Meet Karissa Requa | Small business owner, HOTWORX Franchise

We had the good fortune of connecting with Karissa Requa and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Karissa, we’d love to hear more about how you thought about starting your own business?
I had been in the medical massage business for 12 years and had been a massage therapist 16 years. Being a massage therapist can be very taxing mentally and physically and they say that the average career lifespan for a massage therapist is about 7 years before being burnt out. Being a medical massage therapist requires not only skill and knowledge but significant physical effort, which became harder as the years went by. 3 years prior to opening our very first HOTWORX, I had spent time trying to figure out what I could do once I was not able to do massage anymore. I figured it wasn’t fair to my patients or myself. I thought about opening up my own spa or possibly a franchise. Every new business I went to, I would ask myself, is this a business that I would like to own someday? Is it something that I can be passionate about?  I wonder what the costs and overhead would be ect..

One day I was scrolling through instagram and came across an ad for a FREE Infrared session at HOTWORX. I knew a little bit about Infrared  therapy so it intrigued me. I blew them off for 3-4 months and then they caught me on the phone and thought, I might as well. The person on the phone did not sell it very well, I was confused about exactly what it was, as it was a new fitness concept. I went in and I loved the workout and THOUGHT, THIS IS AN ABSOLUTE GENIUS IDEA! I felt amazing! As soon as I was done with my free session, I asked the employee if these are franchises and contacted the owner right away to ask for more information. I called my husband on the way home and pretty much beelined through the process. Knowing a little about franchising, we decided to buy 3 licenses as owning one, you’re only replacing your income with more work. When owning multiple locations is when you can make a good profit. We went with owning a HOTWORX franchise for 1, it aligns with my beliefs and interests in helping others feel better, 2. I just LOVED this concept 3. We only needed a few employees to make it work so we are a small family  4. Making money through my passion for health and wellness.

Alright, so for those in our community who might not be familiar with your business, can you tell us more?
HOTWORX is a 24-hour Infrared Fitness Studio. That’s right, you workout inside of a sauna! The benefits of infrared are long established and well known, having been used in the medical field for decades. These Include natural detoxification, reducing inflammation, reducing stress, anti-depressant, improves sleep, increases metabolism, muscle and joint recovery, and reduces muscle and joint pain and many more.

What sets us apart is that we have 7 different fitness studios in one plus you get the wellness benefits from the infrared heat.
Infrared energy combined with heat and exercise provide maximum results in a minimum of time and all workouts have a low impact on your knees and spine.. The HIIT workouts are only 13 minutes long, and include Hot Spin/Cycling, Assault bike (elliptical bike) and Rowing. The Isometric workouts are 30minutes plus 5-10 minutes of foam rolling/stretching. We have 8 different Isometric workouts which include Hot Yoga, Hot ISO, Hot Pilates. Hot Barre, Hot Buns, Hot Core, Hot Bands and Hot Warrior. Even though they are quick, the benefits are huge, each workout is equivalent to an hour or more on a treadmill, and the “afterburn” of calories continues for an hour after your workout.

Every 90 days we have a burn off challenge in which you compete with other HOTWORX members locally or nationally and if you burn enough calories and hit your goals, you are awarded with free membership or retail up to $100.

Our location HOTWORX of Centennial is the largest HOTWORX in Colorado with 10 individual saunas and we have been told we are the cleanest and have the best customer service. We like to make our members feel like they are part of the family. Our employees are the sweetest ladies you’ll ever meet.

With any business, there’s always ups and downs. A previous client of mine once told me, “to be successful, you have to be ok with feeling uncomfortable”. Oh my gosh, talk about the truth. I have done things that I didn’t think I was able to and I am definitely learning that it’s only scary at first but once learned you kick yourself for not learning it earlier. I am proud that we are always looking to move forward and finding ways to improve anything and everything to get the business to where we need to keep our members happy and to have the numbers to be able to open our second location in DTC in the next year or two.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
The itinerary is definitely dependent upon the time of year as there are lots of different unique things to do for the different seasons and what I feel like doing at the time and what I’m craving at the moment. Since I’m filling this out during the summer, I will set up a summer schedule.

Monday: Early morning Hike at Saint Mary’s Glacier/ Lunch in Idaho Springs / Dinner grill fish and veggies

Tuesday: Hike the Manitou Incline/ lunch at the Broadmoor Resort/ do a HOTWORX session to detox the lactic acid /dinner at Den-ma and order the pork belly sliders and cucumber salad

Wednesday: Brunch at Euro-Crepes, the Monaco is my favorite along with the Caprese salad and Italian coffee. After brunch, go to the Denver Art museum or the Denver Botanical Garden/ dinner at Machete’s tacos, great margs and the salsa flight is off the hook!

Thursday: Waterworld or Paddleboarding, the summer is not complete without a water park or lake/river/pond experience. Waterworld being one of the largest water parks in the US. And for paddleboarding we usually go to Chatfield State Park because it’s close. / Dinner at Los Dos Potrillos-fave: chile relleno nachos, steak guisado and their classic margaritas

Friday: HOTWORX session and detox the alcohol and burn some calories from eating out / go to Happy hour and dinner at My neighbor Felix and see a concert at either Red rocks or Fiddlers Green, Hudson Gardens, Pindustry or Tailgate

Saturday: Got to the Rockies game/ dinner at Dae Gee Korean BBQ-Galbee- beef short ribs on the BBQ is the best along with all their sides

Sunday: HOTWORX session to detox and burn more calories/ Dinner at Asaka Sushi-the best Omakase dinner. The freshest Sashimi and they have fish I have not eaten anywhere else. Be sure to ask for their fresh wasabi!

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
I’d like to shout out to my husband Tim Connelly for giving us this opportunity to grow a business that we knew nothing about. He has contributed in so many ways to make this journey work. His knowledge, skill and advice has shaped how I have grown as a business owner. I once read that when having a business partner, you have to find someone who compliments you and someone who is your opposite. I’d say he and I are complete opposites, my strengths are his weaknesses and my weaknesses are his strengths.

I also want to do a Shoutout to our Amazing employees Danielle Norton and Hannah Behrenbruch. We’ve had a few employees come and go as with any business but they are my rocks. These two have stuck by us from the beginning. NOT only are they amazing employees but they are genuinely just awesome human beings. Danielle sold her first 10 memberships in her first week with us and has been consistent, reliable and she is just a sweet young lady. Hannah is a superstar, she took over our social media and has been killing it and has been very creative with it, She has a magnetic personality and truly cares for our members. We are very lucky to have both of them as part of our family.

Website: hotworx.net/studio/centennial

Instagram: www.instagram.com/hotworx_centennial

Facebook: www.facebook.com/HOTWORXCentennial

Image Credits
I wasn’t able to hire a professional photographer in time for this so all the pictures were taken either by me or my employees. If you need the names of the people in the images, please let me know