In the competitive, quick-moving franchise world, finding the right opportunity is just as important as choosing to make the leap at all. For Mark and Julie Rome, the journey to becoming successful franchisees with Woodhouse Spas began with a simple gift card. Now, it has flourished into a thriving family business as the pair approach their fifth anniversary as Woodhouse franchisees and the fourth birthday of their first spa.
Mark and Julie's path to franchise ownership wasn't planned from the beginning.
“Julie was in the consulting world originally,” Mark said. “She did great there, but after our third kid, she decided to stay home until they got back into school. During this time, we started considering what might be next for our professional lives. During this time frame, my sister also gave us a gift card to a Woodhouse in Denver, and we slowly started looking into it.”
The more they researched, the more they felt the opportunity with Woodhouse was right for them. In addition to their own interest in health and wellness, they both liked the fact that Woodhouse is a very person-first, community-focused business.
“We like that Amazon can’t take it away from us, and it can’t be outsourced overseas,” Mark said.
One key to the Romes' success has been their ability to leverage their different strengths at various stages of business development.
“Mark led us through the initial research and development phase,” Julie said. “All of the organizing, creating the LLC and the legal components of the process — he led. As we moved into the startup and operations phase where we had to start working on the design of the spa and hiring people, we kind of switched roles. Then it was off to the races for me.”
Today, they maintain a division of responsibilities that plays to their strengths.
“I still work alongside the leadership team to oversee day-to-day operations, and Mark still focuses on the contracts and the financial aspects of the business,” Julie said.
According to Mark, assembling the right team was crucial. "Hiring the best leadership team that you can with the budget that you have available was critical to our success,” he said. “Our leadership team is 90% the same as it was five years ago."
While finding the right people is important, Julie pointed out that it really is about the people — not necessarily their previous work experience.
“Neither our general manager nor Mark and I had any spa experience,” she said. “We were just trying to hire the people we thought could be good leaders for other people.”
With the team in place, the work began.
“In order for the business to be successful, we had to invest a lot of time,” Mark said. “Adjusting to that level of dedication outside of the home was difficult at first, but dedicating 18 months of hard work to the spa really gave us the platform to be successful in the coming years.”
The Romes appreciate that their business is embedded in their community.
"It's pretty cool to own a luxury business in our own backyard that friends and family talk about," Mark said. “We've been able to give back to the community whether it's for auctions or other philanthropic events, and we see that impact right away."
With their first location approaching its fourth birthday and plans for a second location underway, the Romes are also thinking about the long-term legacy of their business.
"Ultimately, we're trying to build businesses for our kids to work at and teach them what hard work looks like and what the benefits of that hard work are," Mark said.
While their oldest child is only 15, and the Romes acknowledge that their children may choose different paths, they see their business as a teaching opportunity.
“Our hope is to walk them through the facts,” Mark said. “‘This is what we invested, here’s how much money came in, and here’s who we have to pay.’ We’re big believers in owning your own business versus going to work for somebody else, and exposing our kids to the business firsthand will give them more context should they want to pursue business ownership of their own later on.
To find out more information on costs to buy this franchise, please visit https://1851franchise.com/woodhouse-spas.
Woodhouse Spas
SPONSORED
A simple spa experience sparked an entrepreneurial journey, leading this couple to franchise success and long-term community impact.
In the competitive, quick-moving franchise world, finding the right opportunity is just as important as choosing to make the leap at all. For Mark and Julie Rome, the journey to becoming successful franchisees with Woodhouse Spas began with a simple gift card. Now, it has flourished into a thriving family business as the pair approach their fifth anniversary as Woodhouse franchisees and the fourth birthday of their first spa.
Mark and Julie's path to franchise ownership wasn't planned from the beginning.
“Julie was in the consulting world originally,” Mark said. “She did great there, but after our third kid, she decided to stay home until they got back into school. During this time, we started considering what might be next for our professional lives. During this time frame, my sister also gave us a gift card to a Woodhouse in Denver, and we slowly started looking into it.”
The more they researched, the more they felt the opportunity with Woodhouse was right for them. In addition to their own interest in health and wellness, they both liked the fact that Woodhouse is a very person-first, community-focused business.
“We like that Amazon can’t take it away from us, and it can’t be outsourced overseas,” Mark said.
One key to the Romes' success has been their ability to leverage their different strengths at various stages of business development.
“Mark led us through the initial research and development phase,” Julie said. “All of the organizing, creating the LLC and the legal components of the process — he led. As we moved into the startup and operations phase where we had to start working on the design of the spa and hiring people, we kind of switched roles. Then it was off to the races for me.”
Today, they maintain a division of responsibilities that plays to their strengths.
“I still work alongside the leadership team to oversee day-to-day operations, and Mark still focuses on the contracts and the financial aspects of the business,” Julie said.
According to Mark, assembling the right team was crucial. "Hiring the best leadership team that you can with the budget that you have available was critical to our success,” he said. “Our leadership team is 90% the same as it was five years ago."
While finding the right people is important, Julie pointed out that it really is about the people — not necessarily their previous work experience.
“Neither our general manager nor Mark and I had any spa experience,” she said. “We were just trying to hire the people we thought could be good leaders for other people.”
With the team in place, the work began.
“In order for the business to be successful, we had to invest a lot of time,” Mark said. “Adjusting to that level of dedication outside of the home was difficult at first, but dedicating 18 months of hard work to the spa really gave us the platform to be successful in the coming years.”
The Romes appreciate that their business is embedded in their community.
"It's pretty cool to own a luxury business in our own backyard that friends and family talk about," Mark said. “We've been able to give back to the community whether it's for auctions or other philanthropic events, and we see that impact right away."
With their first location approaching its fourth birthday and plans for a second location underway, the Romes are also thinking about the long-term legacy of their business.
"Ultimately, we're trying to build businesses for our kids to work at and teach them what hard work looks like and what the benefits of that hard work are," Mark said.
While their oldest child is only 15, and the Romes acknowledge that their children may choose different paths, they see their business as a teaching opportunity.
“Our hope is to walk them through the facts,” Mark said. “‘This is what we invested, here’s how much money came in, and here’s who we have to pay.’ We’re big believers in owning your own business versus going to work for somebody else, and exposing our kids to the business firsthand will give them more context should they want to pursue business ownership of their own later on.
To find out more information on costs to buy this franchise, please visit https://1851franchise.com/woodhouse-spas.
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