In the first episode of Improving Your Float Center from Home: the Bathrobe Chronicles, Ashkahn and Graham covered the special deal that they’re running at Float On during their closure.
Watch the full episode below:
For the deal, they’re offering 25% off floats, and for every float sold they’re donating a float to medical workers when Float On re-opens. They’ve open sourced the campaign, and you can download images (including an editable Photoshop file), the template email they sent to their mailing list, and their full launch plan.
Enter your email to get the materials:
We hope that these are useful for you, either in launching your own campaigns or just getting your creative juices flowing. You’re free to use or change any of these materials (although it would be great if you credit the artist, Kathryn Sullivan, for the image).
Be well, and stay safe out there!
Graham and Ashkahn
Announcing: The 2017 Float Tank Industry Report
In 2014 we started gathering answers to a survey that would eventually become the very first State of the Float Industry Report. We've released one every year since, and this year we (once again) have the most contributions that we've ever had. In total, 193 existing...
Working with a Landlord
If you’re planning on opening up a float center, it’s likely that you’ll end up renting and, therefore, working closely with a landlord. Like any business relationship, it takes communication, discernment, and openness to make a renter-landlord relationship feel truly comfortable.
Everyone involved is taking a risk and the reality is that, when it comes to floating, it’s probably more risk than your average small business – craft shop, bar, hair salon, law office, what-have-you.
This piece also includes a free download – a compilation of support letters from float center landlords!
Employees vs. Independent Contractors. Which is better when offering additional services?
Part of what makes all of this so confusing is there isn’t a one-size-fits-all set of actions that differentiates a standard employee from an independent contractor. Your State regulators, the federal Department of Labor, and the IRS all have their own criteria for what constitutes an “independent contractor”. Here, we’ll just be using the IRS definitions as a sort of jumping off point to the issue. If the status of employees is ever challenged, the IRS determines the status on a case-by-case basis over several criteria by a panel of judges, very similar to American Idol.
Basically it comes down to who is in control of the work. How much control does the company have over the type of job being done vs. how much control does the person providing the service. This manifests in different ways, but to fit the definition of an independent contractor, a service provider really does have to be independent. Beyond just using this guide, you should always consult an HR lawyer if you feel like there’s any confusion or ambiguity.
Basically, the rules fall into three main categories…
I’ll Give you a Float Tuesday for a Massage Today: Floating & Bartering
Whoever said that you can’t get something for Nothing obviously never ran a float center. At Float On, we’ve used bartering as a creative means to meet a wide range of goals and needs. Even as I’m writing this, I’m sipping on coffee that we traded from a shop across...
Financing Your Float Center with Investors
In addition to an increase in bank loans, more and more float centers have been using investors in recent years to finance their operations. Every center’s earning potential varies greatly — but a well-run center with no surprise buildout costs (or re-buildout costs) can do very well for itself.
As a result, people with means (or general interest) are increasingly likely to consider having a financial stake in the float industry without the glorious headache of actually running a shop.
Float Conference Interview
In the midst of all of our blog writing and party planning, I sat down with Ashkahn Jahromi, cofounder of The Float Conference, Float On, and Float Tank Solutions with a few questions about the upcoming Float Conference aka #FloatCon for you social media savvy kids in Twitterland.
Take Part in the 2017 Float Industry Report
We’re gathering responses for our 2017 Industry Report through the end of June, and we once again need your help.
Please take a brief moment to answer a few questions about your float center (or future float center) – it may be easiest thing you can do to contribute to the growth of floatation around the world.
The Basics of Float Tank Sanitation
Some of the most common questions you’ll get as a float center operator involve the cleanliness of the tanks. This post will be an introduction to some of the most commonplace sanitation methods used in float tanks. These are generally either chemicals that go in the water or devices that attach to your filtration system. We’ll be discussing chlorine, bromine, ozone, UV, and hydrogen peroxide, which accounts for the sanitation methods used on nearly every float tank on the market.
Testing and Maintaining Float Tank Water Quality
Editors Note: This is a revision of a past blog post, updated to reflect the most current sanitation methods and standards
In a perfect world, you could just pour water and salt into a float tank and it would stay pure and clean and fresh and salty forever. In the real world, conditions in the water are constantly changing, so keeping your water safe and clean takes a fair amount of vigilance.
This post covers how we maintain basic water quality in the float tank, except for sanitization methods, which will be covered in their own beastly sanitation blog post. Stay tuned for that coming out next week!
Floating, mental health, and wellness
This post will explore the intersection of floating with the concepts, beliefs, and experiences related to mental health and wellness, with a focus on anxiety and depression. I’ll explore my own story as it relates to floating before diving into the current intersections of floating and mental health, with a look at past, current, and potential opportunities for research and personal growth.
