#198 - From Corporate Jobs to a National Wellness Brand: The Oakwell Beer Spa Story

0:00 From day one, we were booked at 100 % occupancy, 8 a.m. to 10 30 p.m. seven days a week for the first three and a half years in business. All right, you all welcome back. It isn't too often that we are blessed with the presence of a couple. So we were talking before the podcast. We've done this one other time, but from my previous 10 minutes of conversation with Damien and Jessica, this is going to be really fun.

0:46 When you get a couple that builds entrepreneurial things together, there's usually special conversation that comes out of it. So I'm excited that today we have Damien and Jessica Zuawi gotten it down. The husband and wife founders of Oakwell Beer Spa. I'm excited to hear all about this. Before launching the company, Damian and Jessica were working corporate jobs in New York City, but they felt the pull to build something of their own. So they made a bold decision. They quit their jobs, sold everything they own and spent 14 months traveling through 25 countries, searching for the right business idea. That idea came when they stumbled upon a beer spa in Poland.

1:27 and realized they could bring a modern version of the concept here to the United States. So in 2021, they opened Oakwell Beer Spa in Denver, creating a unique experience that combines wellness treatments like beer baths and infrared saunas with a craft beer taproom. The concept has quickly become one of the most talked about wellness experiences in Colorado and now expanding to new locations. Damien and Jessica, welcome to the necessary entrepreneur. Nice. We're excited to be here. Did we do that well? Did we do this experience of Oak Well well? We're going to steal that fair commercial. That was awesome. I just want three cents as the commission. Okay. Five cents. Good.

2:07 Okay. You right. You convinced me. Um, all right. So this is a unique idea. love when I come up a beer. I'm like, now, wait a minute. Okay. I have this experience with beer and going out in the town. And sometimes we have a few too many and the craft beer explosion. What's happened, but to combine this with the spa, a beer spa, I this is so unique coming into it. I said, this is either going to be boom or bust. So what are you guys doing and what have you done over the past five years to make sure it's a boom? Yeah, that was one of our biggest things, right? This could very easily turn into a gimmicky thing where people just come once, they pour a pint of beer on their head, take some Instagram videos and then call it a day and never come back.

2:59 So we really focused on the wellness benefits of the experience, um on the social aspect as well. So it's a social day spa experience. You come with your significant other, you come with your best friends, you have a really good time. And there's a powerful uh feeling that you have afterwards. You're really relaxed. Your skin is soft and smooth. The hospitality that we provide is next level. So it really provides an experience that you want to come back to time and time again. It's not about the drinking. Our guests enjoy two pints of beer on average. So it's not a place that you're coming to get hammered. You're just enjoying a glass or two or a pint of two to aid in the relaxation.

3:40 But those are really the big things that we focused on to make sure that this wasn't just a gimmicky one and done touristy situation. And it's proven out. mean, we have now our second location. Both locations are doing extremely well. We're starting to sell franchises nationwide. We have memberships, we have guests that come in every single month as their date night experience with their significant other. So we've really proven that it's not just a bust one time tourist experience. What do you, um, if it was a concern and you realize like, we have to make sure this isn't gimmicky. Right. Were any of the concerns that maybe you had, because in entrepreneurship, we have to make a decision and go all in.

4:24 Any of the concerns you have, were they relevant? Yeah, yeah, absolutely. Well, the concerns that we had was going to sleep and think, do really people can once you bath in beer, you know, and those answers to those concerns is being obsessed with hospitality, thought to deliver the best service at all time. That includes being consistent in that exercise. The second uh is longevity is like, okay, there is pure benefits to bath in an herbal bath made out of fresh herbs, barley and different other ingredients.

5:06 And how do we make sure that we learn from ancient traditions, culture, where in Japan, South Korea, in Morocco, in different other countries around the world, using herbal baths has an element to help you to relax, exist, it's proven to create benefits to it. And the third is creating the best work environment for our staff that doesn't believe they work at Disneyland or Universal Studios where it's only one day and that's it.

5:48 Because they need to feel secure to be able to go back to work every day and thinking that I think this concept can be and be successful. Hmm. So it seems like I can already hear the underlyings of a really successful business because even if you would have chosen something else on these world journeys to find the thing that you were going to jump into, that you wanted to provide a top level elite, whatever you would call that service, you would have put that on whatever business you were going to start. Exactly. I think more than beers or spas, our obsession is hospitality, providing an experience that you feel like royalty from the moment you walk in.

6:31 I feel like this is something that is missing so much in the United States. And to be honest, in a lot of places around the world as well as if you travel to France or other places, I mean, the level of service can often be lacking, ah but really finding a place that you can go to at an affordable price point because, you you go to the Grit's Carlton, sure, but... how many people can really afford that on any sort of frequency. So we wanted to provide what one of our managers calls Michelin casual experience. So Michelin level service, but without being pretentious, at an affordable price point that everyday people can afford. And a lot of our guests have never experienced hospitality like this before. You know, the moment you walk in the door, we greet you with your first name, hi, Mark, we're so excited that you're here.

