Hammer & Nails CEO Aaron Meyers discusses the brand’s evolution from a ‘Shark Tank’ pitch to a franchise system that supports franchisees.
When Aaron Meyers and his business partner, John Choi, caught wind of a unique pitch for a men’s nail salon on the TV show “Shark Tank” in 2017 – one that ended without a deal – they knew they wanted in.
“We came in and said to Michael (Elliot, who pitched the concept), we think you have the beginnings of an idea not fully formed. And we offered to take that business over from him at that time, which we did, and we basically added in men's grooming,” recalls Meyers, CEO of Hammer & Nails, a men’s grooming franchise with locations from coast to coast.
Although the partners kept men’s nail care on their new business’s menu after its acquisition, they added other high-end services like barbering, straight razor shaves, waxing, skincare and more to the company’s offerings to appeal to a broader range of men’s grooming and self-care needs – a decision that catapulted the brand from a single location in West Hollywood, California, into a thriving national franchise system with over 60 locations in under a decade.
Today, with a proven business model and an innovative approach to revenue generation in a once-static industry, Hammer & Nails is gearing up to open at least 15 new units over the next year – and their team is just getting started.
Cutting a new path through an old space
For Meyers and his business partners, launching a men’s grooming salon in an antiquated sector that had remained largely unchanged for decades offered an opportunity not only to shake up an industry but to overcome the stereotypes and obstacles men often faced when it came to self-care.
“The message has been, self-care isn't masculine – like, taking care of yourself somehow makes you less masculine. And all of those things couldn't be more backward from what's correct,” Meyers says.
To overcome those challenges, the Hammer & Nails team focused on developing a business model that would empower men to feel comfortable with the idea of taking care of their appearance without sacrificing their sense of self or masculinity.
That strategy included the following approach:
- Treating men respectfully. At Hammer & Nails, staff strive to make clients feel welcome and respected in an environment that won’t shame men for taking care of themselves.
- Being hospitable. To make clients feel welcome, staff extend hospitality by offering a complimentary beverage to help them settle in.
- A unique atmosphere. The team works to make each visit to Hammer & Nails feel like guests are part of a private club where they can relax, listen to headphones, watch a game or chat with other men.
For the team at Hammer & Nails, those positive client experiences are what keep customers coming back – and what has allowed the brand to keep growing in new locations across the country.
“(We’re) building a place where men want to come and spend time, where they have camaraderie, where they feel like they've de-stressed or they feel taken care of. Where they feel appreciated,” Meyers says.
Crafting a unique customer experience
For Meyers, offering a unique experience for clients has been a critical part of Hammer & Nails’ business model, and it’s also how the brand has differentiated its offering from it's competitors.
“We've tried to build a place that gives men a place where they're treated uniquely, especially in an environment that's second to none. And then the other piece we've added is kind of the breadth of services,” Meyers says.
To set Hammer & Nails apart from other men’s grooming concepts, Meyers and his team focused on highlighting the brand’s unique characteristics, including:
- Innovative revenue streams. By adopting a membership-based business model, each Hammer & Nails location provides franchisees with an opportunity for recurring revenue and growth potential.
- Wide open spaces. Locations range in size from 2,000 to 3,000 square feet, including two rooms and a lounge featuring the brand’s signature “speakeasy”-like atmosphere.
- A range of services. The brand’s services include haircuts, skincare, shaves and beard trims, and other men’s grooming treatments.
- Breathing easier. Because men’s manicure and pedicure services don’t include acrylic services, clients don’t have to worry about breathing in harsh chemicals during their visits.
While those strategies proved effective early on in helping the new brand grow its clientele and appeal to men seeking a more enjoyable grooming experience, Meyers knew there was more work to be done to season, scale and grow the franchise system at the national level – and he was ready to get to work.
Laying the right foundation
For Meyers, building a franchise system that benefitted franchisees as much as it did its owners was important – especially as the former president of operations and innovation at a large national wellness and therapeutic massage concept, where he’d gained valuable experience managing a franchise system the right way.
“A lot of times you see somebody who's trying to run a business, but they don't know a lot about franchising. We brought in that franchising background. We knew what we needed to get fixed. We knew about fixing the foundation. We knew we had to nail it before we scaled it,” Meyers says.
Despite the team’s best efforts, though, they soon discovered things weren’t working as well as they’d hoped early on.
“We’ve worked hard to build a concept that delivers the right experience for our franchisees. An example of that is, we thought we had the brand nailed but it was taking a little too long for our franchisees to break even, and our Item 19 showed our revenue ramp was a little slower than we wanted,” Meyers says.
To boost franchisee unit-level economics and sales and create a system that supported franchisees in reaching their goals as business owners, the Hammer & Nails team focused on developing three key areas of the business:
- Pre-sales for new locations. To solve the problem of slow growth for franchisees, the Hammer & Nails team developed an AI-enhanced pre-sale process to help new franchisees open with 200-plus members on their first day in business.
- Growth and revenue. With its membership-driven business model, Hammer & Nails’ marketing efforts are centered around generating revenue through risk-free memberships that clients can cancel at any time.
- Customer experiences. To keep members coming back, unique customer experiences focus on making clients feel welcome, valued and respected.
According to Meyers, those strategies did the trick – and they allowed the team to feel confident in the support they offered franchisees as they launched and grew their businesses moving forward.
Nailing - and scaling - the business model
While Meyers and his team succeeded in building a franchise system that supports everyone involved in the business, getting to that point hasn’t always been easy – and Meyers isn’t shy about admitting it.
“People think that franchising is easy. It is anything but easy. It's a humbling, humbling business. But what I encourage anybody who's thinking about franchising (to do) is, you've got to nail it so that somebody who doesn't know your business can step in and deliver similar results,” Meyers says.
At Hammer & Nails, part of that process included building a rock-solid legal foundation for the brand with the help of the seasoned franchise industry experts at The Internicola Law Firm. It also involved taking steps to actively recruit franchisees whose goals and values aligned with the brand’s mission and vision – and knowing how to identify the warning signs that a franchisee might not be a good fit.
“I think nothing's better than face time. I think that's when you get both people. They get to know your face, and they get to know who's going to support them. You get to know them,” Meyers says.
Beyond direct interaction with candidates, Meyers says the Hammer & Nails team integrates personality tests into its franchise sales discovery process to understand the best ways to coach and communicate with them. While the company doesn’t use those tests as a mechanism to pass or fail candidates, scores are assessed to determine whether candidates’ personalities are a good fit for the brand’s internal culture.
As straightforward as those strategies might seem, they’ve paid off in big ways for Hammer & Nails as the brand continues to grow and scale nearly eight years after launching as a franchise.
For Meyers, those accomplishments have meant more than just successful business ownership – they’ve also allowed him to set a valuable example for his son while creating opportunities for franchisees to achieve their goals as entrepreneurs across the country.
“As I get older, I think about legacy. I’m building something with my team, with my franchisees. We’re all building something together that’s going to stand the test of time,” Meyers says.
Learn about franchising opportunities with Hammer & Nails at https://hammerandnailsfranchise.com.
