New Hand & Stone Opens in Geneva, Ill.

By Amy E. Williams, Daily Herald 

A new business is open in Geneva along the Randall Road corridor aimed at helping you feel and look better.

Hand & Stone opened May 3 at 1416 S. Randall in the Randall Square Shopping Center at the intersection of Randall and Fargo.

This is the second Hand & Stone franchise location for Geneva resident Kathy Hendershott. Her first is in Wheaton, and Hendershott said she is excited to bring the business to her own town.

"As Geneva residents, we wanted to bring the Hand & Stone Massage and Facial Spa philosophy and services to our local community," she said. "The people in this area are very health conscious, and we have the opportunity to provide the benefit of massage and facial services to local residents, our neighbors and friends.

"We have a passion for health and wellness and have enjoyed working with clients to provide the quality of services," Hendershott said.

"While massage and facial services are good for your health, wellness and personal care, this is also a feel-good industry and we really love seeing clients so relaxed and smiling when they leave."

Hand & Stone offers massages, facials and hair removal services. Clients can purchase services one visit at a time, or the company offers a monthly membership-type program.

Customers can just walk in; however, Hendershott recommends they call ahead for an appointment.

Hendershott said she's hoping to open a third location soon in Naperville. There already is another Hand & Stone location along the Randall Road corridor in Algonquin, 710 S. Randall Road.

Hendershott said she's excited to meet all of the customers trying out her new location in Geneva.

"We look forward to working within the local community and want to thank our many customers, employees and friends for helping to make Hand & Stone Massage and Facial so successful," she said.

Hand & Stone Opens at Courtside Square in King of Prussia

By Gary Puleo, The Times Herald

UPPER MERION — Judging by the roaring success of Hand & Stone’s opening weekend, folks in King of Prussia have been “kneading” a storefront massage therapy haven for quite some time.

“I know people have really been waiting for us to open here,” said owner Dana Kline.

It didn’t happen overnight, she added, but she found the perfect spot to launch Hand & Stone Massage and Facial Spa behind Panera Bread, in what used to be a religious bookstore.

“We did nearly 100 services our first weekend, so I’m confident about this location,” Kline said. “King of Prussia is very business-friendly; they worked really well with us in getting our building permits and certificate of occupancy, but it wasn’t easy finding a location.”

Kline’s initial inclination was to set up shop near Wegmans on North Gulph Road, but the location wouldn’t be available in time.

The Panera-anchored Courtside Square shopping center offered the high visibility the chain relishes, but was it necessarily ideal to be so close to the mall? Could the sometimes nutty traffic affect business, especially during the seemingly relentless construction?

Kline mulled over a lot of questions and ultimately made her decision, which was not quite as simple as her initial foray into the franchised relaxation business.

After 20 years as vice president of operations for the Goddard School franchise company, Kline left the world of early childhood education and bought an existing Hand & Stone franchise in Haverford in January 2013.

“The motto of this business model is similar to Goddard,” she said. “The actual services are different, but the business model is really similar to what I did for 20 years. They’re both sales businesses. At Goddard we have to sell parents on coming to our school, and at Hand & Stone we have to sell people memberships to be members at our spa. I’ve been in franchising a long time; it’s just that I worked at the other end of it. Now I own my own company.”

Hand & Stone was the only mega massage chain she ever considered hooking up with, Kline allowed.

“I knew people who were involved with this company, so I kind of knew the direction it was growing in and the possibilities. And I definitely didn’t want to be around screaming children all day anymore,” she added, laughing.

Although walk-in customers are always treated to an introductory one-hour massage at $49.95, most people opt for a $59.95 membership, which brings down the cost of all services — which range from classic facials, hair removal and the H&S signature hot stone massage — considerably.

In less than a year under Kline’s ownership, the membership at Haverford soared from 300 to 1,000.

Now she’s set to echo that feat, starting from scratch, in King of Prussia.

“When I decided to go with Hand & Stone I knew I wanted one in the Main Line area and I knew King of Prussia would be another good place to put one, and there’s no learning curve here for me,” Kline said. “You don’t really have to be an on-site owner, but I’ve just spent the last year managing my Haverford location so I could really understand the business and how to run it. Now I have a manager here in King of Prussia.”

With a staff of nearly 20 — including 11 massage therapists, headed up by seasoned therapist Dave Teich — Kline is making the most of all the finer points she gathered by running her first H&S location as she builds a “customer-centric” operation from the ground up.

“Our goal is to make sure that the customer leaves happy and satisfied with the service we’ve provided,” she said. “The only way I could figure that out was to be in the spa to see what little things we should be doing, making sure the massage therapists and aestheticians and the front desk have the tools to be able to provide my philosophy. We have a fairly large staff for a new spa because we’re expecting to be extremely busy. ”

Massage therapists stick to certain protocols, but here’s the rub: They’re all free to tweak and pummel the rubdown to the client’s specs at Hand & Stone.

“Every aspect is customizable, and the therapist is always assessing you to make sure your massage is the best that you can get when you come in every time,” Teich explained. “You should never be getting the same massage twice. Your body is always different and the massage needs to be different too.”

Too often the “massagee” just lies on the table in silence, he allowed.

“They don’t say, ‘That’s a little too hard’ or ‘This is really bothering me.’ So the massage therapists have to be really in tune with their body language. But it’s a fine line between asking you questions the perfect number of times,” he added, smiling, “and one too many times.”

Franchisee Spotlight: Debbie Gulledge, Clearwater, FL

After so many years in corporate America, it was time for Gulledge to make a change.

“My mom suddenly passed away at 70; it was tragic and was scary,” says Gulledge.  “She was diagnosed with ovarian cancer and we both used massage to cope; my mom from the pain of chemotherapy and me from the stress of being a caregiver. Her passing made me take a look at life and realize that I wanted to do something that was meaningful. I wanted to do something to give back to others.”

Massage was a perfect fit.

After about a year of investigating massage franchises, she fell in love with Hand & Stone. Gulledge chose Hand & Stone because they offer a massage at an affordable price and the spas look very elegant and attractive but doesn’t come across as stuffy.  And the best part, she found out that the franchise gives a substantial veteran discount for the franchise fee.

While acquiring her communications degree from Marylhurst University, Gulledge received basic military training outside of college. She continued attending training at the Oregon Military Academy on the weekends while working full time, and was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant and was the Public Affairs Officer for the 41^st Infantry Brigade, and then made Captain before she left the Reserves to care for her two children. Gulledge received numerous awards and accolades as an enlisted soldier and officer over her 15+ years in the military, including the Army Achievement Medal, Army Reserve Component Achievement Medal with Bronze Oak Leaf Cluster, Army Commendation Medal, National Defense Service Medal, and Armed Forces Reserve Medal, just to name a few. She also deployed overseas on several tours to Korea, Honduras, Panama, and Costa Rica. 

Being in the military has influenced Gulledge and her Hand & Stone franchises.

“My goal is to give back,” says Gulledge. “One thing I noticed is that many places don’t offer specials to all military people. There are a lot of people who served our country for a few years but don’t get the same benefits because they are not technically retired. Our offers apply to all of those who have or are currently serving.”

In addition to the veterans’ benefits, Gulledge’s Hand & Stone locations also host spa parties throughout the year and much of the money raised goes to a charity. Last year she donated over $5000 to the Easter Seals, and we also host several parties a year, raising awareness about ovarian and breast cancer.

The opening of the new spa in Wesley Chapel, Florida, will mark Debbie Gulledge’s second Hand & Stone. As of now, Gulledge doesn’t have plans to continue growing her Hand & Stone locations, but she says “Never say Never” to the idea of it.