Today we’d like to introduce you to Carly Grace Milyo.
Founder and director of Thunderbolt Power Yoga®, Carly grew up in Atlanta and attended The Westminster Schools and Virginia Tech, where she graduated Summa Cum Laude. During college, she began practicing yoga to escape her intense cheerleading training; a desire to find more purposeful friendships and cultivate a greater well-being kept her coming back. After a lifetime of perfection-based sports, yoga was the first thing Carly practiced where a perfect-ten mentality wasn’t required, and she delighted in yoga’s celebration of imperfection. At only 24, she opened Thunderbolt as a community-based studio where instructors practice with each other, students make friends, and yogis count on clean spaces and familiar faces
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
Snipped from my blog post- Trials and Tribulations.
This week, we celebrate Thunderbolt Power Yoga’s Third Birthday. In preparing for the studio’s birthday, I reflected on the hectic and exciting weeks leading up to our opening. If you had asked me then, in the fall of 2014, where I thought I’d be today, I’m not sure I would have told you:
My studio would be running like a well-oiled machine and I would have two full time employees, (Rockstar) managers – Charlotte, and Alex
I would have declined every opportunity to open additional yoga studios – despite prime location availability and generous build-out reimbursement offers.
I would be married to the man I had just begun dating, expecting a baby, and living in Roswell, GA.
If you are reading the above, you helped turn my dreams into my reality.
Last week I mentioned I opened Thunderbolt without a single employee. What was I thinking? Though I lived less than a mile from my studio, I kept a few of my clothes in the women’s changing room, my apartment water bill was negligible because I rarely showered at home, and I put so little mileage on my car that I had to pay for a “not-enough-use” repair. In the fall of 2014, I would have told you with confidence, “I am the manager, the lead instructor, the trainee, and the bookkeeper.” I was running on adrenaline, yoga vibes, and community support. While I knew I needed to hire an assistant manager, it took two more years, a battle with anxiety attacks and the dimming of my passion to realize I needed to hire a team.
To say Thunderbolt Power Yoga took off is an understatement, we exploded! Classes were packed by Christmas 2014, and our schedule of 28 weekly classes quickly surpassed 50. We began opening the studio at 5:15 a.m. and soon were closing well after dark. I didn’t have the bandwidth to manage the business, build the brand or keep a smile on my face, and I definitely didn’t have a clue how to get out of the mess I had created. Truth be told, if you’d asked me what my greatest fear was during Q1 2016, I would have told you, “Never being able to live a normal life. Never having breathing room.”
An unexpected turn of events in early spring 2016 left me without my right-hand assistant and quite literally knocked me on my as*ana. While I was still responsible for management responsibilities, an assistant manager had been handling client experience, email blasts, social media and more. I was paralyzed. I had just inherited a load of responsibilities, and I had nobody in my pipeline I could readily delegate work to. Buckets of uncontrollable tears – and a brave face I hope to never wear again – got me through one day at a time. With the help of a few committed mentors, some difficult “come-to-Jesus” moments and a hard reality check, I started making changes. I had been on the inside of my business climbing out when I needed to be on the outside looking in. I knew letting go of my baby was the only way it would ever truly fly.
“What if I fall? Oh, but my darling what if you fly?”
— Erin Hanson
I hired great leaders and built a team I implicitly trust. At times, I am still tempted to micromanage; admittedly, its a challenge for me to quiet myself, allowing my team to take the reigns, and at times make mistakes. Owning a business is a lot of work, and there are days I want to run far far away from yoga. But it is the yoga that brings me back. Again and again, yoga draws me in, and my community is always there accepting me with open arms.
“Come, come, whoever you are. Wanderer, worshiper, lover of leaving. It doesn’t matter. Ours is not a caravan of despair. come, even if you have broken your vows a thousand times. Come, yet again, come, come.”
— Rumi
Thunderbolt Power Yoga – what should we know? What do you guys do best? What sets you apart from the competition?
We are making a difference by creating a safe place where people can drop self-judgment, fear, and their doubt at the door. We are hitting Pause on the remote control of life, and showing students how to come alive in the moment- this moment here today.
At Thunderbolt Power Yoga, people disconnect with their devices, the stresses of everyday life, and the chatter between their ears for 60 minutes and spend an hour reconnecting with themselves. We add breath to movement, body to soul, and heart to hand standing. We are lighting a fire in one body that warms another soul- a movement of shining brightly and lighting up the world-it’s contagious. We are soulful spirits, inversion junkies, and lovers of living.
What is “success” or “successful” for you?
Can this business operate without me? This is a tell-tale sign of how we are doing. If the business cannot operate without me, I have not succeeded. Do I want to feel needed, yes? Do I want clients and students to know me, yes, but in order to really run a successful business, I know I need to be able to take a peek at the business from the outside looking in.
Additionally, is our staff happy? Are our students happy? Are we turning no I can’t into yes I can’s. Are we fostering community? These are the things that show us success. Do we need to make money, absolutely, but Thunderbolt Power Yoga is not focused on financial gains, we are focused on people.
Pricing:
- We offer a New Member Special – Unlimited Month at $49.99
- Unlimited Membership is – $109.99
Contact Info:
- Address: 3872 Roswell Road NE Suite C4 Atlanta, GA 30342
- Website: www.thunderbotlpoweryoga.com
- Phone: 4045561605
- Email: carlygrace@thunderboltpoweryoga.com
Getting in touch: VoyageATL is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.
