Phenix Franchise Focus: Lake Mary, FL

Betsy Owens, left, with Lake Mary franchise receptionist Sharon Brass.

This was a first for Betsy Owens. “I got thank you notes with the rent checks.”
Owens was a veteran commercial real estate broker working with huge corporations before opening the Lake Mary franchise of Phenix Salon Suites with her husband Andy Owens in 2012. There was always a lot of money involved when she closed a deal for a client like AT&T or Siemens, but now Owens feels like she’s really changing lives in addition to running a great business, and she’s got proof:
With the rent checks she gets notes from tenants. One, for example, read, “Thanks for giving us the opportunity to change our lives.”
Instead of working for someone else who calls all the shots, these salon professionals run their own businesses in each individual suite, choosing their hours, setting their rates, selecting the hair products they use and sell. So, this was a first for most of them, too.

The Owenses were introduced to Phenix Salon Suites when husband Andy was asked to bid on contracts to build a Florida Phenix location. “He became enamored with the concept,” the independence that it provided the salon professional, Betsy Owens said. In addition, Phenix regularly conducts free education seminars at locations throughout the country, helping salon professionals to stay on the cutting edge. Her Lake Mary Phenix will be hosting a color technique seminar in early May.
Since the Owenses witnessed the success of their first Phenix salon, they’ve decided to purchase regional rights to Tampa Bay and Central Florida including Orlando with 10 to 12 new franchises on the way in each of those regions with a total of six open by the end of this year alone. “We decided we better hammer down the market,” she said, before someone else claimed those territories.