7:16 Happy birthday. You know, what are you doing after this? We have a what's called hospitality challenge. So we challenge our staff to learn something interesting about all of our guests and write it on the back of their appointment card and that gets shared with the rest of the team. So if you're going to a concert at Red Rocks after your spa experience and you told our beer therapist when you checked in, now everyone else knows and we'll bring up, I heard you're going to this concert later. That's so cool. I love that band. And you feel so special. Like everyone's talking about me. Everyone knows about me. This is typically the only type of Only place that you can get this type of service is at a very high end resort. But we're doing this at a place where, you know, everyday people can afford to go to.

7:59 Yeah, that's what I'm seeing here. Wondering even before you mentioned the Ritz that was on the tip of my tongue. Cause I think that's this top level hospitality that we all have to reference. And if you go anywhere, you know, it's like, maybe you can find one for a thousand or 1200. Maybe. Right. But consistently you'll find it for 2000, 3000, $4,000 a night for one night of stay somewhere. And so that was the question you said at an affordable price. And I'm sitting here wondering like, what are you having to give up from the Ritz experience? to you're able to do at Oakwell to be able to do it for this experience. Anything? No, don't think so. I hospitality doesn't cost anything.

8:40 This is not, mean, to remember someone's name to if they're celebrating an anniversary, putting a congratulations or happy anniversary banner in their room, to remember what your favorite beer is every time that you come in, that doesn't cost anything. I don't know why more companies don't put such an emphasis on this. ah Well, I think it costs your sometimes sanity, right? Sometimes it costs your energy and the repetition constantly on repeating exactly the same thing until your staff members understand the importance of it, the resilience of constantly sticking to your SOP, best practices, training.

9:24 So I think it's more like a mental health cost. The reason being is, you you spend three weeks training someone and then you put him out there and every quarter you do skill check and every skill check is like, why he's not getting it? Right? And you actually need to look yourself in the mirror and say, no, no, no. It's not like he's not getting it. It's just you as a manager or leader or young entrepreneurs, you have not been cleared or you have not been Uh, supportive enough to be able to, uh, to assist your team unless they don't want it.

10:05 They don't want to do it, which is a very different story. Yeah. It seems like you guys are applying. What's the book unreasonable hospitality. It's something like that. Is that the, is that the book? Um, good, good Dara. think that's his last name that wrote it. Um, yeah, I have this experience not to compare you guys at all to a fast food chain, but it's what Chick-fil-A does well. Exactly. We stole my pleasure from Chick-fil-A. we went to places like Ritz-Carlton, we went to Chick-fil-A, we went to the Four Seasons, and we built what's called our Five Star Service Standard. So it's our playbook of how to provide this Michelin casual top tier hospitality experience.

10:46 And part of that is in the language that our team uses. if someone says, thank you, we never say no problem or no worries. There was not a problem or a worry to begin with. We say our pleasure. And that's something that we took from Chick-fil-A because we thought that's a really pleasant feeling when someone says our pleasure to you, whether you're receiving your bag of french fries and chicken nuggets or you're at the end of your spa experience. felt like that was a really nice term. Yeah. What, what have you learned through this five year journey? So go back to the beginning 2021, all the things you didn't know that you didn't know. Um, and the challenges that you were going to face from an entrepreneurial perspective, go back there.

11:31 What were some of the hardest lessons to learn? yep. So I think our first one that we talked a lot about early on was picking your battles with your team. We are such perfectionists and we have had this idea in mind of how it should be executed, how our guests should be spoken to, what the experience should be like, how it should smell, how it should look, how clean it should be. You know, we dreamed all of this, dreamt all of this up. And we put it all in SOPs and in training manuals and we're like, it's all written on paper. Like, why is it so difficult to not just follow what we have written here? You just have to follow the checklist and do the same thing over and over again.

12:15 But, you know, at the end of the day, our team, they are not the business owners and we will always care a little bit more than them. We're financially more invested. We've committed our entire life to this. um And ultimately, you know, I don't think our team feels like it's just a job, but at the end of the day, there is a little bit of like, you know, you go to work to get a paycheck and the team that we've built now is incredible and they're really bought in and invested, but it took a while to get to that place. And at the beginning, when you have your new employees that are just, you know, hourly employees at the time, they're not as invested in you or as invested in it as you are. ah You know, it's hard not to go after them for every little thing that they're not doing correctly.

12:59 But we had to decide, okay, what is worth really fighting them on? Because we're going to create an unhappy workplace if we are constantly behind them saying, why aren't you doing this? Why aren't you doing that? What's going on? So we had to pick our battles. So it's really, if it's something that's going to really affect the guest experience negatively, if it's something that's going to cost the company a lot of money. Um, if it's something safety related, this liability related, that's what we really focus on. Um, but we've learned to, okay, if they're not following the morning manager checklist exactly to the tee every single time, but it's not making an impact on our P and L and you know, the guest doesn't know the difference.

