Throughout my boxing career, I surrounded myself with the best team who helped me become and remain a world champion. The same principle applies to business and franchising. Because I had never owned, operated, and built a franchise concept before Mayweather Boxing + Fitness, I knew that it was imperative for me to partner with the most talented people in the industry to develop a successful franchise.
I’ve spent over five years meticulously recruiting and developing a team with functional expertise in franchising, business development, fitness instruction, group fitness class development, and fitness technology. By forming the best team possible, we were able to create a differentiated franchise model that pairs the marketability of my name and the effectiveness of the workouts I created, with the strategic and operating capabilities of an industry-leading business team. Through this partnership, we have opened our flagship studio that became profitable within just 90 days of opening its doors, and have 30 franchised studios in development just 4 months after announcing our franchise business – with plans for 500+ over the next few years.
Surrounding yourself with experts in areas where you have less experience ensures that you will always be learning, growing and challenging yourself, and – most importantly in this industry – supporting your franchisees with an experienced and knowledgeable team. Some of the focus areas where we support our franchisees include:
- Real estate/site selection and construction management.
- In-person training at Corporate Headquarters and through franchisee site visits; online training through franchise portals, webinars, conference calls.
- Marketing playbooks that outline tactics and road-maps throughout each phase of a studio opening and ongoing operations.
- Templates for ongoing creative assets.
- Lead generation support.
- Education on advertising strategies.
- Daily fitness workouts and programming provided through Smart TVs.
- Mentoring program.
It is equally as important to identify the right people to award your franchises to, and to select those who have what it takes to flourish in your system. Not every franchise is the same, so know what makes your system unique and what it takes to succeed within it. We look for franchisees who have strong business backgrounds, who are passionate about helping others maximize their potential, and who want their business to be a positive part of their community. The partners you bring into your business need to be dedicated, reliable and aligned with the goals and values of your franchise. This is why it’s crucial to encourage potential franchisees to do their diligence on you, and for you to be methodical in awarding franchises.
You need to spend time with franchise candidates to get to know their personalities, their business style, their operating prowess and personal ambitions. It’s easy to award a franchise if all you are looking to do is increase your footprint quickly. The real skill is identifying those operators who share your passion for your business, who you feel confident will put all of their efforts into making it a success, and who you will enjoy sharing the journey with.
In turn, you have to impress the importance of building a strong team on your franchisees, from their management to their day-today operating team, and the people and businesses they choose to partner with.
Having the correct individuals in place promotes terrific culture, a sense of accountability and a synergy within the organization. When customers or members walk through the doors of a franchise in your system, they will feel this. Paired with a great product or service, this is what keeps customers coming back time and time again.
Floyd Mayweather is an entrepreneur & former professional boxer. He retired in 2017 as the single most successful boxer of all time, with an undefeated 50-0 record and a reign as world champion that extends back to 1998. His latest venture, Mayweather Boxing + Fitness — where he serves as Chairman — became profitable within 90 days of opening its flagship gym in Los Angeles and is now bringing on franchise partners to expand the brand across the U.S. and internationally.