With Passion and Perseverance, Michele Henry made FACE FOUNDRIÉ a Leader in the Beauty Franchise Space
FACE FOUNDRIÉ Founder Michele Henry got her start in business at just 13, working for her parents’ inground pool company. Before the age of 20, she was managing construction crews. That initiative and work ethic were early indicators of the franchising success Henry would ultimately attain. “I knew I never wanted to do anything other than be an entrepreneur. I’m so grateful that I had that exposure,” she says from her Minneapolis-based FACE FOUNDRIÉ headquarters.
In college, Henry studied apparel design, merchandising and business, and applied those skills after graduation by opening a small business and designing clothing for boutiques across the U.S. By 2010, she was ready for her next venture, or so she thought. The only problem was that the U.S. was struggling to emerge from the Great Recession. “It was a challenging time and obviously, everybody felt it. Getting a business loan was unheard of, especially at 24 years of age,” she says.
But Henry was determined. She recalls riding her bicycle from her home in Minneapolis to the St. Paul buildout because she didn’t have money for gas. Every penny was going toward building PRIMP, her “cheap, chic boutique,” which she launched and operated debt-free, ultimately expanding to nine locations in the Midwest with more than $25 million in sales by the time she sold her shares in 2018.
“The whole time I just loved making women feel beautiful,” she says. “So, that’s really how it translated into starting FACE FOUNDRIÉ.”
Trusting Her Gut
Achieving franchising success would not be easy, however. “The scariest moment of my life was when I signed over my purchase agreement to sell my shares of PRIMP. I was a single mom at the time, and I was just going to pull the trigger and start something new!” Henry recalls. “The common conversation at the time among friends and family was, ‘Don’t do it!’ You’ve got a family to support. You already know what you’re doing with this retail concept.’ But I knew I had to take that leap. Otherwise, I would regret it forever. So, trusting your intuition is something that is so cliche, but I do think it’s really important.”
Henry knew she wanted to franchise from the outset. She had been approached repeatedly about franchising her women’s apparel concept, but she didn’t think it would be feasible. “But I knew the second I sold PRIMP that whatever I did next, I wanted to franchise because I love this idea of bringing in like-minded, passionate people who have that entrepreneurial spark and really want to have a blueprint, a foundation and a proven model for a successful business, and who want to be the face of the business, especially in their communities.”
Challenges Spark Innovation
The idea to focus on facial services resulted from Henry’s difficulty in accessing professional skin care while experiencing breakouts after the birth of the third of her four children. The price point and time required for a facial were daunting, she says. “And that really sparked my idea: If I’m struggling with this, there has to be a better way where there’s more accessibility and that same-day service. I wanted to take the aspects I loved about getting a facial and make it more approachable.”
FACE FOUNDRIÉ opened in 2019 as an all-inclusive, focused facial bar offering cutting-edge services provided by extensively trained estheticians at accessible prices. Services for “all things face” include facials, lashes, brows and skin care, as well as curated skin care products.
After a year in operation to gain data for its franchise disclosure document (FDD), FACE FOUNDRIÉ was ready to roll out franchising. Two weeks later, COVID-19 restrictions forced the business to close. As difficult as this was, Henry says the closure was a “blessing in disguise” that allowed her team to fine tune their systems and online training platform and tools.
Franchising Success
Franchising since 2021, FACE FOUNDRIÉ has achieved numerous milestones in revenue and expansion. The brand now has opened facial bars in 55 locations nationwide with more than 70 additional units sold so far. FACE FOUNDRIÉ‘s goal is to have 150 units open by the end of 2027. Under Henry’s leadership, the brand focuses on franchisee profitability by offering extensive training and support, lower startup costs resulting from buildout flexibility, greater profit margins with proprietary products manufactured in Minneapolis, and recurring revenue through its membership model.
The brand seeks franchise partners who are owner-operators involved in their facial bars and communities. Multi-unit developers are ideal.
“I love going to their grand openings where our franchisees are like local celebrities. That just fills my heart,” Henry says. “It is so rewarding to see that an idea I had then can be executed on a larger scale. And I think empowering someone to chase their dreams is the best feeling in the world. Making sure that other people gain success from this concept is so important, and they’re ultimately changing their families’ lives, too. It’s really cool to experience that pride in ownership because it’s not just my concept. It’s theirs too.”
Visit the FACE FOUNDRIÉ website for more information about franchising opportunities.
