It's kind of counterintuitive. But, you know, when I was in more traditional classes and they were like, empty your mind. I was like, oh, no.

Right. I was like, you're trying so hard not to think of anything, just picturing a lot. just picturing like a blank wall and then I get like all this things I don't know yeah yeah it was like it just doesn't work for me so you know when I'm moving and like bringing my attention like to my body and my breath that's where my attention is and like my mind just kind of empties out and I think that you know we do get a lot of feedback about you know people who've been going through something and this was like you know their time this was like their one hour where they could really just like be in the dark cry if they wanted to right and not have to think about anything else I want to come

to Y-7 and do yoga and cry. Anytime. I know everyone always always kind of whispers. And like, sometimes I cry in Shavas. I'm like, I cry every time for literally no reason other than you just feel a really great release, you know? And like you have, you know, our teachers like, they're always dropping these like little nuggets of wisdom.

It's like they can say like the littlest thing. I'm like, like, lose my mind. But it's, you know, you come out and it's like a totally, you feel lighter. is what I want everyone to feel when they come out of class. I want everyone to feel like emotionally and physically just like a little bit lighter. Like there's not just so much weight on their shoulders. Right. Do you still do other kinds of exercise or is it pretty much only yoga?

No, yeah, of course. Yeah, I do. I mean, I'll spin. There's a lot of really great like sculpting classes in the city that I love. My favorite in L.A. is Bunda. I don't know that. No. Oh, my gosh.

Kennedy knows. Kennedy's got her finger on the place. My friend Katie owns the studio, and it's amazing. It's like instead of, you know, like a treadmill workout and then like a floor workout, it's a stairmaster, and it's all out your butt. And I love it. Nice. You love, Kennedy loves a stairmaster. It's so good.

It's so good. It's great. Bunda. Where is it? West Hollywood. Okay. Of course. West Hollywood's got all the.

All the stuff. Yeah. So something that's cool about your studio and your story is that you have always been a client, right? you've never, did you ever teach in the beginning? Wow. That's very unique, I feel. Yeah, it is. And, you know, I, I don't know. For me, I don't have that itch to teach. I, I'm the client. You know, the studio is created for me and what I wanted to see in a yoga class and how I wanted to feel. And we have such incredible teachers and such an amazing staff that, you know, do feel passionate about teaching and they give way more than I ever could, I think, in a class. So, you know, for me, it's, I've always kind of made a choice to stay on the business side and the client side. And also, you know, the studio is not really about me. It's not about like what I have to give, like what wisdom I can impart on people because I probably can't. But, you know,

it's not about me. It's about the clients. It's about the experience that they're having and it's making sure that, you know, we're doing the best we can to kind of serve our clients. Yeah. And something, I mean, I want to hear kind of how, like what you attribute your success to, but I know you've said part of it is like hiring. It's all in the hiring, right? And adding culture. So yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Sure. So I, I mean, I'm not good at a lot of things. So like I don't do math. I don't like spreadsheets. And those are things. Those are like, you know, necessary things. for a business so I think you know I the success is entirely due to my team I mean that's just like a fact they are absolutely incredible and um we've really cultivated this you know amazing group of

people who can are experts in their own areas so my VP of finance is basically a human calculator she like she can see like she can see so far ahead like she is like the one helping with like schedule changes too because she wants to like make sure that like you know analyzing like the demographics and like all of that like are people living here are they working there like that is like what like she is so good at right and then I have my director of people who is just like so in tune with everything that's going on in terms of like the workforce and what people are you know staying at companies for and what they want out of a culture and I think that those you know there's so many other people and you have 300 employees right over 300 yeah over 300

