Top 10 Product Blunders of 2008

So, how many of your tried a new skin, body or makeup line in your business in 2008, and wished you hadn't? I'd love to hear your stories about why they didn't work from; they were too expensive to my staff hated them and any others you experienced.

I'll compile the information and treat it like, "what not to do in 2009."

Thinking of Starting a Salon or Spa?

"Someday I am going to start up my own Spa". Have you ever heard a friend say that or maybe this has been a personal dream of yours. Well, I can understand why; Spas are a $9.4 billion business in the United States, employing more than 234,000 workers, according to the International Spa Association.

But, there’s a lot of thinking to be done before you start one of these businesses. Starting a Salon or Spa is one of those huge, life-altering events. Proper planning is the key to turning your dreams into reality.

Every year thousands of perfectly intelligent Americans jump into owning a Salon or Spa without doing all their homework. Oh sure, they've tested the market and created a business plan. They've lined up a lawyer and accountant, purchased equipment and set up a Web site. But even though they may think they've covered all the bases, surprises show up in some unusual places.

Although there isn't any way that you can guarantee that you'll become a successful owner, you can greatly improve your odds by becoming well-prepared for the task. You'll want to make sure to conduct as much research to see whether your idea is really feasible. This will involve gathering, analyzing and evaluating information to help you formulate your business goals.

Some questions to consider are:

• What product/service will you provide?
• Is your idea feasible (is it going to make money)?
• Is there a market for your product/service?
• What skills do you need?
• Who are your competitors?
• What difference will you bring to the market?
• Do you have the financial capacity?

If you go through this sort of process in great depth, your decision to proceed will be based not on so much emotional or personal interest factors but on cold hard facts. You will have already come a long way forward in the necessary mind-set of making sound business judgments, which will automatically build you a far better chance of financial survival.

Knowledge of the business, sufficient capital, and good experience,are just some of the characteristics of a successful Salon or Spa owner. Are you well-prepared for the task?

If you are struggling on whether to open a Salon or Spa; schedule an initial FREE 45 min Consultation to discuss your potential options.

Announcing Affordable Group Coaching For Your Salon or Spa

Expand Your Mind,
Recharge Your Business Battery,
Connect With Like-Minded Business Owners ... with our Monthly On-Line Group Coaching

The Winners Circle Group Coaching is powerful group of business owners together with your Coach that will catalyze faster breakthroughs for you and your business.

Our business group coaching program is distinctly different in two very important ways: our focus and our process. The end benefit: you maximize your results and achieve a greater return on your investment.

In the Winners Circle your peers give you feedback, help you brainstorm new possibilities, and set up accountability structures that keep you focused and on track. You will create a community of supportive colleagues who will brainstorm together to move the group to new heights. You'll gain tremendous insights, which can improve your business. Your Winners Circle Group is like having a objective "board of directors."

What Will You Get From It?

• Faster progress towards your desired goals than you would have ever imagined.



• An instant and valuable support network.



• A shared sense of endeavor. . . the energy of the group is far greater than the sum of individual energies.



• The ability to design things as you want them and support as well as real concrete help in achieving those goals.



• Invaluable resouces and contacts through other members.

Who Should Attend?
Salon & Spa Onwers who:

• Have a desire for success and are willing to commit to it 100%.



• Have the desire and inspiration but know they will benefit from the shared energy of other like-minded people.



• Are willing to ask for — and give — help and support.

The Winners Circle Group will meet by weekly via online, and via online message board.
We are starting a new group in January 2009. For more information visit http://www.thesecretconsulant.com/

Non-Compete Agreements - They Can Work

One of the biggest concerns I hear from many salon & spa owners, is the fear of key employees walking away with customers. I’ve talked with employees at many companies, and it’s clear: These people believe any client they work on is “their customer,” they are free to take “their customers” away from their employer, and they don’t believe non-compete agreements are enforceable.

I just cringe for these business owners, who have such individuals in their employ. Sure, they are busy, but make no mistake about it — they are working for themselves and there is zero loyalty — these employees will leave you in an instant if they think the grass is greener elsewhere.

Aside from being completely wrong on all accounts, these employees have little knowledge or respect for the difficulty and sheer effort it takes to open, run and successfully manage a profitable salon or spa business. It’s the business owner that invests in marketing and signs the advertising contracts. It’s that same owner who doesn’t sleep at night, trying to figure out how to keep the lights on, the clients coming through the door and the paychecks issued. Client loyalty is key to the success — and long-term viability — of any business.

