THE City Cave systems behind multi-site success
City Cave owners Melissa and Ben Davis were recently interviewed by Inside Franchise Business about how they grew from first-time operators into a three-centre business, including one they run from 1700km away. Their story is a close look at what multi-site ownership actually involves day to day, and the role City Cave's systems played in making it work. Here it is.
From Zero experience to three centres
When Melissa and Ben bought their first City Cave in Cairns, they had never run a wellness centre. They hadn't even maintained a backyard pool. And they live in Brisbane, more than 1700km down the coast. Now, with three centres running well, they're happy to share what has worked for them.
"We have great managers in all locations and we work on the business. City Cave has the systems in place to support us," Melissa says.
Every City Cave centre offers three services: float therapy, infrared sauna and massage. Behind that experience sits a full set of systems from head office, covering everything from staff training and a central intranet to OH&S processes and legal documentation.
A foundation built for more than one centre
For a couple managing a site remotely, that infrastructure made all the difference.
"When we bought our Cairns business I had no idea how to run it, so having the right structures in place was invaluable," Melissa says. "We train all our staff to the City Cave guidelines; everything is online so easy to access. Our customer waivers are all set up through head office. It would be so costly and difficult to do this by ourselves."
What Melissa and Ben have done is build on those foundations, adding a structure that suits their multi-site setup.
"We have morning, evening, weekly and monthly checklists based on City Cave documentation, and we add to them to make them unique to each centre," Melissa says.
Their approach gives every manager clear guidelines, standards and boundaries. They have a set rostering process, rules for how managers handle problems and when and who to contact, and clearly stated expectations from Melissa and Ben as owners.
"We outline our goals: a realistic goal and a super target to have an extra push. And we follow that through to the staff monthly budget."
Culture, incentives and a game of bingo
Melissa and Ben are keen to reward their teams, and they keep it fun. One favourite is City Cave bingo. Staff tick off a bingo card as they hit targets across product sales, memberships, online reviews and customer compliments. A full card wins a prize.
"A lot of the team culture stems from understanding our values, such as empathy, and in turn giving our teams the training and the tools they need to do the job," Melissa says.
Alongside the structure, the pair have adopted a policy of transparency with their managers.
"We are very open with our managers on P&Ls," Melissa says. "Business owners can be scared to do this but we believe it gives our centre leaders an idea of why we make the decisions we make. They can see a bigger picture, and have a better understanding of the overall business."
Leadership that keeps evolving
"We're big on our managers having opportunities; we set them up with the knowledge to take on a franchise themselves. We had a lot of encouragement, and we want to pay that forward."
The systems have been in place for a long time, but Melissa and Ben still refine how they lead. Last year they changed their roles to make things simpler for staff.
"Initially staff would come to me, then sometimes my husband and they were getting confused. Now we've split responsibilities so I look after two centres, and Ben looks after the other City Cave, and another business we have," Melissa explains.
As parents of primary-aged children, the couple live and breathe time management.
"There's always a bit of chaos, which is business as usual! It's always a juggling act. But we have the structures and systems to be able to prioritise what's important," Melissa says. "We know if we concentrate on customer service and hygiene, we're unassailable.
"We didn't buy the Cairns business with plans to expand but here we are with three centres! We have had great support from City Cave, I wouldn't change it."
Curious what a City Cave of your own could look like? Book a call to discuss your goals, explore the opportunity, and see if City Cave could be the right fit for you.