Yeah. Wow. That's between, you know, that's between teachers, front desk, my cleaning staff, my studio managers, everybody. So there's a lot of people that make this happen. It's wild. How do you learn how to navigate that, like, as an entrepreneur? Because I imagine, like, I mean, you didn't set out to do this. It was all kind of like, I mean, it's not like you're like, I'm going to be an entrepreneur. Yeah. No. I, yeah, I'm more of sort of an accidental entrepreneur, I guess. I mean, it's, taken a lot of, I've learned a lot. Like, I am so far from perfect and I've made a lot of mystics. I used to be super, super reactive to like every situation. I used to take everything so personally. Like someone even would leave, you know, like a bad review about class and I would like have a mental breakdown. I was like, nobody likes it. This is awful. Catastrophizing. Yeah. And it's, and I think, you know, you have to take a step back. So I've, I've learned, you know, throughout the years how to be less reactive and ask more questions and be a little bit more open and understand that everybody communicates differently, right?

Like, it's all about how you communicate with people, how you relate to them and giving people sort of the space to talk and, you know, to express what they need to. And that's, you know, you can only, I think really truly you can only learn that stuff by experience and, you know, sometimes you think you're being so clear and direct and the other person's like, I have no idea what you're talking about. And, you know, what we've worked really hard for, you know, throughout the company is to like, if someone isn't understanding something or it's not getting through, what we've worked really hard on is making sure that we have an open line of communication to be like, hey, if you don't understand something, like, just ask. Like, maybe I'm not

explaining it, right? You know? And I think that's a lot of what I've had to learn in management. Mm-hmm. Yeah, management is tough, right? I mean, I... It's the hardest part. It really is. I had to take management classes, like, in college, and I was like, wow, this is way more complicated than I ever thought it was. And especially with a company, your size. Yeah. I mean, you have a whole culture, right? Yeah. Yeah. It's, yeah, it's really, it's super interesting because you, you never think about it until, like, someone gives you that, like, negative feedback. You're like, I had no idea. I came off like that. You're like, oh, So how did you learn how to be less reactive? Do you have like a practice? Do you meditate? Do you do anything?

No, I'm not a meditator. I wish I was. I'm working on it. That's kind of meditation though. Yeah, for me, that's like my space to do that. But, you know, we're a huge culture of feedback. So even like, you know, we do when, you know, I was first hiring my corporate team a couple years ago, we had reviews every other month.

And they're really more like check. That sounds scary. Yeah. It sounds like it sounds like. It sounds a lot more serious, but it's more so like check-ins. Like, what's working? Are you happy? Here's what you're doing really great.

Here's where I think you can improve. And I actually have our director of people do mine. Oh, wow. Yeah. Okay. So. So I get feedback. We do it now once a quarter because we have a lot going on.

So we do it now once a quarter. And I just had my check-in review session today. How'd you do? I'm doing okay. I mean, I think there's always improvements. But it's too. Like I know that like I can also be better right like I didn't set out to do this this is the first time I'm doing something like this right I'm you know Trying to navigate this just as much as everybody else. So it's important for me to kind of make sure that I'm also hearing like things about myself that I can improve on and I can work on too and you know the same goes for the rest of the team. So I think that's super helpful especially when you know everyone on my team is a team of one basically my corporate team is like you know my like marketing director always like laughs because everyone's like oh like you know who else.

else is on your team when you're doing strategy and she's like, it's me. And so, you know, perception is such a bigger operation, but we're still a really tiny team. Like our corporate team's only 10. So we're super tiny. I love it, though. Yeah, it's fun. Sounds like you guys are close. Yeah.

Which is, I love that. If they're listening. I love you. So what were some of the biggest challenges in? I don't know, like the first couple of years, like as you were building. Oh, gosh. You know, the first couple of years was really, you're learning a whole new thing. And, you know, boutique fitness as a whole is pretty new as well. It's, you know, not, you know, kind of a tried and true thing that's been around forever. We're kind of seeing the switch from, like,

the big gym models to more boutique and specialized studios. So that area was so new, too. It's kind of like, I don't know. Like there was a point, you know, and especially we, yoga yoga is very different there's a lot of studios who you know smaller studios who still operate on this model of like a work trade kind of so like you you know work the front desk but you get to take class for free and so it because it's just a different it's been around for so long it's never been you know boutique fitness wasn't a thing 10 years ago really you know so there was a lot of like employment things like what are we doing we have everyone who we have everyone who works for me as an employee um so there was like all of that kind of navigate because everyone's part

