Overcoming Economic Challenges

Spa Tech • March 1, 2009

This entry in Your Prosperity Future is stimulated by a question that wasn’t asked. That is important in itself. The reader seemed to be invested in the notion that their business was down and the entire industry was down due to the economy.

Thank you for responding. It’s interesting because we are hearing from many of our graduates that things are up and I believe them. Nancy was talking to a store owner in downtown Ipswich who told her that they were all hurting and that the only business on the block that was busy was the spa. They would all stand around and watch people come and go all day.
I’m not saying that all spas are doing well. These are extraordinary times. Typically what happens during challenging times is that people have to dig down and the good ones come up with great ideas that make them stronger and when the economy improves they are stronger and busier than ever. In the article on SWOT Your Way to Success, you find the things you can do to succeed. Along those lines, this is an important time to be reviewing the following questions.
  • What is the actual percentage that the spa is down in a number of visits? (This is critical. You can’t measure what you don’t track. The information is needed to know how to improve what you are doing. The same applies to many of these questions.)
  • Do you track the client return rate and if so, how has that shifted?
  • Do you track client return rate by the employee so you can see who needs help?
  • What is the percentage change in average payment per visit?
  • What is the percentage change in product sales per visit?
  • Is this tracked for each individual employee to see who needs more training?
  • What is the name of the spa?
  • What was the demographic of your clientele in the past and how are they affected by the economy.
  • Has the spa done any goal setting with the staff?
  • Is the spa tied to another business or local economy that is off? (Destination spa tied to a conference center, an industry in town that is greatly reduced, etc.)
  • Why do you think the business is down? (The local economy is not as bad as the national economy) Has there been an increase in competition in your market?
  • Who is your competition? (It’s important to know what’s happening with the competition. It’s also a great motivator to go to the next level of fabulous.)
  • Did you read the other postings on the blog.prosperity.Spa Tech.edu for additional ideas? Did you read and apply the SWOT blog?
  • Is there an action plan that has been developed to put things back on track?
  • Who are the people that are saying their business is down?
  • Do you know what they are doing about it?
  • Are there any spas in your area that are doing well?
  • Do the people at the spa know and practice RYSE? (The people who are practicing RYSE on a daily basis seem to be doing better than those who don’t.)
  • What is the spa’s marketing plan and how does it need to be modified?
  • Is it easy for people to book sessions online?
This may be a time to modify either the business plan, the marketing plan or both. It may also be a time when the owners need to take a hard look at who is giving top performance based on client return rates and product sales and who needs to be let go. It’s a tough decision but it’s an important decision. It’s also a very important time for making sure that everyone continues to get additional training and to improve the quality in all areas.
These are the questions that show you the opportunity. It’s up to you to be proactive to make the process worthwhile.
A very successful businessman I saw present at an Inc Magazine Entrepreneur Conference said it best:
Horrible Truth # 1: The business was a reflection of him. Whatever he did or thought manifested in the business.
Horrible Truth #2: Refer back to Horrible Truth # 1. There is no getting away with it. If there is a problem, you have to look at yourself first.
This does not mean that there are no extenuating circumstances that affect a business. The point is that all businesses are affected by it and those who can adapt the fastest prosper. Those who don’t change disappear.
I hope these questions are helpful. You will probably see a similar version of this answer in an upcoming blog. Thank you for taking the time to

© Copyright 2009, Kris Stecker – All Rights Reserved.