Franchisee Spotlight: Pure Barre in Las Vegas

Lauren Montz’s journey through past and present challenges reveals the blueprint for running a top-performing Pure Barre studio

Before Xponential Fitness acquired it, Pure Barre managed each franchise location as if it were a ghostly baseball field tucked away in an Iowa cornfield. 

“Up until that point, it pretty much ran on an ‘if you build it, they will come’ model,” said Lauren Montz, a multi-unit studio owner in Las Vegas. “As long as you’re in the right location, next to a Whole Foods and a Starbucks, you’re going to be fine.”

And while that philosophy may have worked for Kevin Costner, it didn’t hold up when boutique fitness took off in the mid-to-late 2010s. The space expanded, opposition rose up and franchisees like Montz, who bought her first Pure Barre in 2010, needed to do more.  

“By that point, that wasn’t a good business model anymore,” she said. “We had to work against all the competition and boutique fitness.”

But like an effective training program, that pressure built strength. Montz reorganized her operation under Xponential, continued to drive profits and even bought another location across town. Today, she represents one of the brand’s most notable success stories as Pure Barre approaches its 25th anniversary. 

Overcoming Challenges of All Kinds

Montz’s growth and evolution didn’t come without its challenges. When the COVID-19 pandemic struck, she needed to rethink her entire operation, moving around shifting social regulations and disjointed communication lines with staff. 

While countless business owners had to do the same, few moved as quickly as Montz did, essentially taking her Pure Barre virtual “overnight.” 

“It was about 15 hours from ‘We can’t open for business tomorrow morning,’ to ‘We’re going to provide you virtual live stream classes at home,’” Montz said. “Somehow, we pulled it off.”

That speed and adaptability paid dividends immediately and in the long run, as Montz kept facilitating classes and managed to retain all of her studio managers throughout the pandemic. 

Additionally, Montz referred to her area as a “transient town,” which presents its own obstacles regarding long-term member retention. For owners in similar situations, Montz believes the path around begins with grassroots marketing campaigns. She argues they create a stronger presence within the community — even as residents cycle in and out of it, and even as digital marketing remains the shinier, new way to reach customers.  

“We’re getting out there, getting involved in our communities, and there’s so much to be said about word of mouth, and what that still means, even in a digital age, almost even more now,” Montz said. “One of them is a ‘Fitness on the Lawn’ series at a large mall we host monthly, which reaches 300 to 400 people. We get these organic leads through pop-ups because they get to experience the movement and physicality of Pure Barre, which makes a big difference.”

What It Takes for Two

Montz launched her second location in 2020, and while that was no easy undertaking, having the right mentality carried her through the process. She believes anyone who’s eager to empower their staff has the right foundation for multi-site ownership as well.

“You cannot duplicate yourself,” she said. “I had that mindset shift before I purchased my second location, and I think that was key, because I knew I wanted to operate that way. I wanted to learn how to delegate more, how to coach and uplift a team on a deeper level, so that made it natural.”

But while Montz isn’t trying to be everywhere, she is focused on ensuring the brand experience is. Rather than treating her studios as separate entities, she’s created a unified culture across both locations. That includes giving team members the flexibility to work at either studio when it makes sense, fostering collaboration, a steady product and shared learning throughout the organization.

“We lean into being Pure Bar Vegas Valley, not being Pure Barre Henderson and Pure Bar Las Vegas, as much as we can.” Montz explained. “I love having a team that can go to both locations. That brings consistency, and we’re all raising each other up, so if people are learning from me or just each other, that’s bleeding into both studios, because we have teachers that teach at both and people that work the desk that work at both.”

Doing It Her Way 

Montz also takes a modern, more unique approach to her business operations. She keeps her studios overstaffed, which prevents burnout and allows teachers to take time off or make substitutions without friction. She also leverages AI via SalesRevv to simplify and speed up front desk operations. Montz  believes both initiatives allow her to run a more personal, consumer-touching business. 

“COVID really shifted us down in how we interact with humans face-to-face, but that’s what built boutique fitness and what makes Pure Barre so special,” Montz said. “We needed SalesRevv because our desk people have too much to do as salespeople, when they’re really meant to be ‘people’ people. They need to be interacting with our members. They should know everyone’s name and welcome them with eye contact and smiles.”

That said, Montz is eager to leverage the support relayed down by Xponential, including the pre-sale planning and digital marketing assets that’ve already fueled much of her growth. She reports franchisee and franchisor communication is fluid and trusts it to direct her and others forward. 

“Keeping the communication lines open helps me feel like I know who to contact when I have a problem, and that I’m going to get a fair solution,” she said. “It may not always be the solution that I want because it’s still a franchise. Sometimes you have to remember that, and that’s okay, because it’s what you signed up for, but I have a great relationship with the majority of the Pure Bare Xponential team. It’s really served me well over the years.”

Montz shared she has casually considered opening a third location under Xponential as well.