How are you this week, spa owners? 

As a recap (or introduction, if you’re new to Kirsten Foss Coaching!) my Thursday Spa Business Breaks are dedicated to providing tips and guidance on how to get your spa business systematized so that you are A) making money with your spa business, and B) actually having fun with it! 

...Which brings me to the question that is on the tip of every spa owner’s tongue during the summer: “Kirsten, if I have systems in place for my spa business is it possible to take time off?”

I’m glad you asked!

The Reality of Time “Off” During COVID-19

First things first: times are strange right now. While many spa owners have had time “off” in 2020, much of it was not vacation time: time was spent managing e-commerce or setting up new virtual services to circumvent the closures of physical spa business locations; parents juggled work and childcare; travelling was and is out of the question.

The last few months have been heavy with stress, anxiety, and uncertainty for spa owners, and so it’s no wonder why the already-understandable desire for vacation has ramped up recently, even if it’s just for a staycation in your backyard! Plus, in normal circumstances, busy spa owners are used to working all… the… time. Days “off” are typically taken as administrative days to catch up on financials, planning, and marketing, as well as putting out fires with clients or team members. Plus, don’t forget the domestic workload: housework, laundry, and grocery shopping aren’t going away anytime soon!

So, therein lies the million dollar question: if spa owners can barely crave out time for some R&R in a regular work week, how in the world would they be able to take a few much-needed weeks (or even a month) off work in the summer without everything falling apart? To answer that, we need to look at the real problem spa owners face— a lack of systems or, more commonly, ill-conceived systems. Because, if you’re run off your feet each and every day with spa and personal responsibilities, I can guarantee that you are lacking crucial strategic systems in your spa business!

Spa Systems as Self Care (and Your Road to Vacation Time)

Spa systems are the start of self care, for both your business and for you. The goal of systems? To create a system of standardized, repeatable processes that provide your spa business, your clients, and your team members with consistent results.

The biggest pitfall I hear about, from both my coaching clients and spa business owners in my free spa owners-only Facebook group, Spa Business Mastery? Verbal sharing.

If spa policies and protocols are shared only verbally, spa owners run the high risk of leaving too much room for interpretation. The result? Miscommunication, confusion, and inconsistent sales. 

The solution? Consider paper documentation and video training: not only does this ensure that there are tangible references in order to mitigate misunderstandings, having a combination of paper documentation and video training for your guest experience, pre-booking, retail sales, and team culture policies makes it so you don’t need to be there as the spa owner to answer spa business FAQs.

So Now That You Have Spa Systems, How Do You Make Your 4-Week Vacation a Reality Next Summer?

One word: commitment. Either create or refine your core spa business components (especially the aforementioned guest experience, pre-booking, retail sales, and team culture policies) by documenting, analyzing, and strategizing them for flawless execution. 

Systemizing your business will take, on average, six to nine months, depending on if you are still active in the treatment room as the owner. (Hint: if you’re trying to get out of the treatment room to solely manage your team, this kind of project should be your priority regardless of your vacation aspirations!)

During these six to nine months, the questions you ask yourself should include:

• What are your plans for earning while you are away?

• What is your ideal vacation time frame?

• Which systems are required for your business to run smoothly for the time you’re away?

Looking for systematization inspiration? I can’t recommend Mike Michalowicz’s “Run Like Clockwork: Design Your Business to Run Itself”, which is a book an Estie Bestie of mine and I read together when designing our own systems! And what were Michalowicz’s top tips for systemizing your business?I’m glad you asked!

Actionable Tips for Systematizing Your Spa Business

• Do a time audit: conducting a time audit to see where your biggest time sucks are will give you the opportunity to fix those aspects of your business. Whether it be outsourcing, clarifying lead/spa manager roles, or simply solidifying your in-spa team routines, singling out problem areas are the fastest way to fix them.

• Train up your team: if you have a team, training a lead receptionist/esthetician who is capable of managing the spa short term while you’re away will not only work in your favour for vacation time, but also for if you get injured or need to take time off for personal reasons!

• Consider taking a step back: going off of the above point, training a lead receptionist/esthetician could also become a growth strategy for having you step into a more relaxed visionary role with a full-time spa manager handling the day-to-day for you.

• Tally up your time: if you’re a solopreneur, totalling how many weeks per year you work, then diving your sales goal into it to find out what your monthly sales need to be in order to take a month off is crucial. This has the added benefit of leading to decisions about reevaluating service costs, services offered, pricing strategies, and market repositioning in order to bolster your financials

Need a team handbook or operations manual to kick off your spa business systemization process? Reach out today for details!