Be Creative: Interview with Jared Ciner, Founder and CEO of SPIRIT Club
I recently went one on one with Jared Ciner, founder and CEO of SPIRIT Club.
Adam: Thanks again for taking the time to share your advice. First things first, though, I am sure readers would love to learn more about you. How did you get here? What experiences, failures, setbacks or challenges have been most instrumental to your growth?
Jared: Thank you so much for the opportunity to be featured! Growing up, I always felt motivated to expose myself to people who are different from me. The opportunity to learn from others’ experiences and circumstances really interested me. My first summer job in high school was working as a day-camp counselor. Rather than taking a job as a general counselor, I decided to become a 1:1 counselor working with a seven-year-old boy with autism. I felt immediately connected to him, and I developed a very strong appreciation for the way his brain works. Years later, my professional career remained consistent with trying to better understand human behavior and contribute to improving the quality of life for those around me, however possible. My first 2 jobs out of college were working as a Support Counselor for adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities, and as a Personal Training at a gym. These experiences helped shape my desire to create SPIRIT Club, an organization that offers supportive and accessible fitness for people of all backgrounds and abilities.
Having built an entire company based on an in-person service model, Covid-19 posed the greatest challenge of my professional career. Needing to close our gym and transition entirely to a virtual platform was not something I was sure we’d be able to pull off. Fortunately, technology is an incredible resource that now allows people from all across the globe to access universally designed fitness programs.
Adam: How did you come up with your business idea? What advice do you have for others on how to come up with great ideas?
Jared: The idea for SPIRIT Club was originally inspired by a summer trip I took to Ethiopia in 2016. I had the amazing opportunity to travel the country and also volunteer at a school called the Fregenet Foundation, which provides education, clothing, and meals to children from severely impoverished families. I spent my time there organizing athletic activities, trying to make sure every child had a chance to participate in whatever sport we were playing that day. I was incredibly excited to see the positive impact that structured physical activities had on each child, and on the atmosphere in general. After this, I knew I wanted to support those with limited opportunities through exercise and movement.
My advice to other entrepreneurs is to try to experience as much as you can out in the world. The only reason I was able to create a successful business was due to the experiences that shaped my perspective, both ideologically and logistically. Exposing myself to people and cultures different from mine allowed me to understand how exercise could be used as a universal tool to bring people together. Also, working as a Personal Trainer at a gym and as a Support Counselor at a service provider gave me the knowledge needed to navigate those industries, ultimately collaborating with them to create a successful business within their space.
Adam: How did you know your business idea was worth pursuing? What advice do you have on how to best test a business idea?
Jared: I knew my business was worth pursuing because I was able to see the positive impact it was having on others. If you are confident that you are doing something that is improving the quality of life of those around you, then you can have confidence that there is a good business opportunity in front of you. After all, everyone is on this earth trying to be happy. If you can help them do that in a unique and economical way, you likely have a great business opportunity ahead of you!
Adam: What are the key steps you have taken to grow your business? What advice do you have for others on how to take their businesses to the next level?
Jared: The first key step I took to grow my business was learning how to delegate. For a while, I was the only trainer at SPIRIT Club. I taught every personal training session and every group class. When I needed to visit my family one weekend, I was faced with either canceling a class, or depending on someone else to teach it. Once I took that leap of faith, I realized how easily scalable the model was. In order to grow successfully, find a balance between taking responsibilities on yourself, and trusting others to carry them out.
While delegating is crucial, I am also a firm believer that slow and steady wins the race. Consistency is one of the most important qualities in a leader and an organization. It’s important to delegate only after you’ve done your due diligence, and you are confident that the quality will remain at the highest level. This will come down to the people you hire. A team is only as good as its players. If you hire people you believe in and trust, then you can begin delegating with confidence, and your business can grow as it should.
Adam: What are your best sales and marketing tips?
Jared: Sales and marketing is tough. There are so many ‘experts’ and services out there to tell you what to do. At the end of the day, keep your eye on the purpose behind marketing. Focus on making sure your audience:
is aware that you exist,
has access to try out what you have to offer, and
has the ability to easily become a customer.
There are a million different ways that you can market your offerings and tactics to promote your sales. There is no one-size fits all marketing strategy that will work across the board. Always consider what’s relevant to your audience, and think about the most simple and practical ways to achieve the bullet points above.
Adam: In your experience, what are the defining qualities of an effective leader? How can leaders and aspiring leaders take their leadership skills to the next level?
Jared: I believe that effective leaders focus on their mission over themselves. People will follow you because they believe in your beliefs. Leadership is not about ego. It is about passion. It is about respecting your work and those who benefit from it. It is about respecting those who have decided to make your work their own.
Always give credit where credit is due. Empower people on your team to make their own decisions and have a leadership role of their own. Understand that we are all in this together. Ultimately, if you give others opportunities to contribute to your collective work in ways that are meaningful to them, then they will respect and appreciate you as a leader.
Adam: What is your best advice on building, leading and managing teams?
Jared: My best advice on this topic is to make sure you have a good leader within each team. Make sure there is someone others respect and can depend on. This is how you can take delegating the next level. Delegate leadership. Empower others to have the confidence and abilities to inspire and motivate others. By creating leaders, you are able to create teams. Team management can allow your business to scale and grow on an entirely different level. Finding a balance between autonomy and expectation is key to enabling a team to be both motivated and effective.
Adam: What are your three best tips applicable to entrepreneurs, executives and civic leaders?
Jared:
Be creative! Don’t be afraid to think outside the box. Thinking outside the box is what will set you apart from the competition, and allow you to have the most innovative impact.
Recruit people that you believe in. As mentioned earlier, your team is only as good as the players. Find people who inspire you! That’s who you want on your team. Don’t worry if you’re not sure exactly what role they should play at first. If they have the right quality of character, you’ll find a place where they can succeed.
Have fun. People are good at what they enjoy doing (usually). If you’re having fun, it’s probably because you are doing a good job! Stick to the things that you enjoy. That will not only ensure your success from a business standpoint, it will also make sure you are enjoying your time here on earth.
Adam: What is the single best piece of advice you have ever received?
Jared: Hire slow, fire fast (-Henry Sheller). If you know in your gut an employee is not working out, rip off the bandaid and don’t drag it out. When hiring on the other hand, if someone wows you with their first impression, take your time to get to know them better. Hiring should be a slow process with lots of opportunities for you to make sure it’s the right fit.
Also, K.I.S.S. - Keep It Simple Stupid (-Michael Scott)
Don’t overthink things too much. If you feel good about a decision or path, go with it!
Adam Mendler is the CEO of The Veloz Group, where he co-founded and oversees ventures across a wide variety of industries. Adam is also the creator and host of the business and leadership podcast Thirty Minute Mentors, where he goes one on one with America's most successful people - Fortune 500 CEOs, founders of household name companies, Hall of Fame and Olympic gold medal winning athletes, political and military leaders - for intimate half-hour conversations each week. Adam has written extensively on leadership, management, entrepreneurship, marketing and sales, having authored over 70 articles published in major media outlets including Forbes, Inc. and HuffPost, and has conducted more than 500 one on one interviews with America’s top leaders through his collective media projects. A top leadership speaker, Adam draws upon his insights building and leading businesses and interviewing hundreds of America's top leaders as a top keynote speaker to businesses, universities and non-profit organizations.
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