DailyFranchiseNews.com

NO MORE EXCUSES! Anytime Fitness stays open late so people can work out at all hours

With January already half way over, many people are trying to hold onto their New Year's resolutions for dear life. Two weeks ago people were more motivated than ever to get fit.  But once the novelty has worn off and the reality of busy schedules settle in, so do the excuses. “I’m just too busy” or “I don’t have enough time.” Sound familiar?  People better enjoy those excuses while they can because 24-hour gyms like Anytime Fitness are opening all over the country.

The Beloit Daily News today has a story on the city's new Anytime Fitness which already has 150 members. Since 2002, when Anytime Fitness began franchising, the company has sold over 640 locations and projects to open upwards of 800 more. This means the time challenged are going to have to get creative with their excuses because with so many locations and convenient hours, people are going to run out of reasons for skipping the gym!

Home Care Services are Still Booming—Thanks to Boomers!

According to the Sioux City Journal, non medical home care services are still on the rise.  This blogger is a boomer and for sure when Subway only had 140 stores we did NOT see this type of franchise on the horizon!  However, there are now several and they each have a few unique features, but all in all, the concept caters to boomers and others who work all day and need help caring for elderly family members, for just one example. From transportation to doctors appointments, help with prescriptions and simple house chores to daily companions – many people need an extra hand at home and this has become big business for smart franchisors.

Home Instead, Comfort Keepers and Synergy HomeCare are just a few leaders in this industry.  Synergy HomeCare, founded in 2002 by Peter Tourian, began franchising in 2005 after experiencing explosive growth in its home state of Arizona. Fueled by the aging of the nation's 76 million baby boomers who will begin retiring in the next few years, the Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates the home health industry will increase by more than 55 percent between 2002 and 2012.  More than 50 million family members currently care for a chronically ill, disabled or aged family member, according to the National Family Caregivers Association.

Beauty Remains Big Business in Franchising

The number of new franchisors in the “beauty” arena says a lot about us as a society but skincare, hair salons and tanning outposts are becoming big franchise businesses.

Women probably won’t like the idea of their husbands getting their hair cut by bikini-clad stylists, but a handful of new chains are betting men will flock to their salons in droves.

Paradise Cuts (right), Knockouts and Sports Cuts are a far cry from your franchised salons of the past (think Fantastic Sams, Great Clips, Hair Cuttery). These "men's" salons offer much more than a haircut you would receive at the neighborhood barber. Paradise Cuts features women in bikinis in a beach themed environmment and while the Washington, D.C. area chain is not franchised, it may be down the road. For those looking to buy into a similar concept, there's Knockouts where men can receive haircuts from women in boxing shorts and have free rein of the remote control and Sport Clips where female stylists are trained to "talk sports" to their male customers.

Today's Washington Post features an article about this niche and includes a hilarious quote that speaks volumes about our priorities.  Paradise Cuts co-founder Rudy Lilly said, "Life's too short for an ugly barber."