When you’re creating a brand-new franchise, one of the key components is not only having a solid product offering, but also a product that can truly impact the lives of customers. The positive impact on peoples’ lives is what we focused on when we created RockBox Fitness. Our goal was to create a workout that wouldn’t inspire people for just one class, but keep them coming back for more. We knew we could devise an ever-changing, challenging but fun workout, so the key was to attract the right kind of members who were looking to make RockBox Fitness part of their overall health and wellness plan.
We soon realized many of the members would make ideal franchisees, and because of this, we were able to capitalize on aspects of RockBox which already existed to create a community that encouraged people to get more involved in the studios and programs. Through this community, we have been fortunate to find members who want to help even more people change their lives for the better, and they have made the RockBox family what it is today by becoming RockBox franchisees.
Building your base
We believe that members become our best ambassadors. They know our mission, goals, workouts and the results they bring better than anyone – they live it every time they come to class. Seven of our franchisees were members before starting their own locations, and two were willing to relocate to start their studios. They have grown with us personally through their workouts and now professionally through opening their own studios. We have been able to watch the franchisees grow into the people whom they are today, and it’s incredibly validating to see this level of growth and passion in our partners. Finding dedicated franchisees can be a challenge, but we created key elements in RockBox that gave us the opportunity to find and facilitate them in our own backyard.
Escaping boredom
The No. 1 reason people stop going to fitness classes – boredom.
The classes become repetitive and disengaging. This was the first obstacle we knew we had to tackle. We designed our studios with this first objective top of mind – avoiding monotony; the studios feature all the boxing equipment and heavy bags you would expect for a boxing and kickboxing based workout, plus a complete functional training studio as well. Our studio design set our franchisees up for success and is a crucial component to our concept as a whole. It has helped us retain our members by continuously challenging them, but also entertaining them to ensure they have fun while working toward their fitness goals
Because of our member retention strategies and tactics, our churn rate is very, very low. Because of this, we are able to create a growing and supportive community that encourages people to come back again and again and become ingrained in the RockBox family. Building a community gives people a sense of ownership, which leads to wanting to get more involved. Ultimately, this has led us to finding franchisees in our membership base, and it all starts with having a product that changes lives.
Making it inclusive
One of our keys to finding the right franchisee is looking outside of the fitness world. You don’t need to have franchisees with a fitness background; you just need people who are enthusiastic and believe in what you are doing. We created an inclusive community where people of all fitness levels can achieve their goals and feel comfortable in the studio, and the same rules apply to our franchisees. They come from all backgrounds and various fitness levels. As long as they believe in helping anyone achieve their goals, they will be a perfect fit.
Franchising is a team sport
From the first class, we believe in supporting people where they are in terms of fitness and helping them achieve their highest potential. The same is true for our franchisees. We’ve seen them grow from members to assistant trainers to helping with membership sales. An important aspect of supporting members becoming franchisees is having the right training tools from development to daily support after grand opening.
We pride ourselves on the community we have helped create; it was always important to us to provide an environment that inspired people to lead the lives of which they have always dreamed – that has never been more evident than in our franchisees.
As a growing brand, we realize finding the right franchisees is the key to continued growth. Being able to facilitate internal growth through our members has created a system that we are proud of and have fully embraced.
Prior to becoming a Co-founder of RockBox Fitness, Roger spent 25 years in the branded pharmaceutical business. Holding positions as the Chief Operating Officer of a development and manufacturing organization to serving as the National Sales Director and Senior Vice President of other major pharmaceutical brand companies. His extensive expertise in sales management, leadership, business development, and marketing has been beneficial in establishing the RockBox brand.