Something in the world of floating have you stumped?
Show Highlights
Graham and Ashkahn talk from their (admittedly very biased) perspectives on the merits and flaws of getting involved with a business partner for a float center. Most of the things they talk about are just universal truths for starting any startup. Realistically, it’s going to have a major impact on your workload, your decision making, your investments, and even your free time.
It’s worked out well for these two, but the reality is that sometimes having a business partner is a lot like being married. How do you find the right person? How do you handle disagreements? It can be one of the most daunting, and rewarding decisions to make when starting up.
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Transcription of this episode… (in case you prefer reading)
Graham: We have a good question for you today. It is, “Do you need to have a business partner in order to start a float tank center?”
Ashkahn: Oh. That is a good question.
Graham: The answer is, no you don’t need one.
Ashkahn: Yeah, I would say having a business partner is among the worst decisions.
Graham: You might end up doing a podcast every single day with your partner. It’s very demanding.
Ashkahn: Yeah. Like a living Hell is really the best phrase to wrap it all up.
Graham: We can say that three lawyers and five counselors later… No, okay.
The actual answer to your question is applicable not just to float tank centers, too, which is just in general. If you’re able to get a good business partner, and that’s the key, if you can get a good one, then having a business partner is absolutely a great decision. There is so many things in business, including ridiculously late nights, ridiculously long hours.
In the float center industry, floats breaking in the middle of the night, different things like that, where you’re just there banging your head against a wall. Even if someone else isn’t helping you, at least having someone standing next to you banging their head against the same wall is so comforting. I can’t even imaging going through some of the stuff we’ve struggled through alone.
Ashkahn: Commiserating, I think, is the word here.
Graham: Yeah.
Ashkahn: It’s interesting. Whenever I get this question, I feel like I should preface it with the fact that I’m a pretty extroverted person. You’re a pretty extroverted person. We like social situation, doing things with other people. That’s just the perspective I have. I enjoy things more when there’s other people around, or I’m doing something with someone. I don’t know. Maybe if you’re super introverted and you’re not into that, it’s not something that sounds like a good idea to you.
Even with that aside, just the very practical nature of having not everything … There’s just a lot of emergencies that come up. Being able to be able to go out of town or to just realize you’re not the only person who has to always be on call. Even if you are both going to handle something, that there’s two of you there is really nice. I personally find it to be a way, way more enjoyable way to run a business.
Graham: You’ll see that, too, even down to what investors look for. They look for good business partners who work well together in a venture. It’s because they know how hard it is to run something just by yourself. This isn’t, again, just float tank advice, this is very general business start-up advice is, if possible, definitely having a founder is the way to go.
Ashkahn: I also just find it really useful to bounce ideas off somebody. To me, it’s so much easier to talk something out.
Graham: Yeah.
Ashkahn: Right? You get to a solution so much faster than when you do just trying to think through something in your head.
Graham: At least then you’re sharing the blame, too, if it goes horribly wrong. There’s one or two other people who agreed that this sounded like a good idea.
Ashkahn: We all decided to knock this wall out, and here we are.
Graham: Yeah. When you crash and burn, there’s a little less personal guilt. There’s something that goes on it, too.
Ashkahn: Yeah.
Graham: The flip side, though, is it’s also like getting married. It’s like asking, “Hey, should I get into a great marriage?”
“Yeah, probably. That sounds excellent,” right? But, there are a lot of marriages that go south and end in divorce.
Ashkahn: It’s like getting married and immediately having a child.
Graham: Right. Yeah. If you’re already starting a float center and you’re looking for a partner, that’s like being pregnant and looking for the father. Which is probably the wrong time, or at least a very desperate time to be searching for that business partner.
Again, it truly is like a marriage, in a sense that you’ll be sharing financial information. You can fire employees. You can’t fire a business partner.
Ashkahn: They’re hard to get out of.
Graham: They’re in it until you pay them a lot of money to get out of the business if you don’t want them to be there.
Ashkahn: Yeah. And, you’ll probably spend more time with them than you will with your real spouse.
Graham: Or, your real children. Yeah.
Ashkahn: It’s pretty serious.
Graham: Take your time. Again, the right time to be looking for business partners is a year before you’re starting. Ideally, you’ve known the person who is going to be your partner for longer than that, as well.
Ashkahn: Yeah.
Graham: You’ve had time to vet them out, and make sure you get along, and things like that, too.
Ashkahn: Here’s a question.
Graham: Only one question per episode, Kahn.
Ashkahn: Okay, well I didn’t get my question yet. Here’s my question for this episode. This is the follow-up I get asked a lot. How do you choose a good business partner? How do you know who would be a good business partner?