time so it's like do we 1099 them so there's a lot of that area to kind of navigate to um and you know so there was a lot of that stuff going on there's like all these payroll systems there's learning everything about we were touching on permits earlier like I what right I didn't know that like I didn't know anything about permitting yeah so you know getting to you know the DOB the department of buildings and going through the city and making sure you're all your sprinklers are up to code and like all of this stuff like I thought getting fire extinguishers yeah like right like I thought you just like signed a lease like signed a lease for an apartment I was like oh I was like I can't I don't just like sign here and like it's mine like that's not how it works I was like oh okay okay um so yeah just like I think a lot

of that was like a big struggle in the beginning and we're finally in like a really like you know I would say in the last like two years but gotten like really really buttoned up in terms of all that stuff like we have when we go look at spaces we kind of have this like list of like non-negotiables now like this is what we need if we can't get those things like it's not going to work um so a lot of you know learnings on that as well that was tough was there any point as you were kind of getting started where you almost gave up or you felt like this is just did you hear a lot of no or was it just Kind of like did you just gain momentum really quickly? We gained momentum really quickly, but there was definitely points where like, I don't, I don't know if I can do this.

Because coming from like my seat of like, I'd never run a business before, I didn't know what I was doing. And you know, when you're the boss, like no one's ever like, you're doing great. It's fine. Like things happen. So like all I was getting, there was like a point, you know, before we, excuse me. me before we had before we took on capital that it was just me and my husband running everything doing payroll making the schedules opening the studios giving feedback to teach like it was just us doing everything and there was a point where I was like I don't know if I can do this how do you guys not um separate

yeah how do I say we got close it's hard because you're together all the time and like you there's no you know, work, personal life separation. And at this point, too, it's still like, this is a startup. And like, this business is my life right now. I'm like, I'm cool with it. Like, I'm okay with it. I'm going to answer emails at 10 p.m. at night. And like, that's just what it is. And I, you know, you always read those things where like, put your phone away by 8 p.m. and don't look at it and don't do these things for a healthy relationship. Do this, do that. And that doesn't work for us. He, he's actually launching a new company this week and you know it just doesn't work for us like we are going to be on our phones and that's just how it is and that that works better for us actually because if

we're putting things away and we're both sitting there like this like really like tense and like does someone need something yeah like missing all these things like it's actually worse for our relationship so right now like that's where we are and I had to come to terms with a lot of that and stop you know looking at my relationship and comparing it. to other people's because it's not the same. You know, we're in different situations, like there's a different dynamic. So, you know, hiring a team definitely helps because it took, you know, a lot of those sort of individual tasks that like neither one of us loved doing off of our plates. So, you know, he would come home, sit on the couch, I'd be like, excuse me, you haven't answered my email from

five hours ago. What are you doing? He's like, I'm trying to relax. Yeah, like, real sexy on my part. Because I'm standing over him. I'm like, you need answer. me. I'm the boss. Yeah. Hello. You guys were together from the very beginning. Yeah. So, yeah, we were. And what was he doing? So he was in digital advertising. Okay. I left my job in, yeah, spring of 2015 and he left a couple months later to, you know,

do this full time with me. What was that like, leaving what I would imagine was a stable, kind of secure situation and going into the unknown? It was tough. It was tough. you know I think luckily I left first my job first was he made more money than me fashion salary super fun yeah not great um so I left first and then when it kind of became apparent that we could do this and you know pay our rent eat you know do normal life things um he left his two so I think that was you know it was kind of a and you know we I had worked for two full years at that point while doing the studio too and it was like all right I can always go back to fashion right it's always going to be there like I was in like you know I was on the wholesale side

