How a South Carolina Couple Opened a 16 Handles and Did $1 Million in Six Months

The useful part

They started working with 16 Handles in early 2024 and opened their franchise location in June 2025. For Ken and Sarah Barlow, the idea to open a frozen yogurt franchise started during a simple family moment. Their young daughter asked if she could go somewhere to "make her own ice cream" or choose her own flavors and toppings.

How it works

• It was more a series of conversations and research that gradually gave us confidence that this was the right opportunity.
• We could see how the concept would fit in our market and felt like the brand had room to grow.
• You still have to adapt when issues arise and work closely with the corporate team to find solutions.
• The second major factor has been how deeply we've tried to plug into the community.
• For us, growth hasn't been about one single tactic — it's been about being in the right place and making sure we're showing up for the community in a real, consistent way.

What to take from it

One assumption we had going into franchising was that because there was an established corporate structure, everything would run very smoothly all the time. What surprised us is that being a franchise owner still requires a lot of flexibility and problem-solving. We'd also tell ourselves that everything is going to take longer than expected.

Example or evidence

• It put us in front of people constantly, which helped us build awareness quickly and consistently bring in new guests.
• I wouldn't say they're just "nice to have" — they've had a real impact on our revenue and, just as importantly, on building a loyal customer base.
• From there, we spent a lot of time researching different franchise brands and really trying to understand the systems behind them.
• Looking back, all of the research, questions and due diligence we did gave us a solid foundation, and we'd remind ourselves to trust the work we had already put in.

Details worth keeping

In their first six months, they did $1 million in sales. The couple realized that their hometown of Forest Acres, South Carolina, did not have a self-service frozen yogurt business at the time. "This community has always been home for us," she adds.

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