Plan B Business
Wellness

Stop running two businesses
under one roof. Build one integrated wellness brand.

We work with combined fitness + spa studio owners doing $165K-$3.3M in annual revenue. You have a fitness studio AND a spa/recovery side - but they operate like separate businesses. Our monthly engagement, no minimum term works to integrate them into one $150-$300/month wellness membership with 75%+ retention. How fast it moves depends on how seriously you work the plan - what you will see from the first meeting is exactly what is holding the business back.

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Industry Reality

8 patterns we see in most combined fitness + spa studios

85%
how often we see it

Fitness and spa sides operate as separate businesses (different POS, different memberships, different clients)

Root cause: Studio grew organically. Spa was added 2-3 years in. Never integrated. Members of one rarely use the other.

What we do: One platform instance covering both sides, and one integrated wellness membership that spends across them. Cross-sell flow at every touchpoint. Same-client revenue lifts 60-80%.

75%
how often we see it

Membership pricing flat - $99-$129/month commodity zone

Root cause: Priced like a gym, not like an integrated wellness experience. Race to the bottom against Equinox, LifeTime, OrangeTheory.

What we do: Restructure to 3-tier integrated wellness membership: Essentials $149/mo (fitness + 1 spa service/mo), Premium $229/mo (fitness + 2 spa services + recovery), VIP $329/mo (unlimited + concierge). Anchor at premium - 60% of members pick middle tier.

80%
how often we see it

Member retention under 60% at 12 months

Root cause: Pure transactional fitness mindset. No onboarding. No progress tracking. Members ghost after 90 days.

What we do: 30/60/90 onboarding journey (orientation, progress check-in, milestone celebration). Member success manager role (or owner role until $2M). Monthly community events. Retention lifts to 78%+.

70%
how often we see it

Spa side has 30%+ no-show rate

Root cause: Free cancellation policy. Members book aspirationally and ghost. Therapist hours unfilled.

What we do: Late-cancel and no-show policy (48-hour, charge 50%). Auto-rebook waitlist off the booking platform. No-show rate drops to under 8%. Therapist utilization lifts to 75%+.

75%
how often we see it

Therapist/instructor retention crisis (60%+ annual turnover)

Root cause: Hourly pay below market, no benefits, no career growth, no commission on retail/upgrades.

What we do: Hybrid comp: hourly + commission on member upgrades + retail commission + retention bonuses. Tiered progression (junior → senior → lead → director). Quarterly continuing education stipend. Retention lifts to 80%.

70%
how often we see it

Retail (supplements, recovery products, skincare) under 5% of revenue

Root cause: Retail wall is afterthought. Staff doesn't recommend. No commission structure. Inventory dies on shelf.

What we do: Curated retail focused on what staff actually uses and recommends. Trainer/therapist commission on retail (10-15%). Target 12-18% of revenue from retail within 18 months.

75%
how often we see it

Owner doing 50+ hours/week, mostly in operations not strategy

Root cause: No GM. Owner does scheduling, hiring, member complaints, payroll, instructor coverage.

What we do: Hire studio GM (or promote internally) at $65K-$95K depending on region. Define GM responsibilities (operations, P&L) vs owner responsibilities (strategy, growth, culture). Owner hours drop to 25-30 within 9 months.

70%
how often we see it

No corporate wellness B2B revenue stream

Root cause: 100% B2C model. Misses the $15K-$50K/year recurring revenue from local employer wellness contracts.

What we do: Build corporate wellness offering (group classes, recovery memberships, on-site events). Target 3-5 local employers within 12 months. 10-20% of revenue from B2B within 18 months.

Benchmarks

The numbers we aim at

These are the targets we work toward in an engagement - a bar to measure against, not an average anyone measured for you.

KPITypical starting pointPlan B target12-month goal
Average member monthly value (MMV)$95-$135$200-$280$170-$250
12-month member retention45-60%78%+68-80%
Member cross-utilization (fitness AND spa)15-25%65%+50-70%
Therapist/instructor utilization45-60%75%+65-78%
Retail % of revenue2-5%12-18%8-15%
% revenue from corporate wellness0-3%15%+8-18%
Owner weekly hours50-65<3028-40
Engagement Model

What working with us looks like

  1. 01

    Month 1: Integration audit + financial deep-dive

    We map fitness side P&L separately from spa side P&L. We audit the studio platform configuration. We identify cross-utilization (or lack of) between sides. We define the integrated wellness brand positioning.