so that stuff is kind of always there and you know if I took a little time off I could always kind of re-enter and you know see if it didn't work out so what did you major in that you were working in fashion so I majored in consumer science oh with a focus on retail wholesale management okay yeah All right. Yeah. So you can always fall back. Yeah. Not that you're going to have to. I hope not. But yeah, and it's super interesting. I think starting, you know, starting this business, it gave me, I was always working with people. Like I was always, you know, my role within that, you know, my past life was to kind of be the go between between the designers and the stores, right? Like how to take this designer's vision and all these pieces they've designed as a collection and make it translate for the buyers. of these stores. Like how does it fit in with their customer? Like what story are they telling their customer that also the designer is going to be happy with and know that their designs are being represented as a collection, right? So I think coming with that lens of that sort of, you know, storytelling and making sure the consumer and the designer is happy and how to bridge the gap between

brand messaging and the physical product was really important. Did you have a vision for what you wanted your brand to be right from the very beginning because I mean the fact that you're the client and you're like I did this for me this is so did you were you always clear from the start because it seems like it's very solid like what you know what Y7 is across the board so yeah you know one of my big frustrations as like a young 20 something like trying to go to all these classes is that there was no consistency so for me it was like I want to know how long I'm going to work out for. I want to know what I'm going to get. I want to know how I'm going to feel after. And I and that's just because like someone with limited resources and limited time,

like I didn't have time or money to waste and I wanted something I could really rely on. So, you know, 95% of our schedule is one type of class. It's our we flow hard. So you're going through three flows. You know what you're getting. You're always going to have like a slow burn portion. You're always going to do the three flows. You're always sweating. you're always listening to great music and it's always 60 minutes you know like i think you'll always hear those horror stories from people who are like i was in yoga class said it was going to be 60 minutes and 90 minutes later and you're like i got to go to work yeah yeah so i wanted that like who has the time i know i wish i did but for me i was like you know yeah i don't know you just i think when people

again it's like that thing where people are choosing to spend an hour at the studio you know and to give them that consistency and something to rely on I think is really, really important because, you know, your day could be really, really great or it could be really, really shitty. Right. And knowing that you have something to count on is really important. So with over 300 employees, 12 studios right now, and then you're working on another one right here in the city. Yeah, we signed the lease for the Park Slope Studio in Brooklyn. Trendy. Yeah, it's going to be great. We're, we're starting construction on that this week. Amazing.

Yeah, and then we're expanding the flat iron location. We're adding a second studio there. And showers for anyone who frequents flat iron. We're finally getting showers. I'm so sorry you had to be so long. And yes, we're starting construction on that. And then we're looking to enter a couple new markets as well this year and next. So a lot of real estate tours and new city.

Yeah. Wow. So how do you stay productive? I mean, do you have any tips for like how you manage at all? Life helps. I think the one thing that I've learned to do is not be so like married to a plan. It's never going to go the way you want it to. I mean, there's always going to be hiccups.

There's always going to be something that happens. And you can't let yourself kind of get thrown by a surprise or something you weren't expecting. And that's hard to kind of do, right? when you have like I have really, really high expectations for my team and for myself and for how many studios I want to open. But I know that like I have to be a little flexible there because especially when you're dealing with construction and things that are out of your hands, you have to learn to really be malleable with that and be able to kind of like pivot really quickly. And so that, you know, for me it's, you know, looking ahead, but also knowing that like really not only, you know,

planning out for a couple weeks at a time. Right. And then how. How do you know, do you take care of yourself um you know i i get this question a lot and you know i i love like i have so much respect for people who have like a serious like self-care routine like i am such a gross loser like i am in my sweatpants like with a bag of popcorn and a glass of wine like watching Netflix like just like dead in the eyes i was like that's how i turn off and like how I don't think there's anything wrong with that. If that's what you do to relax, then you need to be able to turn off. I wish I was like, you know, I have a dry brush and I really want to make that part of my

your life. But it hurts. I have never figured out the dry brush. I've tried. I've watched YouTube. I don't like it. I have too. I don't feel my lymphatic system draining.

