In This Issue..

• Welcome
• Training - uh - what is it good for?
• 100 hour Massage Training Intensive
• Spa Treatment Training Workshops - CEU
• Specialized Training - Fibromyalgia Massage
• Free Spa College Webinar
• Thai Herbal Ball Training Salt Lake City
• Staying Fit as a Provider
• How to Calculate a Training Budget
• Ayurveda - Training with a Difference
• Workshop Calendar

Welcome

to the September Newsletter and many thanks again for the response. If you are interested in reading back issues of this newsletter they are archived here: Spa College Eletter.

In the future we will dedicate each issue to a specific topic. The theme for this issue is the always crucial topic of TRAINING. We have assembled some interesting insights and valuable resources for you.

New Date for Webinar. After much discussion and absenteeism on Labor Day Weekend we will be offering our Webinar on Spa Treatment Design on Thursday, September 13, 4:00 pm PST / 7:00 EST. If you would like to particpate send us an email here to webinar@spa-college.com and we will send you the login information.

Preview: Our October issue will address financial aspects of being a self-employed practitioner or small spa business owner with the topic: MONEY. As always we welcome contributions to our newsletter

Breaking News: Both Liz and I will be at the Spa and Resort Expo and Conference at the Jacob Javitz Center in New York on Sept 8/9 and 10. If you are in the area come say hi. You'll find Liz Galloway teaching a class called: "Latest Trends and Timeless Sacred Bodywork for the Therapist" on September 8th from 9 am to 3 pm that will offer an introduction to Thai healing therapy as well as CEUs and in the Sanctuary on the other days. I'll be strolling around with Spa College postcards :-).

Enjoy. Nicolay - editor at large

Consistency in treatment practice across a score of revolving providers, a prerequisite to keep clients coming back, is only possible by training practitioners to apply the same spirit, standards, procedures and protocols with every treatment that is offered.
Retail sales, a necessary and profitable source of revenue should reach 30% of service sales but can only do so if there are clear procedures in place to make these sales possible and all staff is trained in sales techniques, a subject that is barely brushed or not taught at all in school.

Retaining and re-booking clients, the bread and butter of every spa or therapy practice is not a natural occurrence. Everyone involved with the client plays a role in making this happen, and besides having the tools and procedures in place, they need to learn how to do so.

Spa owners often come to opening a spa as successful service providers or cross over from a completely different background. One thing both have in common is that they often struggle with their management skills from accounting to managing staff to marketing. Individual practitioners find themselves in a position of having to run a mini business, hustle for clients and bargain hard to stay afloat- not what they imagined and not what they were trained for when they studied. How you manage your business however small or large it is will decide whether you are successful or not.

Each area requires specific training, a budget and a plan. Find out more on how to set up an effective training strategy for yourself or your spa: Training Strategies

100 hour Massage Training Intensive

Touching from the Heart 100 hour Massage Training Hawaii.This training is for everyone who wants to be able to offer a professional level massage and participate in a transformational workshop. Whether for friends and family, as a life-skill, to revitalize your massage practice or to improve your skills in the spa industry this workshop is for you.

Touching from the Heart was born out of a personal journey of transformation and the deep desire to share this process with others. Rather than imposing technique, we believe in uncovering human potential. While learning a skill, deeper insights are uncovered that inspire the work revealing a deep connection to self and other. If you find yourself on this page, chances are you are looking for precisely that - a meaningful experience that will change your life. Curios? Learn Massage

Spa Treatment Training Workshops

Liz and I founded Spa College to serve a growing need in our industry for consistency, expertise and improved sales in the fast growing spa menu component we call spa treatments (wraps, masks, scrubs, cocoons etc.).

As spa industry veterans and providers who visit and work with many spas, we are finding consistent issues that prevent spas from exploring and capturing the potential lingering in these menu items. So we decided to find a way to address these problems and resolve them once and for all.