Graham: Yep, yep. I guess a little bit, it depends on your goal. There’s a few different goals in starting a float center. One is to franchise, and spread out, and create all of these different businesses, and make a lot of money running this chain of float tank centers.
Another one is to have more of a lifestyle business. And, have something that is a business that you feel happy working in and attending to, and so does your partner.
There’s also situations where you have enough money to fund it. What you want is an operational partner. Versus, you don’t have enough money, and you’re actually looking for an investor or some kind of financial partner.
All of these, I would say, yield different answers to that question of what are you looking for in a partner, or how do you find a good one?
Ashkahn: Yeah. I guess, one of the points in there is make sure you have the same goals, right?
Graham: Yeah.
Ashkahn: If you’re going in to operate a lifestyle business, and the other person is going to turn this into a mega multi-city floatopolis, you’re going to come into conflict pretty fast there.
Graham: Yep, absolutely. I would say, also look at, even if you’re doing this with friends or people you’ve known for a while, look at people’s past actions. Don’t listen as much to what they’re telling you you guys are going to do together in your new business. It’s really easy to get excited when you’re starting a float center, and talk about all the marketing you’re going to do, and people you’re going to bring in, and stuff like that.
If you’re actually seriously vetting someone who you’d like to go in on this float center with, find out what they’ve done in the past. What are the big projects that they’ve successfully pulled off. How did those go? Were they working with people? It’s almost like sizing up contractors, or something like that.
I was just picturing, actually, getting a spouse through this same method. I’m like, “Can I see your references before we start dating, please? This sounds great. Okay, Sam, from …” Yeah.
Talk to people who have done projects with them that are on the same scale. Find out if they’ve even done something that is on the same scale. A lot of people, this will be the single biggest thing that they’ve launched into with their lives.
Ashkahn: Yeah. There is always a certain amount of going with your gut involved, too, right?
Graham: Yep.
Ashkahn: Like getting married, I think there’s a certain intangible quality to exactly what you’re looking for, exactly what makes something work well and what doesn’t.
I guess one thing that always sticks out to me about what I feel works well with us, our partners at Float On, is whenever we have a problem to figure out or something to solve, I always feel like we start pretty much on the same page as the other. Or, close to the same page as each other. It takes us just a few minutes to really all get on the same page. Then move forward from there.
I haven’t found that working with a ton of other people. Sometimes I’ll work with people, and I’ll spend hours just trying to reconcile our ideas with each other, and just get to mutual ground. To me, that’s a sign of someone who probably wouldn’t be a good long-term business partner, because it’s just so much work to get to a place to even start solving the problem.
To me, that’s a sign of what works well for us. Because, so much of it is problem solving. I feel like half of what we’re doing is just someone being like, “This is happening.”
It’s like, “Okay, well, we got to figure out what to do now to solve the fact that that is happening.” It’s mostly what running a business is.
Graham: Yeah. Again ideally, totally. You’d have a business partner or a couple business partners, or if you’re like Float On, 20 business partners when you start up, or something like that. We’re definitely on the extreme side of things. I think we actually have five business partners, just for the record out there.
What else? Same thing said, use caution. Be careful when you’re getting into it.
Ashkahn: I think it’s worth it. Personally, for me and my life, I couldn’t have imagined doing this without a business partner.
Graham: Oh, there is so many times when I’ve looked at Jake and Ashkahn and just said, “I have no idea what I would have done without you guys around.”
Ashkahn: Yeah. You’re definitely getting our bias and perspective in on it. Yeah. I just don’t even think I could have done it alone, or would have been able to quite pull it off. Or, would have really enjoyed it nearly as much.
Graham: Yeah. Don’t rush into things. Take your time. Keep in mind, it’s one of those things where, despite your best efforts and intentions, things can go wrong. If it were easy to pick the best business partner that would match you for your float center-
Ashkahn: Yeah. Nobody would be getting divorced.
Graham: Nobody would be getting divorced. There’s your answer for today.
Ashkahn: All right. If you guys have other questions, you can always hop over to FloatTankSolutions.com/podcast. We will talk to you tomorrow.
Recent Podcast Episodes
Should I Wire my Float Tanks into the Wall? – DSP 265
Ashkahn is currently recovering from his talk and the after-party last night, but Jake and Graham have gracefully taken the time to answer a construction question again today.
On the docket today is a question about wiring a float tank directly into the wall. Graham and Jake provide an overview of why some people may prefer this (it’s much easier to keep waterproof, e.g.), and why at Float On they use the twist lock for their outlets and how to properly utilize them.
