Whether you are financing the new project yourself or you are looking for investors- you need to write a Spa Business Plan - Your Business Plan is the skeleton of your project. It is the first tangible object that represents your entire endeavor.

It is what all potential investors need to review to decide if they are interested in investing their money into your venture. Even if you're not looking for investors, it puts everyone who reads it on the same page as you.

Your Architect and Designer will review this plan and get a visual image of your goal.  Your Consultant will read this and understand how to program and market your project. Your Spa Manager will review it and know whom she/he needs to hire and how she will lead them. It also acts as a source to refer to during development to keep you on target and, upon opening; it acts as a monthly revenue target for you and your spa manager to strive for.

Pitfall to Avoid:  Starting the project without a Plan of Action

The four most important sections to your business plan are the Executive Summary, Financial Forecasts, Management Team and Marketing.

Executive Summary / Concept 
This is the section in which you take all your ideas, put them on paper and verbalize your overall theme, concept and goals. It is the first page of your Plan and needs to be captivating if you want the reader to move on to the next page.

Financial Forecasts and the Capital Expenditure List
The Capital Expenditure List is your overall budget breakdown which includes everything from build out, equipment, product, consultants, etc. A comprehensive Profit and Loss Statement needs to be created to prove the feasibility and profitability of the business. Investors want to see your goals and how quickly they will get a return on their investment. It is advisable to hire someone who has created Spa financials before or bring in a consultant to work with your Accountant, as there are specific industry standards that can help the accuracy of your numbers.

Management Team
All potential investors know that Doctors work extremely long hours and extremely hard, so they do not want to see that you will also be managing the business. Therefore, you need to have in place a strong Management Team that has experience, a proven track record and loyalty.

Marketing
Investors want to see that you are not just relying on walk-ins and your own personal patients. You need to have a Marketing Plan that proves you understand that you need to generate traffic specifically for the Spa to produce revenue.

By Alexis Ufland,  at Lexi Design www.lexidesign.com

ALEXIS UFLAND - Director

A respected authority in the Spa industry, Alexis Ufland has developed premier Spas across Europe, Asia and the United States. With a unique combination of creativity, development and operations, Ms. Ufland will create and implement a proven turnkey operation that guarantees success. Ms. Ufland has written numerous articles on Spa development and has been quoted in the top industry trade magazines as well as lectured at national trade events. She is currently pursuing certification in Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design. (LEED).