Michael Parrella opened his first martial arts studio in 1991. He used his years of industry experience to start iLoveKickboxing.com in 2009, and he began franchising three years later. ILoveKickboxing now has franchises in the United States, Canada and Peru and last year ranked in the Franchise 500.
Not long ago, when we thought of franchising, we thought of fast food, retail and home services. But today, more entrepreneurs are recognising the benefits of franchising for expanding their businesses – even in categories which previously didn’t seem likely contenders for franchising.
We look at some new niche franchises and ask why they decided on franchising as a growth model.
Back in Motion Health Group
Jason Smith is no ordinary franchisor. He started his journey in what he calls “franchising the unfranchise-able” as a physiotherapist treating people in the carport of his home. Today, Back in Motion has grown into a the largest Australian-owned provider of physiotherapy and related services with more than 60 locations and 40 franchises. Last year, the group expanded into New Zealand.
Smith's personal philosophy of healthcare is preventative, not simply reactive. “Traditionally, physiotherapists just fixed people when they were broken,” he says.
For franchisees, the Back in Motion business model provides both clinical and business benefits, including average practice revenue three times that of the physiotherapy industry average, according to Smith. “But it is what lies at the heart of our franchise model that sets us apart,” he says.
Back in Motion's “heart” includes a vision to positively impact the communities they serve, a
progressive clinical philosophy the redefines health for the client, a team of like-minded professionals with an inclusive culture, leading industry support in all aspects of the business, and
staff empowerment and professional development.
1-800-GOT-JUNK
Brian Scudmore is another unlikely franchise success story. But after the highschool dropout saw a dirty old truck advertising a trash hauling service while going through a McDonald's drive through, he thought to himself, “I can do better than that.”
And the idea for 1-800-GOT-JUNK, today a $300 million franchise operating in the USA, Canada and Australia, was born.
“I took a piece of paper and wrote what the business would look like in the future,” says Scudmore. “It said we'd be on ‘The Oprah Winfrey Show.’ It said we'd have clean, shiny trucks and we'd have friendly uniformed drivers. It said the company would be franchised in the top 30 metros in North America.”
Just four years later, all of those things came true.
iLoveKickboxing
I never thought of kickboxing as a way of keeping fit until my teenage sons got into it and insisted I take them to the gym four times a week. They would come out of each session literally drenched in sweat. I had never seen such commitment from them.
“It’s because it’s not boring like going to a normal gym,” they told me.
It’s also because there has been a resurgence of non-traditional fitness alternatives such as cross-fit, pole dancing, hula hooping and aerial yoga. The martial arts are also popular but have morphed into MMA (mixed martial arts) and kickboxing.
As with so many innovative businesses, the idea behind iLoveKickboxing came from a problem. Parrella’s problem as a gym owner was “What’s wrong with most workouts and how can we fix it?” What he discovered shocked him – the reason most people stop working out is boredom. “Boredom caused by lame exercises and routines that get old and stale,” he says.
So he got to work creating a workout that was never boring – always fun, engaging and challenging. And a business model and culture to match.
The challenge in any franchise is to sustain the business’s original culture, but it appears Parrella has more than met that challenge by investing in careful recruitment and training, as well as developing systems that enable franchisees to be more involved with their clients and employees.
Pform.nz
Tracey Stretton was a highschool drama teacher when she decided to turn her love of the performing arts and her commitment to developing self-expression and confidence in young people into a business. The result is Pform.nz, a performance school that’s been successfully providing performing arts, drama, musical theatre and dance classes to kids, teens and adults since 1992.
Having established 30 venues across Auckland, Tracey and her husband Michael have recognised franchising as the ideal way to expand without losing the amazing vibrant culture they have developed in their business.
“For Michael and I, Pform.nz isn’t just a business – it’s a passion,” says Tracey. “Due to the growth and demand for our unique performance-based classes, we’re looking for people who share their same vision, passion and enthusiasm, and have the attributes and nature to work within Pform.nz’s systems. Our vision is to become the ‘it’ brand performance-based business, helping young Kiwis to develop the creativity, confidence and character they need to succeed in the performing arts – and their lives.”
By “young Kiwis”, Tracey means Pform.nz franchisees as well as tutors and students. Victor Kiam famously said of his purchase of Remington, “I loved the razor so much I bought the company.” Pform.nz’s first franchisee was a Pform.nz tutor who, to paraphrase Kiam, “loved the business model so much she bought the franchise.”
Successful franchises often start this way – by offering passionate employees the opportunity to get “some skin in the game”. The Pform.nz franchise opportunity will also give those interested and/or involved in the performing arts the unique opportunity to earn an excellent income doing what they love.
Duo Photography
Commercial photography is dead, isn’t it? Made obsolete by smart phones with the ability to take professional quality photographs and videos?
If that’s true, somebody forgot to tell New Zealand-based Duo Photography. Because their unique Mobile Studio business model demonstrates that it takes more than point-and-click to capture those “magic moments” in people’s lives and create memories that clients will treasure forever.
Like iLoveKickboxing and Pform.net, the Duo Photography franchise represents an opportunity for those with a certain passion to take it to the next level and receive all the training, systems, support and training they need to turn their interest into their profession.
“Like many franchises, we take the hard work out of establishing your own business,” says Duo Photography founder Adrian de la Fuente. “We give you a minimum guaranteed income to start with and make all your photoshoot bookings for you.”
Kitset Assembly Services
Having been started in the DIY stronghold of New Zealand by an 18-year-old student, it's difficult to believe that Kitset Assembly Services has become the global phenomenon its PR machine says it is. But as someone who struggles to assemble cornflakes, sugar and milk for breakfast, I'm perfectly willing to believe that young Jorgen Ellis was quite justified in dropping out of university to start a business that meets a clear need for those who love a bargain but have two left thumbs like me.
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I’m Robin La Pere. I call my business “No Ordinary Businesses and Franchises” because ordinary businesses just can’t cut it in the modern world.
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The healthcare franchise sector is booming
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The home services sector is one of franchising’s biggest sectors
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