Shahayra Majumder and Jonathan Chizever - Hydrate IV Bar Madison, WI

On Focusing on What Really Matters: "They're passionate about their health, which is your only wealth at the end of the day."

What good is money if you're spending your time hurting and not able to enjoy this great gift of life that we have all been given?  Health is arguably the most important thing to focus on, to make sure you can do the things you want to do.  Whether that is growing a business or enjoying time with friends.

Shahayra and Jonathan set out to help boost the health of the midwest by starting a Hydrate IV Bar franchise in Madison, Wisconsin.

Through our candid conversation you will learn what is a IV bar, why do people get IV drips and how they started this business in the IV drip world.

Learn how they identified a gap in the Midwest’s wellness market, navigated the highly regulated and rapidly evolving IV bar industry, and brought a community-focused approach to health and hydration. Are you curious about how IV therapy went from hospital wards to vibrant wellness lounges?  Or what it takes to build a franchise rooted in both science and local values?  This conversation will open your eyes to the business challenges, customer stories, and passion that drive this growing trend.

Shahayra and Jonathan share some great insights into franchise selection, the science behind vitamin infusions, building a winning team, and the power of connection within a unique new “third space” for health-minded people.

Listen as they explain the power of IV drips and how they can help you in your health and life journey.

Enjoy!

Visit Shahayra and Jonathan at: https://hydrateivbar.com/locations/madison/

Sponsors:

Calls On Call Extraordinary Answering Service, phone answering for small businesses: https://callsoncall.com

Some videos have been recorded with Riverside: https://www.riverside.fm/?utm_campaign=campaign_5&utm_medium=affiliate&utm_source=rewardful&via=james-kademan

 

Podcast Overview:

00:00 Bringing IV therapy to Madison

05:39 Navigating Franchise Regulations

07:47 IV therapy goes mainstream in Tokyo

12:50 Curated med spa offerings

14:44 Choosing Hydrate IV Bar for Madison

19:02 Starting with franchise questions

20:37 Building a Health-Focused Community

24:53 Benefits of Vitamin D Supplementation

27:55 Challenges with supplement patents

32:20 Functional medicine consultations at Hydrate

34:08 Patient advocacy and safe care

39:05 Frequency of sessions per week

41:33 Supplements and their credibility

47:04 Choosing the right location

48:42 Optimizing franchise location space

52:48 Hiring nurses for IV procedures

56:16 Spa services and mobile options

Podcast Transcription:

Jonathan Chizever [00:00:00]:

This gentleman with Parkinson's started supplementing the NAD with us, and the results we're seeing are just, like, amazing. He's not perfect in running marathons, but he's walking around without his hunch in his cane. I check in with his wife the next day, like, hey, how's he doing? And she's like, I couldn't believe it. I woke up and I walk out and he was up before me, which is rare. And he's sitting in his chair in the living room, giant smile plastered across his face. And. And it's like, what's going on? And then I see him get out of the chair, stand up with no cane, no hunch, and he's like, I feel better than I felt in a long time because of something that we all.

James Kademan [00:00:41]:

You have found authentic business adventures business program that brings you the struggle stories and triumphant successes of business owners across the land. Downloadable audio episodes can be found in the podcast link [email protected] we are locally unwritten by the bank of Sun Prairie, and today we're welcoming, preparing to learn from Sahara and Jonathan of the Hydrate IV bar. So, Sahara, Jonathan, how are you guys doing today?

Jonathan Chizever [00:01:06]:

Wonderful. Excited to be here.

James Kademan [00:01:08]:

Yeah.

Shahayra Majumder [00:01:08]:

Woot, woot.

James Kademan [00:01:09]:

Let's talk about Hydrate IV bar. I don't know what in the world an IV bar is, and I bet a lot of people don't either. So let's just start with what is an IV bar?

Jonathan Chizever [00:01:18]:

Happy to tell them you want to go or want me to go?

Shahayra Majumder [00:01:20]:

Um, yeah, I'll kick it off if you want to add in, if there's anything that I miss. But have you ever had an IV before?

James Kademan [00:01:28]:

I had. Yes. I had a saline IV thing when I had a. A gut thing, a stress gut thing

Shahayra Majumder [00:01:35]:

way back when, probably in the hospital.

James Kademan [00:01:37]:

Yeah. Yeah. Not a fan.

Shahayra Majumder [00:01:39]:

Yeah.

James Kademan [00:01:41]:

Not a fan of being in the hospital.

