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8:45 AM.
On the caller ID screen I see that the owner of Spa X is calling–no doubt a follow-up to yesterday’s frantic scramble to avoid a walkout by her six massage therapists. Unhappy about recently announced changes in the company’s compensation plan, and unable to force the owner to keep the one they’ve also disliked, a threatened mass-exodus is looming. And since I’m the one that finally convinced the beleaguered businesswoman to get her labor costs under control via my brilliant pay structure she’s looking for me to cover her back in this spa version of a Hollywood western-style shootout.
You have to feel for this poor spa owner, saddled with huge–and often unexpected–operating expenses, a hostile staff, and heavy home equity loan at stake. Imagine her sudden realization that sales are far short of the projections–or when meeting them, still failing to cover the bills that flood in. Seventy-hour workweeks haven’t helped; neither has the fact that she’s training the third new front desk employee in as many months, that the spa technicians beg to go home when appointments are thin, and that her costly ad campaign isn’t pulling new customers.
It wasn’t supposed to turn out like this, the spa dream born of so many hours of research, trade show seminars, and meetings with accountants and supporters. Now the money is spent, the spa is open, and a harsh reality has settled in. This is business, like it or not. And, when it’s understood that help is needed and needed right now, where do you turn to get it?
9:00 AM.
Phone consult with owner of Spa X: Experience shows that people (in this case the new spa owner) are often far more eager to fantasize about a career role than to actually do it—have they given deep thought about how the career change will benefit them in the short-term? I tell the owner not to panic but, instead, to buy time by suggesting a meeting between herself, the rebellious staff, and the consultant that created the hated pay program–me. Maybe what the staff needs is more information, clarification, and some time to see exactly how the program works before they storm out the door. Calmly listening and expressing understanding will do much to calm reactionary fears and allow the reality of the pay plan to reveal itself. Could it be in the best interest of a spa owner to alienate its valuable professional team? Of course not! We decide to cool down, let staff know that we are scheduling a meeting to address the issue at hand, and then see how it goes from there. Crisis averted–for the moment, at least.
10:00 AM.
My weekly scheduled coaching call with the management team of a 3-location day spa. As usual one manager is missing from the conference, requiring catch-up time and difficulty in making a key decision in employee policy. The once-liberal benefit of free spa services for all full-time employees has become a strain on company resources and appointment openings since the headcount has now grown to 85. How can management reduce the benefit without creating a backlash? There’s a rumor circulating among the staff that their benefits are going to be “stripped away” by greedy bosses, and morale is suffering as result. Seems that the missing manager, fearful of having to face the unpleasant task of disappointing her team, unwisely leaked the potential plan to a massage therapist over drinks, and the fire got started. Any wonder that she’s AWOL from our meeting? We move ahead anyway, survey our options, and elect a policy revision that keeps the benefit in place while attaching it to an “earned points” system, and restricting employee appointments to low-use hours. I wanted to introduce a minimum per-appointment service fee as well but the already-nervous managers reject the idea. We agreed to review the program again in six months.
11:00 AM.
Houston, we’ve got a problem–literally! A medispa startup partnership has hit a huge snag in development planning: the primary cash investor is beginning to have second thoughts on the soundness of the business model. Worse, the doubt was inspired by a trade magazine article that detailed the risks of these new and still untested operations—an article authored by me! Ooops…The cashless half of the partnership is plenty steamed at me, almost accusing me of deliberately sabotaging her project. How could I have been so careless? Never mind that the article had been in the files of that magazine for over 10 months before being dusted off and put into print. I offer to talk to the funding party personally, free of charge, of course, and attempt to assuage her fears, fairly certain that I can succeed in it. Cooling down some, my client agrees. Now I need my second espresso.
12:30 PM.
Still have not received my biweekly sales reports from the director of a Los Angeles spa in turnaround. This has been a seven-month routine, having to call every two weeks to get the reports that are overdue from the last four weeks—a tedious task. This is a business with a very serious cash flow problem, no reserves and still staffed with employees that will only meet their retail responsibilities when managed closely. Those reports matter, and the director knows it, too. But, she’s totally unqualified (unwilling) to enforce a performance demand with employees on something at which she herself was poor when formerly serving as an esthetician. So she avoids the issue and resents my constant reminder for the less-than-stellar sales reports. The absentee owner wants (needs!) results, but loathes the idea of having to replace her director. It’s a three-way frustration situation with no end in sight. I suggest another sales training by me. The director is delighted but the owner won’t pay for it. Okay, I’ll be calling you again…
1:45 PM.
Good news! The New Orleans B&B and spa has been having great success selling their new privately branded treatment products! Their numbers have doubled and tripled over last year’s and they’re just getting started. The two men running the operation gave me credit in an Entrepreneur Magazine article covering their business story. It’s a good afternoon.
2:30 PM.