I don't look. It doesn't look. I don't get it. Here's my thing. I don't know if it's working or not. Yeah. How long do I have to do this? to know if it's working. Like, what's the time frame? Like, how long do I have to dry brush for in a

consistent matter to be like, my lymph system feels great. Right. I don't know what that means. No, I don't either. And I want to know so badly. I wish someone would tell me. But. Guys, slide in her DMs. Slide to my DMs. Please give me all of the dry brushing tips. Yeah. So that's one thing I, you know, I don't know. I always look at that up. Popcorn and wine? Popcorn and wine. Love it. Netflix? What are you watching on Netflix right now? So I need a new show because I feel like I've watched everything. I watched everything. But we're actually right now like rewatching Dexter.

So good. So good. Well, they took that like weird like two year break like in between like seasons like I don't know like three and four. And so I kind of lost it. So I'd only really seen up to season three. And I was like. Yeah.

Yeah. I don't really know. I think I fell off at like season two actually. Yeah. And it's a good one to binge because you know there's a lot of like elements that happen. So I'm doing that right now. I like that.

I really like true crime and murder. Okay. Yeah. Nice. It's really embarrassing. She probably shouldn't have said that. Yeah. True crime and murder?

That's not embarrassing. I think it's everyone. Do you listen to like true crime podcasts? Of course I do. Which ones? My favorite murder is just. I haven't listened to that one. Karen and Georgia.

This is my love note to you. Just bravo. They're so. funny they're so down to earth it's like really like and it's interesting i find it very fascinating like i was always like a forensic files watcher i used to be like i used to be really into like svU and yeah stuff growing up and then i feel like when i got older it got a little disturbing it's a little too real yeah once you kind of like it's a little too real but i like the podcast like um what was the one teacher's pet teachers pet oh yeah like 25 hours of just yeah

And what was the one that they just made a TV show out of? Yeah, yeah, the really popular one, right? The one that started at all? Serial. No. And now I have to look at that. Please hold it to everybody. Dirty John.

Oh, yeah, Dirty John. Yeah, that was crazy. Did you watch the TV show? Yeah, I listened to it first, and I watched the show. It was kind of a hot mess, but it was like. Wow. Yeah, yeah. I know.

But didn't you feel? like the whole family was kind of bad shit. Yeah. Like the woman, it was like, I can't really feel bad for you in this scenario. You know, listen, everyone, ask questions about the people that you're around. And like, pay attention to red flags. Yes. And don't keep taking people back over and over and over again.

And don't date a guy who has like a record like that. Yeah. It was so, I, like, so fascinating. What? This guy. Like, what a weirdo? Yes. Super creepy. And did you listen to Dr. Death? I haven't listened to that one yet. Oh, my God. I'm so jealous that you haven't listened to. All right. Now you have. Oh, so good. I like that better than dirty John. I like, I like, I don't want to like, I don't want it to be over.

I know. I know. That's the nice thing about L.A. is that when you have a good podcast like that, I'm like, where can I drive to? I can drive to Silver Lake and then the valley and then downtown. I don't mind. Sure. Yeah. I know. It's so funny. Okay, so Netflix, wine, popcorn, self-care. I love it. Do you have any advice for entrepreneurs? You know, I kind of love the way that, you know, to my own horn a tiny bit. Like, I love the way wise haven't happened because I think it's proof that you don't need a business plan. You don't need, you know, all this funding to start. You just have to do it and you have to care about it.

If it's something you care about, there's no, I don't think there's any way you can fail. Like, I just, you know, like, I just, you have to really love what you're doing. And I think it's a nice little thing to be like, like, I don't want, I don't know how to make business plan. Right. I don't know how to do that. I didn't have one. Like, you just start, right? And you learn as you go.

Like, you're never going to know everything. That's just, you're not going to. Like, I don't, I don't know. Right. I don't know a lot of things. So, I mean, there's so much that I have to learn, but you figure it out. And if you love it, then it doesn't feel like work. I love going to the office.

