Something in the world of floating have you stumped?
Show Highlights
Graham and Ashkahn finish up their penultimate episode by answering the most important question of all, “how to start a salt tank business?”
They answer this question with the thoroughness and severity it deserves.
Show Resources
An Important Announcement from the Daily Solutions Podcast
If you’d like to sign up to ask a question on our two-hour call-in show, November 29th that’s in two days!) at 3 pm PST, go to floattanksolutions.com/dsplive.
Listen to Just the Audio
Transcription of this episode… (in case you prefer reading)
Ashkahn: Okay.
Graham: Wow. We made it.
Ashkahn: This is it.
Graham: We all made it.
Ashkahn: Just barely, some of us.
Graham: Just barely, yeah. What a year, huh?
Ashkahn: Yeah.
Graham: For those of you who’ve just been listening to us every day and started to think in our voices, thanks. We’re here for you.
Ashkahn: Yeah.
Graham: Our voices will stick around in your thoughts for years to come.
Ashkahn: If this is the first episode you’re listening to-
Graham: Then you can listen to the entire thing in reverse, which might be kinda fun. The intros will get progressively worse over time.
Ashkahn: I don’t know why that’s what your plan would be, but I guess my name’s Ashkahn if you’re just tuning in.
Graham: I’m Graham and this is the 365th day in a row that we’ve been doing this.
Ashkahn: Yeah. We’ve been in this little room for a year now and sliding food under the door.
Graham: I wonder how things have changed in the outside world.
Ashkahn: You guys have flying cars yet?
Graham: You probably have flying cars.
Ashkahn: At this point, they must.
Graham: Yeah. The only other thing we’re doing past this one is a big two-hour live call-in extravaganza.
Ashkahn: Yeah, got a finale coming up.
Graham: Honestly, come join us for it. If you’ve been enjoying this podcast, fulfill our wish and join us to ask us live questions and treat us like a radio call-in show.
Ashkahn: It’s secretly what we’ve wanted this whole time.
Graham: Not so secretly. I think we’ve said it on the air many times.
Ashkahn: It was just really complicated, so we’re going to do it. We’re going to do it for a big finale.
Graham: It’s true. It is taking a lot of tech work to actually figure out how to do a live call-in show that makes sense.
Ashkahn: If you tune in and no one’s able to call in, we’ve failed.
Graham: Yeah, sorry.
Ashkahn: Sorry about that.
Graham: Tune in for the disaster. It’ll be in two days, so … well, not two days from when you’re listening maybe, but-
Ashkahn: Hopefully, yeah. Possibly.
Graham: It’s coming up.
Ashkahn: There’s at least a chance.
Graham: If today’s the 27th, it’s in freaking two days.
Ashkahn: Yeah, two days from now.
Graham: 29th, three to five PM.
Ashkahn: Pacific Time. It’s going to live. There’s going to be video footage of it.
Graham: We’ll be streaming it on Facebook Live. We might be streaming it on YouTube Live, but yeah. We’ll have links on our website, you can go catch it. Pretty much anywhere you follow us, tune in and we’ll have an easy way to join the live call-in show.
Ashkahn: Yeah.
Graham: That’s it.
Ashkahn: Got one final question.
Graham: One final question. We’ve saved the best for last, I think. This just came in I think two days ago, it’s kind of a doozy. It is “how to open a salt tank business?” Question mark. Yeah, good question. You’re asking on the right show, that’s for sure. We usually call them float tanks.
Ashkahn: That’s probably the first, number one, I’d say.
Graham: Salt tanks is more something that we used to call them back in the ’80s. Salt tank therapy. Yeah, man, it’s crazy.
Ashkahn: There’s a lot to know, almost 364, 365 individual nuggets of information to know out there about how to open a salt tank business.
Graham: If only there was some podcast that had just finished up a year’s worth of daily recordings that you could tune into.
Ashkahn: That would be cool. That’d probably be a great answer to your question.
Graham: If you know anyone out there who’s doing that, maybe subscribe on iTunes or go watch YouTube videos. Mainly, just get some float tanks and slap them in your room. You’ll be fine.
Ashkahn: There’s not really a lot to know.
Graham: Yeah, when you get down to it, it’s pretty basic.
Ashkahn: You can go in any space, really. There are very few requirements. They pretty much take care of themselves.
Graham: You can run the entire thing by yourself. I’d say max nine tanks should be fine. Plenty of family time on top of it.
Ashkahn: Customers, they just come. If you build it, they will come. It’s easy.
Graham: It’s one of those Field of Dreams kind of industries out there.
Ashkahn: It’s just easy money. You should really be interested in opening a business if you’re looking for easy money and you don’t really care that much about floating or whatever these salt boxes are.
Graham: If you like money, probably above most other things in life, boy you’ve found the right industry. The salt tank industry is really lucrative.
Ashkahn: You’re going to deal with some annoying customers and put up with that, but …
Graham: Yeah, kind of annoying industry podcast hosts to listen to. Yeah, good luck. That was a good question. Yeah, so I think that pretty much closes out that one. I did want to spend some extra time on the episode, though, just saying how grateful we are for the chance to be able to do and grateful to work in an industry that supports us and gives us the time to share the information that we’ve learned with everyone. Thanks for tuning in. It honestly means a lot and we would’ve stopped a lot sooner if we didn’t have an audience out there.
Ashkahn: Yeah, it’s been super cool. It’s been nice to hear from you guys and hear the people are listening and enjoying it. Thanks for sending in questions. It’s been fun to get all these questions coming in.
Graham: Thanks for letting us mock them and not getting angry at us, or if you’re angry, keeping it secret and not telling us.