Can I Keep My Old Ceiling With My Buildout? – DSP 264
Hopefully everyone had a lovely time at the Friday Activities and the after-party.
Ashkahn is still busy running the conference, but Graham and Jake have stepped in to talk about construction!
Today the guys talk about keeping a drop ceiling or T-bar ceiling in an existing space that you’re converting to a float center. The short answer is don’t keep it, as it can cause problems, but the guys do have some workarounds if your landlord is opposed to changing the ceiling.
What to Expect When Expanding from 1 to 3 Tanks? – DSP 263
Ashkahn is busy preparing for everything that happens tonight and tomorrow for the Conference, but that doesn’t mean Daily Solutions will stop being daily.
Graham and Jake talk construction and what to expect when you’re expecting… a giant expansion for your float center. What’s it look like when you go from one tank to three? How do the demands change? What needs to be put in place to make sure that you’re not hitting snags?
Fortunately, these guys know the score and are happy to share.
All About Floor Drains – DSP 262
As Ashkahn gets everything ready for the Start a Center Workshop (happening today) and the Float Conference this weekend, Graham and Jake tackle answering construction questions on the podcast.
Today they’re talking about floor drains. What to consider for drains and how they might pair with different types of flooring. Given the hefty price tag for these more advanced drains, having as much research before making a decision on these is essential. Luckily, the guys have done the hard part already and identified a lot of things to consider.
How to Deal with Float Room Humidity – DSP 261
Graham and Jake are at the helm again while Ashkahn puts the finishing touches on the Float Conference.
Today, the guys are talking all about humidity and how to deal with it when constructing your float rooms. They talk about all the little nuances that you (or your contractor) might not think about when it comes to humidity and how soundproofing and regular airflow may not always go hand in hand.
Latest Blog Posts
The Float Tour Blog – Issue #24
Alberta is often called the Texas of Canada. Part large oil industry, part cattle country.
Don’t Mess With Alberta!
At the base of the Rocky Mountains, replete with an Olympic Stadium, Calgary is a world-class destination for winter sports. The float community developed here similarly to Edmonton – there wasn’t anything nearby except for one or two residential float tanks, and then, in a short period of time, several centers opened all at once. Instead of competing, they’ve decided to work together and have developed one of the tightest knit float communities we’ve seen. They even have monthly Float Dinners, much like we do with the float centers in Portland. They don’t keep meeting minutes, so it’s hard to determine what they talk about at these dinners; my guess would be salt, the effects of salt on various substances, and how salty salt damage can make someone salty.
The Float Tour Blog – Issue #23
After Montana, we blazed our way back into Canada. The drive was long, but the scenery was beautiful. We followed the Rockies north, driving up to Edmonton. It’s a bit of a detour but, there are so many float centers in Edmonton, it seemed crazy not to stop by.
The city itself is primarily made up of workers from the oil fields – high risk, high income jobs that fuel the economy. At least until recently. Our visit was right in the middle of the Fort McMurray wildfire which has displaced a lot of the workforce, forcing 100,000 people to leave their homes. Many came to Edmonton, being the nearest metropolitan area to Fort McMurray. Some already split their time between the two cities, living in Edmonton and traveling to Fort McMurray for weeks or months at a time for work.
It’s understood that, in economic hardship, luxury commodities are typically the first thing people cut back on. Surprisingly, this doesn’t seem to be the case for floating. In fact, more people seem to be trying it to help alleviate the stress, many centers even offering free or discounted services to those displaced in an effort to help in a small way.
The Float Tour Blog – Issue #22
We’ve got two more stops in Colorado Springs before heading west. It’s a town known for its military base and long history of weapons testing. With such a large military presence, it comes as no surprise that the float center owners here are veterans, themselves.
After that, we shoot across to Salt Lake City. Utah is filled with gorgeous sights, from breathtaking lakes to stunning painted hills. With an international landmark famous for its effects on buoyancy, Salt Lake City should be pretty familiar with the concept of floating. With five different float centers, and the manufacturer of the Zen Tent out there, there could be some cause and effect.
After that, we head up into Idaho and Montana to close out the Central United States portion of our Tour. We’ll follow the Rocky Mountains north, taking in the scenery along the way.
The Float Tour Blog – Issue #21
Denver has been home to a vibrant float community for a long time. Some of the earliest commercial centers that started up in the ‘70s and ‘80s were out here. 30 years is a long time, and most of the old centers aren’t around anymore, but there’s a conscious community that has been floating since the old days and they love how much the industry has evolved and grown.
