Catch the Latest Episode of Spa Marketing Made Easy

Welcome to Spa Marketing Made Easy. A podcast for spa owners who want to step up their leadership and business skills and step into the role as Spa CEO. I’m your host. Daniela Woerner, CEO of Addo Aesthetics and founder of the Growth Factor Framework Program, where we teach, coach and guide spa owners in scaling their spas to the next level of growth and unlocking freedom in their life and their business. I’m so glad you’re here now. 

Let’s dive into the show. Have you ever thought I don’t have time for networking, or I’m just not the networking type? If so, you’re not alone now as a working mom with two kids who also has a husband with a demanding career, I get it, but these beliefs are stalling your spas growth today, on the spa marketing Made Easy podcast, we’re diving into the six most common myths spa CEOs tell themselves about relationship Marketing, and we’re uncovering the truth behind each one, plus I’m going to give you actionable strategies to turn these myths into opportunities. 

So you ready? Okay, let’s go ahead and start with a fundamental truth. Your spa doesn’t exist in a vacuum. It’s an integral part of a broader community ecosystem. Engaging with this community isn’t just a nice to have, it’s a cornerstone of sustainable success. So why is community so vital for small businesses? Well, there’s the economic impact. You know, small businesses, they are the lifeblood of local economies. They create jobs, they foster innovation, they contribute to the unique character of neighborhoods. In fact, small businesses donate 250% more than larger businesses to local nonprofits and community causes. That’s way more than the big companies. Okay? Mutual support. A thriving community supports its businesses. You’ve seen out there on Small Business Saturday, people coming and shopping. People want to support small business. 

They uplift their community. It’s this really symbiotic relationship that leads to shared prosperity and resilience. So what exactly is relationship marketing? Well, it’s a strategy that focuses on building long term relationships with your customers. Yes, of course, we want to emphasize retention. We want customer satisfaction and we want increased lifetime value. 

I’ve talked about that metric quite a bit. That is just good business, but we also believe that expanding your network, and really ultimately expanding your community, is going to create a stronger business foundation. Now I’m talking authentic relationships here, okay, not transactional relationships. I want real, authentic, meaningful. You genuinely care about this other human being in front of you. Relationships, okay? 

That builds community. Community creates opportunities. It creates referrals, and it even opens the door for strategic partnerships. Look, I love paid ads. I love building funnels. I love creating incredible spreadsheets. These are all tactical things, though, if I really zoom out, I owe the success of my business and where I’m at today to the relationships that I have built over the years. I want that for you too. So let me get into the benefits of relationship marketing, and I’m going to tell you this from like a customer perspective. 

First, you know why this matters to the customer, but then I’m also going to talk about why it matters from the business owners perspective. Okay, so from the customer perspective, when we focus on relationship marketing, we have increased customer loyalty, which right? We want that repeat business. It’s more expensive to get a new client than it is to retain an existing one, so we want to make sure that we are building those relationships with our customers. When we have those relationships, we do have an increased lifetime customer value. It means that if, if a patient or client comes in for a facial and you have a relationship with them, they’re more likely to trust you and then cross sell into something else. Maybe they’re going to do a micro needling service. Maybe they’re going to do their brows like their brows, micro bladed. They’re going to be able to cross promote more when they have a deeper relationship, when they feel connected, and again, have that. Trust that increases your lifetime customer value, and that is huge. Then community engagement when you have relationships, and let’s say you’re hosting an open house, we know like we love doing events. We love mini events. We love open house, style of events when you have relationships with your super loyal people, they’re going to be the ones that are showing up. They’re going to be the ones that are really promoting your services for you through social proof. 

This is a huge deal when it comes to events, right? So these are three reasons that relationships can be really beneficial to customers in your business, but let’s now look at the benefits of relationship marketing from a business owner’s perspective. You’re gonna hear me talk about strategic partnerships a lot, and this is so like, I don’t know if I’ve been able to fully like communicate how essential this is, but and how impactful this has been on my business. But strategic partnerships, these are relationships where you are collaborating with other local businesses that serve the same ideal client. Your businesses support one another. So I’m going to use successful ads club as a great strategic partnership. My girlfriend, Tara and I have known each other for 10 plus years. Our families, our friends, our families, vacation together. We met through an entrepreneurship group, a meetup group, here in the DC area. 

