What’s up, Hard Knocks Community?💰

We're back with another brand new edition of the School of Hard Knocks Newsletter! Here, we're featuring serial entrepreneur, philanthropist, and founder of [solidcore] Anne Mahlum. With a net worth of $100M+, Anne has built, scaled, and led impactful businesses while championing leadership, mindset, and purpose-driven success.

Today’s Schedule

• A Passion for Purpose: How Anne Mahlum created a fitness empire and left a legacy of community impact along the way

• From the Hard Knocks Library: Secrets of the Millionaire Mind

• In Case You Missed It: We caught up with Shark Tank’s Barbara Corcoran in NYC.

Let’s get into it!🔥

A Passion for Purpose

Anne Mahlum spent her childhood in North Dakota and was determined to discover her purpose from an early age. Anne's father struggled with addiction and in her family, money was the root of many issues - specifically, a lack of respect for it and never having enough.

At 16, Anne's parents divorced and it changed the trajectory of her life. From that point on, she was driven to make a ton of money and a name for herself. Anne attended college, grad school, and eventually landed in Philadelphia at the age of 24.

While Anne was determined to succeed, she found herself feeling lost and frustrated with how long it was taking. One day, she ran by a homeless shelter near her house and was struck with inspiration.

As an avid runner, Anne came up with the idea to use running as a vehicle to help the homeless create meaning, purpose, and a new sense of identity. With a fresh outlook and mindset, they could then go on to live self-sufficient lives.

Anne worked with the homeless shelter to start a running club. It quickly transformed into a wildly successful non-profit called Back on My Feet. She scaled the program nationwide and today, it runs on an $8M annual budget.

While Anne's work through Back on My Feet gave her a great deal of purpose and fulfilment, she eventually reached a point where she wanted to try something new. These feelings took her by surprise and she didn't expect the self-doubt that came along with the next stage of her journey.

One day in Los Angeles, Anne took a Pilates class. Although she was a seasoned athlete in great shape, she found the class extremely challenging and humbling. At that moment, Anne found the inspiration for her next big move.

In 2013, Anne founded the pilates-inspired fitness sensation [solidcore]. What started as a single studio in Washington, D.C. quickly became one of the nation’s most successful fitness companies. In under a decade, she raised over $200M through private equity and scaled [solidcore] to more than 115 locations across the U.S.

Anne exited [solidcore] in 2023, sold the company to private equity, and shared millions with her employees post-sale. Now, her focus is on investing, speaking, writing, and having fun. Anne also remains an advocate for those struggling with addiction and the wrongly convicted.

On a recent live call inside the School of Mentors community, Anne shared all about her entrepreneurial journey and lessons learned along the way. Let's look at four main takeaways:

Eyes on the Prize

Anne's journey to success came with several roadblocks along the way. She was sued by an ex and evicted from her first studio. She also had to manage her business amidst COVID shutdowns. While she could have thrown in the towel, Anne's determination and desire for success propelled her forward.

Anne decided to view things from a "wartime CEO" perspective and looked at her obstacles as enemies to defeat. Anne befriended her landlords, extended lease terms, and found other workarounds to try to stay afloat through the pandemic.

Sometimes we set out as entrepreneurs with the false expectation that things will be easy. When we're faced with a hard path, Anne says the key is to stay focused on the mission and vision of what could be. Stay as true to yourself as possible and don't let setbacks or failures derail you from the big picture.

Plan Your Endings

When Anne decided to step down from Back on My Feet to start [solidcore], one of her board members told her that the true test of an entrepreneur is when something you build lives without you and beyond you. This philosophy stayed with Anne as she moved into her next chapter.

Anne went into building [solidcore] with the clear vision that she would sell the business once she reached 100 studios. Each process and system was put into place with this end goal in mind. Thanks to her mindful decisions, Anne was able to gracefully exit the company and share the wealth with her employees.

When you don't plan your endings, you run the risk of getting trapped in your business. Instead of an easy exit, you might be faced with buyouts or having to work for private equity. However, if you begin with the end in mind, you gain much more control of your journey.

Financial Freedom

When you lack transparency into your business and personal finances, it's easy to get overwhelmed and emotional. To combat this, Anne writes everything down. She accounts for investments, spending, and income and projects how things will look 20 or 30 years down the road.

Getting a detailed handle on her data helps Anne stay in an abundance mindset. Once everything is mapped out, spending becomes easy and there's much less guilt attached. Anne encourages entrepreneurs to write down their ideal lifestyle and what exactly they want money for.

One of the biggest problems with money is that people feel like they never have enough. This traps you in a mindset of constantly chasing more. Keeping a clear picture of your finances helps you remain in control. Track your income and investments on a regular basis and consider working with a financial advisor to stay focused on your goals.

Drawing Boundaries

In the beginning stages of [solidcore], Anne hung out with many of her employees, coaches, and clients. As a young CEO, she was still learning how to lead and didn't have healthy boundaries in place. However, as the company grew, things had to change.

Without the right work/life boundaries in place, organizational shifts like layoffs and bringing new talent in become more challenging. Anne says some of the hardest times were when people became upset with her during those transitions.

If you're serious about scaling and moving fast, make sure you draw a line between work and play and keep business relationships as professional as possible. Remember, the people who helped you reach one milestone may not be the same ones who help you reach the next.

Connect with Anne here:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/annemahlum/?hl=en

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Words of Wisdom

From the Hard Knocks Library

In Case You Missed It

In New York City, we met up with real estate mogul, investor, and television personality Barbara Corcoran. She's most known for founding The Corcoran Group, a New York City brokerage she sold for $66 million in 2001 as well as being a "shark" on ABC's Shark Tank.

In this episode of our Questions With A Millionaire series, Barbara shares her journey, the challenges of building and scaling businesses, and actionable advice for aspiring entrepreneurs. Whether you're looking to start your own venture or take your business to the next level, this interview is packed with tips & tricks you won’t want to miss!

Let Us Hear From You

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