Yeah. Everett makes fun of me. I love it. That's amazing. It's like I heard something recently when they were talking about the difference between passion and purpose and like passion is like what sets your soul on fire. Right. And then purpose is taking that and using it to help other people. Yeah.

And that's like what you're doing. Yeah. Which is really cool. Yeah. And I love it. And it's fun. And you know, it's, you know, and again, like it depends. I think it depends what kind of business you're going into.

I think product is always really, really hard because you do need a lot of startup. You do need a lot of startup capital for that. But, you know, if you love it, you love it. What role, if any, did social media play? Because you're like a kind of a bit of an influencer there. I kind of. I mean, it played a huge role for the company. We built our business off of Instagram.

We didn't have any money. We, like, just got a marketing budget. like a year and a half ago. And that's completely how we built the business just by Instagram. That's how we announced theme classes. It's how we announce a new studio. Like everything we did was solely through Instagram up until like probably like two years ago. Wow.

Yeah. That's amazing. Crazy. What is the best advice you ever received? I feel like a broken record saying this because it's. truly the best thing that anyone has ever said to me. I was with one of our instructors who is, has since become a very dear friend of mine. And I was, you know, just complaining about a situation. I was just kind of like venting. It's something that I couldn't do anything about.

And she looked at me and she was like, you know, my teacher said this to me. And what he said to her was, it's like this now. And I was like, oh, shit. Like me, complaining and like doing those like just like sitting in that space of the past and like there's nothing I can do to change it this is how it is now and I can only move forward with how it is now I can't go back and so living in that place of the past is like really it's stressful it's you know gives people anxiety and you have to really live in the now and do the best that you can with what you have at this moment and make choices based off that and that was like it was a really big mind shift for me. Yeah, that's important. And it's like when you're living in the past, you're reliving things

over and over and over. And you tend to make choices out of the future. Yeah, and you tend to make choices out of fear, right? Out of scenarios that have played out differently in the past or, you know, a fear of like what could happen if you make this choice when really like you're never going to know if you don't actually make the choice. So you should just, you know, use the information you have now and go forward with that. So is that like how you walk through fear? Yeah, a little bit. You know, I think there's always, you know, a lot of fear on my part, you know, making decisions because it does affect so many people. And, you know, I have to be really conscious of that.

But that's kind of, you know, you can't stay in a state of, you know, fear like that or ambiguity. Like, you have to make a decision. And knowing that, you know, nothing is permanent. Everything's going to change is for me really comforting when it comes to, you know, having to make big decisions. So what is next for Y-7? So we are doing our first teacher training outside of New York. It is happening in L.A. So if anyone's interested, we still have spots left.

A little plug for that. And then we are planning to open in Chicago this year. Wow. Which I'm really excited about. It's going to be our first market outside of New York and L.A. And I'm just so stoked about it. you know, I'm from the Midwest, so it's kind of like going home for me. And then, you know, just looking into more markets across the states.

I really, really want to get into D.C., Philly, Seattle, Texas, like all of that. Like, I think there's, you know, such opportunity there and everyone's really looking for a way to connect. So I'm just really looking forward to building more of the community that we have here and making more connection. Taking over the world. Trying. Love it. Okay. some listener questions. Do you have a morning routine? And if so, what is it?

My morning routine goes coffee. Very first thing, coffee, always. I really just brush my teeth and wash my face. I'm so, I'm such, I'm, you know, I'm getting my eyebrows microbladed today because I'm really working hard at being that much more low maintenance. I'm like, how, what can I do to literally not? do anything well I can tell you all about it because I just did mine did a few weeks ago yes I great thank you I feel like I got Botox right before I came out here and I was telling Kennedy I'm like sometimes my eyes are really lifted and something she's like you just got Botox I'm like oh yeah it's like a little different shape than but yeah the microblading though I'm really excited it's life changing yeah and I have like I'm half Asian half Japanese so I have like very thin they look really good though it's gonna like look really good. I'm really excited. I'm all about doing like I feel like all the beauty stuff and I do a lot.