When she was living in DC, we became personal friends that evolved into a business relationship. We both had companies. She is She taught me everything I know about ads. She helped me grow my business with ads. Well, I don’t want to teach ads in my business. That is not something. It changes so much. There’s so much to stay up to date on. But it is a it is a need in spas, right? If you have a brick and mortar business, you’ve got to understand how to do paid advertising. It can be an incredible way, one way, you know, we talk about getting new leads, there’s there’s social, there’s SEO, and there’s the relationships, right, or word of mouth. So this is one really strong way that we’re getting new clients in the door. So it’s absolutely important. But she and I have a strategic partnership where my company highlights and recommends her company. 

Her company highlights and recommends my company. It goes back and forth, and she and I have such a level of trust, such a personal relationship, we can talk openly, we can talk clearly. We can we really understand the core values, the integrity of the other individual. That symbiotic relationship has benefited both of us, and that all started from taking a leap, putting yourself out there to meet people in the community, right? 

And this has now been 10 plus years that we have been friends, that we’ve been supporting one another’s businesses, think of the amount of revenue that has come in. And on top of that, if I zoom out even more, if I look at the other entrepreneurs that Tara has connected me to, or that I have connected Tara to, expanding that network and how much money those relationships have generated into our business, it’s huge, and it all starts with showing up. Okay, so strategic partnerships are so, so huge in your business. All right, so next up for benefits of relationship marketing from a business owner’s perspective, enhanced brand visibility through collaborative content. 

So if you are an and I love this one for local business, for spa, because so many spas get hit up with, Hey, can you donate a gift certificate to this charity or to that charity, or to this school function or to that school function, and yes, you can absolutely and in exchange, I’d love you to send out this email to your list, right, so you’re both giving. It’s not just one taking. I think the reason that so many spa owners just get so frustrated around October, when we seem to be getting all of those requests to donate, donate, donate, donate, donate. Well, we want to make sure that we’re seeing some result in that we want some exposure. So think about what it would be like to have a partnership with a charity that you. You are really passionate about that you believe in. We’ve got one gal who volunteers for a dog rescue, and she had an open house, she had a dog adoption center at her open house, where people could also so she was like, you know, supporting that charity. 

Think of a long term relationship that you could do where they’re regularly promoting your business and you’re regularly promoting their business. 

That’s going to be much more effective than a one time, one time email or one time donation to a gift search of a gift certificate that may not even be redeemed. Right? So we want to make sure that that relationship piece is there, so that that other organization or business will continue to support you, to highlight you on your social on their social media, to maybe have a featured section of trusted partners on their website to email out to their list. It’s these small, consistent actions that are going to make the big difference over time, and then contribution to the community well, being right, being a part, being a leader in your community, that is so huge. 

So you’re strengthening your community ties, you’re participating in local events and initiatives, you’re showing up as a contributing member, and your employees will often feel more engaged and proud to work for a business that positively impacts their community. So by by embracing relationship marketing strategies, you as a spa owner, you’re not only driving growth and visibility, but you’re also paying a pivotal role in enriching your local communities. Yet, even though there’s all these really incredible benefits. Many spa CEOs hesitate to embrace relationship marketing, and there’s six common reasons why. 

So six myths is what I’m calling these. So let’s go ahead and break down each one of those. So Myth number one, I don’t have time for networking and relationship building, I get it. I get it. Time is our most valuable resource, and when you are running a spa, it’s demanding, it’s overwhelming, it’s exhausting. But integrating relationship marketing doesn’t have to require a significant time investment. Relationship Marketing. Marketing can seamlessly be incorporated into your existing routines. So simple actions like engaging with clients during appointments, collaborating with with neighboring businesses, they can both be effective and time efficient. So you guys know, I love systems, right? So I’m going to give you a little system to help you do this in two hours a week, all right? So you can spend 30 minutes engaging on social media. You can spend 30 minutes reaching out to a potential partner, or potential partners, and maybe you have a list of potential partners that you want to be reaching out to. You can spend 30 minutes following up, and you can spend 30 minutes promoting another local business giving Okay, so these are ways that you can carve out. And if you haven’t listened to our podcast episode about how we’re using ChatGPT in our business. 

Go back listen to that episode, and we’ll link it up here and look at how you can use ChatGPT to free up two hours or more so that you can plug in these two hours to actually do the work. Okay, super important there. So Myth number two, let’s move on there. I’m not a natural networker, I’m not an extrovert, I’m an introvert. So not everyone feels comfortable in traditional networking settings, and that’s okay. I get overwhelmed in groups of large people, I do really well in small groups, all right, but if I’m in a big group, I am not the one that is going to just naturally walk up and do small talk or, you know, figure out a conversation starter. 

