With the first industry run Float Conference right around the corner, we wanted to take a minute to talk about what we’re excited about at Float Tank Solutions and HelmBot, since we’re all gonna be there.
This year is especially exciting for us, since no one on our team is running the Conference this year, so we finally get to participate in the Conference just like the rest of the industry.
Graham:
I’m excited to, once again, not have to explain what float tanks are to anyone around me. I’m excited to see what the Conference is like in a new city, and I’m excited to see all the Denver centers in style from the beer bus tour. Mainly, though, I’m excited to dole out hugs, to listen to crazy and inspiring stories, and to share another floaty reunion with everyone!
Ashkahn:
I’m excited for the hugs, clinking jugs, seeing everyone’s beautiful mugs, hearing how float tanks are better than drugs, learning how to kill those infectious bugs, and feeling my heartstrings get those tugs.
Also, I’m excited to get to just sit in the audience and watch the talks. Is that what you guys have been doing this whole time?
Kathryn:
It’s all about the people for me. Obviously, our whole crew is a blast to be around: some of my closest friends are also my co-workers, I haven’t seen Jocelyn (the high priestess of the Conference) in a while, and we’ve got a new team member on HelmBot who’s coming out that I’m super excited to see. Outside of the Float On party, Flux (who gave a fantastic talk at last year’s conference) didn’t make it out to Rise, so I’m hoping to run into him. Feinstein’s always great to see. The STL folks, the Float Harder friends, maybe I’ll get lucky and see the chef-turned-float-soap-making guy from RAW Goods (if you see him, ask him for pictures of cake sculptures). There are a few people who have cool art projects in and outside of floating that I’m jazzed to check in on. Oh gosh… there are just too many names. I’m so pumped to see all of you!
Derek:
Denver is one of the few cities I’ve been to more than once and that’s because it’s one of my favorite cities! I’m excited to experience the Float Conference in a new city, but also a city I’m familiar with that ISN’T Portland. I’m flying into town on Thursday and you’ll be sure to find me at the Euclid Hall for some Pad Thai Pig Ears, so let’s chat about marketing… but I digress. The thing I’m looking forward to the most is actually being able to attend all of the wonderful Friday Activities that my schedule will allow. I’ve worked the entire weekend during every #FloatCon and I’ve consistently found myself on the outside, looking in, at all the fun people are having on Friday. It’s truly one of the most unique things you’ll find at ANY conference you’ll ever attend.
Bryan:
I can’t wait to hear all the crafty ideas we as an industry have come up with to tackle the glass ceilings we invariably encounter. Certainly there is a lot of room for growth in this business, and the more we put our heads together, collaborate with and support each other, the faster we seem to break through them. The Float Conference is always inspiring for me in that way. I know that leaving Denver, I will have reinvigorated my passion for this industry, and for floating as a public service that has the potential to change the world.
The weekend, in my experience, is always a bit of a whirlwind. Kinda like getting swooped up in a tornado with a bunch of friends you never see, having the most killer of times for like, 72 hours straight, and at some point we all click our heels and wake up back on our respective couches. This year, I’m looking for a way to stay unified with all my favorite salty weirdos. If that sounds like a cool idea to you, come holler at me. I’m excited to meet you, or see you, or continue working with you. Or all of those things. Hasta luego.
P.S. – Orale. Se habla espanol, mas o menos. Necesito practicar con uds.
Frank:
Another Conference brings another chance to connect with the lovely individuals that make up the float community — and I can’t wait. It’s such an amazing experience to be able to swap salty stories, hear how everyone’s businesses (and lives) have evolved over the past year, and learn a ton about new developments in the world of floating. I am always excited about the opportunity to meet and speak with the newest and next generations of float center owner/operators. I particularly love being able to finally put faces to the many voices I’ve become familiar with on the phone over the past year. If we’ve spoken this past year, definitely come visit me at the Float Tank Solutions booth, we’ll have a lot of exciting things to share!
Juliet:
I’m so unbelievably excited for this year’s Conference. Normally, I’m running around scrambling to make sure all the talks behind the scene go off without a hitch and Ashkahn hasn’t wandered off somewhere. Now that Ashkahn is allowed to wander freely at the Conference, it frees up a lot of my time to enjoy everything else and talk to everyone present.
I’m excited for the high quality hugs that get circulated at Float Conferences. I’m excited for all the regular Conference things with Denver flavoring. I’m excited for the amazing heartfelt, intellectual, beautiful talks. I’m excited for Stephen Johnson getting more stage time. I’m excited for lunches, easy commutes, and making space for great conversation.
Come talk to me when you’re there!
Ben:
The conference is a reminder, in physical form, that there are so many amazing individuals and teams bringing this wonderful, briny health modality to the masses. It’s amazing to be surrounded by so many who share the intention to foster healing and wellness. I’m also so excited to get to see many of our current HelmBot clients in person!
Danielle:
I’m so jazzed to have the pleasure and privilege to see old faces and meet new people. Putting a name to the face for HelmBot clients brings me so much joy! I’m looking forward to rejuvenating my love for floating, which always spikes during the Conference. I especially enjoy listening to other people’s stories and hearing about their personal experiences in the float universe. How the heck did they get here?! And who doesn’t love a solid embrace from a fellow floater?
