Jennifer Vaughan Maanavi : On Her A Game

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Paradigm Shifters is a series of interviews with a select group of women and men from eclectic walks of life. It will highlight unspoken, real life insights on how they have been able to turn weakness into strength. A naked soul point of view of how their breakdowns were really a preparation for breakthroughs. They are your quintessential Paradigm Shifters; internal shifts converted into genuine change.

Everything I have ever done has been focused on this underlying theme of shifting the paradigm because, "what we think determines what we feel and what we feel determines what we do." Hence why Empowered by You takes lingerie, which has traditionally been seen merely as a tool of seduction and redirected that energy as a tool of empowerment.

I hope from these stories you will look at your own situations, struggles and accomplishments through a different lens. At the very least you will be more equipped with real life tools to change your own paradigm. At the end of the day we are our own Alchemist turning the silver we were born with into the gold we are destined to become.



Jennifer Vaughan Maanavi - Founder & CEO of Physique 57

You graduated with your MBA from Columbia, worked for Morgan Stanley, and then ended up with Physique 57. What allowed you take this leap of faith from the safe to the unknown?

The number one thing was I had a business model that had been verified that showed there was profitability in this business. That armed me with confidence. It's also being comfortable with the unknown and with assumptions. Still, ten years later, we make assumptions knowing that we're a little bit right and a little bit wrong, but we have just enough to keep moving the needle. Also, I immediately quit my job. I don't believe that people should have two jobs at once when wanting to start a business. It can be done. I started creating this business in the beginning of August and we launched in November. Within 48 hours of thinking about it, I quit my job. That's it. You need to remove plan B. When you don't have a plan B, you can get 16 pieces of bad news and attack each one. Also, invest in yourself. Spend more money potentially on a nanny, on having food delivered, on Uber so you can get there faster. Those are investments in yourself. Pay to free up your time. The last thing is put yourself in the mind of the client every single day. I consider myself just a client who's running a business for other clients. I'm just as much a client as anyone else.

How do you find empowerment in your life?

I like to have butterflies in my stomach. I like to be nervous. I like to be anxious. I think that brings your A-game. You take a risk, you're nervous about it, you do it, and you do it well. Also by surrounding myself with a smart, focused, ambitious team with complimentary skills, I can take risks. I know that my team is prepared to handle the fallout, whether it's good or bad. Or I can just contemplate over something and talk about it with my team knowing that they'll talk me out of it with sound logic or redirect the idea to make it even better. I think that it's the best-case scenario. And it's not that we are using the team to squelch ideas. We're using them to refine ideas, taking out unnecessary risks. It gives you that cushion to know it's a risk, but it's not stupid.

What's a breakdown to breakthrough moment you've had?

We had early success, which was lucky and we're very happy about that. We opened up a second studio in SoHo that was twice the size. We didn't really plan, so we underestimated the power of the team. We were totally understaffed and had all sorts of operation and HR problems. What I found was that I did not plan the logistics of having two studios very well and did not plan for the details. If someone is overworked for 4-5 months at a time, they are not happy. I had a morale problem. People were exhausted, overworked, and overwhelmed. People burn out. So I hired an HR consultant that I still work with. I worked with someone who came in and aligned a team. We started working on goal setting and focused our efforts. I changed my language. I managed my expectations. I was a lot clearer. I clarified my role and what my expectations were. I haven't had this problem since.

What about a paradigm shift?

Physique 57 and others that launched at the same time led to the boutique fitness revolution, which caused a paradigm shift. I'm in the throws of adjusting the vision of the company to compete in this new environment. It used to be, build it and they will come and you were celebrated by your newness. Now you have to prove yourself a lot more. The emphasis is now on a new client acquisition, scaling, creating your unique selling proposition, and harnessing a client community. I went from a creator to a competitor.

What legacy would you wish to leave behind?

The method was started in the '60s by a woman named Lotte Berk. It was as popular as a small studio could be in London and a woman in New York found it, licensed it, and brought it to America in 1971. Her one studio was on the Upper East Side for many years. During that time, she changed so many lives, one of which is mine. I loved it so much that when she decided to close the business I teamed up with her number one teacher and started Physique 57. Lotte Berk has changed my life. I would not be here if it wasn't for that woman. So my goal is for hundreds and thousands of women around the world over the next two decades to feel that Tanya and I have changed their lives by creating this technique that sculpts bodies and changes lives. I don't need compliments on being a good businessperson, I just need people to be able to say they feel more powerful, happier, stronger, and the best version of themselves because of Physique 57. I think we're on track for that. The goal of expanding internationally is that we can continue to change lives around the world. There are DVDs that really started our international reach. We have six that we started to produce in 2009. We've since converted to an online program so the DVD's content is all online plus new online videos. As a business I don't think clients care that you're growing, they just want you to be there.

Few and far between do you come across people with such a clear vision of their potential. Jennifer is the epitome of a leader. Although she is relentless in her approach, she is incredibly tuned in what could be possible when you stay true to mission. -- This feed and its contents are the property of The Huffington Post, and use is subject to our terms. It may be used for personal consumption, but may not be distributed on a website.












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