Like I love all that stuff. I do. I do. I love all that stuff. Yeah. I do. I like, whatever. But it's all to be as low maintenance as possible. Yeah. I really did wake up like this. Yeah. When I have eye lash extensions on. Yeah. I have literally never looked prettier in my life. I'm like, I look amazing all the time. Yeah. I have the only thing with lash extensions is they're really hard to maintain. And then you get used to your eyes with them on. And so when they come off, you're like, It's so scary. I had to stuff getting them because I sweat so much in class and it makes them heavy and they fall out more. So I was just reading something that now they're doing or maybe they've been doing it for a while, but they do eyelash perms. Have you heard that?

Yes, I've gotten my lashes. I've gotten my lashes lifted before and it's game changer. I would try that. Yeah, because I'm trying to quit lashes. So maybe that's like it's like quitting cigarettes. It really, I can't quit. I can't quit. I started doing it three years ago.

go and I was doing it for one event and I was like do not take these off my eyes I leave them on forever yes yeah try a lash lift it's like I do a carrot and lash lift okay it's great okay good to nap cool so that's your morning routine I know I'm sorry that was like not I'm sure that was not helpful I like the honesty though yeah I people are like I get up and I make my tea and I like yeah I you know what it goes back to that thing of like self-care like I so wish I was that person Like, I try so hard to wake up early. I set my alarm for 7 a.m. every day. Do you snooze?

Absolutely. For literally an hour. This one. I was sitting. I was meditating this morning. And every five minutes I hear, like the alarm going off. And then five minutes.

Yeah, like I try so hard. And then I'm always like, me, you're fine. And then I roll out of bed. I'm like furiously brushing my teeth. I got the, like, toothpaste still, like, on my face as I'm, like, running out the door. But I do use, so I wash my face with a Cetafel cleansing bar. And then I use L to MD moisture. Best.

The best. Yeah. And, you know, it's like my day is like kind of funny. So I never know if I'm like going to class or not. So I tend not to put anything on my face like unless I'm like going somewhere. Yeah. Where people are going to see me or maybe take a picture. That's the goal.

Yeah. To like not. Yeah. She doesn't wear makeup either. How many hours of sleep do you normally get? Oh, I'm a really bad. I'm a really bad sleeper. Like, it takes me a long time to fall asleep.

I'm usually between, like, six and eight, depending on the day. I get a good amount. Okay. Yeah. I mean, it just takes me so long to fall asleep. So I've never, like, I'm, like, in bed at, like, 10.30 and, like, I'm away until, like, midnight, always. I feel like that's something. I mean, I know it happens to a lot of people, but that happens to me when I get here to the city.

Because it's just, like, a different energy. Like, yeah. It's like in LA, it's like after 9 or 10 o'clock, there's nothing going on. Yeah. Here, I just, it just feels a little more like frenetic. I don't know how to describe it. Yeah. I don't know what, I've always been like that, though, so I don't know what it is about me.

I'm really special. Just take some Ambien. I know. I do take my, I take a lot of melaton and I'm like, that, like, that gets me. Yeah. That gets me. That'll get me like 30 minutes. I'm out.

I try not to because I'm like. Groggy. Yeah, it makes me a little groggy in the morning. It's like 75. arms instead. Okay, so that's kind of similar to this next question. How do you handle the long work hours of being a CEO and maintain your health? I drink a lot of water. I thought you were going to say wine. I do that too.

No, I do that too. But I also drink a lot of water. Like I even find like, you know, if I do have a couple glasses in wine or whatever, like, if I forget to drink like a full bottle of water before bed, I will wake up like with a little headache or just like not like energized. And I drink so much water. I don't. And for me like, I don't know if it helps anyone else. But like that like water intake for me is really, really important. And again, I think it's like, you know, the thing where you have to find what truly relaxes you and where you're able to shut off.

Like for me, it's not like, I get anxiety when I get a manicure and a pedicure. So I'm like, just taking too long. I can't use my hands. I do too. Like I like, I can't sit there. It drives me crazy. Yeah. I can't deal with places that do them separately.

