Some people dream of being an entrepreneur. Others actually change into one. So what separates these two? “The difference lies in the level of self-discipline and commitment,” says Stephen Smith, former bodybuilder and serial entrepreneur. “That’s what you need.”
Smith has each and needed it. His first franchise was a sunbathing salon called Planet Beach, and he grew as much as a whole bunch of locations – until the company’s foundations modified and couldn’t get well. (More about this below!) But as an alternative of quitting resignation, he directed these lessons to a recent franchise: it is called Hotworx, a rapidly developing Fitness brand, which now has over 730 locations in the USA, Ireland and the Middle East.
Hotworx combines two hot classes: sauna and fitness classes. Users make a choice from 30-minute isometric sessions and 15-minute interval training (HIIT), each conducted in specially designed infrared saunas. It is about promoting cleansing and rapid burns of calories, while building muscles and elasticity.
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Here, Smith talks about returning from crises and the way to best use the great idea.
What happened to your first franchise?
Planet Beach increased to almost 400 locations around 2007, at the peak. Then the financial crisis took place in 2008 and began a decrease in the industry and brand. In 2010, a federal excise tax issued a federal tax. Ten percent of all tanning services in rooms needed to pay for it and still has to. So he put the nail in the casket.
How did you go forward?
This sent me to the dark centuries of my profession as an entrepreneur. Then, in 2014, I began making bikram yoga. I traveled and a friend of the physiologist exercised suggested yoga in a sauna. It was for me the proverbial moment of sunshine
How quickly did you begin working on your idea for Hotworx?
I returned to New Orleans and began working on the project. We spent about 10 months on the prototype market and since then we have not modified the dimensions or the basic project. When you recognize the opportunity as an entrepreneur, you do every thing to get spectacular results.
What is the biggest challenge in Hotworx scaling?
This is leadership at the unit level – finding the right location managers. The last two or three years were difficult to recruit talent. They do not have to be a star gymnast or a former NFL player, but they need a sports mentality, which is hungry to succeed. One of my favorite inquiries to ask candidates to judge the ethics of labor on a scale of 1 to 10. If they do not say, “I am 10 years old”, then not.
What did you discover out that other entrepreneurs who want innovation should know?
You won’t have every thing perfect, but you do not start unless you are feeling your product is starred. Think at the starting, because every thing starts with the product. You have nothing if you do not have a good product.
What do you could succeed in a franchise?
Passion is not enough. You need self -discipline to go out and do. You learn from athletics, what you could win; Many of them come all the way down to this discipline. You can have a great group as a team, but if you possibly can’t be trained to have discipline, you will not achieve success.
What do you think is the biggest challenge for the fitness industry in 2025?
An overzealous expansion, premature IPO and a constant lack of attention paid by franchisors on the profitability of their franchisees. There is a smart, scaled height, unlike just going out and suddenly, at the end of the 12 months you have 100 other franchises – but 50 [of those] People shouldn’t even be franchisees.