Summer Updates: Kirsten Foss Coaching’s Anti-Racism Pledge, Slowing Down to Speed Up, and Family Support

Lots has happened this June, hasn’t it? Like most spa owners and fellow spa business coaches, the summer so far has been brimming with some good, some necessary, and some sad changes, all of which I wanted to cover today in a divergence from my usual resource-based Thursday Spa Business Break format.

This summer, things here at Kirsten Foss Coaching and its sister company, the done-for-you, spa management & digital marketing agency  Virtual Spa Business Management, are going to look a little bit different. 

Why do I want to bring you into the loop on it? Well, two reasons: the first being that so you know what to expect in terms of resources and education from me over the summer, and the second being that, as a leader, I think it’s vital to share when things go sideways. As all of us in the spa industry have been taught during COVID-19, learning from one another in terms of business adjustments and crisis management is imperative, so I wanted to give spa business owners to opportunity to see how I am choosing to pivot in a way that stabilizes both my personal and professional life during these uncertain times… as well as a very exciting announcement that you can RSVP for starting today!

Now, on the Personal Side…

COVID-19 has been jam-packed with inner reflection and realization for the majority of business owners, and I’m no exception; one of the biggest realizations both my husband and I made was that we are both ready to change our lifestyles in a big way. 

We live in a beautiful suburb and seaside resort town in Sidney, British Columbia, and while many people who come don’t want to leave because of how scenic and relaxed it is, almost all three of our children are out of the house and we had always planned to have recreational property that we would tend to in our retirement… but, seeing as my husband has shifted to working from home during COVID-19 (and because both my coaching and digital marketing services are run entirely remotely!), we both thought, “Why wait?”

Congruency in life is everything, and the both of us knew what we wanted an immediate realignment of our values by selling our city lot and looking for acreage and land to homestead; the ability to set our own paces and reaffirm our values, energies, and goals was something we thought we had to put off until retirement, but COVID-19 taught us, and I’m sure many others, that we need to prioritize our wants and needs.

On the Exciting Side…

While my client coaching programs get rave reviews, I’ve seen a gap in the market both via my clients and in my free spa owners-only Facebook group, Spa Business Mastery, for ecourses on organizational efficiency and leadership… which is why I’m thrilled to be announcing an ecourse version of my coaching programs, starting with Spa Leadership Breakthrough + Build Your Spa Handbook, this fall!

Now, I was originally planning on launching this ecourse in early July, but the timing ended up not being right due to both the spa industry focus on reopening and the societal focus on racism: I wanted to put my emphasis on supporting both people of colour and the reopening of spas, not shifting the focus to myself for a big launch. 

If you are a spa business owner with a team who is looking for some serious realignment and management guidance, then this course will be for you; RSVP today to be one of the select few who will be the first to receive a Spa Leadership Breakthrough + Build Your Spa Handbook ecourse access. 

On the Needed Side...

As aforementioned, I chose to take a step back from launching my Spa Management ecourse in July to, as a white female business owner, ensure that I wasn’t detracting from the essential work going on right now to lift up and protect people of colour around the world. But more than that, it also reaffirmed that, as a white business owner who benefits from the unfair systemic oppression of our society, that I needed to be doing more than just listening.

As such, this summer I have been a part of town hall on the topic of how white business owners can improve our allyship; I’m committed to learning how I can support people of colour both personally and professionally; and I have revamped both my contracts and my “Our Values” page to reflect the dedication to allyship I and my team have made. This includes committing to learning opportunities (I’m almost finished this book and I’ve signed up for this free University of Alberta Indigineos studies program) taught by BIPOC as well as spending a portion of my expenses via businesses owned by people of colour as a way to support their voices and literally “put my money where my mouth is.”

Lastly, on the Sad Side…

While I do intend on quickening the pace on my content marketing in September, Kirsten Foss Coaching is slowing down this summer in order for me to support my family because my aunt has fallen very ill.

What will this look like? Still loads of opportunities to work on any aspect of your spa business. 

• Thursday Spa Business Breaks every second week rather than weekly

• Consistent Facebook Lives and blog archives to support your business recovery & growth

• Links to my YouTube library so that you have all of my Lives in one place

• Relevant historical blog posts included in every weekly email

• 1:1 support that you can still book with me

Spa owners, thanks for reading this Kirsten Foss Coaching summer update; for those of you who are reopening, I’m ecstatic for you. For those of you taking time off or focusing on ecommerce, I couldn’t be prouder. Much love to you all, and I hope that these pivots I’m making over the summer embolden you to make whatever personal or professionally changes you need to make to change your life for the better.