Why the Amazing Lash Studio® Franchise System and Its Family-Focused Atmosphere Are the Perfect Fit For Franchisees Scott and Barb Anderson

Thanks to its membership-based business model and family atmosphere, Scott Anderson, along with his wife Barb, have enjoyed evolving and flourishing careers as franchisees with the Amazing Lash Studio brand.

After many years of international travel for his career in corporate America working at companies like IBM and CA Technologies, Scott took a ‘mini retirement’, eventually leading him to the franchise brand. He said, “The non-stop traveling is what led me, at the age of 48, to say, ‘I am done with this job, I need a different career path. Once I decided that it was time to leave in May of 2014, I took a ‘mini retirement’ and spent a year researching the different business opportunities available in the Kansas City area.

My wife Barb and I were looking at our future and thought, ‘What are we going to do now? What can we get involved in together? What is a recurring-revenue business that we can start to plan our future around?’”

The Andersons ultimately decided that investing in a franchise was the best route for them. In May 2015, Scott and Barb opened their first franchise in the wellness segment, a massage therapy and facial spa, in Lenexa, Kansas. The Andersons saw such strong success as first-time franchisees that they decided it was time to diversify their franchise portfolio by investing in another brand in the same category. In August 2019, the Andersons opened an Amazing Lash Studio franchise in the same strip-mall location as their massage therapy and facial spa location.

“Coincidentally, one of the other franchisees with the massage therapy brand is also an Amazing Lash Studio franchisee, which is how we were introduced to the brand three years ago,” Scott said. “My wife became a model for that Amazing Lash Studio location and they would practice doing the different lashes on her. We got to know the franchise owner and after learning about the business model and doing our own research, we realized the Amazing Lash Studio brand was the perfect opportunity for us to make our next investment.”

According to Scott, the Amazing Lash Studio brand’s business model is very similar to that of the massage therapy and facial spa in the sense that it generates recurring revenue and offers a service that people are willing to pay for on a monthly basis. When guests have memberships, it helps provide a sustained, predictable revenue stream for the studio owner.

“Aside from the monthly, recurring-revenue aspect, one of the reasons I joined Amazing Lash Studio brand is because they’re one big family,” Scott said. “When we did the Meet the Team Day before signing on, the management and development teams were astounding—they made Barb and I feel like they were going to support and help us hit the ground running right from the get-go.” Scott added, “The Amazing Lash Studio support team cares about the 'little things,’ including going out to dinner to celebrate, following up on how we’re doing and asking if we need anything.

The Support Center team is filled with great people that are committed to helping set franchisees up for success—the systems and infrastructure they have in place are second to none.”

The atmosphere of the Amazing Lash Studio support team allows Scott and Barb to run their studio like a family business. It offers the perfect opportunity for Scott and Barb to work together and utilize their respective skill sets. Scott focuses more on the external aspects of the business, like meeting with customers, marketing, sales and revenue forecasting, while Barb, who is very detail-oriented and organized, excels at the employee-facing part of the business like payroll, benefits and addressing their employees’ needs.

Scott notes that his background in professional services has helped him succeed as a multi-unit, multi-brand franchise owner. “I ran professional services, so my job was to ensure that the clients were onboarded, trained and set up for success,” he said. “That’s basically what I do now with my businesses—I am managing the resources, budget and growth of each business, and also focused on employee/customer needs and what they require in order to be successful.”

As for the future, Scott has high hopes for his Amazing Lash Studio business. Both his Amazing Lash Studio and massage therapy and facial spa businesses are located in an up-and-coming neighborhood, which, according to Scott, provides ample opportunity for business. He is excited to continue to grow his Amazing Lash Studio location into a thriving business and connect and build relationships within his community. “The goal for my business is to do something that is good for people—I want to provide a service that they really love.”