13:41 Like we have to not be on our manager's backs all the time. Um, so that was something it's, it's still something that we work on because we're such perfectionists. but I think just. picking your battles with your team so you can create a happy work environment and that your team doesn't feel like they're being micromanaged. On the marketing side and customer service side, I think your best marketing is actually the service you deliver and how you deliver it. Of course, you need to have an incredible website, social media accounts. But at the end of the day, really what matters is the perception and the feeling your guest, customer, whoever is your client, he's the one who is actually your marketer.

14:26 He's the one who's going to spread the word. He's the one who is going to recommend you. Now, later, that's a different story and there's tools to help him to recommend us. Google reviews and emails and texts, any marketing tactics. But don't forget that I will never forget the first six months I was obsessed with like, oh my gosh, I'm on the floor seven days a week from 6 a.m. to 1 a.m. I'm cleaning the floor, I'm doing all that, but where is the marketing? And I'm a marketer and I sell the marketing by her. That's what I do for living before.

15:06 And I was like, okay, take a deep breath. I think what I've learned is when you talk to the guests, when you serve the guests, when you deliver the service, when you say goodbye with a smile, when you open the doors, when you close the doors, whatever you do for the guests is your best marketing tactics. Hmm. So good. When you went to open the second location, did you have any concern about usually the second location of every business usually doesn't perform with the same margin as the first? What's been your experience? Yeah, we were hopeful with the second location just because of how well the first location did.

15:46 So to paint the picture here, we opened in 2021. This is right as COVID restrictions were lifting. People had money. They were ready to get out and do things. Thank goodness we weren't opening a restaurant. We had a concept that was so well adapted to uh post-COVID times. We have private spa suites that you aren't interacting with a massage therapist or an esthetician. The suites are fully cleaned and disinfected after each use. So our concept was perfectly adapted for people starting to get back out and do things in public. And so from day one, we were booked at 100 % occupancy. And it sounds like a joke, but it's not.

16:27 100 % occupancy, 8 a.m. to 10 30 p.m. seven days a week. for the first three and a half years in business. We had a wait list of 100 people long at any given point, at any point in time. So we're waiting six to eight weeks to make an appointment. So we were very successful with the launch of our first one. So we were thinking if we even do somewhere near that, you know, then it will, then it'll be a success. ah Our guests were getting frustrated as well that we were booking out so far in advance. They would have friends or family coming into town. They'd want to bring them, but sorry, you have to wait eight weeks for an appointment or put your name on the wait list.

17:10 So we knew by opening the second location, our occupancy would likely decrease a little bit at the first location. Now they have two options and more availability. um And so, you know, we opened the second location and exactly that happened. know, our occupancy decreased a little bit at the first location, but to a healthy level. I mean, at the end of the day, it's not really healthy to be at 100 % occupancy. You have no time to do maintenance. It results in a lot of, you know, if you need to do equipment maintenance or touch up painting or repair something, you're coming in at midnight in order to do that because then you're back at a fully booked day the next day. And it's also hard on the team to be like, go, go, go 24 seven open to close.

17:54 So with the second location, we did have our occupancy decrease a little bit, but she was still a very healthy level. um And then now our second location, we've been open for almost a year now. And revenue wise, we are basically at where we are with the first location. So we've had a very healthy ramp up. So then now it's time to scale. So now it's time to scale. Franchise. What's gonna look like? Tell me about this. Damien wants to get in on this. Yes. The second location was really, you know, so the first location was we were fortunate enough with hard work to be able to find a lot of success with the support of the community.

18:35 First of all, let's not forget that Denver, Colorado, it's almost like in California, the people here love supporting small businesses. And right during COVID and after COVID, actually, people really went big, big on supporting small businesses and giving them a chance. So, you know, from that point where like, okay, we're bootstrapped, we've built this ourselves, we need to recreate a new one and going through that painful process. It's painful to build something from scratch that no one else has built. uh With a professional GCE, professional architects, engineer.

19:20 all the whole crew and the best of the best to be able to build a prototype to scale. Because the first one was not the reality. So we went through that painful uh time. It went extremely well because we were surrounded with the right people and then launching a store without the COVID effect, right? Without the... It was pure positivity. I COVID is almost over. was like, there's no new administration taking over the office. There's no tariff. There's none of that. It was just pure happiness.

20:01 It was a perfect time to launch a business. And now, okay, let's start again from scratch, building it from scratch with a big different budget, right? And... How do we launch this in a market where it's very different? We're 38 miles south, the new one from the first one. The first one is downtown Denver. We've got visitors. We've got people from California, New York. mean, there's everyone, so many people from different walks of life. The south, the store south is more suburban area. So we have much more locals. And how do you market that to?

