It is no secret that we are moving into the next stage of development of (elements group) growth, which involves the acquisition of strategic facilities across the country. This acquisition strategy will quickly expand our footprint of fitness club operations, as well as provide excellent resources for franchise training -  further strengthening the overall operations of the brand. Since our team is headed by former Nike VP Bruce Fabel (CEO of elements), we have been attracting the attention of many serious investors, elements is quickly becoming positioned as one of America’s great franchises.

I was very happy to receive a call today wi from Jeff Hicks, CEO and Partner of the Crispin Porter + Bogusky ad agency. The agency, known as the “factory” is widely regarded as one of the top creative agencies in the world, with such noted key clients as Microsoft, Burger King, BMW. Although this was the first of many possible talks, the idea of having such a major ad agency on our team is certainly exciting. Next week I leave for the west coast to announce our expansion into California, and to begin fielding requests from potential franchisees and stockholders in the Western States.

As the chairman of elements group, I have the privilege of collaborating in many diverse areas of our brand’s growth. Franchise training is one of my most favorite, and one of our most important jobs, as we continue to build a brand described as “the category leader in fitness clubs for women.”

The following is an excerpt from a training exercise I did, which could relate to any business trying to improve its visibility within a market…

Is your club famous yet? Lets talk today about how to really build
buzz locally, and drive more traffic to your elements club organically.

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

We spoke last week about how to build and maximize your Local Yahoo
Listing, and how to add consumer reviews.

This week, I would like 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.

Having your club listed on sites such as Kudzu will increase your
exposure locally. By following our guidance on how to properly setup the
listing, consumers who type keywords such as “Atlanta fitness, local
gym Atlanta, great fitness club, etc…” will be able to quickly locate
your club, and ad.

Both Kudzu and yahoo require a business to have a physical location
prior to being advertised. We recommend building the listings AS SOON AS
you have a signed lease. There are many ways to begin consumer reviews,
building prospect lists, and selling to consumers (BalanceD or Online
store) prior to opening.

There are many advantages to being part of a franchise. In my opinion, the ongoing and in-depth training, on each and every aspect of your business, is one of the most important. An important part of your due diligence, before purchasing into any franchise, would be to really understand the types of support and training that is provided both prior and after you open your doors…. this is the secret that separates the good franchise systems from the truly great ones.

You might find it surprising to know that the original vision for elements was to develop just 10 clubs in 3 cities: New York, Miami, and LA. That was it. The idea was to offer the most complete fitness experience for women, in a hip, stylish environment, and to corner those three important markets. Our launch team was fairly well qualified, and we had many contacts within the industry.

A buzz began to develop about this new women’s brand, a chip off the block of Crunch Fitness. At the time, Crunch was making history with a 83 million dollar valuation, 9x EBIDTA - setting new records within the industry. Since the initial elements team shared some of the original Crunch minds (post-sale), it was only natural that we would begin getting attention

We were approached by several entrepreneurs who were interested in developing elements for women clubs in their local markets. These entrepreneurs identified with elements philosophy of a full-service, upscale club. elements for women was (and still is!) much different than the other “micro-clubs” such as Curves, Countours Express, Shapes, or Slender Lady. Those players were all serving a very entry-level niche, and did not offer a sustainable business model to their franchisees. We saw, 5 years ago, that there would be a significant consolidation with these players (as there has now been) - and that this would open a window for elements for position itself as the leading full-service fitness brand for women.

Fast forward 4 years, and here we are…. over 7 clubs open, 3 in presale, 54 clubs under development, pending acquisitions of company owned clubs in San Francisco, Georgia, and the Northeast. Given the growth, and our objectives to develop 800 elements for women clubs nationally within the next 6-8 years (including 20%, or 160 company owned units) we have invested more than a fair amount of time and dollars into long term development infrastructure.

Our patience has recently paid off with the launch of elements for women in California. This was an exciting announcement, coupled with other press elements has recently received, including a great placement in Valley magazine (“[elements is] a much needed breath of fresh air to the California Fitness Scene”). We also began with our first act of business in the state being a large charitable contribution to The Wellness Community, a Los Angeles based cancer-wellness foundation led by Courtney Cox and David Arquette.

I will be traveling to California next week to help with the launch of the state and meet some of our new franchisees. Look for elements to lauch the state in a big way - with a mix of company owned as well as showcase franchised clubs… more to come!

In my opinion, one of the best announcements a company can make (and one sure sign of growth) is an investment into leadership. elements for women has made several substantial announcements this year, with Nike Global Retail VP Bruce Fabel being named our CEO, some high level additions to our Board of Directors, and this month former Gold’s Gym Executive Courtney Minor joining the elements team. Our expert team brings a wealth of resources with them, from the VP of Nike and Calvin Klein, to operations team members with combined more than 50 years of experience in the fitness industry. From multi-unit operations to individual health club owners, brand art directors and All Star Experts, the elements for women’s team is fast becoming a who’s who of fitness and lifestyle.  Click here to read the full article

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.

Getting Beach Ready

As summer approaches, we prepare for the launch of 5 additional elements? locations, in major cities around the country. We are opening a second and third Atlanta location, and will soon be announcing number 4 in the popular market. Atlanta is a great example of our “cluster based” approach to club development. The Southern States cluster is supported by our Atlanta operations office, and includes clubs in North and South Carolina, as well as Georgia and Northern Florida. This “hub and spoke” approach to development allows elements for women to better support and manage growth, and to provide stronger training for our franchise and company club personnel.

We will soon be announcing the re-launch and expansion of our uptown Charlotte location, as well as new operations HUBs in Chicago, Miami, and California. The Miami HUB will support central and South Florida, and will also include a multinational support staff to launch Latin America growth and the brand continues our wave of international expansions.

victoria-motivates elements living online magazine and media channel is now boasting a reach of nearly 3 million viewers monthly. Our magazine features great content, expert advice from our All Star Advisory Board, daily tips, and inspiration.

We have recently added video as the newest dimension of the elements living experience. The following clip features Olympic Rower Victoria Draper, shot in site in Santa Monica. Do you see what a difference the video adds? I think it tremendously enhances the personality of the media channel.

We use the elements living media channel as a tool to help create awareness for the elements “lifestyle.”

Members and prospective guests for elements clubs, BalanceD Diet clubs, and BalanceD online all receive complimentary subscriptions to elements living magazine, as well as motivational emails sent to their inbox.

The magazine allows the elements brand to remain “front of mind” with our consumers, and also substantially adds to the well-rounded lifestyle experience for our members and guests. Soon, an online store will be added to showcase a select line of hand picked fitness tools, accessories, and top tier weight loss and supplement lines.

elements is the only fitness brand to offer such a complete media “backbone” to support the franchisees and club members, we are truly delivering a complete lifestyle experience.