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
Is it Possible to Float and not get your Hair Wet? – DSP 175
Customers who color or perm their hair might not want to let it get wet while floating. While Graham and Ashkahn are sympathetic to those issues, as far as they know, there isn’t really a great solution for them.
Understanding Chlorine Use in a Float Tank – DSP 174
This is another one of those questions that seems simple but as soon as Graham and Ashkahn start explaining a few things, you realize that there’s a lot of complicated information in the background. A “SSBASAGAASEAFTYRTTALOCIITB”, if you will.
The guys take this opportunity to deep dive on the complex conversation of chlorine and why it’s problematic for the float industry, along with several caveats of the benefits and usefulness of it as a disinfectant.
Should I Offer a Three Float Intro Pack? – DSP 173
Every float center has their own tricks to pricing, appealing to first time customers, and encouraging repeat business. One of the most common is using a three float intro pack that usually offers three floats at a 3 for the price of 2 package. Given how prevalent these are, do they work really well? Is this something that will soon become industry standard? What else needs to be considered before offering a package like this?
Graham and Ashkahn provide their thoughts on this pricing trend and how Float On does pricing (admittedly very differently than a three float intro pack) and what to consider for each float center that looks at this option.
What do You Love About Running a Float Center? – DSP 172
It’s easy to listen to this podcast, day in and day out, and think to yourself “why would ANYONE put up with all these issues?” Graham and Ashkahn describe what keeps them, and probably everybody in the industry, in the difficult business of putting strangers in salty boxes and the wonderful life changing experiences that come with it.
How is the Float Industry Different? – DSP 171
It’s possible that everyone in the float industry intuitively knows that it’s a different sort of business, but what are the tangible ways in which it’s different? As Ashkahn says at the start of the episode, every question in this podcast is kind of a long form answer to this question.
Graham and Ashkahn tackle this problem together, and answer everything from the practical to the philosophical, ranging from lack of expertise in the industry, to the sense of camaraderie that doesn’t seem to exist anywhere else.
When Should a Float Center be Profitable? – DSP 170
“When should I start making money?” is a deceptively simple and anxiety inducing question that every business owner has to face. Sometimes the answer is straightforward. There are lots of franchises that have near endless amounts of market research and profitability trends that point to a sensible timeline of when and how much you can expect versus a given investment.
Float centers aren’t like that, unfortunately. There’s simply not enough data out there to create predictability in a market. The good news is that given the relatively low overhead excluding opening costs, float centers have the potential to be profitable almost immediately. Graham and Ashkahn break down this question and provide some tips on the issue.
Should we Pay for SEO (Search Engine Optimization) Services? – DSP 169
When opening any small business, you want to do what’s best to gain an edge in marketing and make sure that you’re doing your best for your flowering company. The new trends and changes can be daunting if you’re unfamiliar with technology or the marketing world.
Float centers are no exception. So when you get a call from someone claiming to be able to boost your SEO standing, it can seem like a really good deal. How do you tell if these companies are legit? And do float centers really need SEO help? Graham and Ashkahn break this down and simplify it for the uninitiated.
Should we do Tank Maintenance Ourselves? – DSP 168
As it turns out, there’s no certification program to running a float center. You buy these big expensive machines that require constant, technical maintenance and you’re on your own for how to accomplish that. There aren’t float tank repair persons that you can call (yet) and just have them show up and do it for you, so making sure you’re knowledgeable and prepared for this maintenance is a really good idea.
Graham and Ashkahn lay out the Float On best practices for how to plan for maintenance so that it’s the least disruptive for your center if something goes wrong.
What to Consider With a Home Float Center – DSP 167
Getting a tank in your house and floating some people is a great first step on the path to opening a float center. It helps you figure out exactly what the maintenance is going to be like, along with just the experience of floating other people and introducing them to this neat salty practice.
There are things to consider and there’s a right way and a wrong way to run a home based float center. First thing to consider is your local laws for small businesses and making sure you comply with those. Additionally, you need to decide if you’re just floating friends and family or if you’re going to have paying customers. This is also going to impact what type of float tank you should use and the demands you should consider on your house. Graham and Ashkahn have seen plenty of these and share the best practices as they’ve seen them laid out.
How to Deal With Burnout – DSP 166
Running a float center is hard work. Especially if you just opened up and dealt with months of agonizing, crazy construction, and then go straight into pulling long hours keeping your center open. Even with the reward of seeing floater’s post float glow can fall short of satisfying in some moments.
It’s important in these moments to take time for yourself so as not to get devoured by your work. Ashkahn and Graham share some of the things that helped them stay sane working long, thankless shifts at Float On in the early days and get through the hard days so that they could thrive.
