The Planet Beach franchise began franchising as a tanning salon nineteen years ago. Today the franchise is focused on beauty and wellness by using technology to provide automated spa services to their members. Planet Beach has also established a unique real estate arrangement with LA Fitness to include Planet Beach locations inside available LA Fitness clubs throughout the United States, and are now attracting other big box clubs.
The franchise's spa services include massage, facials, detox, teeth whitening, spray tanning, sauna, and more.
Unlimited services are available for a small monthly membership fee of $59. The locations within LA Fitness have a small footprint and only need about 1000 sq.ft and are able to fit up to 11 services. The start up cost is significantly lower since LA Fitness does contribute to the cost of the buildout. The best thing about the arrangement, though, is that Planet Beach spray & spa is prominently placed inside an existing LA Fitness club with the exact target demographic they look for.
Planet Beach's members (who don't have to be a member of LA Fitness to gain access) are able to take advantage of the child care facility and shower facilities, which is not available to members of a traditional Planet Beach location. Potential candidates are able to visit the LA Fitness location they are considering prior to becoming a franchisee and have access to the average daily counts of that club.
Planet Beach tells us that their ideal candidate is someone who has a passion for the product, exhibits positive energy, management skills and has a willingness to follow a system. With the new real estate relationship with LA Fitness, Planet Beach has granted fifteen licenses since December 2014. Seven of these seals were with Franchise Consultants. Nigel Flower is responsible for closing three of these.
Nigel Flower joined the FBA as a new Franchise Consultant in April of 2013. Prior to his new career in Franchise Consulting he was in recruitment as a senior head hunter in the UK. He says that recruiting is very similar to what he’s doing now. He is still matching people to the right opportunity, but says "with Franchise Consulting it actually less sales which is nice." He originally learned about Franchise Consulting when he was looking to purchase a franchise of his own. "With my background it seemed like a natural fit. I really enjoy matching people to the right opportunity."
Although Nigel eventually matched his candidates with Planet Beach, their interest was originally in a completely different industry. A couple who ended up purchasing two units had many years of experience in working in Real Estate and Property Management. So they felt that a franchise focused on those qualities would match them quite well. Nigel introduced them to several property management concepts. However, he felt that even though they had experience in that industry, the franchises in that space didn't really match the lifestyle goals of the couple.
The wife was still working in their current business, but would be leaving within a year. Every day she had to travel an hour and a half just to get to work and didn't want to do it anymore. The husband was retired with a lot of business background and had been very successful in the stock market. The couple really didn't have to work and wanted something that would be less stressful, and close to passive income.
Nigel explained to the couple that there is a lot of competition within the property management business. "There is so much competition! That didn't look like the best place to be at that their time of life. You have to look at this. It’s the reality. They’re not bad businesses, it's just that the ramp up is slow due to the amount of competition." Nigel still took them through the process and showed them several concepts. They spent several months going through concepts together and attending discovery days. That was when he showed them something different.
The Planet Beach spray & spa business is based on a monthly membership and members can use the services on an unlimited basis. The services are all automated and, according to Nigel, is one of the best passive investments that is out there.
Planet Beach LA Fitness Locations feature 11 different automated spa services.
"It's about as passive as it gets. With Planet Beach you have a solid business with minimal staff. Since the concept is automated the staff that works there open the doors with a smile and are trained to treat the people extremely well while guiding them to the different services. After the service they offer them a large assortment of additional products. Combine that with the arrangement with LA Fitness and you have a truly successful business."
Planet Beach puts a large focus of their business on developing the technologies that they use. They're also focused on expanding their line of beauty and wellness products and plans to develop a make-up line as well.
What got Nigel excited about this concept was the fact that the passiveness of the business matched his clients perfectly. The ROI was also there which was another big factor for his clients. "With all the other concepts that are allegedly passive, I just don't really see it come with good returns. No one can really set up a business and not get involved. With Planet Beach it's an investment that’s for people who want to invest their money and get a return. Your looking for at a good ROI. If you’re looking for a unique model, a solid business and a steady rate of return (based on the Item 19), Planet Beach is it it."
"The wife had always had a passion for spas, and with the husband's great business sense it was a great fit for our system. She was immediately very excited about it and exhibited a lot of energy," says Nancy Price, Planet Beach's Senior VP of Franchise Recruitment. Nancy not only works with prospective franchisees, but she is a principle of Planet Beach and a franchisee herself and knows the business inside and out.
"The clients really latched on to the LA Fitness aspect. They absolutely loved the aspect that their business would be dropped right in to an existing LA Fitness club with your target market walking by all day every day. You can't beat that with a stand free business."
We asked Nancy what it was like to work with Nigel through this process. "What we really enjoyed about working with Nigel is that the candidates were well educated before they met with us. He has their best interest in mind." She tells us that through every step of the process they both learned from each other on the position of the candidates and what was impacting a decision. This gave the Franchisor insights into what aspects of the business they needed to talk about more, because that was what was important to them.
I asked Nigel about this in particular and he said "Not all franchises are right for everyone. Brokers have more access to the financial information. They are able to provide their clients more in-depth detail before they talk to the concept. The broker has the experience and information to educate, advise, and guide them, and make sure they do their due diligence. It's my job to make sure they have their i’s dotted and t’s crossed. By the time you sign, you know it's a winner."
In franchising and in business it's all about establishing the right connections. These connections will often times be the key ingredient for unprecedented success. That's why establishing meaningful and lasting relationships is a core tenet of the FBA philosophy. This can't be seen any more clearly than in the cases of Planet Beach and Nigel Flower.
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