Here are some of the issues we encounter (and you may find you agree):

• Spa treatments sales are low compared to massage and facial sales
• Retail sales in conjunction with a spa treatment are virtually non-existent
• Front desk staff has a hard time selling the spa treatments on the menu
• Backbar supplies for spa treatments are expensive and sit in inventory for too long collecting dust
• Therapists are not excited about doing spa treatments
• Complex vendor protocols are watered down in the treatment rooms to be more manageable
• Clients are initially interested but than rather choose a treatment they can relate too
• Treatments are vendor specific and initiate larger then needed purchase orders
  
  What spa treatments should offer and yield:

• Revenue equal to massage and facial treatments
• A 30% retail sales component on top of the treatment cost
• Communicable benefits for the client
• A consistent client experience
• An experience unique to the individual spa
• Independence from any particular brand name
• A solution to the typical clients needs and issues
• A unique location specific signature
  
  The solution:
  
  We have designed a tiered approach that addresses the issues starting at the core:
  
  Step 1

"At the age of 34, I had the perfect job, a wonderful partner, 4 cats and a bird. Life was good. No, life was great! Then I started getting migraine headaches from which I would sometimes go blind, and inevitably ended up from 1-3 days on the bathroom floor, vomiting. Life wasn't as good as it had been.

Let me back up. Although life was great- I knew I didn't want to work for someone else all my life. My goal was at 55 to work for myself. I thought about either becoming a cat groomer or a massage therapist. I know, what a difference! Well, I wasn't in any hurry to start either. Both schools were over one hour away, and I had time. 21 years to be exact. But then the Baltimore School of Massage opened a campus in York, PA. That was only 30 minutes from my house. I called the school and found out you can take the first 100 hours and if you don't like it you don't have to continue. I thought that sounded good. I can try it out and see if this was where I wanted to be at the age of 55. I started school in August." Here is her story: Read on ...

Free Spa College Webinar

Thursday, Sept 13. 4:00 PM PST / 7:00 PM EST. Not every training has to cost something! Join us for a free 30 minute webinar on the the Spa College Method for achieving results with Spa Treatments. Win a free workshop or an ebook.

We will talk about the Spa College method - a philosophy that embraces an eco-centric approach to developing spa treatments. In this step-by-step method, we assess the locally available resources and include factors such as weather patterns, the environment, typical clientele and much more as we intuitively design continuously evolving unique treatments. This webinar is limited to the first 50 who sign up so do it now...If you would like to particpate send us an email here to webinar@spa-college.com and we will send you the login information.

Thai Herbal Ball Experience. Salt Lake City, UT Oct. 5 -7

Want to know how you can perform more massages' each day, without sore achy hands while increasing your "bookability" and revenue? Join us for an exciting class and earn you CEU's at the same time.

First time offered in Salt Lake City, well known trainer and consultant, Liz Galloway offers an informative and exciting class on ancient Thai therapies and how you can incorporate hot and cold compresses into your existing therapies and create more specialty treatments. This course utilizes the authentic herbal compress from our sponsor Sabai Spa . Sponsored by Sabai Spa...Find out more

Staying Fit as a Provider

What does a typical day at the spa, or your private practice look like? One that is most likely filled with tasks, clients, employees and responsibilities that require you to forfeit some personal care. Usually one of the first things that we allow ourselves to do is neglect our diet and our fitness routines.

Even if your routine consisted of a daily mile long walk with the dog, it still allows you to refresh, decompress, and re-energize with a new viewpoint. If we give that up, it can leave some of us with a bigger belly, sluggish feelings, and a higher level of stress. What good does that do for our clients?  

I am one who has experienced letting go of a health routine first hand and found a way to make my way back. Accustomed to high...

How to Calculate a Training Budget

Training is and will become more and more a core issue of service providers and spas who wish to become and remain successful. As the surge of new spas and services slows down and quality, consistency and authenticity become the discerning factors how does one calculate a budget? Many shy away from the investment and yet it is pretty clear when you do the math that training pays off even in the most conservative calculation.

While setting sales goals and developing incentives for staff are very important if they do not how to sell theses efforts will have a limited impact. Similarly if treatments and rituals are not taught, now therapist or aesthetician can guess what the original intention was and find themselves dealing with watered down, ineffective treatments that soon become disliked. This article makes a case for a performance goal based calculation.

To read the full account follow this link: Training Budget.

Ayurveda. Training with a Difference. Dr. Manish Patwardhan

When we talk about various spa therapies, we usually think about modalities like Swedish massage, aromatherapy, Thai massage, reflexology etc. that are the common therapies being used in Spa's around the world. We don't usually think or remember one of the most ancient treatment modalities: Ayurveda.

Ayurveda finds its origin 5000 years ago in the Himalayas. Ayurveda places an emphasis on the maintenance of health, the prevention of diseases and then the last objective is curing the disease. Ayurveda is a complete science dealing with complete balance on the mind, body & spirit level. To read the full account follow this link: Ayurveda is becoming slowly popular..

Have events to add? Email them to events@spa-college.com. Got To Calendar