Oh, no, I need to be at the same time. And yeah. Yeah. So, no, I don't know why I get so antsy. But like for some people like, they're in the massage share. They're relaxed and they're having a great time. So I think you just have to find what works for you and like pay attention to like what makes you really happy and what makes you really relaxed. If that's like going out, like go out.

Right. Like if that's sitting at home alone with a book, do that. I think it looks different for everybody. So and it looks different for me at different points in my life. But I take vitamins, especially when I travel. Yeah, because you travel a lot. Travel a lot. I'm a big fan of the wellness pill.

I don't know that one. Ooh, girl. What? Do you know about that? It's just called wellness. It's literally just called wellness formula. Everyone's like, who's it by? I'm like, I don't know.

I'm writing it down. It's literally called wellness formula. And it's like got everything in it. And I take one of those every day and you can take like, I don't think you take as many as you want really. It's just, you know, vitamins. So like if I'm feeling like a little bit sick, like I'm popping like six a day. Like I feel like I'm getting a cold or something like that that that I know I can fight. It's like a lot of that stuff.

So I think it's, I think it's so funny too because we do so much like we do so much when we don't. feel good. Like when we feel sick, we're like so quick to take all these things. But we're all I think is a society really bad at like preventative care. And I'm trying to be really, really good at that because like I don't want to get to the point where my body's about to shut down, right? I want to like maintain it and make sure I'm like eating right and doing all those things. So I think it's a lot of like having a balanced diet, you know, water, wellness pills. I love it. Who we got. Is there any weird ones we want to do? Where's your mom from? My mom is from Kobe, Japan. Okay. Yeah. Do you go to Japan a lot? Um, not as much as I'd like to. I did

live there, um, for two years as a kid. My mom got a job transfer, um, for two years. So, um, yeah, but she came to the States for an exchange program and met my dad and never left. And they'll be married for 40 years. Wow. Wow. That's so cool. I know. They're the best. My parents are in their 40s as well. Yeah, it's crazy. We got a little blip this year, but they're doing good now. You know what? Relationships are hard, man. Can you imagine?

I'm sorry. Being with somebody for that long. That's a very long time. Yes, very long. Relationships are hard. A lot of work. Full stop and sentence. Okay.

Do you know about exercise deconditioning? No. What is that? I don't know. How would you overcome it? Do you know Kennedy? Kennedy's a trainer. I don't think her mic is on because we didn't have.

include. Exercise deconditioning. Hold on. So the person just wanted to know how do you get in shape after, if you've fallen off. Oh, if you fallen off. I mean. I mean, I'm a second. Yeah.

Yeah. So, I mean, I would start slow. I think there's, you know, go on a walk for 10 minutes and start that way. Like you can never, like, I find that people, sometimes people get really, really excited to, like, You know, if you're an accident or whatever it is, has caused you to, you know, have to stop exercising and working out. I think people get really, really excited to, like, get back into it. And that's when injury happens. So, you know, take it slow.

Like, be patient with your body. I think everyone, you know, we live in these things all the time. We expect them to, like, perform miracles for us. But we have to treat them really, really nicely. So, you know, it's like anything else that you haven't done a long time. You have to kind of get back into it. Yeah. You know, like I played soccer as a kid.

I'm not, you know, going to the World Cup. So. No? No. Absolutely not. I'm also really bad at sports. So we'll just leave that and that. Well, thank you so much for coming on. It was so good to finally meet you. Where can everybody find you and where can they find Y-7? You can follow Y-7 on Instagram at Y-7 Studio. And if you think I'm funny and want to hang out with me, it's at Sarah S-R-A-H-H-U-A-A-A-A-K-O. Yay. Thank you. Thank you. As always, thank you for tuning in. I appreciate you guys sharing, sharing on social media, sharing with people in your lives.

As always, please rate, review, subscribe if you haven't already, and do all of the things. I'll talk to you next week.