Franchsiee Profile: Heather Kinsley of Algonquin, IL

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How Heather Kinsley Got Started With Hand & Stone…

Hand & Stone is a breath of fresh air for Heather Kinsley. For the past 20 years, she’s been climbing the corporate ladder and has had a very successful career in Human Resources consulting. She led workforce administration and benefits administration projects for clients who had outsourced their Human Resources responsibilities. But, when the economy took a turn for the worse, Heather’s position was eliminated.

She asked herself several life questions at that time, “Is this the life I want?” “Do I buy into the corporate America decision-making process?” “Do I want to spend all of my time away from home and in airports?” What she determined was that she wanted to help people rather than help corporations make money. She also wanted greater flexibility in how she managed her life and time. She was a partner at the first firm she worked at for 19 years and there, she loved making the decisions; she liked managing the process; she loved working with people.

With an idea of independent business ownership in her mind, Heather did her research. She found that 70% of businesses that are still in existence after 5 years are franchises, and digging further, she determined that she wanted to make the trade off of spending money to be a part of a larger system and use the knowledge and expertise of the executive team.

Heather truly believes in the benefits of massage. She has been into massages, facials and skin care for much of her adult life. In fact, she used to sell Mary Kay products. The choice to become involved in the health and wellness industry was a no brainer and joining with Hand & Stone was a shoe in. Hand & Stone offers a breadth of heath-related services like massages, facials and waxing, whereas the other concepts only offer one service, massage.

In her 40’s and back in her hometown of Chicago, this is Heather’s new career path, one that she is excited about and ready to make an impact on people, not on a company’s bottom line. Heather has signed an agreement with Hand & Stone to bring two locations to the area, and for the first time too; no Hand & Stone locations are yet developed in Illinois.

What intrigued Heather Kinsley about Hand & Stone …

Maybe the most intriguing part about opening Hand & Stone for Heather is how it will transform her life. This is the first time in many years where she is doing exactly what she wants to do when she wants to do it.

While Heather is just ready to get her Hand & Stone locations up and running, she is most excited about bringing massage and facial services to the area that is in the mid-market price range. She’s always been an avid believer in taking care of yourself and now she will be able to help others do so. She is also enthusiastic to find the right people to help her build up her location.

Something Interesting About Heather Kinsley’s Story…

In Heather’s free time, she loves to travel, read, work out, and be with friends and family. Her two brothers and father also live in Chicago.