However, how many of these businesses actually produced the success their owners had in mind? Furthermore, is success defined merely in financial or experiential terms? What was expected in the beginning? Did the owner even know?

 Day spa management is no easy business and profiting from one is even tougher. Prospective day spa owners should understand what will be required in order to properly prepare for and survive the hidden rigors they will face once the doors open.

It Is Not Always What It Seems
Whatever details the professional's dream of spa ownership includes, it probably lacks the full range of challenges and hardships that inevitably arrive not long into the business' life. For example, the professional will likely encounter unforeseen expenses, difficult-to-find and manage spa employees, organizational and time efficiency demands, facility maintenance demands, and a laundry list of tasks that consume time and an owner's enthusiasm. The head of this supposedly serene setting may suddenly find themselves entangled in problems that lie outside of their experience. They may even be problems the professional is unwilling to tackle.

Being Successful
What exactly does it mean to be successful? Does success refer to earnings, meaning money the owner gets to keep and spend on things they want, after business expenses and taxes? If so, how much money, by when, and doing what for how many hours per week? In other words, what does success look like? If the professional cannot truly identify their idea of success, how will they know when they have achieved it? Furthermore, how can they plan for something that they cannot describe in advance?

When professionals know what they want, they should look at their goals in some depth. For example, if a professional wants to open a spa and expects it to operate smoothly and profitably in five years without much time demand on their part, how will they make it happen and how likely are they to succeed? A simple way of determining this answer is by looking at the business information of someone else who is doing the same thing the professional is about to do. That information should include bottom line performance figures.

Professionals often inquire about the efficacy of business consultants, believing that the consultant knows how an owner can succeed with their idea. However, can they provide proof that their formula can or will deliver the desired business outcome for which the owner is hoping? Few, if any, are able to do so because no matter what business plan is being followed, the result will entirely depend upon individual management of the business: personnel handling skills, cash management, organization ability, marketing acumen, and other business-influencing tasks that make or break a company.

Determining if Opening a Day Spa is a Bad Decision
While opening or owning a day spa is not a bad idea, the professional's desired outcome for running a day spa deserves and demands a sound foundation of essential planning. This planning typically includes a startup budget; cost estimates and cash flow projections; growth projections with best, likely, and worst-case figures; demographics analysis; marketing plans; and other key business indicators. Even these important details offer nothing in the way of assessing a future spa owner's suitability for the role they are about to step into.

Before venturing into a serious business commitment, professionals should be sure they have the personal qualities required to meet the job being created.

Pre-Commited Checklist
While any new business venture surprises the owner with challenges and hurdles, they can be proactive about knowing what many of these challenges are in advance. This knowledge allows the owner to decide whether they are prepared to handle the challenges or if they should pass on the idea. The following questions and tips should be pondered while the professional is in the conceptual stages.

Will there be a solid stash of ready money, either saved or available, in case the business fails to meet revenue projections or the costs exceed expectations? An owner will need some backup cash. The amount of cash needed depends on the size and complexity of the business, but at least three months of operating costs is recommended.

Is the owner skilled at or prepared to manage skin care professionals and reception personnel? Prospective owners will need to know the staff's characteristics, expectations, work habits, biases, and limitations in order to hope that they will perform according to the spa's needs. This information can be a huge awakening for the new spa owner and a painful struggle for the unaware.

New businesses demand an investment of massive hours of work on the part of owners, often far more than they realized in the beginning or feel is feasible after the fact. It is more than a full-time commitment and usually has no financial compensation. Is that affordable for the prospective spa owner?

Does the professional have strong financial management abilities and are they a conservative, disciplined spender? If not, it is probably wise to not open a day spa (or almost any type of business).

Is the professional hoping to sell the spa for big money one day? Talk with a business broker experienced in the sale of these businesses to find out what day spas have been going for on the market. The answer might be surprising.

Beware of the next recession! Be sure to learn about how spas are affected by recessions and how to prepare ahead of time.

Learn about employment laws! It is amazing how many spa owners have employees under terms and contracts that are legally faulty. Do not be one of them. An owner does not want to base their revenue projections on incomes that are not permitted under law.

Do not let a certified public accountant be the spa's business planner. They do not know the territory well enough to offer advice.

Avoid partnerships at all cost! In spite of everything, commit to being a success in whatever fashion brings meaning. Commit to knowing what that is in the beginning rather than just hoping the experience will reveal it later.

Owning a thriving and well-managed day spa can be a marvelously fulfilling experience. However, the owner should do the right homework, be honest with who they are, and then go forward with all of their heart. They just may be rewarded with day spa stardom!

Douglas Preston, president of Preston Beauty Professional, has a career that spans 33 years in professional aesthetics, education, and skin care career mentoring. His business articles appear in DERMASCOPE Magazine, Spa Management Journal, and others. He is a past president of Aesthetics International Association and a former committee chairman for The Day Spa Association. Preston has started and operated award-winning day spas, trains spa and skin care professionals internationally, and is a featured speaker at numerous spa and skin care trade events.