These are challenging times for all of us, and many float centers (ourselves included) have decided to temporarily shut down to help stop the spread of coronavirus. Our team got together yesterday to figure out what we need to do to put our shop into hibernation mode, and we thought we’d share the list we came up with to help out anyone else who is in a similar position.
Best of luck to everyone going through this. We know we’ve seen a wellspring of kind words and support from our community when we decided to shut down, and we’re sure you have too. It’s nice to know the float world will be supported when we’re all on the other end of this.
Of course, if there’s anything that you’ve done in your own closure that you don’t see here, please send it along and we’ll update this list as suggestions come in.
Float Tank Solutions
Shop Hibernation Checklist
After the last float
- Do a full cleaning and disinfection pass across your center.
- Deal with your mail and package deliveries. You may need to put up a sign for your mail person, stop your mail from being delivered, or attempt to cancel or reroute any packages that are already on their way.
- Stop any automatic deliveries you have for any shop supplies.
- Make sure your HVAC system is set to run the whole time.
- Remove any food and beverages that can’t be stored for longer periods of time.
- Remove cash and any other valuables.
- Forward incoming calls and set up an appropriate voicemail (make a task to change the forwarding and voicemail when you re-open)
- Put bleach into washer and dishwasher and run them, then leave doors slightly open
- Consider putting out ant traps, if it’s appropriate for your area
Daily Ongoing Maintenance
- If your float tank doesn’t automatically run your pumps, go in twice a day to run them. This will both provide your float solution with its cleaning cycle, and prevent any salt crystallization from happening inside of your pipes and filtration equipment. Make sure to open the doors on your float tanks to let them air out while you’re there.
- Balance any levels of chemical treatment that you use (like hydrogen peroxide)
- Run the showers once a day to prevent any sort of buildup in the pipes
- Make sure to put water down all of your floor drains to keep your p-traps filled (so you don’t get sewer gas coming out)
- Empty your dehumidifiers (if you have any)
- Consider leaving some lobby lights on to deter vandalism
- Clean up any garbage outside the shop. It’ll help keep your city looking nice, and will also help deter vandalism.
- Answer voicemails
- Answer emails
- Answer social media inquires
- Collect physical mail
- Water any plants you may have (or take them to your house).
Weekly Ongoing Maintenance
- Replenish any water in your tanks that has been lost to evaporation (you may need to add a little salt as well).
- Do a disinfection pass on the inside of your tank walls and ceiling. It’s still a very hot and humid environment, and you want to make sure you’re preventing any mold growth.
There are, of course, other things to consider like communication with your customers and taking care of your members. You may be looking at laying off part, or all, of your staff temporarily so they can claim unemployment benefits. The next couple weeks are also going to be a good time to work on your marketing, to make sure that your customers are ready to float when you re-open.
We’re keeping the list above to just the operational side of things for now, but we’ll be releasing more over the coming days and weeks about what we’re doing at Float On to get through this.
Stay well,
Graham and Ashkahn
Best Insulation for Soundproofing – DSP 259
This is another fantastic episode that challenges the question on its face.
Graham and Jake (still no Ashkahn, unfortunately, but he is in the intro) talk about soundproofing basics and what type of insulation is a good idea for your float rooms. As it turns out, insulation isn’t doing much of the heavy lifting though, so soundproofing probably isn’t the highest priority when selecting insulation.
How to Make an ADA Float Room – DSP 258
Graham and Jake are in the studio again while Ashkahn plots his marvelous float industry event.
This time the guys are talking about how to make a float room ADA compliant. Lots of it is going to vary from state to state (and sometimes even city to city) but there are some useful tips and tricks for making sure you hit all the right marks for compliance when planning your build out.
Jake and Graham share construction ideas, ways to think about ADA requirements, and some fun stories about Float On’s own adventures in making their building accessible.
Best Quietrock for Float Rooms – DSP 257
While Ashkahn is off doing whatever it is Ashkahn does when not on the podcast, Graham sits down with Jake Marty the Float On construction guy (and co-owner of Float On), to talk about Quietrock.
Now before you rush to the Resources section to see which ones are best, this episode lays out the reason to use Quietrock, when (and how) to compromise for more affordable options, and where you may not want to use this when planning your build out.
Marketing to Older Demographics – DSP 256
Some communities have a much higher retiree population than others. It can be difficult to reach customers who don’t utilize social media as much, so how do you get their attention?
Derek and Graham strategize on how to market to the retiree community for float centers. This episode is filled with bingo jokes, rambling examples, and solid advice for reaching out to any demographic that may not spend a lot of time on social media.
Our Top 10 Marketing Book Suggestions! – DSP 255
Alright, this is a dense episode. Ashkahn is busy planning the Float Conference still, so Derek and Graham nerd out on marketing books (and blogs, and podcasts) to give the industry some of their top recommendations for marketing books that might be helpful for the float industry (or anyone, really).
Check the resource in this episode for links to all their recommendations!
What About Instagram? – DSP 254
Facebook gets a lot of attention on this podcast when it comes to talking about marketing on social media, but what about Instagram? It seems to be getting more and more popular, are Instagram ads just as good as Facebook then? Why or why not?
Derek tackles this question with Graham in tow and explains the nuances of the different platforms and why you’d post on one and not the other, despite that they are both owned by the same company.
Should I Change the Name of the Float Center I Bought? – DSP 253
Is it a good idea to change the name of a float center after buying it from someone else? As the industry gets older, more and more people are going to have to answer this question.
Branding is definitely part of the equity of a business and you purchase everything that comes with it. But can you put a price on being happy with your business and making it feel like your own?
Derek and Graham tackle these questions while Ashkahn is away for the Conference.
What’s a Marketing Funnel? – DSP 252
Graham and Derek break down the ins and outs of what, exactly, a marketing funnel is and how to develop one when speaking to banks and investors.
If this is something you don’t understand, you’re not alone! Graham consistently explains how a marketing funnel works in the Apprenticeship every year to a bewildered class. Don’t be afraid to take notes and ask questions.
How to Make Great Videos for Social Media – DSP 251
Derek and Graham talk about video content, and how to use it effectively on social media. There’s a lot of wisdom in keeping videos short and to the point, but they also recommend keeping them low tech (unless you can go really high tech).
Derek also issues a challenge for every float center listening, by September, everyone should go out and film a testimonial video and post it on social media. If you do, let Derek know by sharing it with the Float Tank Solutions facebook page.
How long should an e-mail be? – DSP 250
In this sports analogy laden episode, Graham and Derek talk about effective copywriting tactics when writing out an email to the loyal customers of float centers across the globe.
They line out the importance of focusing on a short, sweet, and simple message, while outlining some strategies at Float On that are used with that in mind.
