ARTWHEE l S INTO 2023 WITH S EVERA l lTI -U NIT FRANCHISE Ag REEMENTS

The Little Gym International, the world’s premier enrichment and physical development center for children ages four months through 12 and part of the youth enrichment growthfocused platform Unleashed Brands, recently announced several multi-unit franchise agreements, which will bring new locations in Minnesota, Texas, and Florida. These agreements help extend the brand’s impressive growth trajectory well beyond 2023.

This jump start into the New Year comes hot on the heels of the brand’s significant growth in 2022, as the franchise commemorated one year as part of the youth enrichment, growth-focused platform Unleashed Brands. Showing no signs of slowing down, the company signed 31 new franchise agreements in 2022, topping the total number of agreements signed from 2019 to 2021.

The first deal The Little Gym announced in 2023 was a franchise agreement with longtime customers Jenny and Brandon Conard, who brought their daughters to The Little Gym across the world for years and are now set to open a gym in Maple Grove, Minnesota early next year.

After graduating college, Jenny received her degree in Adaptive Physical Education and went on to teach for over eight years. During this time, she and her husband Brandon had two daughters and juggled numerous moves due to Brandon’s career. However, no matter where they moved, The Little Gym remained a consistent place to take their kids for activity, socialization, and physical development for six straight years, starting at age three. Even a move overseas to Kuwait couldn’t stop them from visiting The Little Gym, since there was an international location near their home there.

Along with the Minnesota deal, the brand announced an additional franchise agreement in the Tampa area, which will bring three new locations over the next three years. Behind the deal are John and Dena Murphy, Tampa Bay locals who also own a successful Christian Brothers Automotive franchise in the area.

The Murphy’s currently run one of the topperforming Christian Brothers Automotive franchises in the United States. Since the Murphy’s acquisition and investment in the store’s employees and culture, annual revenue has increased by over 200% and ranks among the brand’s top 5 stores.

Prior to investing in that business, John spent 25 years working for his family’s manufacturing company, where he managed a 350-employee operation. After the sale of that business in 2019, he and his wife turned to franchising, seeking a business opportunity that was a fit for their lifestyle.

The Murphys are targeting the Westchase area for their first The Little Gym location and have eyes on Odessa and Wesley Chapel for their second and third gyms.

To round out the already impressive growth in the New Year so far, The Little Gym inked a new franchise agreement with entrepreneurs Eric Alstrin and Nicole Stiles to bring two new gym locations to Katy West and Cedar Park, Texas within the next year. The entrepreneurial duo already owns and operates six locations throughout Houston and Austin, which will bring the pair to eight total gyms throughout Texas.

Based in Fort Worth, Alstrin initially met Unleashed Brands’ CEO and Founder Michael Browning Jr. in 2014 at a local church where both of their families attended. After learning more about Browning’s vision with Urban Air Adventure Park and franchising, Alstrin invested in the brand in 2016 and opened two Urban Air parks in Humble and Spring, Texas. Then he hired Nicole Stiles, who was 19 years-old at the time, as an assistant manager. Stiles was quickly promoted to general manager for both parks.

As Unleashed Brands began to further its portfolio with other innovative and profitable youth enrichment brands, Alstrin became interested in diversifying his franchise portfolio with The Little Gym, since he understood the value the brand brought to early child development, having seen the impact firsthand with his own daughters. He teamed up with Stiles to join him as part-owner and by February of 2022, the two opened The Little Gym of The Woodlands and acquired the Katy East gym two months later. Shortly after, they opened gyms in Copperfield, Fairland, and Round Rock.

Since becoming a part of the Unleashed Brands portfolio last year, The Little Gym is experiencing record-breaking systemwide revenue, average revenue per gym, and enrollment numbers across its U.S. locations.

With nearly 400 locations across 31 countries, The Little Gym teaches kids social and physical skills appropriate to each stage of childhood by creating opportunities to experience achievement and build self-confidence. At the core of the international franchise’s mission is becoming the foundation of a child’s development that will set them up for success. Through three-dimensional learning including physical activities, cognitive skills and social and emotional learning, the core teaching methods create opportunities for children to experience achievement and build self-confidence.

Authenticit Y is the k e Y to r ecruiting the r ight owners For Your Fitness Fr A nchise

Are you a fitness franchise that is actively recruiting new owners?

If you are, you are not alone. Fitness and exercise franchises are expanding rapidly in all areas of North America. There are exercise gyms, yoga franchises, rock-climbing franchises, kickboxing franchises, and even franchises that send trainers to members’ homes.

If you are a franchise hoping to expand into this segment by selling to new owners, I would like to share just one word with you, which defines the most important trait you should be looking for in the new owners you bring on board . . .

Authenticity

Perhaps more than in any other kind of franchise, the owners of successful exercise and fitness franchises need to be authentic in a number of ways . . .

• They should share genuine enthusiasm, knowledge, and goals with their target customers. The owner of a yoga franchise, for example, should be a yoga practitioner. The owner of a martial arts franchise should be a martial artist. The owner of a rock-climbing facility should know about that sport and should probably know the most popular rock climbing attractions in the area where the franchise is located. Why? Because people who are genuine enthusiasts in a given area will speak the same language of their target customers and will attract more of them. If your owners are only in it for the money – if they have to “fake it,” their chances of success are reduced.

• They should dress like their target customers. When customers come into franchises, they want to be greeted by owners at the front desk who dress the way they do. Granted, your owners can compensate for this somewhat by hiring the right front-desk personnel and trainers. But in my view, the people who own and represent exercise and fitness franchises should “fit” with the members of their target audiences.

how can you recruit the right authentic owners?

• Advertise in the places your target franchise owners go. Your outreach and advertising should be in publications evan Hackel President of the New England Franchise Association, is a 35-year franchising veteran as both a franchisor and a franchisee. Evan is an Entrepreneur, Author, Speaker, and Podcaster. Evan is the CEO of Ingage Consulting and an advisor to Tortal Training. Evan is also host of the highly successful Training Unleashed podcasts and author of the book Ingaging Leadership Meets the Younger Generation. For more information, visit https://www.evanspeaksfranchising.com and follow him on linkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/evanhackel/ even your franchise name. Getting bona fide enthusiasts take part in focus groups that shape your brand can save you time and result in a brand that “speaks” to both potential franchise owners and their future customers. they read, at the equipment and trade shows they attend, and in the other places they go. Having a booth in place at a body building competition, for example, can put your franchise right in front of your target owners if you have a franchise of gyms that cater to that group of enthusiasts.

• Consider the financial profiles of your possible owners. Young skiers, martial artists, and rock climbers might not have the financial resources they need to purchase your franchise. So speak with your business-oriented executives in headquarters to devise ownership plans and financial options that will help them afford the cost of ownership.

• Offer great training to potential owners and let them take the training before they buy. Because they will want to feel confident that they will have the business knowledge to succeed, offering them excellent training on operating the business side of your franchise will go a long way toward bringing them on board.

• Have current enthusiasts and potential members help you define your brand and

• Hire the right salespeople. Here again the rule is to hire people who share the enthusiasms and energies of your target owners. When your salespeople are rock climbers, for example, they will be far better able to sell to rock climbers than will salespeople who know nothing about the sport.

Again, authenticity is the rule at every step as you bring in the right owners and watch your franchise expand and prosper. Fitness and exercise franchises are expanding quickly and with the right kind of knowledge and preparation, you can be part of the boom.