为了抑制新冠疫情的蔓延,许多地方发布了封城令,这对一些高度依赖客流量的行业来说影响非常大。像音乐厅、餐馆和沙龙这样的生意将会举步维艰。
以健身房和健身中心为代表的许多行业,正在试图借助Zoom、FaceTime、Skype或YouTube等网络直播平台来维持运营并与客户保持联系。但转战线上的可不止是瑜伽和私教健身课,还有飞斧运动。(注:掷飞斧曾是文艺复兴集会和伐木工人秀的观赏项目,是精准度和力度的结合。如今飞斧运动深受美国和加拿大千禧一代热爱。2019年,中国首家室内飞斧俱乐部落户成都。)
在全美拥有数十家门店的连锁飞斧俱乐部Stumpy’s Hatchet House,就正在借助数字视频和社交媒体推广这项运动。
约斯伯格夫妇是美国首家室内飞斧俱乐部Stumpy’s Hatchet House的联合创始人和共同所有人。近期,《财富》杂志采访了他们,询问了有关新冠病毒对其所处行业以及未来规划的影响,并了解了他们在面对疫情时如何管理自身情绪和财务状况。为简明起见,以下对话内容有所删改。
《财富》:可以介绍下你们公司的业务吗?公司都有哪些项目?
斯图尔特:我们的公司叫Stumpy’s Hatchet House,是美国首家室内飞斧俱乐部。2016年4月,我们的旗舰店在新泽西州伊顿敦开门营业,2017年,我们开始采用特许经营进行扩张。截至目前,我们在全美共有21家门店(现在都暂时处于关闭状态),另有20家门店正在筹建中。Stumpy’s Hatchet House是“飞斧社交”的乐园,我们专注于提供团建、成年人生日聚会、公司活动、单身派对、约会之夜等服务。
你什么时候意识到新冠病毒爆发会影响业务?
凯利:2月下旬吧。显然,当时美国已经存在新冠病毒了。我们意识到要加强对器械和硬面的消毒工作,也向加盟商邮件发送了新的消毒政策。与此同时,我们还通过社交媒体、公司网站和电子邮件等方式,让客户更多地了解到俱乐部也在采取其他预防措施。3月14日,我们得知宾夕法尼亚州有两个县要求关闭娱乐场所。
3月16日,新泽西州州长菲尔·墨菲宣布要实施积极的社交疏离政策,于是我们决定,在接到进一步通知前临时关闭公司的旗舰店。随之关闭的还有新泽西州的其它门店。此后一周内,多数门店都已停止营业。最后关闭的是佛罗里达州可可县的门店,当时当地政府还没有提出相关要求,但本着对抗击疫情负责的态度,我们还是做出了关店决定。
关店期间,你准备做些什么?
凯利:这段时间,我们会开展加盟商培训,并加强流程管理。过去12个月,我们增长得太快了,所以刚开始时,我们还觉得能有时间来梳理现有业务也挺好。现在,我们会借助Zoom会议学习《新冠病毒援助、救济与经济安全法案》(CARES Act),也在努力让客户知道我们想念大家,等社交疏离解除之后,我们还会在老地方等着大家再来参加“飞斧社交”。为了缓解大家对社交接触的恐惧,我们也在集思广益想办法调整公司业务。
对于那些居家隔离的民众,无论是否是你俱乐部的会员,你有什么锻炼方面的建议么?
斯图尔特:我们一直在跟客户和粉丝讲不要外出、保持健康。通过社交媒体,我们发布了一些游戏和读书,以及除了面对面,还有哪些交流方式的贴文。我们旗舰店的员工已经在Zoom上有过几次开心的聚会,大家聊了很多话题,比如最近过得怎么样,在忙些什么等等。我们也在通过社交媒体发布员工锻炼的内容,展示他们是如何打磨飞斧技艺的。
除了工作,这段时间在情感和精神方面你是怎么做的?
