Episode #373: John, Klein, CEO and Co-founder, Pause Studio

HALO Talks: Elevating Wellness

When John Klein, a HALO sector veteran with 20+ years of experience, launches a unique workout recovery franchise, he finds himself confronting the challenges of balancing "art and science" to ensure success while bringing a luxurious, experiential offering to market in highly competitive geographic areas. John's held positions at Town Sports International and Equinox, and is currently the Co-Founder of Pause Studio, a health and wellness franchise with six different service modalities and a team of experienced professionals. Three unites are currently open in Los Angeles with two more coming.

This episode of HALO Talks talks a lot about franchise business strategies, real estate selection, and bringing a high-end concept into competitive markets. John, a 17+ year friend of host Pete Moore, discusses his experience in the health club space and the critical importance of real estate when it comes to franchise businesses. John and his team developed a playbook for selecting the best trade area and real estate for franchisees. He provides insight into the process of creating Pause, a franchise model that offers six different service modalities and various retail products. John and his team have almost 50 years of management experience in health, wellness, and brick and mortar studios, and they have created an experiential offering that provides value and a fair price.

Regarding locations, he states, "There's the 50% art, and 50% science. Sometimes it's 70/30 or 30/70. But there is the art and the science, and there's the empirical data (which are the demographics and the psychographics), but then there's the anecdotal data, traffic patterns, future development, pent up growth in a market with future units or offices being built, , and psychological barriers. So you've got to do your due diligence. The empirical data . . . the demographic research, is kind of the divining ride to get you into a certain trade area, but then you really have to speak to the local residents and potentially do market surveys to really hone in and make sure you're making a smart real estate selection."

In this episode, Pete and John discuss:

1. The playbook John created to help franchisees get the right location and maximize success.

2. How John's years of experience and unique "special sauce" has enabled him to launch a successful franchise model and raise almost 3 million in just 4 months.

3. Uncover the nuances of John's real estate selection process and learn how to optimize a location's success through data, empirical research and anecdotal information. Other episodes you'll enjoy:

• Chuck Runyon-Anytime Fitness: https://www.halotalks.com/chuck-runyon-from-anytime-fitness/
• Keith Worts-Crunch Fitness: https://www.halotalks.com/keith-worts/
• Brian Clay-Eat the Frog Fitness: https://www.halotalks.com/episode-358-bryan-clay-eat-the-frog-fitness-founder/

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Click here to download transcript.