20:41 busy parents, busy people work during the day. And then once you have some fun time, relaxing time at night. it was a very different strategy and different way of marketing. So with that in mind, yes, let's scale. Let's scale by learning first how to improve our business model with a second location and how to scale with a brand new team that has heard about us. Read the reviews on Google. TripAdvisor, uh read the press about our success and ran to the best date nights and so on. All of that are just stars for people, but in reality, how can we handle that hype?

21:26 How can we handle that reputation and how can we deliver? Well, you need to go and do that in a new store. And Jessica and I have decided to uh improve our technology, POI system. Fun system, everything that we could do to make it bulletproof and be ready to franchise. Testing our SOP of the first store into the second store. The trading manuals and all of the trading sessions we had with that new team. And being able to really see if do we have to change your business model? Do we have to change the core of something? And the reason today after nine months, after almost a year is no.

22:11 We have not had to change our business manual. We had not to change our training manuals. Actually, the only thing we have to improve, oh not improve, but change, tweak, was the marketing side. And uh more importantly, uh how do we uh build it so it's actually even more bulletproof. And so uh we're ready to franchise. We are franchiseing. Where's the where's the can you talk about the next location that's opening? you have a franchise that you know is coming online? It's Cincinnati, it's your- in your- in Here we go! No, did not hear this.

22:52 don't think the 33rd largest market in the country would be the second place for you to go. I don't think so. It's probably like Chicago or somewhere like that. It's such a- So we are um targeting four states to launch in. So these are all outside of Colorado. We want to prove that it works in the market that's different than Colorado. So we're looking at Arizona first. So Scottsdale is the biggest bachelorette capital of the United States. It's also the most spas per capita in the United States, so very wellness-centric. We're also looking at Texas. So we have uh Austin, huge craft beer city. There are a lot of similarities to Denver, Dallas, Houston, and San Antonio.

23:37 We're looking at Kansas City and then Minneapolis. So these are all within an hour and a half flight from Denver. We want to be very hands-on at the beginning, ah being able to provide as much support and be on site as often as Damien and I can. So that's why we're starting kind of regionally and then we'll branch out from there. But then we have other people that have expressed interest that have been guests of Oakwell before that were tourists and were visiting us here and then have gone back to their states. So we're looking at California, Florida, Georgia, but as far as marketing dollars spent towards franchise sales, we're targeting those states that are within an hour and a half from us.

24:19 What are going to be your all's non-negotiables for franchisees? Yeah. I mean, I think a love for hospitality is a non-negotiable. One thing, you know, as you're going into franchising that you always have to worry about is, the quality going to be the same as our two corporate stores? We still have a 4.9 star rating on Google at both of our locations with over 3,000 reviews. So even as Damian and I have stepped away and focused more on strategy and big picture, We have instilled in our team and in our managers the importance of hospitality and the importance of providing this five-star experience.

24:59 And we need to make sure that the other OQA locations that open that are not owned and operated by us continue to maintain that. Because I think that's the biggest differentiator for us. Anyone can go, you know, drop a bunch of money and open a spa, but what sets us apart is the hospitality that we provide. So a non-negotiable is definitely finding an operator that is as committed to providing that level of experience. And of course we have our service standards guides and we have all the SOPs, but at the end of the day, having to be there and be behind your team and making sure those things get implemented, that's really important to us. And it goes with the level of care for your guests, but as well for your team because you know, you're passing a message through your team to be able to have them hosting, greeting your guests and you need to care about your team and you need to treat your team like you've ever treated anyone else like this, you know, with professionalism, with fairness, I think, with fairness.

26:07 But as well we learn lot of care that you ever find anywhere else in a hospitality company, which is why when you have a goal to become one of the best hospitality company, you need to focus on your team and then they will be able to take care of the guests the way you have teach them and train them. Who's the ideal, have you designed an ideal candidate for being a franchisee? Because I look at YouTube coming from these corporate jobs. It seems like you're great mentors for people who want to do something similar. Or do you think it would be more ideal for somebody that has been an entrepreneur in the past? Yeah, you know, we go back and forth.

26:49 An entrepreneur is definitely helpful. I think at our early stage of franchising, it's going to be a collaboration. It's going to be, we're going to learn from each other, right? And it needs to be someone that's willing to take a risk because they are going to be one of our first franchisees. So ah that's going to be a different profile of person than someone that wants to go buy a Jersey Mike's that's, you know, it's improvement and thousands of units. and whatnot. So having entrepreneurial mindset, but also someone that likes rules and structure and processes, someone that's a risk taker, but not too much where they're just going to completely go off the rails and want to do their own thing.