凯利:我们每次会用一天时间来做“自我护理”,还有就是坚持每天锻炼身体、学习通过冥想来调整自己的状态。疫情期间每个人都有压力,加上家人很多都不住在一起,为了能保持联系、互相支持,我们每天都会互通电话,每周还会在Zoom上小聚。平日里,我们会经常去散步、玩棋盘游戏、看电影,还在Netflix上看了《养虎为患》(Tiger King),试着通过平衡工作与个人生活来缓解压力。等天气暖和些,我们也准备骑车到海边去放飞下自己的心情。(财富中文网)
译者:梁宇
审校:夏林
为了抑制新冠疫情的蔓延,许多地方发布了封城令,这对一些高度依赖客流量的行业来说影响非常大。像音乐厅、餐馆和沙龙这样的生意将会举步维艰。
以健身房和健身中心为代表的许多行业,正在试图借助Zoom、FaceTime、Skype或YouTube等网络直播平台来维持运营并与客户保持联系。但转战线上的可不止是瑜伽和私教健身课,还有飞斧运动。(注:掷飞斧曾是文艺复兴集会和伐木工人秀的观赏项目,是精准度和力度的结合。如今飞斧运动深受美国和加拿大千禧一代热爱。2019年,中国首家室内飞斧俱乐部落户成都。)
在全美拥有数十家门店的连锁飞斧俱乐部Stumpy’s Hatchet House,就正在借助数字视频和社交媒体推广这项运动。
约斯伯格夫妇是美国首家室内飞斧俱乐部Stumpy’s Hatchet House的联合创始人和共同所有人。近期,《财富》杂志采访了他们,询问了有关新冠病毒对其所处行业以及未来规划的影响,并了解了他们在面对疫情时如何管理自身情绪和财务状况。为简明起见,以下对话内容有所删改。
《财富》:可以介绍下你们公司的业务吗?公司都有哪些项目?
斯图尔特:我们的公司叫Stumpy’s Hatchet House,是美国首家室内飞斧俱乐部。2016年4月,我们的旗舰店在新泽西州伊顿敦开门营业,2017年,我们开始采用特许经营进行扩张。截至目前,我们在全美共有21家门店(现在都暂时处于关闭状态),另有20家门店正在筹建中。Stumpy’s Hatchet House是“飞斧社交”的乐园,我们专注于提供团建、成年人生日聚会、公司活动、单身派对、约会之夜等服务。
你什么时候意识到新冠病毒爆发会影响业务?
凯利:2月下旬吧。显然,当时美国已经存在新冠病毒了。我们意识到要加强对器械和硬面的消毒工作,也向加盟商邮件发送了新的消毒政策。与此同时,我们还通过社交媒体、公司网站和电子邮件等方式,让客户更多地了解到俱乐部也在采取其他预防措施。3月14日,我们得知宾夕法尼亚州有两个县要求关闭娱乐场所。
3月16日,新泽西州州长菲尔·墨菲宣布要实施积极的社交疏离政策,于是我们决定,在接到进一步通知前临时关闭公司的旗舰店。随之关闭的还有新泽西州的其它门店。此后一周内,多数门店都已停止营业。最后关闭的是佛罗里达州可可县的门店,当时当地政府还没有提出相关要求,但本着对抗击疫情负责的态度,我们还是做出了关店决定。
关店期间,你准备做些什么?
凯利:这段时间,我们会开展加盟商培训,并加强流程管理。过去12个月,我们增长得太快了,所以刚开始时,我们还觉得能有时间来梳理现有业务也挺好。现在,我们会借助Zoom会议学习《新冠病毒援助、救济与经济安全法案》(CARES Act),也在努力让客户知道我们想念大家,等社交疏离解除之后,我们还会在老地方等着大家再来参加“飞斧社交”。为了缓解大家对社交接触的恐惧,我们也在集思广益想办法调整公司业务。
对于那些居家隔离的民众,无论是否是你俱乐部的会员,你有什么锻炼方面的建议么?
斯图尔特:我们一直在跟客户和粉丝讲不要外出、保持健康。通过社交媒体,我们发布了一些游戏和读书,以及除了面对面,还有哪些交流方式的贴文。我们旗舰店的员工已经在Zoom上有过几次开心的聚会,大家聊了很多话题,比如最近过得怎么样,在忙些什么等等。我们也在通过社交媒体发布员工锻炼的内容,展示他们是如何打磨飞斧技艺的。
除了工作,这段时间在情感和精神方面你是怎么做的?
