July 19, 2012 – Under Oak Enterprises, Inc. (UOE) has contracted with Elements Therapeutic Massage, Inc. to develop and operate a franchise location in Massachusetts. This project is the first in what is hoped to be many franchise ventures in New England for UOE.
This approach has been undergoing extensive concept-level discovery & research since May. UOE concluded that franchise ownership & operations of multiple units would be the safest way for a small business to launch (i.e. maximize probability of success) and build equity.
If all goes well, the studio will open by end of January, 2013 and reach profitability within the first 6 months. A project to develop a second studio may begin within a few years. Subsequent units will follow. The strategy calls for approximately 10 years of growth, followed by movement into real estate.
This contract marks an official transition into the Plan phase. During this time, primary activities will be: property location & lease, contract bids & estimates for studio build-out, and procurement of additional loan financing via an SBA-backed loan. During this phase, UOE will be working closely with Stephen Stabile, Area Director in MA, NH, & RI as well as the Elements Therapeutic Massage Franchise Support Center in Denver, CO.
With the desire to ensure UOE pursues a humanistic philosophy, the ability of therapeutic massage to improve the quality of people’s lives was one of the major reasons for its selection. This service provides therapeutic massage by practitioners who are licensed & registered by the Massachusetts Board of Registration of Massage Therapy as established by M.G.L. c. 13, § 98 (see also Definition of Massage Therapy.)
Recognizing that small businesses in North America contribute in a major way to the suburban landscape, UOE has adopted a long-term goal to create exceptional & natural environments. This vision is to create living places, and to do so while studying the philosophies of Christopher Alexander, Jane Jacobs, and the “Placemaking” concept described by the Project for Public Spaces. This is in stark contrast and antithetical to the unbridled suburban development of the past decades that allowed the automobile to “ravage America’s cities and landscape” (ref. Asphalt Nation.) The primary goal is to enhance the North American community experience in the most natural way possible.
In order to do this, capital is needed. So, UOE is adopting franchise development and operations as its short-term goal. As an important additional benefit, by getting into a “brick & mortar” business, UOE will develop experience needed to address its long-term goals within commercial retail property.