Paula Beiger, a former real-estate broker, bought a Curves franchise in Lawrenceville, N.J., in 2001 with her husband, Jack. They bought a second unit across town about a year ago. Ms. Beiger sat down with StartupJournal to talk about owning and operating her Curves gyms.
Five years go, no one had ever heard of Curves here in New Jersey. I was one of the first members of a particular Curves, and I saw how quickly the membership grew. I went home to Jack, and I said, ‘You should see how fast this thing is growing.’ We went online, we checked it out, and we liked what we saw, so we bought a franchise.
How has owning two Curves gyms worked for you?
I don’t look at it as if I’m competing against my other Curves. I felt that I had to put one over here, because other same-type women’s 30-minute workouts were opening around the area, and I didn’t want to lose my members I already had who lived over here.
What did you rely most on to gain your customers?
Word of mouth. One woman telling another woman. We have a buddy-referral system, so that when they do bring a buddy in, there’s a benefit to them.
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