Shahayra Majumder [00:01:42]:

Yeah, right. Yeah, I. A lot of people are used to thinking about IVs being something that you get in the hospital or at urgent care in an emerg situation. But an IV bar actually takes those services outside of an emergency situation and lets you be a little more proactive about rapidly rehydrating your body.

James Kademan [00:02:04]:

All right.

Shahayra Majumder [00:02:05]:

For your different health and wellness goals. There's lots that we can do with supplementing things that you might be deficient in or if you're just feeling certain ailments that could be improved with additional vitamin supplements, meditation, or hydration. That's usually why people come to an IV bar. For me, it's been more of a proactive thing. I realized as I started doing IVs on a regular basis, I felt more energy. I was getting sick less. I didn't really let anything get me down as much. Like during cold and flu season.

Shahayra Majumder [00:02:49]:

Yeah. Anything that you would add to that,

Jonathan Chizever [00:02:52]:

I think that sums it up. Great. Yeah.

James Kademan [00:02:54]:

All right. How do you get in the IV bar business?

Shahayra Majumder [00:02:58]:

You take that one.

Jonathan Chizever [00:03:01]:

So we both, in our travels, neither of us are from Madison. I've been here 10 years. Sahara's been here seven. And we've both, in our travels and living other places, seen this as a more established concept in other places. And, you know, in the Midwest, whether it's fashion trends or wellness modalities, we're generally the last to get just about everything. And so here we are. And so, you know, IVs have saved us in numerous occasions from feeling bad, and really, until we got in the business, didn't yet understand how much it can make you feel good in a consistent and proactive sense. But we just saw this as a market that makes so much sense for it, because, you know, what people traditionally associate it with is hangovers, at least in the selective sense, which it is phenomenal for, I've heard, at least.

Jonathan Chizever [00:03:54]:

But. But beyond that, you know, like, the founder of our brand, she got into this. She was a Broncos cheerleader, and she noticed all the guys in the team are doing these IVs routinely, all the time. And that was part of her origin story of getting into this. And so athletes love it, and athletes have been ahead of the curve and, you know, taking advantage of this. So for athletics and drinking Madison, we have a lot of bubbles, and turns out.

James Kademan [00:04:24]:

Yeah, yeah.

Jonathan Chizever [00:04:25]:

So. And then beyond that, we also have a very vibrant wellness scene. You know, we have a population that likes to take care of themselves. And, I mean, in so many ways, it made sense, but it was something that we saw being severely underserved. So it wasn't like we wanted to start a business. And we're like, what business do we do? It was like we noticed that there was a gap in the availability of these types of services in a place that it makes so much sense to have them. And the rest kind of naturally came from there.

James Kademan [00:04:55]:

Right on. So did you hunt down a franchise, or did you get introduced to the franchise? And you're like, yes, that's what we want.

Shahayra Majumder [00:05:03]:

Little column A, little column B. I did interview, like, every franchise under the sun doing IV stuff.

James Kademan [00:05:09]:

All in the IV stuff.

Shahayra Majumder [00:05:10]:

Yes.

James Kademan [00:05:11]:

Okay, how many are we talking here?

Shahayra Majumder [00:05:12]:

Oh, my God. I think I Started talking to folks in September of 2024, and then we signed our franchise agreement February of 25. So, yeah, I mean, that gives you a little gauge. It took me months and months of.

James Kademan [00:05:27]:

So just talking like, I don't know how many franchise I've seen. Are we talking five? We talking 50?

Jonathan Chizever [00:05:32]:

Oh, no, I'd say a dozen and a half maybe.

Shahayra Majumder [00:05:35]:

Yeah, maybe closer to like the 20 or 30.

Jonathan Chizever [00:05:37]:

Wow.

Shahayra Majumder [00:05:39]:

Yeah, franchise franchises. And there are a few that dominate the market. There are a few that are bigger. But what's interesting is this industry, it's very highly regulated, but the regulations are different state to state. So if you know a little bit about franchising, you know that franchises have to be registered in every single state. And some states are harder to get registered in. And so I talked to a lot of the folks that I was able to get their franchisees on the phone and get honest opinions about the kind of support they're receiving, how the market has received them. I particularly talk to folks in the Midwest or familiar with the Midwest because, you know, the market in the Midwest is not going to be what it is in, you know, Nashville, Tennessee, for example, where you're getting a lot more tourism and.

James Kademan [00:06:38]:

Yeah, sober me up. Sober me up.

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