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 Construction Secret to Soundproofing: Storage Between Float Rooms
If you’ve ever taken a look at our construction materials or gotten advice on soundproofing, you’ve probably heard of the importance of including “air gaps” when building out your center. What that means and why it helps can be a bit of a technical question, and the practical implementation can seem daunting and unreasonable.
Float Conference 2017 Recap
Now that the salt has settled, I’m sharing some thoughts from “The Great Gathering of People Who Really Love Being Alone Sometimes in a Dark, Briny Room,” also known as The Float Conference.
The conference has always been an amazing opportunity to connect with the pulse of the broader float industry and, if this year’s gathering showed us anything, it’s that our collective heartbeat is as strong as ever.
2017 Float Conference Program Introduction
Every year, I have the great pleasure of writing the introduction for the Float Conference program, and every year we share it on our blog so that members of the industry who weren’t able to make the journey out to Portland are able to check it out. I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it.
From all of us at Float Tank Solutions, where our time is measured as the space between two conferences, thank you again for a wonderful year!
– Graham Talley
What? Another Product Announcement? The New and Improved About Float Tanks Guide!
We’ve learned a lot since then, so has the industry and the rest of the world. Floating is no longer considered some obscure practice. The industry has become very well established the world over and is continuing to grow. As such, the About Float Tanks Guide in particular desperately needed updating.
There has been new research, new standards in manufacturing, and as an industry, we have a much better understanding of all things float tank.
Download the latest version today!
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.