How can you prevent employees from stealing your clients if they decide to leave? The answer is, a well-crafted non-compete and non-solicitation agreement. The laws vary from state-to-state, jurisdiction-to-jurisdiction. There are ways to write bad (i.e. unenforceable) agreements, and there are ways to write great (i.e. enforceable) agreements. The best way to obtain a great agreement, is to hire a local attorney familiar with such matters — the money you spend writing such an agreement will pay for itself in dividends.

Do you even have agreements in place with your employees? If not, you have no excuse! Start now! Don’t give courts reasons to invalidate your agreement. Make it fair and reasonable. This means take ownership of what is yours — the client — and don’t unduly restrict your employees from being gainfully employed elsewhere. Avoid:

• Geographic restrictions - even limited ones can pose problems
• Blanket restrictions - everyone has a right to work, so don’t prohibit someone from earning a livelihood
• Unlimited restrictions - always reasonably time-bound the restriction (i.e. 1 year)
• Non-solicitation only - everyone tries to get around this, by creating the circumstances where “I didn’t solicit them, they called me!”
  Punitive damages - courts seldom award punitive damages, especially for employee contracts; so they just help to instill the belief that your non-solicitation agreement is egregious, unfair and unbalanced

Every good non-compete agreement should, at a minimum:

• Define Confidentiality and require employees to honor the confidential information of your business
• Define “Client” and “Client List,” and make it clear they are owned by company and are to remain Confidential and Trade Secret
• Indicate that employees (including “whether as an individual for its own account, or for or with any other person, firm, corporation, partnership, joint venture, association, or other entity whatsoever, which is or intends to be engaged in the same line of business as YOUR COMPANY, or in such other business competitive with YOUR COMPANY,”) may not solicit, interfere with, or entice away any clients (or employees) of your company, for a reasonable period of time (i.e. 1 year)
• Indicate that employees (with language above) after their employment ends at your company, may not service, or perform services for, any Client, for a reasonable period of time (i.e. 1 year)
• Require employees to acknowledge that the restrictions will not create an undue hardship, not prevent them from competing in an independent business, and agree they are subject to a restraining order and/or injunction if they violate the agreement
• Require “reasonable enforcement costs and expenses” to be paid by employee, if they violate the agreement
• Contain the standard clauses of severability, survival, waiver of breach and assignment

Note that if you are presented with employees who are bringing their own clients, and you want to acknowledge the clients they bring, my advice is to create an “attachment” that has the actual names of the clients you want to exclude from the agreement. The employee should specifically indicate who such individuals are.

If you have an employee who doesn’t want to sign such an agreement, then you have some interesting information: They intend to steal clients from you the minute the relationship doesn’t work for them. Do you really want such employees in your organization?

Recession? Relax: Five Ways to Build Your Spa Business

Spas are a $9.4 billion business in the United States, employing more than 234,000 workers, according to the International Spa Association. But traffic has been flat or declining in recent years, even as the number of spas has tripled since 1999.

And, now that consumers are feeling anxious about paying for basic needs like gas, shelter and food, some spas are having to respond with a strategy to push business in the door. Here are five ways to attract and keep business, that is working for many of the top Spas:

1. Reach Out to Corporations
   Companies are looking for the perfect outing to entertain their best clients or reward their best employees," says Pamela Margolis, co-owner and president of the Hotel Ivy Spa Club in downtown Minneapolis. "You don't have to be good at spa-ing -- there's nothing to practice. It's more flexible than organizing a round of golf ... and it doesn't take six hours out of your day."
   
2. Discounts
   A recent web site headline from Green Valley Spa in St. George, Utah. read, "RECE$$ION DEPRESSION?" Alan Coombs, owner said, "We kind of looked at this recession we're in and said, look, for the next few months, or until this recession can somehow be evaded, let's cut our core program price in half." "Even in recessions or difficult times, spas are busy because people need what we have to offer."
   
   Another example is, the Oasis Day Spa in New York City who has been running a Two for Tuesday special for the past two years. Customers who book two 60-minute treatments on a Tuesday, usually a slow day, get the second one for half price. This year, the spa also is doing a Wednesday promotion with some massages and facials priced at 1998 levels.
   
