I’m Finally Announcing my 7th (and largest) Business Venture

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Let’s get right to it! In this podcast episode, I’m finally announcing the creation of my seventh and largest business venture: opening a FACE FOUNDRIÉ franchise with my business partner Casee Hawkins.

 

Casee and I talked with FACE FOUNDRIÉ founder, Michele Henry, about our journeys to entrepreneurship, the franchising process, and what it’s like for women to go into business. 

 

WHAT IS FACE FOUNDRIÉ?

 

FACE FOUNDRIÉ is a woman-owned, open-concept facial bar that takes facial services out of the spa environment to create an approachable, focused method to skincare services. And now you’re asking: why would I want to do that? I like having a spa day!

 

So. do. I! (I think every woman on the planet loves her a spa day) but, it’s a full day of all of the things when you go to the spa: skin, hair, nails, massage, steam room, sauna … the list goes on and you usually have to wait weeks to get in.  The best thing about FACE FOUNDRIÉ is that you can make same-day appointments or walk-in appointments and you’re coming to us for your face. It makes taking great care of your skin easy and part of your routine, just like your hair and nail appointments! The more I’ve learned about skincare, the more I’m surprised that people don’t take care of their skin like they do their hair and nails. It just makes sense, doesn’t it?

 

FACE FOUNDRIÉ helps women take their skincare to the next level. Adding regular professional treatments like hydrafacials, dermaplaning, cryotherapy, masking, etc. to your established routine is how we’ll help you get your best skin. 

 

HOW DID IT START?

After having her third child, Michele searched for skin care treatments that could support her changing skin, the shift in hormones, age, pregnancies, and life, her skin needed some serious help!

 

With three little ones at home, she didn’t have the flexibility to book a spa day three weeks in advance or fit within the typical narrow business hours. Unimpressed with the amount of time and money she had spent, she was determined to build the bridge to accessible and approachable skincare.

She dreamed of a concept that acclimated to the busy lifestyle trends of current society. A place where you have a unique and catered menu of services and a modernized way of booking same day services. Your face is the first thing that walks into a room and if you aren’t confident in that, it will show. Michele wanted somewhere to help build people up because when you feel and look your best, you do your best. 

 

Michele opened the FACE FOUNDRIÉ in 2019 featuring walk-in service accommodations for lash extensions, facial waxing 20 to 40-minute facials, and an array of custom curated skincare products. She was ready to make accessible and approachable skincare an industry standard. In March 2020, only a year after the doors had opened to the first FACE FOUNDRIÉ location, they were closed for 3 months because of the pandemic. That setback ended up being a blessing that forced Michele and her team to restructure all of their systems and figure out how to expand the company and train new employees from a distance.  Michele knew from the beginning that she wanted to franchise FACE FOUNDRIÉ because she’s all about helping women with the entrepreneurial spark start their own business from an already trusted + established brand.

 

WHY A FRANCHISE?

 

If you’re asking why we don’t just start something again on our own since we are serial entrepreneurs, here’s your answer:

1. Franchising  saves time and resources: we get to take what Michele and her team have built and refined and use the processes they already have in place instead of figuring it out on our own.
2. We have the support of other franchisees and a built-in community of people to bounce ideas off of and talk to about what might work in a similar market to ours.
3. Figuring out business models is fun. It constantly keeps you challenged and thinking about how to hit the next level.
4. The investment makes us want to work harder because we have more skin in the game. 

 

ARE YOU SURE YOU WANT TO GO INTO BUSINESS WITH A FRIEND/ WOMEN?

 

The biggest question I’ve gotten from my circle is “Are you sure you want to go into business with a friend/other women?”

 

At the end of the day, we don’t want this business to affect our friendship in a negative way. And knowing that, Casee and I have had some tough conversations — we’ve been very honest with each other and are respectful of the others’ feelings/opinions.  We’re also doing work on the front end to set this business up so that we each have clear roles and responsibilities and we’re making sure we have a supportive network of people to help us through the challenges.

 

It’s fun to go into business with a partner/friend because you have someone to celebrate the wins with you and someone to lean on in the difficult times. And you can move faster with more power and resources, which is exactly what we want to do! Casee and I have fallen in love with skincare, and we’re excited to take this new leap in our entrepreneurial journeys. We’ve signed on for the entire state of Wisconsin and will begin rolling FACE FOUNDRIÉ locations throughout the state starting fall 2021. Our first location will be in Appleton, WI and we want to know from YOU where we should head next! We have our sights set on Milwaukee, Green Bay and more.  

 

Thank you for supporting us in this journey, this is just the beginning!