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FRANCHISE
Skin in the game
Waxing the City fuels passion with permanence
Franchise concepts are often here
today, gone tomorrow—and it’s
tough to predict which ones will
last. But two franchisees of Waxing the
City, Josh and Melissa Narro, have no
doubt their business is here to stay …
just like the tattoos they got of the company’s
initials.
Waxing the City held its first franchise
conference in September 2014, in conjunction
with the conference of its much
larger sister brand, Anytime Fitness.
The fitness franchise is already known
for inspiring more than 2,000 franchisees,
members and staff to get tattoos
of its “running man” logo, and for the
past three years the company has invited
celebrity tattoo artist Jimmy Hayden to
its conference to ink people for free. As
the Narros watched dedicated Anytime
Fitness franchisees line up for the service,
they decided to start a Waxing the City
tattooing tradition, too. Josh got one on
his upper arm; Melissa on her ankle.
The Narros aren’t just the first to go
under the needle for Waxing the City—
they’re also the company’s first franchisees.
Their love for the brand goes back
to its roots, when the first studio opened
in 2003 in Denver, and Melissa worked
there as a technician. As the company
expanded, she became its first manager,
then head trainer. Having seen her juggle
all three roles successfully, the founders
naturally thought of her when they
started to consider franchising.
In 2009 the company opened a corporate
studio in Dallas but found it difficult
to manage from afar. The corporate office
offered to let the Narros take it over
Branded: Melissa
and Josh Narro.
as franchisees—if they were willing to
relocate from Colorado. “It was a little
nervewracking,” Melissa admits, “but
I think we were more excited about the
opportunity than anything.” So they
made the move to Dallas and took ownership
of the studio in 2011.
Until that point, Josh had little to do
with Waxing the City, other than accompanying
his wife to company functions. He
had experience owning businesses—retail
stores and a barbershop—but the femaledominated
world of waxing was new to
him. When Josh stepped in to replace a
front-desk staffer who was let go, he was
quickly thrown into the heart of it.
“We were concerned about a guy working
the front desk, but clients have taken
it really well,” Melissa says. “And throwing
a guy into the mix has really changed
things [for the company]. There’s a lot
of husband-and-wife franchise owners
now, and they even consider hiring studio
coordinators who are men.”
Josh estimates that their original studio
gains 200 to 300 new clients every month.
Its success, and the couple’s passion
for the brand, inspired them to venture
out with a second location in January;
they’re planning to have a third open by
summer. “It’s been a really rewarding
experience, interacting with people,” he
says. “Just helping people look and feel
their best through waxing.” —T.S.H.
PHOTO COURTESY OF WAXING THE CITY (TATTOO); PHOTO © JEN SULAK/PINK LIGHT IMAGES
104 ENTREPRENEUR MARCH 2015