凯利:我们每次会用一天时间来做“自我护理”,还有就是坚持每天锻炼身体、学习通过冥想来调整自己的状态。疫情期间每个人都有压力,加上家人很多都不住在一起,为了能保持联系、互相支持,我们每天都会互通电话,每周还会在Zoom上小聚。平日里,我们会经常去散步、玩棋盘游戏、看电影,还在Netflix上看了《养虎为患》(Tiger King),试着通过平衡工作与个人生活来缓解压力。等天气暖和些,我们也准备骑车到海边去放飞下自己的心情。(财富中文网)
译者:梁宇
审校:夏林
If a business is centered around groups of people getting together, then chances are extremely high it has been devastated by the shutdowns imposed to curb the spread of COVID-19. That includes everything from concert halls to restaurants to salons.
Some businesses—gyms and fitness centers, in particular—are trying to stay afloat and in touch with their clients via webcast, whether that be Zoom, FaceTime, Skype, or YouTube. But it's not just yoga classes and personal trainers. Stumpy’s Hatchet House, an axe-throwing franchise with dozens of locations across the United States, pushing onward with digital video and social media further promoting the sport that has particularly caught on with millennials over the last couple years.
Fortune spoke with Kelly and Stuart Josberger, the wife and husband team who are cofounders and co-owners of Stumpy’s, for a new series, The Coronavirus Economy, to ask about how COVID-19 has affected his business and his plans for the future, and to get a sense of how he has been handling this news, both emotionally and financially. The following Q&A has been condensed and lightly edited for clarity.
Fortune: Could you tell us a bit about your business? What kind of events do you hold?
Stuart: We own Stumpy's Hatchet House, the first indoor hatchet throwing business in the U.S. We opened in April 2016 with our flagship location in Eatontown, N.J., and began franchising in 2017. We now have 21 Stumpy's locations open (closed temporarily) across the country, and 20 more in development. Stumpy's Hatchet House is home of the "social throwdown." We specialize in team building, adult birthdays, corporate events, bachelor/bachelorette parties, date nights, and more.
When did you realize that the outbreak of COVID-19 was going to affect your facilities?
Kelly: In late February, we realized that it was necessary to add additional sanitizing to our equipment and hard surfaces, as the news became apparent that COVID-19 reached the United States. We sent out an email blast to our franchisees with a new policy on sanitizing and informed our customers through social media, our website, and email campaigns of the extra precautions we were taking. On March 14, we learned that two counties in Pennsylvania mandated closing recreational facilities.
On March 16, New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy announced aggressive social distancing, and we made the decision to close our flagship location until further notice. Other New Jersey locations followed suit, and within a week, most locations closed. Our last to close was the location in Cocoa, Fla., which was not mandated by the county, but we felt it was the responsible thing to do to combat COVID-19.
What’s the plan of action while you’re closed?
Kelly: We are taking this time to educate our franchisees and tighten up procedures. Our growth was rapid in the past 12 months, so at first we welcomed the time to get business in order. Now, these Zoom meetings are also adding support as we navigate the CARES Act. We are also working on sending out a clear message to our customers that we miss them and will be there for them when social distancing is no longer a thing, and we can go back to the social throwdown. We are brainstorming ways to modify the business in order to ease the fears associated with socialization.
For members and non-members alike, do you have any recommendations for how people in self-isolation can get in a bit of exercise while at home?
Stuart: We continue to tell our customers and followers to stay home and to stay healthy. We've posted on social media about playing games, reading, and connecting in other ways besides face to face. Our staff from the flagship store has had a few Zoom meetings, happy hours to talk about how we are doing, what we are doing, etc. We are working on social media posts featuring our staff members doing exercises to get their axe throwing skills on point.
Aside from business, how have you been coping—emotionally, mentally—from day-to-day during this time?
Kelly: We have been taking one day at a time and building in "self care" time to cope. Exercise has been a part of each day, and we have also turned to learning how to meditate to cope. Our families are spread out, and we have had daily phone calls and weekly Zoom meetings to interact and support each other during this stressful time. We've taken a lot of walks, played a lot of board games, watched movies and Tiger King [on Netflix], and tried to keep the stress level down by balancing work and personal life. When the weather gets a little warmer, we plan to ride our bikes to the beach to find solace.