Are you considering opening a spa? It’s a bold move you should think through before making the final decision. You need to be aware of all the risks and responsibilities that come with being a business owner in this field of the beauty industry. To help you make up your mind and presumably take the first steps on your road to success, we’ve prepared a guide on opening your own spa. Without any further ado, let’s get started!
Creating (even a very simplified) business plan is a great way to assess your idea. Writing all crucial information down forces you to think twice about your conception. This way, you can notice some “assumption errors” and provide adjustments - for example, in order to better fit your target audience or local conditions. Your business plan should include:
How many team members do you aim to have? Are you going to employ them or have them as room renters (check the perks and risks of renting out space first)? Will you have managers and/or supervisors? What will be their responsibilities? Will you work as a service provider too? Will you employ a receptionist? After you answer these questions, it’s time to think about some details. What will be your operating hours? If you are to rent rooms or chairs, how are you going to settle things with your renters? Will your spa be open on weekends? How are the shifts going to work? It’s important to start thinking about such topics pretty early on.
Truth being said, before you even ask “how to open a spa”, you should first ask yourself: “what kind of spa would I like to open?” Spas have a much wider range of possible treatment choices than hair or nail salons. What types of spa services are you going to provide? What specialists will you have to employ or rent a room to? For most day spas, treatments roughly fall into four categories - skincare, body care, “beautification” and hair removal. Skincare includes facials, peels, masks and other speciality treatments for the face. Body care includes a wide range of massages, wraps, body masks and hydrotherapy treatments. “Beautification” includes all different types of services that directly alter clients’ appearances - makeup, PMU, lash extensions, eyelash and eyebrow tinting, tanning and ear piercing. Finally, hair removal, as the name suggests, includes electrolysis, shaving, shaping and waxing different areas of a client’s body.
Once you know what treatments you want to offer, you need to start thinking about your crew. Do you want to employ experienced specialists who have worked in their field for quite some time now, or do you prefer to go for juniors and provide them with additional training? Consider the pros and cons of each solution and find the most fitting option. What are the requirements going to be? What kind of attitude do you expect from your team members? How many years of experience do you want your new employees to have? How much are you going to pay them? Do some research and plan your recruitment process.
This will depend greatly on the services you decide to provide - you can read more about spa furniture and equipment here. Remember that some treatments require not only special resources, but also an upgrade in your infrastructure, such as plumbing lines and running electricity. This point will take a large chunk of your budget, so make sure to analyse the involved costs thoroughly.
Apart from purchasing essentials (meaning - the products you need in order to provide services), you have to remember about things such as groceries and cleaning supplies. Remember that massage oils and lotions are one thing, but no spa can operate without a healthy stock of coffee and Barbicide! Choosing the right retail lines to sell in your spa is of the highest priority. Spas have higher retail sales than any other types of beauty businesses, especially when it comes to home-use pampering kits that customers often buy as gifts for their close ones. If you want your retail products to be truly tempting, take advantage of your expertise and find a line (or lines) that is of very high quality and cannot be purchased via Amazon or from local drugstore chains. It’s a wise idea to offer two to three lines of products in different price ranges, but still make sure all of them are great and you can confidently recommend them to your customers.
Before you start operating, you have to make sure you meet all spa requirements issued by the UK government, in order to operate safely and legally. They include:
Remember that even seemingly trivial things may require obtaining a license or certification - playing music in your business is a good example here.
Depending on the type of services you are aiming to offer, what you call an “attractive location” may vary. For example, for spas that specialise more in “utility” services, such as waxing, being located in the city centre will be a huge advantage. However, spas that are all about pampering and relaxation may benefit from being located in the suburbs, if the area in question is known for being a peaceful temple of nature.
One of the most satisfying and creative parts of opening a spa is deciding on its interior design. It has to fit the style of your business, be consistent with your theme and make your interior not only beautiful, but also comfortable to stay in and convenient to navigate. If your business is on the smaller side, consider investing in an interesting spa wall design - it doesn’t take too much space, but easily sets the tone for the entire room.
It’s not only your interior design that has a magical property of setting the tone and expectations of your clients - your website and social media fan pages are your online business cards! Invest in quality web design, professional photography and strong content. It may seem like a trivial thing, especially when you are just starting out, but it will bring you long-term profit. The same goes for your Facebook or Instagram fan pages - the more effort you put into making them appealing, the easier it will be for you to gain clients.
Tip: If you are planning to use Booksy, the best spa management software available on the market, you will receive your own customisable booking profile!
Finally, it’s time to choose a medium thanks to which you will be able to manage your spa effectively and efficiently. Instead of going for the mix of half-baked booking app and old-school pen and paper, choose a more rounded-up solution - an advanced management system. Your best bet will be Booksy, a system that allows you to run detailed customer records, collect digital consent forms, take online bookings in real-time, automate appointment reminders, set work schedules, control the inventory, equipment and room availability. Additionally, it includes an easy to use and reliable digital appointment book you can access 24/7 from any device. With such a tool, starting your own spa business will be much easier.
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