Ashkahn: Sorry if we’ve made any enemies in this process.
Graham: Hopefully we’ve made more friends. Yeah, and you’re amongst them so next birthday party, you’re all invited.
Ashkahn: Just everyone, right? Just wrap your arms around yourself right now. Everybody out there. We’re going to have a collective group hug.
Graham: I’m doing it right now in the studio.
Ashkahn: We’re doing it together. Just picture all of us hugging each other.
Graham: Giant float hug.
Ashkahn: Yeah, nice.
Graham: This is a phenomenal industry and I’m really happy to be here and yeah, again from the depths of whatever sort of heart that I have, thank you all.
Ashkahn: Yeah, it’s been cool. It’s been fun to go on this float tank journey and for this guy wondering about these salt boxes, I mean, good luck. I don’t know what you’re going to do, to be honest.
Graham: Just a little more research. Just a little more research.
Ashkahn: Probably, yeah. You might need to look into it a tiny bit more.
Graham: All of you aspiring float tank center owners out there too. Good luck. We’re still around. Float tank solutions isn’t going anywhere. Send us your questions when you get lost and need a guiding light out there in the deep seas of flotation. We’re there.
Ashkahn: Alright. I’ll be your wingman. We love you guys.
Graham: We do. Yeah, we love you. Yeah, hopefully, see you in just a couple days. November 29th.
Ashkahn: That’s right. That’s right. Three to five.
Graham: That nailed it is. It is the 29th. Pacific Time. November 29th, three to five PM. See you all there.
Ashkahn: This is Ashkahn signing off.
Graham: This is Graham, also signing off.
Ashkahn: Both of us signing off.
Graham: Talk to you, not tomorrow, I guess.
Ashkahn: No, no. Maybe never again. Oh, two days from now.
Graham: Yeah.
Ashkahn: This is us signing off.
Graham: Thanks again, everyone.
Ashkahn: Thanks. Just sign off here. Signing off.
Recent Podcast Episodes
Talking About the Float Conference! – DSP 234
Today is the last day to buy discounted tickets for the Float Conference!
Today, Graham and Ashkahn talk all about everything they’re excited to see at the Conference this year, everything from the Bus Tour, to the Speakers that are coming (some returning, some coming for the first time), the Bus Tour, The Marketing Forum, other Friday activities, the awesome after parties, and did Graham mention the Bus Tour yet?
It’s Float On’s last year hosting the Conference, and it’s gonna be excellent. See you there!
Getting Salty with Speakers: Gloria Morris – DSP 233
Gloria Morris is a rockstar in her own right, having immediately hit the ground running with Float Sixty out in Chicago. It’s been amazing watching her influence grow throughout the float industry as she helps others consult with marketing as well as help behind the scenes in float projects like her work on the Art of the Float Podcast.
She recently opened up a second location in Schererville, Indiana, basically a suburb of Chicago. Ashkahn takes the time on this episode to ask her about the challenges running a center in a suburban area compared to an urban one and some of the important business lessons she’s learned throughout the experience.
How Do you get Customer Testimonials? – DSP 232
Customer testimonials can have a huge impact on a float center’s marketing. It adds a sense of legitimacy for any small business, after all, who wouldn’t want to hear stories from other who have tried out a service.
Derek and Graham hash out the benefits of having testimonials. Where to get them, third party sites as opposed to personally sourced testimonials, and the different forms that customer experiences can take.
Should I Hire a Marketer? – DSP 231
Owning a small business is a juggling act of priorities that range from putting out small metaphorical fires, to big picture thinking about the scope of the company. At what point does a float center owner prioritize hiring a marketer to shoulder some of this burden and how can an inexperienced business owner find the right one for them.
Graham and Derek tackle these questions and offer some advice for running a small business and the types of mentalities and practices that lead to the longevity and peace of mind that comes with finding someone to trust with some of that big picture thinking.
How Marketing Strategies Evolve – DSP 230
Graham and Ashkahn wax nostalgic in this episode tracing back the history of Float On to its origins. They were younger, bright eyed and the world felt full of possibility. How they advertised floating was a whole different beast back then, too. Part of it was how different the industry was, part of it was how different awareness in Portland was, and parts of it were just about Float On still being a young business.
The guys share their successes, lessons, and bold faced mistakes they made along the way in learning how to deal with the idea of filling tanks, as well as some of the constants that have remained throughout the years.
Latest Blog Posts
The Float Tour Blog – Issue #3
Our travels brought the weary Minnie Winnie (our Winnebago, who we call the Minister Winchester for long), to beautiful San Francisco. The culture of floating is much more embedded in this city than many others.
There are nearly a dozen centers in the Bay Area, each one with its own personality and its own path to success. It certainly helps that Steph Curry uses a float center in San Francisco, even making a video endorsement of floating at the Reboot Float Spa which has generated a huge amount of public exposure for the local and even international industry.
In fact, let’s start there.
The Float Tour Blog – Issue #2
In this issue of The Float Tour Blog, we visit the first manufacturer stop on the tour. We then end this stretch of the journey by visiting the first manufacturers ever and float legends, Glenn and Lee Perry.
Floating While Pregnant
Upon gaining a doctor’s approval, there has been a growing trend of floating during pregnancy. Some take on floating to help reduce back pain while others just love to hear their baby’s heartbeat underwater. The following are some suggestions based on experience on how to comfortably float while pregnant.
The Float Tour Blog – Issue #1
Editor's Note: This and upcoming issues of the Float Tour Blog will be documented by the newest member of the Float Tank Solutions team, JT Howard! We couldn't think of a better way to welcome JT to the family than take him on the road with us... Welcome to the Float...