Over the past two weeks, elements has received three formal proposals from major landlords offering free rent, and up to $60 per sq ft in “key” money to locate our clubs in their plaza. Doing some quick math, if you take a (typical) 6,000 square foot space, that means the landlord will contribute over $360,000 to cover the cost of buildout, allowing a franchisee to virtually just move in. As if this wasn’t strong enough, we are seeing these offers coupled with generous free and reduced rent periods to ensure that a club has a good jump-start. Only the best landlords can (or will) afford to do this strategy, but since our clubs are located in top centers, it has put many potential elements franchisees in a unique, and very lucky situation.

Many first-time business owners do not know that, in commercial real estate, it is normal for a professional landlord to pay “TI” (tenant improvement) money as an incentive to attract popular national tenants to their center. The more favored a brand is, the more “TI” money the landlords are willing to pay to attract that brand to their center.

This makes good sense for landlords, the best “anchor” tenants quickly define the image of the Plaza, and the ultimate long-term success. Many landlords do not want to re-invent the wheel here, so they will follow the lead of other successful landlords and plazas nationally. Owners of great brands can offset a larger portion of their initial startup and construction expenses through a landlord contribution. elements has been very popular with landlords since the beginning. Our clubs have great curb appeal for a plaza, and attract one of the top buying demographics (upper income women, age 30-65) to the plazas on a repeat basis. As a result, elements and our startup team has always had excellent results with landlord negotiations. (we help to negotiate all leases on behalf of our franchisees)

I have said many times that we believe this is one of the best times in history to open a business in the US. Economic trends have converged to make this an excellent time to negotiate a lease, as landlords are sweetening their deals to attract key tenants to sign leases. We are seeing “TI” amounts double what they were last year, and long free rent periods, typically one year or more. Wow… what an exciting thought for any business owner -being provided a “turn-key” space, and a full year of no rent expense.

I heard one time that the definition of luck is luck is when preparedness meets opportunity. Successful entrepreneurs will think themselves very luck to be able to launch their businesses this year.

Although much of the retail news these days is filled with doom and gloom scenarios, there is at least one industry which is gearing for a real surge in business …. lucky for us, it is the fitness industry

Fitness, weight loss and wellness see a real spike in sales for a 70 day period, beginning in early January. Savvy fitness retailers, such as elements for women, are learning how to extend this season earlier, with cleverly designed Holiday promotions, encouraging sales, membership reservations, and spikes in referral traffic in conjunction with the Holiday shopping season. I would love to be able to tell you exactly what strategy we are employing (however that is a secret reserved for our franchisees at this moment)!

We began the launch and integration of this pre-New Years/Holiday campaign work with our franchisees and partners in Atlanta this week, where we ran into a surprise guest, at the club….

Is your business famous yet?  It is important to understand how to really build buzz locally, and drive more traffic to your business organically.

We are all well aware of the importance of the web in consumer’s buying patterns. Consumers use the web to research, explore, and 78% make buying decisions prior to ever visiting your club (or business).

Web 2.0 is a term given to the new, interactive nature of the web, focusing on Social Networking, blogging, and consumer reviews.

Not only is it important for your business to have a great, clear website, but it is equally important to compliment a website with local business presence, and consumer reviews.

The more (positive) consumer feedback you have on your business, the more credible the business becomes, and the more confident a consumer will be in making a decision to join on her first visit.

A great way to quickly enhance the visibility of your business is to “partner” with top consumer review websites.  I recommend to our franchisees to to focus on one of the internet’s top Consumer Review websites, www.kudzu.com.   Kudzu, names after the voraciously fast-spreading vines the grow in the south, is a great way to describe the effects of consumer reviews.

elements fitness has recently announced the expansion of our clubs in the Charlotte market, and the addition of BalanceD Diet to the city. We are in-process of some great upgrades to our club at 129 W Trade Street, and our corporate team has been making frequent visits to the city

On a recent visit to Charlotte, we began to discuss ways that we could have more of an impact of wellness overall in the city. After several weeks of planning, we made a formal announcement to launch “Club FIT” - a citywide wellness initiative, with partnerships from major Charlotte area media and businesses.

Club FIT would be a way for elements for women to become more involved in the local community, and with its free programs would encourage residents to participate in healthy lifestyle programming. One our first planned programs for Charlotte is a downtown waling club, which offers a great fitness option at lunch. The one hour walk begins with a stretch in a park, then a “fitness” walk led by our highly qualified trainers.  Participants will be offered toning exercises and tips during the 30 minute walk.  We are already three weeks into the program, and the  response  has been excellent.

Plans to expand the program later in the year include healthy dining options at local restaurants, and involvement with the 5K run and regional fitness events.