TL;DR: Three things to know
- Urban Sanctuary's old platform kept dropping and locking students out, and the studio was already losing people because of it.
- Walla's team handled the transition work the studio had been forced to do itself on its previous platform, making the transfer easy.
- Roughly 25 to 30% more people now stay plugged into the studio and its offers, and class specials that used to be hard to set up sell with a click.
What wasn't working before Walla?
Things weren't flowing at Urban Sanctuary. Students got irritated when they couldn't log on and when features kept dropping and breaking, and the studio manager's time went to troubleshooting login problems instead of the community.
The studio was receiving negative feedback about how students interacted with the old software, and it had reached a low point: staying meant losing people anyway.
Why Urban Sanctuary chose Walla
The deciding factor was how Walla took the studio on. On the previous platform, Ali's team had to do every piece of transition work themselves. Walla's team said they would handle it, and the transfer turned out to be easy.
Now the studio runs its 43+ weekly classes, workshops, and enrollments in one place, with push notifications keeping students connected to everything from Reiki and Kemetic yoga to anti-racism community talks.
What changed after the switch
Roughly 25 to 30% more people are staying plugged into Urban Sanctuary and its offers compared to the old platform. Specials like the studio's four for $24 offer, which used to require jumping through hoops, are now simple to create and sell: people just click and join.
The overwhelm is low and things flow. That ease freed the studio to launch Homebody, an all-virtual membership bringing Urban Sanctuary's classes, astrology, tarot, nutrition, and breathwork to people far beyond Denver.
What gave you the courage to open Urban Sanctuary?
Whenever I have a question of why— like why aren't there studios that offer this, this, and this—I just do it instead of asking why. I trust. I was looking for a space that welcomed black and brown bodies and couldn’t find one. The Urban Sanctuary building called to me. Everything called to me. All my signs are all water. Everything's in Pisces, so I trusted.
What was your biggest operational hurdle as a studio owner before moving to Walla?
It was the flow of things at Urban Sanctuary. Things weren't flowing, so when things don't flow how they are supposed to, our students get irritated when they can't log on and when things [related to our previous software]are dropping and not working. It becomes this struggle of balancing those issues while still trying to get people into class and then having them walk through the program, too—asking, how do you set things up? Like their account. That was the biggest hurdle. That was the biggest thing that impacted our community. Things weren’t clicking.
What gave you the confidence to make the switch to Walla?
We were receiving negative feedback about our last platform—and how the students interacted with the software. It was such a low point. I mean, what's the point of staying there? So even if we shifted software, we might lose people. But then again, we were already losing people. Then, the biggest point that made us want to make the switch was Walla. It was how you all took us on and helped us transition. That was everything to us because we had to do everything the Walla team did but with our previous platform. So when Walla said, “Nope, we'll do this, this, and this for you…” I was like, ah, okay! And oh, my goodness, it was such an easy transfer to Walla—and I thought, “Okay, we can do this!”
Since Walla is part of Urban Sanctuary’s every day, what are your top favorite features and why?
I love how easy and effortless it is to click and access the Walla platform online. I love the push app notifications and that we can do all our workshops and enrollments in one place because we have so many workshops. I love doing that. There’s something for everybody. We have over, I might say, 43 classes a week and all the workshops. It's amazing.
How has switching to Walla impacted your clients, community, and staff?
Everything at Urban Sanctuary is so much easier. With our last platform, most of my studio manager’s time was spent troubleshooting questions like why people can't log on to their studio accounts and so on. Also, my studio manager teaches. She does the schedule; she wears a lot of hats. But now, if she has a question, she'll just send you all a message, and you respond. It's just like, okay, sweet, we figured it out.
Being with Walla lightens everything up, and we get more done within the studio. We're no longer focusing on why our old studio platform isn't working for the fifth time.
Let’s discuss and quantify Walla's impact on Urban Sanctuary and the growth you’ve experienced.
With Walla, I think it's easier with our “four for $24” class special. On our last platform, that would be hard to set up and wouldn't connect, so people had to jump through many hoops. Now, it’s simple to create and sell our specials. People just click and join. And what I really like, too, is the notifications you share in Walla that we can send out to our students. It just keeps people plugged into the studio and coming back. I would say from our last platform to now with Walla, roughly 25% to 30% more people are staying plugged into Urban Sanctuary and our offers.
Has your definition of success changed since switching to Walla?
Success for me is if things flow and the overwhelm is low. It's just the ease. I feel that with Walla. Everything is just so easeful on Walla. With the last program, I was always asking myself “What do we have to deal with today?” There were always so many emails. Now everything flows.
What do you believe makes Urban Sanctuary unique?
There are so many things. Well, we are the first and only black woman-owned studio in Colorado. I guess it’s showing up in a different way. 99% of our teachers are BIPOC. At Urban Sanctuary, we offer something different—including our classes. Our classes are completely different, where we have healing connected to them, such as EFT tapping. We do Reiki, so we run Reiki and meditations. And I'm always looking at ways to see how people are healing.
When I first started the studio, I would have two students in class, right? And then I had to shut down in 2020. It's awesome just watching Urban Sanctuary build up but still keep the classes that I originally had and watch them grow. We also teach Kemetic.
Kemetic yoga originated in Africa 2000 years before it made its way to India. We teach it on Saturdays and teach the history of yoga. You tap into the deity inside yourself. Everybody practiced Kemetic. Kemetic yoga is all about breathwork. It's about frequencies… It’s amazing.
And what are your tips for studio owners—and meeting and exceeding studio goals, especially in a highly competitive space?
I would say to other studio owners not to focus on being competitive because whatever you're offering, people will match your energy, right? Some people come to Urban Sanctaury, and they're just like, “It's too weird. I just want to show up. Do my Vinyasa, and I want to bounce. I don't want to come to play.” We offer classes and experiences like naked yoga and all things like that. We do anti-racism community talks. And for some people, it’s too outside their comfort zone. So, for whoever wants to start their business, go with what drives you.
If you try to show up to be more than or more like other studios, it won't come from a place of this is what I am. This is who I am. This is what I want to offer. Go with what feels good and let go of the competition because the universe will send you exactly who and what you need.
What’s your Walla pitch to other studio owners?
My Walla pitch would be: if you have a community—and you're trying to grow a community—do it from a place of ease and support. And that's exactly what we found at Urban Sanctuary with Walla.
What should we look forward to at Urban Sanctuary for the rest of 2024 into 2025?
We created Homebody. Homebody is our online community that we just opened a few months ago. It’s a unique all-virtual membership to help Urban Sanctuary reach people outside of Denver in different states and places to join us. I am super pumped about that. Homebody includes classes and experiences, like astrology, tarot, nutrition, and breathwork—the whole elements of wellness.
We are also getting our third grant (we have two of them already), so we are getting new building updates for Urban Sanctuary. We are in a historic building, so the grant helps us get a new roof, HVAC, new facade, and windows and helps the integrity of our actual building. That’s been a big project. Between Homebody’s online community and a new facelift for our building, those are the big things for Urban Sanctuary this year!
