Art of the Float

Where float centers thrive

Inline Heater or Waterbed heater?

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I missed a post last week. I’m sorry! To make up for it I’ll  be making two posts this week. Thanks everyone!

When the waterbed heaters underneath our Floatarium float tank died, the choice between waterbed heaters and inline heaters was an easy one. We weren’t about to completely disassemble the tank, re-spray foam insulator (the old insulation would have to be removed to get access to the old heaters), and then put it all back together. It was just too big of a project when such a simpler option was available.

But what choice do you make when installing waterbed heaters is just as simple as installing an inline heater? What are the pros and cons in choosing one over the other? Today’s post will discuss these questions and help you make the right choice for your float tank business. [Read more…] about Inline Heater or Waterbed heater?

A week in Kauai and so much has happened!

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A week in Kauai and so much has happened!

Sandra and I just had our first vacation since opening the Float Shoppe in December 2011! It was beautiful celebration of our love for each other as well as how far our business has come. 10 days away and our baby ran on it’s own without any guidance from us. It was incredible.

Getting back into town I found so much had changed. We are now listed on the float conference website as potential speakers, a personal float tank business had been kickstarted online, and while we were gone the Float Shoppe grew up without us!

We Need Your Vote!

Floating for the Athlete in Training
Jennifer-LoveWhen I got back into town I saw that one of our awesome team members at the Float Shoppe, Jennifer Love was listed as a potential speaker at the 2014 float conference! I am super excited to hear her talk about athletes floating and potentially having another ultra-marathon runner talk as well (she’s an ultra-girl herself!)

 

13 Tips to Successfully Start and Run Your Own Float Center!
190-300x300brianI also want to give a presentation with my buddy and blog guru Brian Van Peski. He is behind the scenes on every blog post and it would be a blast to give a presentation on stage with him. We want to cover the top 13 things we have learned about how to successfully start and run a float center. We will be drawing on my experience starting a center and the 2 1/2 years it has been in operation as well as the knowledge we have gained while working with float centers around the world since starting the blog. Brian also draws on his experience as “employee zero”, as the guy who helped build all of our backend infrastructure and organization. We are going to have a lot of fun on stage while giving the best information we have gathered.

If you’d like to place a vote for us, you can do so on the speaker section of the Float Conference website.

[Read more…] about A week in Kauai and so much has happened!

Becoming a Resident to Start a Float Center – Dylan’s Salty Mailbag

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Hey folks, today I am posting a letter from a float friend who is working on starting his own float center. As you will read, he has a long journey ahead of him, and I am very inspired by his determination. He is going through a difficult time right now and I am hoping that we can have people post comments of inspiration or some kind of insight for Rishi. [Read more…] about Becoming a Resident to Start a Float Center – Dylan’s Salty Mailbag

Forget Your First Float

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A few days ago I asked a customer about her first float and she said she didn’t remember it. I had posed the question to her so that she could help explain floating to a customer who was about to have his first float. It didn’t occur to me until hours later that forgetting your first float would be a fantastic way to get people in for their next floats. Trust me, this will start to make sense!

There are generally two types of experiences that people have with their first floats. One is an amazing experience where they are able to ‘let go’ completely, have a powerful spiritual journey, or in some other way are simply blown away by their float. The other is on the opposite side of the spectrum where the customer is mostly unimpressed. Often times this person had a busy mind during the entire float and was unable to ‘let go’ and/or only let go right before the music came on, or they had inflated expectations of what the experience would be based on previous research. [Read more…] about Forget Your First Float

Competition in the Float Center Industry

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The Beauty of Competition
When one thinks of competition, one often times think of winners and losers. Either you succeeded or you failed against your competitor. Even when you watch the Olympics where 2nd and 3rd place medals are handed out, often silver and bronze winners couldn’t look more sullen.

So how does competition work in the float center industry? Is there room for competition? Is there only one winner? If you are in second or third place are you actually losing? These are the questions I would like to cover in today’s post.

Is there room for competition?
The Float Shoppe, Float On, Mudra Massage and Everett House all have float tanks within the city of Portland. I think that answers the question of whether or not there is room for more than one center pretty succinctly. But how do we survive and thrive? [Read more…] about Competition in the Float Center Industry