February 2017 | Business View Magazine

102 103 different goals, and we can scale them and modify our workout to fit the goals they’re after.” When vetting potential franchisees, Iron Tribe has several criteria: “We want someone with leadership experience who has led a team,”Walden ex- plains. “Business experience is, obviously, preferred, but we’re also looking for someone who is passionate about fitness, and, ultimately, our purpose, which is changing lives. If someone does not want to really help people improve, and is not passionate about using fitness as the vehicle to do that, they’re not going to be a good fit for our system, because we believe they you have to live and breathe fitness to execute the model.” Once a prospective franchisee is identified, Iron Tribe offers a wide range of support services. “We help with everything from site selection to lease negotiation to project management, all the way to getting their Certifi- cate of Occupancy,”Walden states. “We’ve got a start-up guide to guide the franchisee, the real estate broker, and the contractor on how to build out IRON TRIBE FITNESS an Iron Tribe. And when the franchisee purchases, they get a three-mile, protect- ed territory.” In addition to a franchisee’s own efforts to recruit trainers and coaches, Walden says that the cor- porate office is on hand to assist with that necessary task, as well. “We help them recruit the right people and then we have programs here at the corporate office to take their coaches and their managers through a three-week practicum, which is a combination of in-class theory and study, and on the floor - actually shad- owing the coaches and managers at our corporate location.” Walden says that since its inception, Iron Tribe has grown primarily through word-of-mouth and internal growth– the company doesn’t engage franchise brokers, nor attend any conventions in pursuit of potential unit owners. “The most common way is having a client