Keep these tips in mind, and your clients won’t be the only ones thriving and relaxing

There’s a ton of diversity in the spa industry. Services, focus areas, and business models vary from location to location, but every spa aims to provide relaxing, restorative services to clients — that’s why you got into the business in the first place. To start a spa business that will be successful enough to give clients great experiences for years to come, you need a plan.

Don’t worry; you don’t need a business degree to get your dreams off the ground. You just need to keep some fundamentals in mind. We’re here to help you build a killer strategy that will put you on the path to building the spa business you’ve always known you could create.

5 steps to building a spa business

1. Find your “X factor”

It’s tempting to start by scrolling through catalogs of spa equipment, building vision boards for decor, and otherwise dreaming up all the little details that will make your spa business work. But once you’re ready to knuckle down and start planning your spa business, you first need to answer one question: Why will people come to your spa in particular? In other words, what will your spa offer that no other place can?

If you’re planning to build a spa business in an underserved area, your unique offer may be as simple as “a relaxing massage and facial that clients don’t have to drive an hour to find.” But if you want to set up shop somewhere with more competition, you need to find your niche. What part of the spa business are you most passionate about? What would your personal background or professional network give you a leg up in offering? Once you answer this question, use the answer to guide each following step in the process.

2. Choose an ideal location

Now that you know what will make your spa business special, you can start thinking about where that should happen. Before you start looking for a building with easy street access or great natural light, you need to know what kind of client you’re most eager to attract. That means pulling at the thread we started in the first question.

Based on what makes your spa unique, you should have some idea of what kind of people will be most drawn to your offerings. This is your client persona.

Is your persona a busy executive who wants to carve out more “me time?” Look for a spot in or near a business district so they can stop by after work. Is it a self-care-aware 30-something who wants a weekend getaway experience? Look for a picturesque spot in the country that’s still within an easy drive of an urban center.

Use those big parameters to guide which areas you’re looking for locations in. Then you can focus on smaller-picture details like how much space you need for individual rooms and tables, what kind of utility hookups are non-negotiable, and so on.

3. Pick a business model and find your people

Unless you’re planning on running your spa business all by yourself (some touchless spa treatments do look like they could double as cloning booths), you need to decide how you’ll bring in help. The biggest choice you have to make right now is whether you will bring employees on full-time or work with contractors who “rent” tables and rooms. Each approach has its own merits, and some spa businesses even use a hybrid of the two to nurture workers at multiple stages of their professional development.

This is also a great time to consider how you’ll schedule your team. You could plan on handling it the old-fashioned way with a phone line and a date book, but generally speaking, Gen Z and Millennials hate phone calls. Plus, an automated scheduling solution could help you optimize your timesheets while taking busywork off yourself or your front desk staff.

4. Plan your marketing strategy

The best time to start telling potential clients about your new spa business is before you open the doors. Wouldn’t you rather have a line around the block thanks to some clever promotions than a dusty doorstep? That’s where a good marketing strategy comes in. Before you go into fight/flight/freeze mode thinking about how much money you’d have to drop on a marketing agency, you may not even need one to get the word out about your business.

Instead, look for a tool that helps run effective, automated marketing campaigns based on proven principles. Remember, every page on your website, email or text you send, and social media post you make should reinforce the value of that “X factor” you decided on in step one. That way, new and returning clients will never wonder why they should care about your latest missive.

5. Build a formal business plan

Making a business plan may sound intimidating. But guess what — if you followed the previous steps, you’ve already done the hard part! You’ve laid out an argument for why your business is worth investing in, you’ve done your research about where and who you want to work with, and you’ve decided on some ways to bring people into your spa business.

Now you just have to decide how much starting your spa will cost and put it all into a formal document you can present to potential partners and investors. OK, yeah, this part isn’t exactly easy, but here’s some more good news: We have another article that can help walk you through the process of drafting a spa business plan step by step.

Take your time as you think through all the practical steps between you and bring your spa to life, but don’t let perfect be the enemy of good. In the end, you’ll never be able to predict each element your spa business will need to thrive ahead of time. But with a solid plan and a confident commitment to your “X factor,” you’ll be ready for business.