  2. 02

    Months 2-3: Unified membership + platform rebuild

    3-tier integrated wellness membership launches. The platform fully configured - one membership, both sides. Existing members migrated to new tiers (warm conversion 60-70%). Cancellation policy deployed. Onboarding journey live.

  3. 03

    Months 4-6: Retention engine + retail rebuild

    Member success function operational. 30/60/90 milestones automated. Retail curated and commission structure live. Therapist/instructor comp restructured. First corporate wellness pilot signed.

  4. 04

    Months 7-12: Operations + ownership freedom

    GM hired and ramped. Corporate wellness at 2-4 active accounts. Average member monthly value approaches $200+. Retention stable at 75%+. We shift to quarterly cadence.

Common questions from combined fitness + spa studios owners

What size studio is this for?−
Sweet spot: $165K-$3.3M in annual revenue with 800-3,000 active members across fitness and spa - the same band our Hebrew site states in shekels. Below it there are three ways in, not none: the academy at $33/month, the $365 paid diagnostic and B-Start at $365/month - plus business-plan work for an owner who has not opened yet. Above it you usually need an internal director of operations and a director of member experience in-house rather than an outside partner. It is a guide, not a gate - ask and we will tell you straight.
We have yoga + spa, not gym + spa. Same playbook?+
Yes, mostly. The integrated wellness membership model works across yoga/pilates/barre/cycling + spa, gym + spa, and CrossFit + recovery. The pricing tiers shift slightly (yoga studios anchor lower, recovery-heavy clubs anchor higher). The core principle - one integrated membership, not two separate ones - applies universally.
What about state licensing for spa services (massage, esthetics, etc.)?+
Massage therapists, estheticians, and nail technicians all require state licensure (varies by state - some states have municipal licensing too). Medical aesthetics (Botox, fillers, lasers) require a licensed medical provider on-site or telehealth supervision (state-specific). We connect you with industry attorneys and state board specialists - we don't provide licensing advice.
Mindbody is expensive. Is it worth it?+
Ask it the other way round: what would it need to do to be worth it? For a combined fitness and spa business the answer is one membership that spends on both sides, one client record, one calendar, and one report showing cross-utilization - because the moment those live in two systems, the integration you are paying for stops existing. Price any platform against that list rather than against its monthly fee, and against what running two systems is already costing you in members who only ever use one side. We are system-agnostic and we do not sell software.
How fast does retention actually improve?+
Retention is the slowest metric to move. You don't see real changes until month 6, and full impact at month 12. By month 18, your retention curve is structurally different. Don't expect retention magic in 90 days - that's not how member psychology works.
What about Class Pass and ClassPass-style aggregators?+
Cautious yes. ClassPass can fill slow off-peak hours and introduce new members. But it commoditizes your brand and trains members to value-shop. Cap ClassPass at 10-15% of class capacity and only at off-peak times. Never anchor your business on it.
What entity structure should I use?+
Not our call, and we will not pretend otherwise - entity choice and the tax election that goes with it belong to your CPA and your business attorney, and the answer changes by state and by whether a licensed medical provider is on staff. What we can tell you is what makes the question harder than it looks in this business: a combined fitness and spa operation often has two revenue models, two liability profiles and sometimes two regulators sitting inside one company. Take that description to your advisors rather than the question in the abstract, and you will get a better answer from them.
Do you work with franchise studios (OrangeTheory, F45, etc.)?+
No. Franchise economics, marketing budgets, and operational latitude are dictated by the franchisor. We don't work with franchises - only independent or independently-owned multi-location concepts.
Who does the work?+
Ligal Frish and Eitan Eshtemaker - the two co-founders. Direct access. Fee structure: Situation Room $365 one-time, B-Grow $1,430/month (most studios), B-Beyond $2,750/month (multi-location or fast-scale). No minimum term and no notice period - you can end it at any time.

Stop running two businesses. Build one integrated wellness brand.

30-minute strategy call. We'll diagnose your top 2 levers and tell you if we're a fit. No pitch. No pressure.

Book My Free Strategy Call