3 Things You Might Not Know About Oncology Esthetics

Oncology esthetics is a way for spas and medi spas to give back to their communities. Through the power of touch and soothing care, you help people living with cancer go through the most difficult time in thCoachMe Expert Intervieweir lives. Before offering this specialty treatment in your spa, here are 3 things we learned about oncology esthetics that you might want to know: 1. Oncology clients come in for relaxation first Surgeries are stressful for everybody but it is doubly difficult for people with cancer who are dealing with this life-or-death condition every day.  Research shows that oncology clients seek help for relaxation first before skincare. Soothing massages and facials have been shown to make them need less pain medication afterward. 2. Oncology esthetics must mitigate side effects and prevent infections The skin is the largest organ of the body and the first line of defense against diseases. For oncology clients what is normally harmless for the rest of us could leave them vulnerable. For example, moisturizers can contain alcohol that worsens such side effects like radiation burns and extremely dry, peeling skin. 3. Oncology clients need personalized treatment What works for one guest may not work for another. For untrained spa professionals, knowing what’s effective for each client will be a matter of trial and error. You could also cause harm unwittingly. On the Expert Interview with Dori Soukup and Morag Currin, President of Oncology Training International (OTI) and Founder of Oncology Esthetics®, spa and medi spa professionals will gain valuable information on how to tailor treatments and avoid dangerous trials and errors, among others. Morag is the acknowledged expert and trainer on Oncology Esthetics. Join the discussion on the Ins and Outs of offering Oncology Esthetics in your spa on Monday, June 15th, at 3:00 PM Eastern, and get expert advice on how to help people living with cancer in your community while expanding your menu. Click here to register and learn more »  
Say an entrepreneur is interested in buying your spa business. Do you know how much it is worth right now so you can set the right price?Click here to know more about the Financial Freedom CoachMe Gold series Most small business owners do not have a definite idea of the current value of their businesses. No wonder, because that number isn’t part of day-to-day business operations. It is an exercise reserved for when you are divesting interest in your spa or salon, for example, handing it over to another or retiring. Did you know that identifying how much your spa is worth is part of regular business processes? However, you would be better off if you do not undertake this valuation process on your own. Chances are you will be selling only one business in your whole life. Because you are not a corporate buyer—whose job it is to routinely appraise businesses and negotiate the best price for them—you might be putting the wrong price tag on your spa. Imagine this: You have decided that your business is worth $1 million. You believe it is a fair amount. It is also exactly the kind of money you would need to live your retirement in style. You would feel extremely cheated, however, if you discovered down the line that you could have sold your spa for $5 million instead! (I would imagine you would be crying in your cup for a long time to come!) InSPAration Management has created an 8-part CoachMe Gold series, Financial Freedom, to avert this kind of disaster. Not only will spa entrepreneurs learn how to correctly determine how much their businesses are worth, the training will also help you sell it for top dollar. In the first module alone, you will define your “Enough is Enough Number” and learn more about the “4% Thumb-Rule.” These are important numbers that you must be familiar with. Even if you are still having the time of your life growing your spa right now, you will want to know more about the Financial Freedom coaching series. It’s not only about crafting a business exit strategy, but more importantly, it’s all about growing your business to three, five, even 10x its size today, creating systems and structures to put spa success on auto-pilot, and securing your financial future the best way. Click here to learn more about Financial Freedom now ?    
(Contributed by Walter Bergeron)Mastermind group If you’re really serious about growing your spa business, you’ve probably considered joining a Mastermind group, or may now be part of one. Engaging in the power of a Mastermind group is a fantastic way to navigate yourself down the shortcut to prosperity! Here are top 3 ways you can make the most out of your Mastermind group: Secret Gem #1. Don’t be the smartest person in the room. Now this may sound counterintuitive because it sure feels good to be the sharpest tack in the bunch. In a Mastermind, however, this can be a great disadvantage to you. You should seek out groups with members who are exceedingly more successful than you are. Better, take a shot and get into a group whose members are way out of your league. Your growth—and consequently, your spa business’s—will come from stretching your reach and becoming involved with those who have done far more than you. Secret Gem #2. Pay for it. You get what you pay for. You also get back the same amount of effort you put into something. Masterminds are no exception to these time-tested truths. When there is a sacrifice or a substantial cost to membership, you will find that you put much more effort into the group as well as demand better solutions from it. When you write that very large check for your Mastermind it will make you demand results from the group. You will not settle for mediocre solutions from them. Feeling the pain of knowing that the cost of getting