“I’m looking for someone to drink my Kool-Aid.”
— Tamara Galinsky
BACKGROUND
• Originally studied music, combining that love and Pilates into one business.
• Opened the first Jetset Pilates in Miami in 2010 after moving there from London.
Reporter Megan Glenn asks what makes emerging brand leaders tick—and presents their edited answers in this column in each issue. To suggest a subject, email [email protected]
Reporter Megan Glenn asks what makes emerging brand leaders tick—and presents their edited answers in this column. To suggest a subject, email [email protected].
What makes Jetset unique?
I love music, but Pilates isn’t a dance workout. That makes finding music for it difficult. I carefully curated a playlist that could get people into their workout easily. All our music will be delivered to franchisees as well.
We’ve combined traditional Pilates and reformer Pilates in what I call modern traditional. Pilates has existed for a long time, and I found that neither offered as intense a workout as I was looking for, so I made my own. Our reformer is the Rolls Royce of reformers and specialized to Jetset.
Even with the Rolls Royce of reformers and everything else, our goal has been to be as affordable as possible. I want everyone to be able to stay with us for the long term.
You launched Jetset in 2010 but didn’t start franchising until 2022. Why the wait?
It’s been on my mind for a while, but I waited until the time was right. COVID helped us, actually. Florida was more open than other states, and people were looking to get out. Most people haven’t tried traditional Pilates before, so interest grew naturally. Since then, it’s just been exploding.
Starting in Miami was a plus. Many Pilates studios expand into Florida, and the market is huge. When we started getting the interest, we merged with the right partners. They’ve been a great team in helping us with the demand as we expand and franchise. We’re still doing everything in-house, so all locations will have the same look and feel.
All in all, it took us eight months from planning with the team to launching in July. We had three confirmed franchisees in three months, and we’re planning to keep on growing.
Tell me about your development plans. Where are you looking to expand to?
We have four corporate locations in Florida, but we’ve already got people signing on to be franchisees. So far, we have more interest in Florida, the Carolinas, Texas, New York and even Australia. We haven’t needed to do advertising yet, which was really a surprise. People are still finding out about us through word of mouth, and we just grew organically. It’s why we needed to start expanding in the first place.
What advice would you give to another emerging franchisor?
I would tell them to know their systems and be ready to have them in place. I waited until I felt ready, and then spent eight months with a team preparing to unveil our franchising. Know where you want to go, how much you want to grow, and really think about what you need to make it happen.
The systems you have in place for growth are as important as the brand. Franchisees will need support, so it’s important to be ready for their needs. I’m really thankful for my team in getting everything we needed ready for us to grow. As for our partners and franchisees, I’m really looking for them to drink my Kool-Aid since our community is what makes us stand out.