Cheerleading entrepreneur quadruples revenue with savvy moves

Shanna Kelly knows a thing or two about the importance of a supportive community. When Kelly was in college, she relied on the help of her encouraging, supportive advisors to complete her degree and achieve her goal of becoming an engineer. “I know what it looks like to have someone rooting for you,” Kelly says. Today, that level of encouragement is exactly what she offers the kids who walk through the doors of Spirit Technique, her gymnastics, cheer and ninja gym in Memphis, Tennessee.

Although Kelly built a successful career in engineering, she kept cheerleading — a childhood passion she continued into adulthood — in her life. While judging cheer competitions as a side gig, Kelly noticed many students, and especially under-resourced youth, lacked basic safety skills. “I would see little girls and boys who look like me, doing amazing skills, who had power but were poorly trained,” she says. Kelly was inspired to offer her own expertise to the community.

In 2016, Kelly started Spirit Technique as a consulting business. Initially, she took gigs as a visiting coach, helping teams with technique and form. This led to requests for private training, which she first accommodated out of the gym in her apartment complex.

As Spirit Technique was thriving, Kelly’s engineering career was stalling. She decided to go all in on the community she was building through her business. Today, her 10,000-square-foot gym has ample space for tumbling, bars and a trampoline in an environment that is safe, secure and welcoming. Kelly pours her heart into ensuring that her 150-plus students, or “village,” as she affectionately calls them, have the confidence, determination and curiosity they need to be successful.

Always seeking support and resources to improve her business acumen, Kelly discovered Verizon Small Business Digital Ready a few years into running her business. So far, she has taken more than 30 courses. Kelly specifically calls out the benefits of real-time advice through a variety of live events, as well as self-paced courses on topics such as marketing, web design and financial planning.

After taking a self-paced course called “Planning for the Unexpected,” Kelly had a revelation: She could prepare for predictable patterns of revenue loss during summer, when business is slower. Kelly strategically timed her summer camps to open earlier and close later than her competitors’ camps. The results were dramatic. Year over year, revenue quadrupled and attendance rose 500%, with campers participating during all 10 weeks of camp.

Digital Ready also inspired Kelly to revamp her website. She had originally launched a site without considering design strategy. But after a Hands on Help live event where Kelly received one-on-one feedback from an expert about her company’s website, Kelly learned the site needed a more user-friendly design and clearer program information. Since the redesign, visits to Spirit Technique’s website have increased by 74% and potential customers are spending more time on the site and signing up for more information. “Overall, the redesign improved visibility and streamlined the process for parents, making it a new and more effective way of acquiring customers,” Kelly says.

Kelly has also used the Digital Ready program to improve operations, including hiring, onboarding and team building. She regularly shares learnings with her staff, encouraging them to integrate best practices from courses, such as using emotional intelligence in day-to-day operations. In a Peer to Peer Check-In event, Kelly was also encouraged to implement a new structure for onboarding employees, which helped her improve retention after a season of staffing changes.

Aiming to create a space where kids feel safe, seen and valued, Kelly says she knows she’s succeeded when her students don’t want to leave after class. Now she has her sights set on a place that can both house Spirit Technique and also function as a community center. “I want the community to know that this is a safe space,” Kelly says. “It’s not just focused on cheer, gymnastics and ninja, but on creating a well-rounded child who can become a positive, contributing influence to the Memphis and surrounding community.”

Verizon Small Business Digital Ready is part of Verizon’s goal to support 1 million small businesses by 2030 with free resources to help them succeed. To sign up, visit Verizon Small Business Digital Ready. Visit CitizenVerizon.com to learn more about the company’s responsible business efforts. An individual user's experience may vary and results are not guaranteed.