27:30 So it's really a balance. think one thing that will be very helpful though is experience either managing or owning a four wall brick and mortar store. A big learning process for us is coming from the corporate world and then managing hourly employees. um There was a lot of learning to do about how to interact with them, how to manage these different personality types. Our employees are coming from all different walks of life. They're coming from backgrounds that are mainly serving and bartending, which are typically not the most professional environments. mean, they're doing tequila shots with their managers behind the bar after shift, and then that's not.

28:11 the type of environment that we are creating. uh So we're taking a lot of hospitality industry folks, but then we're putting them in a more structured environment and all of our employees are full time. We provide 401k, paid time off, health insurance benefits. We provide the structure and professionalism that they would find in a more office job in a hospitality environment, but it takes some adapt. for them. And some people think that that's what they want, but then they get into it they're like, this is a bit too much structure. I can't call out whatever I want because I want to go hiking or skiing. There's an attendance and punctuality point system. I don't know about all this. So ah knowing how to manage those different personality types within the hospitality industry, I think will give a franchisee a big leg up.

28:59 It's not impossible to learn these things as we did, but it's definitely a bit more difficult. coming straight from the corporate world and then managing a bunch of bartenders and servers can be a bit of a wild ride. the, what is without throwing out all the stuff for what, give me an idea of, um, a, an investment that an entrepreneur is going to have to make. What's a financial investment and then what's a net worth need to identify? What's, what's ideal there? Yeah. Yeah. So the range is pretty wide because we had to account for opening one of these in Ohio or opening one in New York City or LA.

29:41 So the minimum investment is $1.3 million and then the top level of that is $2.6 million. That investment gets you everything through your first three months of operation. So that includes all of the franchise fees. your construction fees, your equipment package, the retail products that you have to put on your shelves, first three months of payroll, first three months of rent, business insurance, et cetera. So it's really like everything that range includes everything that needs to get you through the first three months of operations. So typically when someone's looking to fund this, it's gonna be a combination of cash that they're putting into it as well as a loan that they get. So with that, when you're going to get a loan, especially like an SBA loan, they are requiring you to have 20 % equity injection, so cash to put in it.

30:31 So if we take just the median, so let's say a median middle of the road, if you're not in New York City or LA. Okay, a million meter. math easier for me. Two million, right? let's see. It's two million. oh Exactly. Liquid. Yeah. Yeah. And I just, know, that's, looks, it's a big amount upfront, right? But the profits today after five years in business, it's capital intensive, but you, if you run it the way we teach you how to run it and you stick to our guidance and advice, you know, you can be cash flow positive pretty quickly and your business model.

31:22 We're not creating something gimmicky here. We've always tried to make sure that everything is based on longevity. know, are at the intersection of three big trends that are actually doing extremely well and are not going any time down is social wellness, right? And you've got the despacit, which is true uh well-being, right? And then you have the third interception, uh which is uh the craft beverages that some people might say, well, it's people are not drinking as much as they used to, but it's still a trend that is evolving into non-icolic beverages, craft non-icolic craft beverages, or even specific iconic craft beverages with, you know, hard tea.

32:17 uh side, hard side, and all of that, that has evolved into different trends. So those three trends are not going anywhere. And those are, we'll be here to stay for at least two decades. That's our vision. Hmm. The, what does it look like to it's probably a different price point for a consumer experience based on the city you're in as well. Right. But what's a, what, what do you see as a mid tier experience for these suites? What's that experience look like? So I'm not a, I'm not a franchisee, but I'm like, man, I'm coming to Denver or the next one. What's it look like? What timeframe, what's it cost?

32:58 How many people in the suite? What's this look like? Picture this, we're checking you in, you have this incredible French pop bossa nova or music of the world that is not well sound ocean sound of the ocean. You have a smiley manager and beer therapist. This is a real legal name. Greeting you with so much proud that you're here. We were expecting you. We're so excited you're here. We check your ID and we check you in with an RFID card. A few waivers here and there because there is no lifeguard on duty.

33:41 And then we score you with your beautiful craft beverage wall, called the beer wall for some, with a different lineup of craft beverages, beer, wine, cider, non-alcoholic beverages. If you want to make it even more special, we have a bottle of French sparkling wine that you can as well do a mimosaquit. When you went through the tasting, you select your beer, we help you teach you how to pour a beer or a drink, and then we seat you in a beautiful lounge. The lounge is almost like a boutique hotel lounge. We call it the tap room, but it's more like a boutique hotel lounge. It smells good. The music is nice.

34:22 There is a swing chairs from the ceiling. It's like urban jungle. It doesn't smell beer. And you have cards, you have topic cards to break the ice between you and your significant other on ah different topics. There's no NBA games, there's no clock. It's very energetic. And then you have again that beer trap is coming up with a big smile introducing you to your selection of beer baths. You have three different baths you can select from, from energizing to relaxing to then a soothing muscle, bath infusion that can really benefit you if you perhaps run or hike or you're an athlete.

