COVID-19 Crisis: The Necessary Leadership Shifts in Your 2020 Spa Business Strategy

Spa owners, it’s official: we have been thrown into a completely different trajectory in our businesses. What does this mean? In short: that your 2020 strategy needs to change drastically, ASAP.

While this may seem daunting or even, for some, impossible, contingency planning and crisis management are two topics I have already simplified in previous Spa Business Breaks— and boiling those down into easy-to-manage steps have already helped spa business owners take positive action during the COVID-19 shutdown. 

Similarly, think of your 2020 growth strategy for your spa business as having been adjusted to a survival and stability strategy. This spa business survival and stability strategy begins with the first category, which is:

Category #1: You as the Spa Business Owner… and You as the Individual

Yes, you are the visionary behind your spa business— but you are also an individual who has wants and needs that you should be giving equal weight to. Due to the current state of uncertainty and unease, many spa business owners and entrepreneurs get caught up in the “too-much-hustle” mindset, which leads people to attempting to quash their own fears by hustling themselves to the bone.

My advice? While yes, productivity is golden, over-productivity will only hinder your critical thinking skills: right now, honouring the rollercoaster of emotions you are experiencing will go a long way in stabilizing your emotional state and putting you in the correct mindset to best tackle your 2020 spa business strategy. 

My best example from this comes from having been a lifeguard in my late teens and early twenties. In our lifeguard training, the golden rule of rescuing was to ensure that the rescuer was safe, first and foremost. Only then were we instructed to carry out the rescue. Think of yourself as the lifeguard right now, and your spa business the person you are in charge of saving.

This is a reminder I’ve needed to hear as well; just earlier today in a support call with digital agency coach Jason Swank, the words “Don’t make decisions when you’re drunk or panicked” played an enormous role in our support call— because let’s face it, becoming intoxicated by fear, sadness, and indecision is just as harmful as trying to do your marketing tipsy! Rather than focusing your energy on how you are the victim, taking a deep breath and repurposing that energy towards your survival and stability 2020 strategy will help you to feel that much more in control. 

Category #2: Your Spa Business Amid COVID-19

Once you have gotten a firm handle on your wants, needs, and goals, examining your spa business’s structure, systems, and admin strategies are the next step to curating your spa business 2020 maintenance and recovery plan. 

In fact, this is the perfect time to evaluate:

• Whether you want to change directions within your spa business (whether that be to niche in, diversify what you offer, etc.)

• (If you operate as a team) if you still want to be a team

• (If you operate solo) if you still want to be a solopreneur 

• And even if you want to stay in business as a spa owner!

Spa owners, this shutdown is forecasted to be longer than just a couple weeks. Meaning? That we have the time to take stock of how we’re feeling, understand how we process what’s happening, and to be as mindful as possible in order to allow us to shift into critical thinking about you can fine-tune your spa business to the COVID-19 shutdown situation.

Feeling overwhelmed in times of crisis is natural; the esthetics industry is experiencing collective grief over the loss of control over our earnings and growth potential. If you are ever grappling with the non-linear six stages of grief that you are likely going through (shock, denial, anger, bargaining, testing, and, finally, acceptance) please join my free spa owners-only Facebook group, Spa Business Mastery, for the opportunity to share your emotions in a safe space and seek advice from like-minded spa business owners… while still taking positive action within your business. 

Category #3: Client Connection, Care, Acquisition, and Retention

After strapping on your own lifejacket and ensuring that you are being taken care of, the third and last category that makes up your 2020 spa business survival and stability plan is all about your clients. A focus on client connection, care, acquisition, and retention will be critical for when you reopen the physical location of your spa. Ways you can do this?

• Set your clients up for either e-commerce (an online store where you can sell your products) or virtual consults. Our current digital marketing clients have seen a huge wave of online sales, which is fantastic!

• Stay connected. Phone, email, or direct message clients to let them know what your spa business is doing for its clients even though your physical doors are shut.

• Be vulnerable! My friend and fellow spa owner Shannon Hall the other day did a wonderful Facebook LIve on her personal profile in which she levelled with her clients in a personable, authentic, and vulnerable way. In a time in which we are all stressed and fearful, being genuine with your clients is the best way to ensure both new client acquisition and old client retention.

What Other Leadership Tactics You Can Employ During the COVID-19 Shutdown

• Process your actions and emotions in bite-sized increments; don’t be afraid of starting small.

• Entrepreneurship is a mental game, meaning that nurturing your critical and creative thinking is paramount right now-- take your time.

• Allow yourself to “switch off” from the business side of things and unplug for the day. 

• Consciously steer away from scrolling social media or news outlets for the majority of the day. This will increase your stress levels and make it more difficult for you to take a break from thinking about your spa business.

• Eat well, stay hydrated, and sleep as much as you need to.

This isn’t a sprint, spa owners; this is an endurance test. The past few weeks I have dedicated time to complimentary coaching calls for my clients, hypnotherapy, family time, and 100% unplugged weekends so that I could detox from the bad news happening around us currently. And the result? Clearer, more creative thinking that has, in turn, helped me to relax amid this turbulent time.

If you want or need a guiding hand for your 2020 spa business maintenance and recovery plan, book a call with me today— and be sure to follow my Facebook page for weekly Live Spa Business Breaks.