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The Daily Solutions Podcast – Our Top 5 Episodes from December
Since a new episode is released, every day, we thought we should do a roundup of some the top episodes so far to keep you from missing out on important topics in the floatation community.
Behold the creme de la creme of podcastery, if you will. Here they are, in chronological order
Should I Have One or Multiple Styles of Float Tank?
If you had every model and type of float tank you’d be running the Burj Khalifa of float centers, with an estimated 38 unique float tanks, which include pods, custom open pools, cabins, vertical tanks, and inflatable or portable float devices currently on the market (not even counting old models).
This is all to say that there are a ton of options out there when considering tanks for your center.
Whether you’re opening a two-tank center, or a bajillion-tank center, do you want all the same model, or will you have some variety?
Why ROI Calculators Suck! (or at least why you should use caution)
“What is an ROI calculator?” I hear you asking. “ROI” simply stands for “Return on Investment”. An “ROI Calculator” is just a tool that outlines the cost of something and generates what your anticipated profit will be over a certain length of time. Usually annually.
We should make a distinction between a simple ROI calculator (i.e. a widget built into a website with limited inputs), and a financial plan (complete with P&L, cashflow, and balance sheets). Both are going to try and do the same thing, but one is going to be far more detailed and accurate.
Roughly what we’re going to be talking about is a return on investment for your whole business, but return on investment can (and should) be used for lots of different aspects to your business to help you determine how best to spend your company’s money. Usually, though, that’s going to require a lot of detail that a simple widget can’t provide.
How to compete on price without slashing prices
Let’s say you’re a float tank center and more centers are starting to show up in your town…
Or, maybe you are that other center starting up a town that already has float tanks…
As new centers enter the market, the typical response is to run promotions on daily deal sites, promote large specials, and/or run Facebook Ads selling floats for much less than the usual offerings.
The best case scenario is this price slashing behavior subsides shortly after the neighboring center opens.
But what if it doesn’t? What if an existing competitor decides their new price is even lower?
How do you compete with a price slashing neighbor without competing on price?
Learn a few ways to make price a non issue with your customers…
Float On’s Halloween Spooktacular!
‘Twas briny, and the epsom groves fluttered with salt-bats, a lurking fog floating atop the murky bog. From the dark maw of silence came a guttural groan, an eerie utterance akin to those of monsters. From the depths of darkness, that groan turned into what mortals...
Timeline for Opening Up a Float Center
Opening up a float center is a lot like climbing a mountain. Even if you can see the peak, it’s a lot further away than you think, and when you finally get there, the journey and the destination usually end up being different than previously assumed.
In this post we’ll lay out a general process and timeline of what you may encounter on your path, from initial idea to actually operating a center.
Can you have volunteers at your center?
So you’re thinking about using volunteers in your float center?
Before we clarify what a “volunteer” actually means, we’ll first explore why a float center might be considering them in the first place. While it can be a way to provide floats to people who are otherwise unable to pay, the impulse to bring in volunteers can also stem from a desire to get some sort of free labor (later in this post we’ll dive into why you can’t actually do this, but it’s important to recognize that the instinct is understandable, especially when you have someone lined up and willing to work for free).
In addition to a desired boost in overall productivity, it’s also a way to invite more people into your center to experience what you do. Some customers actually want to help out and see what happens behind the scenes at a center.
Floating and Athletics, a Strong Relationship
One of the beautiful things about the float tank is that it serves to rejuvenate the whole person. — the body, mind, heart.
Broadly speaking, it’s a tool for homeostasis, an ideal environment that supports balance, health, and growth. This piece will look specifically at floating and athletics. For anyone who defines themselves as an athlete, or as a general pursuant of athletic endeavors, the float tank can be a powerful asset.
In this post, I’ll discuss individual athletes who float and how to look at this from a marketing perspective. I’ll also discuss past and present research, and share some thoughts on how the relationship between the athletic and floating communities might continue to unfold.
A Skeptic’s Guide to Floating
I think it’s time we addressed the giant metaphorical elephant in the salty metaphorical room — there are lots of exaggerated and untrue claims about the benefits of floating being spread around the industry.
Some are anecdotal, some are only half true, and some are just patently false. Floating has historically had a strong oral tradition tied to it — the practice has survived through word-of-mouth, one passionate floater teaching another everything they know. The unfortunate thing about this is that the information disseminated can’t be reliably tested or shared with others on a broader scale. You can’t use “my buddy Chris” as a source for a health benefit of float tanks in a newspaper article, much less for a research paper.
Now that we’re becoming a bit more mainstream, we thought it would be nice to add some clarity to what we should and shouldn’t be telling people about these difficult-to-understand, saliferous containers.
How Many Float Tanks Should I Have?
Intro If you’ve crossed over into the sacred realm of “Yeah, I’m pretty sure I’m gonna open up a float center,” an obvious question arises — “How many tanks should I have?” Now, if you’re like me, you’re creating a 90 tank float community where everyone who buys in...