35:11 And when you have selected that, a few minutes pass and someone else, another BeatRapist, pick you up and take you on a really nice tour to show you the facility because you want to know where you're at in every single step of the experience and... Drop you in your beautiful private space suites. We have four private space suites. Each suite has a beautiful large tub, hydroterapy tub, a rain shower. Some people call it an Italian uh shower. Very beautiful. And a sauna. You have access to this private space suite. This is yours.

35:52 Whatever you're doing there, this is yours. You can be in a bathing suit, you can be in your birthday suit, it's up to you. We suggest a circuit, it's 90 minutes, you start with the 20 minutes. So now to really detox, let go everything, sweat as much as you can. This helps you to really get everything out of your body. Of course, you can drink your favorite beer and a lot of water. Then we suggest you to go to take a quick cold shower to shake up your body and keep that blood flow. blood flowing and then the magical part of the beer bath, there's no real beer. Again, there's no course lights. uh In there, doesn't smell beer. What it is is it's an herbal bath made with fresh herbs, barley, kale juice, lemon grass, really depends on the bath selection.

36:40 You have uh shuza and those have an incredible benefits for you. You soak into it for about 50 minutes uh and of course you can order room service and we can deliver you your favorite beer, wine, cider. There's chaff petri board if you want to have something to snack on. There we have tray of artisan chocolate bonbon. And after 90 minutes, you're out and you have a lounge, a rest lounge where you cool down, you take it easy. There's a bit less music. There's a bit more air condition just to cool down. And of course we can serve you an hour drink.

37:21 And then uh the cherry on the top that actually we discovered this technology in Japan and South Korea is called a zero gravity massage experience. Those are uh being piece of equipment. You would call it a massage chair and you see it. We hate this word because you think that, those are from the mall, the airport. They're actually scams. No, this is a company builder that we have partnered. They are one of the leader in the market. actually the leader in the US, they have created this incredible technology that replicates a real human massage with rollers and airbags.

38:03 You're pretty much sitting in this incredible big chair massage, I'm gonna say it, and massage chair, and it scans your body for about 20 seconds and replying you like an astronaut is taking off. So you feel like Richard Branson, Mark, like taking off slowly. And that you're starting to have a full body massage from top to bottom. And you can select a 15, 30 or 60 minute session. And those goes deep into your body focus on chords, points. And it is just incredible.

38:44 And on the business side, these never fail. You have sometimes some technical issues, but it never goes out. know, it's very reliable on the business side. ah And people love it. And mostly the men would never have a massage and don't like strangers to touch them, which often happened in the U.S. We realized through market research that it's very similar to some societies in Asia. Some Americans do not like strangers to touch them. And this has changed the whole game for us. And then you can get our beer, our drinks, you can browse our retail products. have beer, bath and body infused products, beer shampoo, beer conditioner, beer soaps, beer bath bulbs.

39:31 And you can do some shopping, finish your drink and sign up for a membership if you want to. Goodbye and see you soon and we'll see you again next week and next month. So what's it about a two to three hour experience? that what it is? Yeah. Yeah, it's- a three hour experience on average. And then our private spa suites can accommodate up to three people. 90 % of our guests come as couples though. You can do a solo spa day, but you can also have up to three people. We can combine two of our private spa suites together to have a garage party is what we call it because our first location, we have garage doors in between the rooms. So you roll up the garage doors, you combine the suites together and you can have up to six people if you're doing like a, you know, a group of friends, bachelor at party, bachelor party.

40:19 Um, and then price point. Our lowest package starts at $199. So that gives you the private boss suite for two people. Um, and then of course you pay for, you want to add on a massage or add on beverages. Um, we have our couples retreat, which is $259. So you get a box of gourmet chocolates in your room. You have candles, rose petals, a romantic setup. And then 349 is our Oakwell Escape, and that gives you a complimentary check-in drink. You have your private spa suite for 90 minutes. You get a charcuterie board, chocolate box, and then 30-minute massages for both you and the guests that you came with. So our average ticket is $300.

41:02 I was going to say, I bet the 349 is becoming more popular all the time. yeah, absolutely. Yeah, and looking at what's going on around us, you cannot find a day spa that really gave you an hour message for less than $200 per person. That doesn't include tips. So we're actually in that positioning where we've never marketed ourselves based on price. Never. And we'll never do that. We market ourselves based on benefits, the uniqueness of the experience, and so on. But we are... affordable luxury some people call that that's uh Premium we're still the premium price, but you know, it can be a price It can it can it can be it can be a bit high on people for people who've never been to a day spa before which often we have that audience coming because they're more attracted by the uniqueness of the hot temp side on the beer side and think nice is a cool thing to do so So we're still extremely competitive and this helps to really break the stigma that DaySpies was only meant to be for the people who have time and money or the people or the women because DaySpies in the US are still targeted towards women.