Meet a new client on the site of a 2-year old day spa that she’s considering for purchase. Says that the selling price of $90,000. “seems reasonable”. Well, when compared to building a new spa from scratch this may be so but, from a purely investment perspective we have far too little information to work with. Over coffee  I must ask the usual list of questions that never fail to raise fear and pale faces. Here we go: What is your return on investment expectation? How will you manage the business? How much cash are you willing to contribute to operations beyond the purchase price? And many others, each revealing the essential but unglamorous basics of business that are often missing in an idealistic dream of spa ownership. I know that I’m likely to kill my chances of a long-term consulting relationship here but I feel good knowing that I may be saving this woman from a miserable and costly awakening later. She pays me for two hours of service, thanks me profusely, and promises to call again after she’s had “time to think about it”. My guess is that this will be the end of it.
5:30 PM.
It may be late in the day in California but Hawaiian clients are still hard at work. The high demand for skilled spa therapists and the “hang loose” island mentality can make it a struggle for larger spas to keep a full staff on hand. The owner of a very busy Waikiki spa is turning away appointments because she can’t keep her shifts covered. A veteran massage professional herself, she’s continuously filling in for no-show employees rather than deal with upset clients who can’t get the scheduled service. This is not only damaging to business management but is fraying the energy and patience of the owner. What can we do to remedy the situation? There are some management issues for which I am simply not prepared to find a real correction. A farmer that plows 40 acres of desert, despite the local demand for food, cannot expect enough rain to sustain his crop no matter what meteorologist he calls. American cars with left side steering wheels will never be hot sellers in Japan regardless of the advertising budget. One of the important things that I’ve learned in my career is to not pretend to be an expert where I’m not one, particularly when it comes to nearly impossible-to-solve problems that some spa businesses set themselves up to suffer. The spa owner tells me that another consultant suggested that she raise her compensation rate in order to attract and keep employees. But she’s already paying more than she can afford to, and has been too afraid to make the pay adjustment that I recommended early in our work together. Besides, employees haven’t been complaining about the pay so why does that consultant’s plan make any sense? It doesn’t.
7:00 PM.
Now I can finally relax and answer my mounting e- and v-mail. I’ve got a magazine article deadline looming and my Corgi has been dropping on his side and moaning all day trying to guilt me into his daily walk (it’s the dog walker’s day off).
The e-mail asks for a dozen small and large “can you just do’s” and voicemail demands return calls ASAP. My calendar is online so my assistant fills it with appointments and reminders that I must add to an already overweight to-do list.
By the way, I love my work.
Since the first day 12 years ago when I elected to embark on a career as a spa business consultant I have evolved from a blank to compacted schedule by sheer determination, and a sharpened eye for opportunity. The tools of my trade are derived from hands-on spa management, observation, industry study, and possibly a little business horse sense. I do not have a business degree. But a background in behavioral psychology, 16 years as a practicing esthetician, and successfully weathering the terrors of small business survival seem to have combined to qualify me as a credible and effective spa management advisor. My profession began while attending a major spa business event in Texas. During an open-mike discussion attended by dozens of spa owners I noticed that there were lots of feel-good testimonials about service concepts, spa design, liberal compensation programs and so forth, and yet not a word about operating profits. Naively, I stood up with the mike and asked the audience if anyone in the room was actually making a decent living from their spa. The room fell silent and not a single hand rose. At that opportunity I announced that I was a spa business consultant who’d be happy to conduct a free forum on the subject in the hotel lobby lounge following the present session should anyone be interested. About 40 people attended that meeting and a new career was born.
The spa business consultant is coach and counselor, cheerleader and chaperone, watchdog and guide, and many other roles that assist the spa owner through the rigors of management. We coax people to recognize difficult problems and encourage them to take on the often-unpleasant tasks of leadership and responsibility. Consultants may be the first to deliver bad news or to see the real potential and opportunities in a client business. We mediate partnership disputes, ameliorate employee frustrations, and investigate customer service complaints. At project sites I’ve done everything from terminating badly behaving therapists to selling cosmetics—whatever the moment demands, particularly when the action can serve as an example to employees and managers. I’ve supervised shining turnaround successes and dismal failures where spa owners refused to swallow the medicine required for business health. And, sad as that is, I’ve relied on the balm of sage advice from a senior business advisor, “Never make the mistake of caring about your client’s business more than they do– that'll finish you." He was right. For as much as we may want to save a business we must be mindful of the fact that it is a business that we neither own nor manage, the responsibility to operate it properly resides in the client, not us.
I conduct consulting over the telephone, on line, and on site. I’ve consulted with clients I’ve never met in person and never may meet that way. Some sessions are held during long drives between client sites via cell phone and headset or poolside at during a “vacation break.” I can work from anywhere, anytime and I like the freedom and ease of delivering on-demand services. I’ve also traveled more business air miles than I ever imagined and have lost the special feeling that resort hotels and fine restaurants used to bring. And again, by the way, I love my work!
 The future for this business continues to brighten as entrepreneurs open more and more new spas. It remains a unique and fascinating opportunity for those with a background as a spa director, personnel manager, marketing, or service programs. Financial experts are especially useful for the struggling spa operator, particularly those that can convey the vexing business of budgeting and forecasting in a palatable and easy-to-understand format. Above and beyond everything else is sheer chemistry and communication between consultant and client. Lacking this you’ll neither find success or even many clients with whom to succeed or fail. It’s a business of trust, rapport, and emotional sensitivity. And it just may be one of the most personally and rewarding experiences of your life!
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