How to Wrap Your Head Around Business Pivots as a Spa Owner

Here at Kirsten Foss Coaching, these past five months have been dedicated to talking all things pivot-related: whether it be running your spa amid COVID-19, going virtual with consults, or staying steady as a spa owner during uncertain times like these, being an entrepreneur in the spa industry has never been harder.

As a former spa business owner myself, I know that handling the many hurdles on top of COVID-19 has thrown at the spa industry (whether it be closures/reopens/close again , juggling motherhood and business from your home office, and/or transitioning into virtual services when you may not be the most tech-savvy of people) has been exhausting at the best of times. 

We’ve all been hearing about the necessary business pivots that have been occurring in the spa industry since COVID-19 hit North America in the springtime, and, while many spa owners recognize that they, too, need to be switching things up in order to keep their business going, dread, confusion, and uncertainty can make it difficult to wrap your head around these changes. The result? Hitting that wall of overwhelm!

“Kirsten, how can spa owners maneuver through this fear in order to get back on the recovery-and-growth wagon?!” I’m glad you asked! Below is both practical and tactical advice in order to push past that sense of overwhelm and make those spa business solutions a reality. 

The First Step as a Spa Owner? Focusing on Recognition and Acknowledgement

When spa owners are tasked with making sizable changes to their business model, it is common to be overwhelmed— especially if you do not have a partner, coach, or peer to discuss the feeling with. Recognizing that starting anything new, whether it be in business or otherwise, will always come with both excitement and fear is crucial for overcoming that initial wall of “Eek, I feel overwhelmed!”

Whether you:

• Are being faced with a business solution that’s outside of your comfort zone

• Are having difficulty visualizing the steps from point A to point B in order to make your solution a reality

• Are fearing judgement from team members and loved ones if your solution falls flat or takes longer than anticipated to yield results

• Are concerned that you’re not thinking far enough ahead with your plan

...Know that you’re not alone! The two sections of the spa industry where I see this sense of overwhelm holding back spa owners the most are ecommerce and virtual services.

The spa industry is brimming with estheticians and service providers who take enormous pride in taking care of others: they take joy out of making their treatment rooms a safe and healing space, relaxing clients, and helping restore clients’ energy. What do they tend to not take joy in? Well, numbers, selling, and planning, to name a few! 

So how do you successfully make business pivots in the spa industry as a right-brained creative? Beyond recognizing your fear, embracing change and getting to the root of what exactly is freezing you in place and preventing you from making necessary progress in your spa business pivots.

(How the Spa Industry is Stepping Up During COVID-19.)

Before launching into the second step you need to be taking as a spa owner during your business pivots, I wanted to dig in deeper as to why the spa industry stepping up as a whole during COVID-19 has been so emboldening to see.

Yes, it’s true that many of us are right-brained creatives who would rather stick to our old ways of connecting face-to-face in brick-and-mortar spa set-ups. Yes, the spa industry has been slow to adopt tech that makes marketing, client outcomes, and admin work easier; yes, the spa industry has not been the best at keeping up with ecommerce; yes, many spa owners right now are anxious about starting up virtual offers.

But you know what? Spa owners have a mind-blowing amount of knowledge to offer consumers. So many spa owners, notably peers of mine and the ones I have the pleasure of doing their digital marketing for, have successfully pivoted into virtual offers and ecommerce with phenomenal results. It’s a waste of time, energy, money, and purpose for spa owners to not course correct when it’s clear that everything has changed (and isn’t going back to normal anytime soon!)

“Kirsten,” you may be thinking, dejected, “I know it’s worked for other spa owners, but it can’t work for me; I’m just too far behind on technology.” If this sounds like you, then you need to look at my Virtual Skin Consultation Toolkit: priced at $149 to make it accessible to spa owners regardless of their current financial situation, the Virtual Skin Consultation Toolkit provides ready-for-you resources, including low-tech options, that will enable you to start pivoting into virtual services today.

The Second Step as a Spa Owner? Pairing Factual Data with Emotional Data

As spa owners develop new ideas for their spa business pivots, it can be tempting to try to ride that initial wave of excitement and swallow back fear… but that comes at a cost. If our fears aren’t acknowledged, questioned, and analyzed, they often come back with a vengeance that pumps the brakes on the execution of those new ideas.

So what do I mean by pairing factual data with emotional data?

• Factual data is… well, the facts! When faced with a problem, arming yourself with current, unbiased research can help keep you grounded when venturing into new territory. (For example: are you technologically challenged? If so, researching the most user-friendly platforms for your needs is a must in order to steer yourself in the right direction! Asking in spa owner groups like my private Facebook, Spa Business Mastery, is a great way to start gathering that much-needed factual data.)

• Emotional data is… intuition. Following gut instinct has led to success for many entrepreneurs. (For example: in the above example, paying attention to which platforms you immediately take a liking to and can envision yourself using in the future is vital for long-term follow-through!)

With all that being said, one of the biggest errors I see spa owners make as a spa coach is not taking a moment for self-reflection when fear rolls up. Each and every spa owner, no matter how seasoned, can fall victim to F.E.A.R— False Evidence Appearing Real. Always fall back on your “why” (as in, why is this solution important to your spa business, why have you chosen these steps to reach it, and why do you feel impassioned to better your business?) when F.E.A.R threatens to halt your progress. As Brene Brown says on the topic of shame and fear, don’t let fear relegate you to riding shotgun in your own life; tackle it head-on instead!

What Are YOUR Spa Business Pivots?

Regardless of if you’re:

• Withdrawing from the treatment room for the first time

• Upping your social media game

• Adding your first employee

• Pushing ecommerce to the forefront of your revenue plan

• Having virtual skin services star on your menu

Know that I’m here cheering you on. Your spa business is the best life coach you will ever have (trust me; I lived through many hurdles as a spa business that taught me oodles about life in general!)
As always, feel free to contact me for any and all of your spa business pivot needs. Let me know which of the above advice you’ll be applying to yours!