WHAT OPENING DAY LOOKS LIKE

Is it exciting? Stressful? A mix of both? We followed new franchisees through their first big day.

- KAITLIN GOLDIN

What is a grand opening? To customers, it's the first day to check out a new business. But for a new franchisee, a grand opening is the first day of their new lives the moment when all their planning pays off, and a new phase of hard work begins.

We wanted to know what that looks and feels like-so we decided to spend a day documenting it.

This past October, new StretchLab franchisees Michael and Rebecca Son were opening their first StretchLab franchise in Bothell, Washington, and were happy to welcome us in. Their franchisee journey began in 2022, when Rebecca wanted to reenter the workforce after several years of focusing on her kids, and Michael craved a new challenge after two decades in the corporate world. After six months of searching, they found their perfect opportunity-to open a StretchLab. The brand has over 400 studios across the nation, where members can get stretched out by trained "flexologists." By starting an assisted stretching studio, the Sons felt that they could dip their toes into the entrepreneurial world while also helping people to relieve pain and stress and improve their performance and mobility.

On the following pages, you'll see photos from the Sons' official first day open, and their recollections of the day's excitement.

7:30 A.M.

Preparing for the Big Day

For three months before Opening Day, the Sons ran a pop-up studio to give free 15-minute demos outside their store. Today was the first time people could come inside for the full experience....

MICHAEL SAYS/ "Even a couple of weeks prior, I thought, Is this really going to happen?"