in was substantial will produce results many times more valuable than the cost of the membership. Secret Gem #3. Get uncomfortable. Part of the power of Mastermind is to stretch your mind to what else is possible. You can do that more easily when you are in an unfamiliar place. Travelling beyond your backyard will force you out of your comfort zone and put your mind in a state that will more readily accept alternative suggestions and different inputs from others. You will need to communicate what you are thinking and reveal things about yourself and your business that are uncomfortable, leaving you feeling vulnerable and exposed. Fear not, for this is where the breakthroughs happen. If you keep yourself guarded and you will not let others in to help you, then you are wasting the resources of this powerful group dynamic. Take these tips to heart and they will help guide you to the transformational results of a “Mastermind Fortune.” Have some thoughts to add to this? Share it with us in the comments below. InSPAration Management CoachMe Platinum Mastermind Group   InSPAration Management hosts an exclusive Spa Mastermind group, the CoachMe Platinum—an accelerated level membership designed for entrepreneurs serious about their overall GROWTH. It’s so exclusive, you need to apply to become a member! The Mastermind group is also launching a book on Amazon in a few weeks—we’ll let you know when it’s up. If you’re ready for exponential spa and salon growth, apply now to begin your Platinum journey ?    
How to Establish Trust at First Sight with Your Spa Guests photoHave you ever wondered what kind of impression your spa is making when a new guest enters your doors? Consider this: your spa reception is a major profit center, and the receptionist is going to be the first person that a guest will encounter. Is that person going to help increase your revenue or harm your bottom line? Trust is a critical aspect of every spa business. If you have been delivering results through your treatments and therapists, your guests should be lapping up the recommendations you make for products and treatment upgrades. You do not need a hard sell; all you need is recommend, and the sale follows. This is why, as a spa leader, you always have to check how your front line team is doing. How effective are they at projecting a competent, professional image? Do not be like an experienced I’ve had. The receptionist had bright pink hair, a plunging neckline showing lip-shaped tattoos, and an unapproachable demeanor. She did not even bother to greet me! I hightailed it out of there. You will never get a second chance to make a good first impression. Follow these image-enhancing tips to put your best foot forward:
  1. Adopt a uniform or professional attire for your front liners and therapists.
  2. Create your own communication script, from meeting first-time guests to talking with them on the phone to every possible guest interaction there is, using carefully selected words that convey your image, values and culture.
  3. For that matter, make sure your receptionists and therapists have superior communication skills. Clean up language, even when talking to each other.
  4. Train your team in effective listening, helping them to understand sub-text and zeroing in on guest concerns. That’s where opportunities for retail sales and upgrades are found.
  5. The telephone is also a major part of your leads generation—craft scripts for responding to inquiries, customer complaints, etc., that will project a helpful, supportive image over the wire. (Make sure your team answers calls with a smile, which shows over the line.)
  6. Create a problem-solving and guest satisfaction culture, training your team to be swift in anticipating and addressing guest problems.
  7. Make sure that your team has exceptional knowledge of every product and treatment that you have, so they can recommend at-home maintenance and upgrades where needed.
  8. Stay organized, including all work space.
Your spa cannot afford to turn away guests with a bad first impression. You’ll fight an uphill battle getting more new clients that way. As you continually improve on your image, watch your guest number and revenue climb up. To do: assess what new guests see when they first call you or come in, and update accordingly. Any thoughts or advice you want to add? Share it in the comments below. Thanks! Reinvent Your Business (Volume II ) Seminar from InSPAration Management   Trust is an important aspect of spa-guest relations. Join us to learn more about trust-based selling in the Reinvent Your Business teleseminar on April 7th, 4:00 PM Eastern ?      
(Contributed by Walter Bergeron) As a spa owner, your plan from the very inception of your business is likely to someday use it as your retirement nest egg. To accomplish that goal, it may mean selling your spa to an employee, a venture capital firm, or a capable and deserving family member. However, if you want to maximize the number of zeroes on that check you will receive on closing day, then your best bet is to sell your business to a strategic buyer. cashA strategic buyer is another company that will use your business to expand their business. The acquisition will serve to solve one of their problems instantly, thus exponentially growing their spa business instantly. Their problems may include a need for a larger client base, a need for another location to handle more production, or a need for trained and experienced personnel. Whatever the reason, they are willing to buy your business so they can solve their problem and grow strategically versus growing organically. The problem is, right now your business is built to solve your problems, not theirs. You are currently building your business to provide you with a comfortable income, vacation money, security, prominence