Page 132 - BWA FEB 2013

132 | Business World Magazine | February 2013
(which translates to life) had already in-
corporated massage into their regular lives
when they saw an opportunity to develop a
business model that would combine all the
science-backed benefits of massage with two
important additional ingredients: unparal-
leled customer service and affordability.
The first LaVida Massage opened in
Brighton, Michigan, in 2007. It employed
highly professional, but personable staff that
saw their position, not so much as a job, but
something of a supporting role as health
practitioners. They created a clean, clutter
free, gender-neutral, but aesthetically allur-
ing environment, affordable service options
and a flexible scheduling system that allowed
for half-hour, hour, or 90-minute long ses-
sions.
Kaltschmidt says business proved to be
more than a success; that there were chal-
lenges keeping up with demand. Over time,
that demand led to requests, both from staff
and clients, who increasingly inquired how
they might go about opening and operating
a similarly-styled business.
This ultimately led to the development
of a franchising system, which today, still re-
lies on qualities imparted from the very first
Franchisee Mark Davis, Owner of Canton,
MI and Plymouth, MI locations