Ever wonder why an individual chooses a certain brand over another similar brand, like Target over Walmart, Coke over Pepsi, or vice versa? Effective branding is usually the culprit. Branding is a term that gets bandied about everywhere in business although many do not have full comprehension of what it means or how it can influence human behavior. To pull back the smoke and mirror curtain, all branding boils down to getting super clear on the business’s “what,” “how,” and “why” – in other words, brand identity, brand personality, and brand story. Authenticity, consistency, and connection on an emotional level with the target perfect potential client (Make sure to read March’s installment of “Owner’s Manual” for the full description.) should be the goal when creating the spa’s unique brand. 

 Melissa Allen has lived many lives as a dance teacher, biologist, and marketing director before becoming a successful aesthetician and spa owner. All of these former positions help color her opinions, actions, and style. Allen’s career in aesthetics has also been far-reaching; she has been an aesthetician in the back of a salon, a solo aesthetician, a spa owner with several employees, and a global brand consultant. Allen has experienced many of the paths of aesthetics and is open, honest, and willing to share her adventures. As her time in the treatment room comes to an end, she is focusing on mentoring and guiding the next generation of thinking skin care professionals and spa owners.

Starting a business is like weaving a tapestry; each thread is integral to the final product and builds upon the row, or task, that came before. The cast on in weaving is the foundation of the beauty to come. Similarly, the business’s why is the foundation that all future tasks must weave through, including creating the business’s perfect potential client. No matter the name or acronym, every spa must know theirs on a first-name basis. Knowing the ins and outs of who the spa will be serving is most important when deciding the brands, services, and devices to carry. Making the best and most informed decision when considering the three P’s – price, prevalence, and problem – with the perfect potential client in mind will garner paramount results.

THE WHO

One of the first exercises in a thorough business branding session is nailing down the perfect potential client. Big brands use this to target those who will benefit the most from the item or service they are selling. Getting very granular about the perfect potential client helps in several areas of the business, including where to place ads, what voice to use, and what images will produce sales. 

When creating a perfect potential client profile, it’s beneficial to ask all the questions one would ask their best friend – everything from their name, gender, and relationship status to their kids, what keeps them up at night, and everything in between. It may even be helpful to give the perfect potential client a name. Once the perfect potential client is completely fleshed out, they can be used to determine the brands, services, and devices that best suit the spa.

Melissa Allen has lived many lives as a dance teacher, biologist, and marketing director before becoming a successful aesthetician and spa owner. All of these former positions help to color her opinions, actions, and style. Allen’s career in aesthetics has also been far-reaching; she has been an aesthetician in the back of a salon, a solo aesthetician, a spa owner with several employees, and a global brand consultant. Allen has experienced many of the paths of aesthetics and is open, honest, and willing to share her adventures. As her time in the treatment room comes to an end, she is focusing on mentoring and guiding the next generation of thinking skin care professionals and spa owners.

Leasing or purchasing physical space for a spa can be a crash course in learning a foreign language. With an abundance of acronyms and real estate jargon, the already arduous task of making the right decision can become nearly impossible. Armed with this Rosetta Stone of commonly used terms, you can avoid many of the mistakes made by commercial real estate neophytes.

THE STARTING LINE

Regardless of whether leasing or purchasing, hiring a professional agent in commercial real estate should be the first step. Agents are the best resources for understanding the local market and having an advocate when negotiating for the business’s best interests.

ACRONYM AWARENESS

Letter of Intent (LOI)

After falling for a particular space, the first unrecognizable acronym will be the letter of intent (LOI). The letter of intent is the jumping-off point for negotiations between the owner and potential tenant. This is a nonbinding agreement that outlines all the terms and conditions of a particular property. There could be a fair amount of back-and-forth between all involved parties before the letter of intent is finalized and signed. While coming to an agreement on the letter of intent, most of the other important lingo will be brought to light as well.

Melissa Allen has lived many lives as a dance teacher, biologist, and marketing director before becoming a successful aesthetician and spa owner. All of these former positions help color her opinions, actions, and style. Allen’s career in aesthetics has also been far-reaching; she has been an aesthetician in the back of a salon, a solo aesthetician, a spa owner with several employees, and a global brand consultant. Allen has experienced many of the paths of aesthetics and is open, honest, and willing to share her adventures. As her time in the treatment room comes to an end, she is focusing on mentoring and guiding the next generation of thinking skin care professionals and spa owners.

When daydreaming about starting a successful spa business, visions of taxation and articles of incorporation usually do not jubilantly dance in your head. Unfortunately, many of the most important tasks to set a business up for financial success are the most tedious and, frankly, foreign to a budding, creative “spapreneur.” There are five main legal and tax details to focus on when starting a spa business: decide on a business structure, register a business name, apply for a Federal Employer Identification Number, obtain a business license, and start a business banking account. These obligations are not part of the fun or glamorous side of starting a business, but they will help to ensure the business lasts longer than the daydream.  

 
Melissa Allen has lived many lives as a dance teacher, biologist, and marketing director before becoming a successful aesthetician and spa owner. All of these former positions help to color her opinions, actions, and style. Allen’s career in aesthetics has also been far-reaching; she has been an aesthetician in the back of a salon, a solo aesthetician, a spa owner with several employees, and a global brand consultant. Allen has experienced many of the paths of aesthetics and is open, honest, and willing to share her adventures. As her time in the treatment room comes to an end, she is focusing on mentoring and guiding the next generation of thinking skin care professionals and spa owners. 

Currently, the world seems to be injectable-obsessed; they are in movies, television, advertisements, and even at optometrist and dentists’ offices. As a spa practitioner, you may feel the pressure to “medical director up” and start offering them, too. Here is some food for thought while staying within the aesthetic scope of practice.

Melissa Allen has lived many lives as a dance teacher, biologist, and marketing director before becoming a successful aesthetician and spa owner All of these former positions help to color her opinions, actions, and style. Allen’s career in aesthetics has also been far-reaching; she has been an aesthetician in the back of a salon, a solo aesthetician, a spa owner with several employees, and a global brand consultant. Allen has experienced many of the paths of aesthetics and is open, honest, and willing to share her adventures. As her time in the treatment room comes to an end, she is focusing on mentoring and guiding the next generation of thinking skin care professionals and spa owners.