Last month I attended a 4-day Spa Directors Management Intensive class, It’s like Spa MBA. There were 6 students in the class, 2 were thinking about opening a spa, 3 were existing owners, and I was “the senior, the experienced one”, with 22 years in business. It was interesting to watch the aspiring spa owners, the first day they were gung-ho, by the fourth day, it was more like “I’d rather be a client”. Many spas have been opened out of emotion, and closed 2-3 years later after losing hundreds of thousands of dollars!
It’s cool owning a spa, and I find it humorous when people think that all I do is hang around the treatment rooms, getting massaged and pampered. On Thursday, I was on a 10-hour flight from Paris and I sat next to a lovely and friendly lady, when she heard what I did for a living, she let out an “AHHH” while she moved her shoulders, her first question was “how many services do you get?” and I laughed and responded “not enough, and I could sure use a massage and a facial just about right now!”
No, I do not get services all day long, this is a labor of love business and a very demanding one as well. Oftentimes my talented staff and I look like swans- we appear very graceful and relaxed on the surface but are peddling as fast as we can underneath, the washing machine stopped working, a faucet started leaking or a staff member just called in sick and has a full book of clients looking forward to their relaxing spa visit.
I learned a long time ago that to succeed at anything, you really have to love what you do, and I do. I find great joy knowing how much relaxation, joy, stress relief and beautiful skin we deliver-daily. I love, LOVE searching for new products and being part of creating new and exciting services. I’m passionate about decorating the spa and continually looking at how we can serve better. This is demanding business and I’m in spa love!
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