Earn Money While Others Chill

How to Run a Spa

A totally stress-free business does not exist but a spa is a wonderful opportunity to make both a decent income and to contribute to the health and wellness of your clients.

Here are some key tips in starting and operating this business:

• Decide what kind of spa you want to put up. Will you offer only massage or will you offer other services that need special equipment? Where do you plan to put up your spa? Is this a heavy traffic area? What is the profile of the community? Study the profile of the residents of the area. Find out if they are into health and wellness or if many of them are into the habit of hitting the spa. Perhaps you can combine a beauty salon with the spa. The more services and amenities you want to offer, the greater will be the potential profits. However, you must consider the amount of capital you can put up.

• When you already know what kind of spa you will set up, you must draw up a business plan and feasibility study to serve as your detailed guide. This is where you gather hard data like market situation, the cost of facilities and working capital needed.

• Learn the rules governing spa operations. Pay special attention to the specifications on the facilities needed before you actually have your spa constructed. Check the requirements and regulations in spa operations with the Department of Health (DOH) and the Department of Tourism (DOT).

And, when you’ve already opened up your own spa…

• Be a fanatic regarding cleanliness and hygiene. Always check that the wash rooms, bed sheets, towels, etc. are always fresh and clean and smelling good.

• The key to a successful spa operations is the skill of your therapists. Good therapists will assure you of a steady flow of clients. A good tip in having good therapists is to personally do the recruitment yourself. Make sure that the therapists are licensed. Ask for trial massage from them. That way, you’ll know that the therapists you’ll be getting could service your clients well. Getting cheap but experienced personnel will backfire in the long run.

• Market your spa by giving out beautifully made brochures to potential customers and advertising in neighborhood advertising newsletters. Be creative and try innovative ways of selling your service. Keep track of the return on your promotions; always check what is bringing in the sales.

• Your competitors are not standing still, nor should you. Have a continuous training program for your personnel that covers both customer service and skills training so that your customers will always look forward to going to your spa.

• A well operated spa with many satisfied customers could have a return of investment in as soon as two years.

Interested in starting your own Spa? BusinessCoach Philippines offers seminars for start-up entrepreneurs.

Click here to view details of the training program: Starting a Spa Business »

*Originally published by the Manila Bulletin. Written by Ruben Anlacan, Jr. (President, BusinessCoach, Inc.) All rights reserved. May not be reproduced or copied without express written permission of the copyright holders.