A Party. A Plan. A Partnership.

by Elizabeth Denham

How many times have we made big plans for the New Year only to have them relegated to distant memories a few short months later (or a few weeks for some of us)? If this sounds like you, let Jillian Lorenz and Ariana Chernin, founders of The Barre Code teach you a lesson in dedication, execution and perseverance.

Lorenz and Chernin met at a New Year’s Eve party in 2009 through their husbands who were their boyfriends at the time. They began talking about their goals for the coming year. When Lorenz mentioned wanting to start a fitness business, it struck a chord within Chernin’s entrepreneurial spirit. They spent 15-20 hours on New Year’s Day 2010 planning and figuring out the roots of who they were and crafting a vision and mission. Six months later, they opened their first studio.

Dual roles of best friends and business partners isn’t something everyone could pull off, but Lorenz and Chernin do it seamlessly.

“About a week into our partnership, Jill was planning her wedding six months away,” Chernin said. “And she asked me to be a bridesmaid. I thought that was so cool, such a milestone because we weren’t best friends then. And now, ten years later, we are best friends and partners. I don’t think many people can say that. It’s intense, but it’s fun, and when you have a team partner that can get you through the bad stuff, it makes a world of difference.”

Lorenz agreed.

“I think it was the best decision I ever made,” she said. “I believe that decision to invite Ari to be in my wedding solidified our relationship as more than just partners in business, but partners in life.”

By defining their values, Chernin and Lorenz have learned how to balance each other’s needs and priorities with the needs and priorities of the business.

“We decided we would always put family first,” Lorenz said. “As our families developed, we developed the commitment to keeping it the top priority. We check in with each other and if one is having a bad personal day, that always comes first”

Identifying and staying in their own lanes for professional decisions has also been helpful. Lorenz handles more of the programming, product lines and legal decisions, while Chernin leans more toward marketing and sales. They rarely disagree, but if they do, they defer to the one who owns the role.

“We know each other’s strengths, so we tend to defer to the one who is stronger in the area of disagreement,” Chernin said. “There is not power struggle. If someone is really passionate about a decision, we usually let that be the deciding factor.”

The Barre Code’s Mission

To be a best-in-class fitness program

To provide personal growth and self-acceptance

To provide a place where women support one another

The Barre Code’s Vision is to have a positive impact on those we touch worldwide.

For business values, the team is united in the desire to change the way women talk to themselves in terms of fitness goals.

“The language is always about losing the cottage cheese or the chicken wings or fitting into a certain pant size. When you take the language you use from losing to gaining – gaining strength, gaining confidence, gaining love for the skin you’re in, it’s just so much more empowering,” Lorenz said. “During college, seeing the ways women treated themselves so badly, it really had an impact on me and the way I viewed myself. If these beautiful women were saying these things about themselves, then what does that say about me?”

Changing that conversation is important, Chernin said.

“Now more than ever, we are committed to showcasing body positivity in everything we do,” she said. “With social media, it’s easy to say the right things, but we, as a society, often don’t show that in our platforms with filters, etc. So, we are really trying to show healthy, fit, strong women in everything that we do.”

Chernin and Lorenz are excited about their recent partnership with Franworth and look forward to leveraging that relationship to grow from their current 60 territories sold to over 100 in coming years. To learn more about The Barre Code, visit https://thebarrecode.com/