Franchisee Since: February 2008
Franchise Locations: Owners of Marlton and Vorhees locations; Regional Developers of Central and South Jersey
How Fred and Steve Vicario Got Started With Hand and Stone…
Between Fred and Steve, the two brothers have extensive business experience in franchise development and small business ownership. Fred comes with a long list of experience in the franchising industry, which spans over 20 years. He got his start with Maaco, an auto body and collision center franchise, in the franchise development team where he was responsible for helping entrepreneurs become franchisees with Maaco. While there, Fred and his wife, decided to become franchisees themselves. They bought The Goddard School, which they have been running for the past nine years in Laurel Springs, NJ. Steve also owns a hardscaping business, which he has been doing for about five years.
Ready for their next adventure, Fred and Steve had discovered that the massage industry was booming and looked into their options in franchising within the industry. At first, Fred and Steve researched a competitor of Hand and Stone, but determined that the support would be better with Hand and Stone since the corporate office was virtually in their backyard. It also seemed to Fred and Steve that Hand and Stone was vested in supporting its franchisees more so than the competition.
Fred and Steve became Regional Developers for Hand and Stone…
In February 2008, Fred and Steve opened their first Hand and Stone location in Marlton, NJ. With previous experience in franchise development, they felt that they had the opportunity to build something for their futures with Hand and Stone. Only four months after opening their first location, Fred and Steve became regional developers for Hand and Stone in Central and South Jersey.
In the regional developer role, they work with potential Hand and Stone franchisees in Central and South Jersey including Monmouth, Ocean, Middlesex, Somerset, Hunterton and Mercer to educate them on the Hand and Stone concept and walk them through the franchise process. Currently, Fred and Steve have three locations within their territory and are in the process of opening seven more this year. Despite the economy, 2010 has been the fastest-growing year in terms of sales and number of locations for Fred and Steve, and within their territory, there is potential for 20-30 more Hand and Stone locations.
This September, Fred and Steve are opening their second location in Vorhees.
Where specifically did Fred and Steve Vicario learn about Hand and Stone?
With Fred’s experience working for Maaco for 20 years and being a franchisee within The Goddard School system, and Steve’s business ownership experience, they were ready for another opportunity in franchising. They did research on the internet and found that the massage industry was booming. They looked first at Massage Envy, but since the headquarters was in Arizona, Fred and Steve felt that they would not as valuable support from the franchisor. They also believed that Massage Envy was just interested in selling locations, not supporting the franchisees.
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