3. Internet
   "I think the Internet has been kind of a win-win for both spas and consumers," says Susie Ellis, president of SpaFinder, a Web site that publishes spa reviews and deals.
   Following the example of airlines and hotels, which long have relied on technology to adjust their prices based on changing supply and demand, more spas are using this strategy to beef up bookings during slow times. For the most part, these deals involve midweek and off-season discounts, last-minute specials and packages that are cheaper than booking several services a la carte.
   
4. Focus on Service
   Many spa owners should focus on their existing customers and clients for a boost in revenue. With this in mind, TJWeaver, owner of Douglas J Salon, suggests focusing on service. "It is one of the best ways to add value without costing money," he says.
   
5. Employees
   When the going gets tough, the employees you have will be your productivity all-stars. Make boosting productivity within reason, of course a focal point. For those that rise to the top, be sure to reward them accordingly. "You don't want to lose your most productive people at this time. Consider offering vacations or time off, which can be cheap incentives.
   
   

Massage Envy in your neck of the woods?

My company, SpaBoom, boasts over 2,000 spas and salons using our technology to sell Instant Gift Certificates on the Internet. What's cool about our business, is that our clients are making more money. There's no contract. The value proposition is compelling.

With this many clients, we've captured about 10% of the market. This is an impressive number, given we started offering this capability just 2 and a half years ago. However, my company has reached a chasm of sorts, and finding it harder to convince the remaining spas to jump on board and start selling their own Instant Gift Certificates on their websites, using SpaBoom technology.

So, what does this have to do with Massage Envy? Everything. I'm finding that the spas that haven't yet signed on to SpaBoom are generally too busy focused on the day-to-day of their own businesses. They are busy, overworked and sometimes have trouble keeping the bills paid. They are bombarded by vendors, and don't know who to trust.

We as human beings, generally refrain from change, especially when we can keep busy and keep the lights on. The problem is, the market is changing. Massage Envy is here to stay. Simply keeping the business going requires more than opening the doors and
providing services. It requires reacting to the marketplace, doing things smarter, maintaining market differentiators, and removing barriers to doing business with you.

If you have a Massage Envy in your neck of the woods, you must not ignore it. You must react. Not necessary by dropping prices, but by being more aggressive. Are you a day spa or medical spa, or are you a luxurious, romantic spa getaway? Reinforce your differentiators. Advertise. Create incentives for your existing clients to come back, as well as refer business to you.

Consider hiring a consultant to help you. Marketing is key. Cash flow is king. Here's a simple test for you: Are you selling SpaBoom Instant Gift Certificates? If not, you're not bringing in all the cash you can, and you're not making it as easy as possible for your clients to do business with you.

Larry Donahue is a registered patent attorney, a member of the Illinois and New Mexico bars, and specializes in Internet law, contracts and business law. His interest for the past eight years has been running, managing and selling Internet technology businesses.

Marketing Your Salon or Spa for 2008

Do you have your Salon or Spa's marketing calendar in place for 2008? If not, it's not too late, but you must act now!

You have more than a hundred ways to market your business, so it's important to know just when you'll be doing that marketing. Having your marketing calendar prepared for the year has several important reasons:

• So you can plan ahead and be ready to fire
• So you don't overlook opportunities
• So you can get your product suppliers to participate
• So your team knows what will be happening and when
• So that you can schedule enough staff for peak times
• So you can kick off holiday promotions
• So you can take advantage of special events
• So you can participate in your product manufacturer's promotions
• So you can qualify for additional co-op and promotional funds

Think of your marketing calendar as a road map to assist you in setting and realizing goals and keeping you on course. You’ll also need to set a budget, so the more planning you do now, the better.

Your marketing Strategy should accomplish the following:

• Acquiring more customers
• Persuading each customer to buy more products
• Persuading each customer to buy more expensive products or up selling each customer
• Persuading each customer to buy more profitable products

To accomplish this, here are some ideas to get you started:

• Call your vendors or associates and ask them to participate with you in co-op advertising.
• Take some time to send your existing customers' referrals and buying incentives.
• Have you thought about introducing yourself to the media? Free publicity has the potential to boost your business. By doing this you position yourself as an expert in your field.
• Invite people into your place of business by piggybacking onto an event. Is there a concert coming to town, are you willing to sell those tickets? It could mean free radio publicity. If that is not your cup of tea, how about a walkathon that is taking place in your area, why not be a public outreach and distribute their material?

It takes time to develop a marketing plan, but it’s important because it's a great opportunity to focus on the future, generate new ideas, and inspire your team and grow your company. Even a simple plan is better than none, but when you invest more effort upfront, you’ll have a better roadmap toward your goals.