A med spa came to us wanting to franchise.
The assessment said not yet because the business wasn't ready to be replicated.
The business had been operating for two years and sales were growing, but the owner wasn't taking home nearly as much as they should have been. They knew something needed to change, but they didn't know what.
Once we looked under the hood, it became clear what needed to change: the menu, the pricing, and the pay.
The menu
The menu was trying to be everything to everyone. It was long, confusing, and most treatment names only made sense if you'd already had them. New clients couldn't confidently decide what to book because there was no clear starting point.
That meant every booking depended on a strong salesperson. It also made marketing harder because there was no obvious service to build a campaign around.
We rebuilt the menu around a clear point of entry. Marketing had a clear offer to lead with, and new clients knew exactly where to start. Treatments were reorganized so upgrades and add-ons felt like a natural next step.
The pricing
The business relied heavily on discounting because the owner believed lower prices were the best way to attract new clients.
The problem is discounts don't build loyalty. They attract customers looking for the lowest price, not the best outcome. Those customers are less likely to return, more likely to complain, and quick to leave when someone else offers a better deal.
At the same time, every discount chipped away at the margin needed to build a healthy business.
We rebuilt the pricing around value instead of price. Services were repriced to reflect the results they delivered, and promotions became strategic instead of constant.
The pay
Even with a better menu and stronger pricing, the business model still didn't work.
Staff were earning a 40–60% commission split. That worked while the owner generated most of the demand, but it wasn't a model a franchisee could afford to operate.
There was a second problem. Paying people more doesn't automatically create better employees. More often, it creates entitlement. The goal isn't to pay people the most. It's to reward the behaviours that grow the business.
We redesigned compensation around an hourly wage with performance incentives. Staff still had meaningful earning potential, but it was tied to clear expectations and measurable results.