Hey everyone! Welcome back! This week, Caleb Talley and Jeff Amerine talk with Peter Joukov, COO and co-founder of inq Tattoos. Husband and wife team, Peter and Maria Joukov, founded inq Tattoos because they saw an unmet need in the market for today’s tattoo customer and a better way to work for today’s tattoo artist. Leaning on their military, corporate, and business backgrounds, they created a modern and accessible tattoo experience for the everyday customer and a supportive space for professional artists. In this episode, you will get to hear about the story behind inq Tattoos, how they find the right franchisees, and certain challenges with franchising in different states. Thanks for listening in!
Shownotes
(2:19) Introducing Peter and inq
(8:15) Solving problems with unique solutions
(11:54) Effects of COVID-19
(14:14) Marketing in the tattoo industry
(16:56) Temporary vs permanent tattoos
(18:09) Franchising
(26:34) Controversial tattoos
(32:01) Advice to the younger self
(34:22) Wrap up
Links
Quotes
“Sometimes people don’t realize that things can be done differently. And if you’re having a problem and you solve a problem for yourself, you may be solving it for other people as well.” (11:27)
The Tattoo Experience Reimagined
Before founding inq Tattoos, Peter Joukov attended the Naval Academy and spent five years in active duty. After marrying his wife Maria, Peter left the Navy to spend more time at home and prepare to start a family. He spent a few years working with the government while completing his MBA in the evenings. He eventually left for the private sector and worked with a data storage company before running operations for a startup on the west coast. After a year or so with the startup, Peter burnt out and wanted more time with his kids at home.
While Peter was trying to figure out what to do next, he and his wife were looking at getting their first tattoos – their kids’ names. In shopping around and getting quotes from different tattoo parlors, Peter and Maria struggled to find what they were looking for. Every parlor seemed to fit the same mold: the classic motorcycle, punk rock tattoo parlor with flash art covering dark walls. After researching, the couple struggled to understand why the tattoo industry had not pivoted to be inclusive towards a growing customer base of clean-cut individuals such as teachers, lawyers, doctors, and grandparents.
Peter and Maria decided to be the ones to solve the problem of making the tattoo industry more inclusive. They would create a tattoo boutique with clean, white walls and a minimalist design. They would conduct business in an organized manner, and the environment would be calm. Lastly, the business model would be franchisable, something unique to the highly fragmented tattoo industry. And so became inq Tattoos.
“Sometimes people don’t realize that things can be done differently. And if you’re having a problem and you solve a problem for yourself, you may be solving it for other people as well.” (11:27)
So far, Inq Tattoos has done precisely what Peter and Maria had hoped. Not only have they provided people with a new and unique space to get tattooed, but they have also revolutionized the way tattoo artists can work. Traditionally, artists rent a booth from a shop owner, and they are responsible for their marketing, pricing, etc. With inq, artists are W2, salaried employees. They get benefits and do not have to compete with each other for business. Instead, when a new customer walks in, artists feel comfortable deferring to whoever is best at tattooing in the style the customer is looking for.
As far as franchising, the current pandemic has put this unique dream on hold for the time being, but Peter and Maria remain optimistic that they will accomplish their goal. As the pandemic lessens and the economy becomes more stable, the couple will continue talking with multiple potential partners. They believe they can take their business model to other states, and they are currently targeting the southeast portion of the United States for a handful of reasons.
For more information on inq Tattoos and franchising, click here.
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