in your community, or any number of valid personal reasons. But none of these are real solutions that a strategic buyer would need, or more importantly, would willingly pay for top dollar. No worries. You can still grow your spa business for a strategic buyer, and build it to suit your personal needs at the same time. That is, if you do it correctly, and if you act now. Stay light years ahead of all other businesses on the market by listing the top 3 solutions that your spa can provide another. Say, if you have a healthy and responsive client base, list this as one of the solutions you can give. If you have well documented and proven operating systems, then list this as another solution. Go through the details of your business and figure out what makes it stand out from others like yours, then position your spa into a market of one. The time and effort you put into this preparation today will pay off with more zeroes on the check you get when you sell your business in the future. What solution does your business provide to another business’s problem today? Share your thoughts in the comment section below. Are you building your spa for the perfect buyer? If you want to learn more on how to position your business into an attractive market of one, join Dori and Walter for the complimentary seminar on Financial Freedom: How to Plan Your Exit Strategy and Sell Your Spa Business for Top Dollar on April 14th, 2:00 PM Eastern. ? About the Author: Walter Bergeron began his entrepreneurial journey when he was just 12 years old, detailing cars in his parents’ driveway. Over the last three decades, he has built and sold multiple businesses, with his latest deal topping $10 million. He is a best-selling author as well as a Marketer of the Year awardee. His newest best-selling book is called “The 8 Figure Exit Formula” where he shows other driven entrepreneurs how to achieve their own eight-figure payday.
This is the second post of a 4 part series on InSPAration Management’s blog to learn strategies on gaining financial health. In the last post, we discussed having a spa budget and knowing the breakdown of where all of your money is being distributed. Included was a financial assessment useful in determining your financial status and where you needed improvements. After understanding this portion, focus on step 2 to get closer to financial health. spa finance 2.            Your P & L Statement The Profit and Loss Statement is your monthly report card.  This allows you to see your financial ratios and ensure they are aligned. There are 4 important financial ratios to measure: a.            Operating Expenses b.            Product Cost c.            Compensation Cost d.            Profits Operating spa expenses and compensation are the biggest two expenses for a business.  In most cases, we find that the compensation ratio is too high. To be profitable, your compensation ratio cannot exceed 40% of your overall budget.  For example, for each dollar that comes into your business, you can afford to pay $.40 towards compensation. If your compensation cost is more than that, then you are at risk of having an unhealthy business. If your spa compensation costs are high and your profits are low, check out the InSPAration Management VPG ComPlan Overview below to address these challenges and restructure a model that will help regain your financial foundation! spa budget, spa finance, spa   Still having financial issues at your spa? Please leave a comment or question below so we can help you!
When business owners first go into business they are excited, eager, motivated and can’t wait to get started.  Then reality sits in and the bills start piling up, followed by pressure, tension anxiety.  If you are like most owners you are always looking for ways to cut expenses and generate more revenue so it’s worth it to be in business. The main reason entrepreneurs go into business for themselves is to be their own boss, have more freedom, and make more money. But here is the sad fact: in most cases business owners don’t pay themselves, they end up working harder and make less money.  According to US census statistic an average business makes about 7% net profit.   Yes there are some businesses that make more, some less, and some make none.  Where do you stand? Are your overhead expenses diminishing your bottom line?  If so, read the first of this 4 part series to learn strategies on gaining financial health. spa profits 1.     Have a Budget Most spa and salon owners who call our office seeking business help don’t have a budget.  Without a spa budget, you are allowing your business to manage you instead of you managing it. Whether you have a large, medium, small spa or are even a solo-preneur, you must have a budget.  Your budget should include a monthly breakdown of all your finances, such as:
  • Number of spa clients you expect to see monthly
  • Forecasted service revenue
  • Forecasted retail revenue
  • Spa product cost
  • Compensation cost
  • Spa Operating cost
  • Spa Marketing expenses
  • Budgeted profit
The key is to detail the budget as much as possible so your revenue goals are clear and to be disciplined enough to not over spend. Want to see how healthy your business is? Take a financial assessment to see where your business stands.

Insparation

Are you a busy spa and salon professional who is in need of business solutions? You have heard the saying, “Time is Money.” It’s true. The more time you waste trying to create things on your own, the more money you are losing.

Whether you are looking for a spa and salon compensation model, a spa marketing plan, spa/salon operational manuals or any other systems or structure, it’s more feasible to buy proven-effective business solutions than to try to reinvent the wheel.

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