42:24 What's the average square footage you think the locations will be? Yeah, 3,400 is our prototypical space. Small is 3,000, as large as 4,000. But 3,400 is really the sweet spot. Yeah, so tomorrow. So what did, what'd we miss here about the experience that you two have been through? So we have it out that people can franchise now the cities you're looking at that it's a rich type of an experience, it's up, it's a high end hospitality experience. Um, what do we miss about your all's journey for these past five years? What, what, what do we miss? What are the quiet conversations? Because what we know, Jessica is we know you're the one that proposed to Damien.

43:09 So right with that being the surprise, what are the surprises, um, here about this five year journey that you all have been on? Yeah, I mean, it's been an adventure. ah I think it's easy for us to forget about how difficult it was opening our original location. Even though we got loans, we were so underfunded and we had to do so much of the construction ourselves. And even within that, I mean, there's... And at the time we didn't have a car either, right? So we were renting an apartment just a few blocks from the space. But it was one of those, you we'd wake up at five a.m., it'd be snowing, we'd be walking through the snow to get to the construction site.

43:52 There was no heating or air conditioning the entire time that we were in construction. So we'd be bundled up in sweaters and scarves and gloves, trying to install cabinetry, trying to paint walls. uh You know, there's the funny story of the walk-in cooler that we got from an auction, a subway that was closing. We didn't have money to afford a walk-in cooler. Usually they're like $10,000 to $20,000 and we did not have that kind of money. I think we have like $800 in our budget for the walk-in cooler, which was not accurate. So we ended up finding a subway that was closing in Fort Collins and we got it at an auction for $200, spent another $200 to get a moving company to relocate it.

44:36 but it was so rusty and gross inside. mean, this was like a 20-year-old walk-in cooler from Subway, so it was pretty gross. So I had to scrub it down, try to get the rust off of it. And there is this direct to metal paint that you can paint over rust so it doesn't look so rusty anymore. So I was inside painting the walk-in cooler. And at the same time, the drywallers are trying to finish the drywall. And so they said, hey, like you got to get out there, get out of here. I need to put plastic tarping over the door to the walk-in cooler so I can work around it. But I was like, no, no, no, just close me in here. I'll be fine. And this kind of paint, like you're supposed to be wearing like PPE, like ventilation and stuff, which I of course didn't.

45:21 I was just like bare handed with a roller. So of course, like 15 minutes in, I start getting like a really lightheaded and I'm like, oof, I don't feel too good. I start like feeling some tingling on my face. ended up getting chemical burns on my face from being stuck in there, almost pastel. But at end of the day, got, you know, we spruce this walk-in cooler up and all in, it costs us like $500 and we passed our health inspections. I mean, there's countless stories like that and even... when we were doing construction, we were broke, right? Like we put all of our money into this. And so Damien was driving Lyft at the time. So he would, you know, we do construction like all during the day and then starting at 11 p.m.

46:05 he'd drive Lyft until 2 a.m. used it as a really great way to do market research. Like would tell people, hey, we're opening up a spot. How much would you pay for this? What do you think of this experience? ah We were oh doing dog walking. We'd take a break to go down the street and walk a dog to get $25. I ah mean, we were very, very bootstrapped at the beginning. And I think it's important for us to remember that and look back on that. that it seems like, and especially for our employees, I'm sure it's like, they have two locations and 30 plus employees and they just mainly work from home now. And I'm sure it seems like... uh You know, it seems like the hardship was far behind us, but we remember it like it was yesterday.

46:53 Was there a moment when you almost quit? every day. No, I'm gonna touch for myself. Oh, no, we never almost quit. But there were times that I'd be laying on the floor in the, what would be the future massage room, curled up in a ball. I don't know if we can do this for much longer. And of course, when you're under that much stress, it's hard. have disagreements about things like Daniel's a perfectionist when it comes to construction and... If we put together something and he realized it was a little off, he'd want to tear it all back down and like rebuild it. And I'm like, no, I'm not doing that again. So it was a, it was a hard time for sure, but I don't think we ever actually quit, but there were times when of course you, you entertain the idea or think of just like, why am I doing this?

47:43 Yeah, but I think, you know, when you go through those moments, resilience kicks in and nothing stops you. You have nothing else. There's no other option for failure. And your motto actually is never settle for mediocrity. we never did. And I think when you all have money, you're smarter. When you think that the world is falling, the sky is falling on you, you're actually more innovative and creative. And when your bank account is empty, well, you need to make it happen. And that's where your best investment came. So, you know, I think you mentioned what did we forget?

48:28 Well, I think there is something that we will never forget is the first employees that uh accepted the opportunity, even if they were not the right fit. The landlord that said yes, because 100 other landlords said no. The city of Denver and a nonprofit lender by the SBA said yes, while 50 banks said no. Fuel this resilience, fuel this purpose, fuel this, okay, if they say yes, there's a reason for it, right? And mainly, very importantly, the day of the grand opening day where You're fully booked for the next two months.

