elements for women is fast becoming recognized for the curb appeal in our clubs - we enjoy the prestige of being the only upscale fitness brand for women, a very unique market position which is not lost for a minute on me. One of the reasons for our intensive training programs and methodical staff development is to keep the experience inside the clubs consistent with their upscale appearance.

I very much enjoy reading feedback from new members and prospective franchisees who tour through our clubs - it is nice to know that we are creating winning experiences, and setting a new standard. elements uniquely features an internal club design team, ensuring that each club represents the brand well, and is also value-engineered to ensure that our clubs open on budget.

We were very excited this week to announce two new Regional Developers to the elements for women franchise system. We began the national growth of our Miami-based upscale fitness brand about three years ago, and now have over 70 locations worldwide under development. One of the most rewarding and exciting aspects is to see franchisees succeed, and expand into larger roles, such as becoming a Regional Developer. We have had two such cases - a good testament to the strength and skill of our club owners. elements is becoming the category leader in fitness clubs for women, through no small part the hard work of our team members, management team, and franchisees across the country.

The article at left tells about one of our elements club owners who is using her business as a vehicle to give back to a charitable mission. This is a great foundation for a business, and an excellent way to build community - Brenda Perkins has done both.

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!

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.

We were happy yesterday to celebrate a milestone… the one year anniversary of elements living magazine and media channel.   elements is the only fitness brand to offer such an in-depth portal, which is a cornerstone to our “balanced, healthy lifestyle” philosophy.  We encourage all members to live a great, balanced life - the magazine allows us to deliver great content, and also be a credible source for a host of lifestyle content - food, wines, travel, parenting, fitness, gifts, stress, and more!

We have grown the pilot program to include a full time creative staff, and 3 very popular syndicated articles (Ask Dr Fab,  Q&A with the Nutrtion Twins, and “elements of a healthy lovelife,” our relationship column).

The syndication of our Fitness personalities has really helped to spread the reach and optimization of elements… the magazine is currently distributed to over 3 million readers, with a goal to double that figure by year’s end.

elements living magazine is provided free of charge, and is a great way for consumers to get in contact with the elements brand. Its a great follow up gift for a prospect who has recently toured a club, and a nice way for franchisees to expand the reach and depth of their offerings locally. I am very pleased with the progress of this aspect of the elements brand….  more experts, a video channel, and a few very big surprises are planned - so stay tuned!

elements living magazine Announces release of newest Summertime edition
NEW YORK< NY - (July 1, 2008) - Celebrate life with the newest edition of elements living! In this issue, you will discover new ways to improve your body, mind and appearance with advice from Miss Florida Jenna Edwards and America’s Diet Doctor, Dr. Melina Jampolis. Learn about our newest weight loss success story and motivate yourself to even greater heights with pro rower, Victoria Draper. And of course, Dr. Fab, the Nutrition Twins and elements sexpert Letty Livingston are all on hand to answer your health and relationship questions. What are you waiting for? Start celebrating today! [VISIT]

Going green is the buzzword these days… rising fuel costs has made it not only politically correct, but often necessary to consider environmental and efficiency issues in our everyday lives.

Going green comes from our inherit desire to do good… recycling, conserving, and helping others ultimately make us feel better about ourselves. The most successful, or more established we become in our own lives, the stronger the desire is to give back, and do good for the community. It is not surprising to me how many executives are drawn to elements because of the desire to franchise or own a business which can do good for others. The fitness and wellness industries are very lucrative, due to their explosive double-digit growth and re-occurring membership revenue model, but I still maintain that the true success stories in our industry are those owners who truly enjoy what they do, and who are proud to own a business which does so much good for the community.

elements was featured on ABC news today, for our technologically advanced Smartcard Workouts… click here to watch the video

Turn on any radio or television, read any newspaper, and the stories all have a similar tone… steep price jumps in groceries and gasoline, two important staples and a powerful indicator of economic performance.

One of the primary functions of a strategist is to forecast economic trends, well prior to them happening, and set the company course accordingly. As far as I know, elements is the only non-publicly traded lifestyle or fitness company to have a strategist as a part of the brand team. This foresight allows us to outperform many competitors on both a club and corporate level. The corporate performance is especially important for our franchisees and stockholders, as a powerful “mother ship” helps to ensure the success of all local clubs, programs and franchisees.

We had predicted the economic softening many months ahead of its arrival, and has also predicted that in the diet and fitness sectors, consumer purchases under $300 would hold fairly streadily, and consumer purchases under $100 would actually increase. This is attributed to several factors including the high perceived value from a fitness membership, especially at a premium club such as elements. It is also attributed to Americans canceling larger leisure purchases, such as golf outings and trips, in favor of smaller ticket, value driven purchases, such as fitness club memberships and weight loss programs. Even though elements is perceived as an upscale brand by consumers, it is not considered a frivolous or luxury purchase (such as a $700 pair of Gucci shoes), rather a necessity to maintain a healthy lifestyle.

We have taken several steps ahead of time to rally during this economic downtown, including focusing more of our corporate resources on developing and acquiring company owned stores and fitness clubs. This type of economy makes a great acquisition scenario for experienced operations team such as ours, and allows the company to derive more revenue from consumer-driven purchases, such as our BalanceD online diet and local club operations. This diversity in income makes elements significant more recession-resistant than our competitors, many of which have announced significant closings and cutbacks, while we continue to scale in the other direction. I do also attribute this to our prudent strategies on acquisitions and contracts, and my personal belief that each deal must stand on its own, and make sense on its own merits.

For well educated entrepreneurs, an economic downturn is absolutely the best time to start a business. Many long term agreements, such as real estate leases can be well-negotiated, sites are easier to come by, and contractors are more eager for the job, making prices more flexible. It takes 5-10 months to get a club open, start to finish, so the new location will be very well positioned upon opening, and will have a very solid financial foundation. We will be announcing several expansion deals this month including Nashville area clubs, Columbus Ohio regional development, and several very upmarket cities in the Northeast. Although the areas are diverse, each of the groups shares one common component, a well educated entrepreneur at the help.

I am heading to Charlotte, North Carolina this week, as we prepare to announce the expansion of our uptown Charlotte location, and the development of a company owned BalanceD Diet store, in uptown’s banking district.

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.