49:13 You don't have staff, but people made a booking. That means something. So even if you feel like the sky is falling on you, there's all those green signals. Let's not forget to constantly being optimistic, positive, because if you're constantly negative, it actually creates the situation you don't want to fall into. So as we, as we wrap this up, um, Jessica and Damien from Oakwell, why Jessica, why never settle for mediocrity? Yeah, you know, it's a motto that I came up with.

49:53 Yeah, I was probably in college at the time. And I feel like anything that's worth doing is worth doing 110%. And that sounds really cliche, but I just, I don't know. I've just never wanted to be a mediocre person. I've just never wanted to do things halfway. If I'm going to do something, I'm going to be the best at it. It's going to be perfect. We're going to, you know, you know, completely exceed anyone's expectations. I just think. why, if you're going to do something in life, like why would you just do it halfway? And why would you want to just be mediocre at life? Like, I don't want anyone to think like, you know, she just, she's just there. She just does what she does.

50:33 And I don't know. I feel like there's just something, anyone can accomplish anything that they want to if they really set their mind to it, but you have to put in the hard work and the dedication. And if you're not going to give it your all, then just don't. It's like come up with something that you can be passionate about and that you can give it 110%. But you should never just do things halfway. And this is more powerful than uh seeking revenue. You know, actually, every time we action something, we have the purpose to wow the guests and care about our team.

51:16 And then the revenue comes. And the mediocrity is how can we constantly, they very exceed the expectations based on our actions, based on service, uh based on uh an example. We forgot to put a timer on your tub. We have an incredible technology, but there's still a button to touch. Okay. Often the newbies, new employees that start to have three weeks of training, the first week they're out by themselves like, you passed everything, you're a certified beer therapist.

51:57 They forgot the time. I'm not going to charge you, Marc. I'm not going to charge you. You took three hours of your day to say, British, your anniversary and you didn't have water in your tub or your tub drain 30 minutes or 40 minutes earlier. And the thing is, you're You get out of your room, you're already dressed. It's like, you're not going to go back. Right. So why do you charge you? And on top of that, the set of mediocrities for his. Mark, you're celebrating your 20 years anniversary. This is not the way it should have happened. Please come back on us. Here's a gift card. Not only I don't charge you, but there's a gift card for you to come back.

52:39 At a later time, I know it's not what you you visualize. Come back at later time, honest. Please come back to experience exactly what we designed for you. We're so sorry right now. This is honest. We know the mistake and there is no excuses. That's not settling for mediocrity. When you go to a steakhouse and they fail to deliver you the major rare, the blue, the red steak that you eat, and they say, let me give you a new one, but you still... Pay for the whole steak? We pay for it, that's not a problem.

53:20 Instead of having the mindset to tell you, you know what, tonight was not the night we designed for you. Come back, I don't know, don't think. There's a gift card. You choose. No pressure. The card never expire. Come back for a second round on us and let us have a second chance to value and change your mind. So the moral to the story is find the brand new therapist or the suite where the button doesn't work. Exactly. Or change the finger. Sometimes my finger works and the other finger doesn't.

54:01 Exactly. It doesn't happen often, I'll tell you. Yeah, bet. Nah, you wouldn't, you wouldn't have built something profitable. Hey, thank you for highlighting, you know, what hospitality and service should be. Um, just hearing what the premise of your business, regardless of we have to wrap our head around craft beer in a spa together. Um, when you receive this type of service to your point, whether it's a steak house, whether it's fast food or a hotel, you remember it and it done so infrequently now in this world. that every time you get exposed and experience like this that you're talking about, it's always memorable. So kudos for you all building this and every business that I've seen that has spoken to this and set it as their standard and they live up to it, they've succeeded regardless of the business they're in.

54:46 So I'm confident that Oakwell has big, big days ahead of you. Yeah, we'll em didn't make the eighth. We might be ninth or 10th now. There you go, you might. Thank you guys. Um, this was good. appreciate you really sharing, you know, what an experience can be because all the entrepreneurs out here, um, all of our followers, all the listeners, the ones who are currently in business, who are also striving to be in business. This sets a level of expectation about what business, not only it could be maybe what it ought to be or should be. Yes, and yourself, you always need to make sure you apply this to yourself as well.

55:27 Guys, I'm sitting here putting the pressure on me and my businesses now. I'm like, I got to get them off of here. Cause if too many people listen to this, I have a new expectation on everything I do. So, which wouldn't be a bad thing. Thank you all for joining us, um, all the way from Denver. And, it sounds like you have long hours ahead of you. So get back to work, get out of sitting in your house. Cause all of the, all of the employees, they come back in and work with us, but, um, kudos to what you're doing. I hope that the travels of finding all these new franchisees goes really, really well for you guys. Thanks. This was great. All right, thank you.