But the reality is authentic connections. You don’t have to have this big, gregarious, outgoing personality. You have to have genuine conversations about showing up. You have to have genuine conversations about what you care about. You have to have genuine conversations. About the impact that you’re wanting to make. So even if you’re like, it’s a hard No, I’m not going to a networking event. You can reach out. You can have a list of people that you want to reach out to via email or via LinkedIn, or whatever your kind of process is, and see if they’ll meet you for coffee, see if they’ll hop on a zoom call, right? So you can do that on a one, on one basis, and remove the part that is very stressful for you. All right. So your action item for this one start by reaching out to one local business owner that you admire or a business that you frequent. 

All right, a simple message expressing appreciation, a desire to connect, that can open doors to new possibilities, right? So I want to add a little caveat here, because you’re gonna get nos, you’re gonna get people that don’t respond, and that’s okay, right? Because you will also get yeses, and you will also get people who do respond and people who do want to collaborate. Don’t take any of the no’s personally. All right. I had one one rep. She was a skincare rep, and she said to me, one time, no just means not yet. And I thought, She’s good. And so look at it from that perspective. Make sure that you’re focusing on the impact that you’re wanting to make. 

Don’t take it personally. People have a lot of things going on in their life, and so we’ve got to make sure that we are just doing our thing, staying focused on what it is that we are trying to accomplish in our business. All right. Myth number three, I’ve tried networking before and it didn’t work. Probably every single one of you listening to this has been through that before. You maybe have been to a past experience at a net where you’re thinking of a past experience at a networking group that was not fun. You got a bunch of business cards. Nothing really panned out. Maybe you got a bunch of spammy LinkedIn messages. 

You know, I get it, but to build authentic relationships, and I want to just keep highlighting that authentic relationships, you have to connect with that person as a human being, you have to find things that you align on, things that you connect on, besides referring people back and forth. That’s transactional, okay, so that’s a really, really important piece. So when you are looking at what didn’t work, did you make sure that you were following up? Did you make sure that you were providing value to them and leading with how can I support you? How can I be of value? What can I do for you? Those are the things that people that are building authentic, genuine relationships are doing. 

They’re providing value. They’re giving, and that is when you’re seeing the result, okay, you’re gonna say no, and think about how you respond to people, right? Think about relationships that you have built with other whether it’s other business owners, whether it is other business owners in the community, whether it’s your clients or patients that are coming in, you are going to like the ones that lead with giving, with kindness, with respect. 

Those are the ones that are going to really pan out into great relationships. Myth number four, other businesses in my area don’t want to collaborate, right? There is, it’s natural to fear rejection. We were talking about, you know, worrying about people saying no, or maybe you feel like you’re the other, even if there’s other spas in the area that they’re not in a collaboration over competition, type of mindset, and that’s normal, but if you don’t ask the question is always no, okay? 

So the reality is, all business owners want to grow their business, right? We’re not going through this roller coaster of emotion and stress and trying to learn new skills and pivot different economies and train our staff and systemize just because we think it’s a fun hobby. No, we want to grow our business, we want to make money, we want to build the life we want to live. We want to make an impact in our communities. These are all really important things, so finding the right fit and presenting a way that your two companies can work together, presenting a way that you can provide value, it’s just the way that you are presenting the offer to get them to say, yes, okay, so if you don’t ask. The answer is always no. All right, myth number five, I don’t know where to start. I don’t know who to partner with. That is the kind of big thing. I’m not going to do relationship marketing because it’s too overwhelming. It’s going to take too much time. It’s daunting. 

Okay, so what I like to do is begin by identifying local businesses that cater to a similar clientele but are not direct competitors. So for us, think about hair stylist. Think about massage therapist, if you’re not offering massage in your practice, think about permanent makeup artist. Think about wellness clinics or weight loss clinics. We’re seeing a lot of those pop up. Think about chiropractors or dos. Think about boutique fitness studios. There’s a lot of places that we can look at that serve the same clientele as ours. I’m seeing a lot of head spas pop up, right? 

Can we partner with them? Can we build relationships with them. Go and frequent their business. See what it’s like to have a service with them. See what the overall experience is like. That’s a really important piece in referring business. You need to make sure that you have a personal story of doing business with that company, ask your existing clients, make a list of your top clients, and ask them the other local businesses that they love, that they frequent, and then go there and just start up conversations. Get to know the owner. Ask them if they want to have a coffee. Get to know them as a human being before presenting the relationship piece, the strategic partnership piece, the referral piece, right? It’s really, really easy to do, all right. 

Myth number six, so I can’t track ROI from relationship marketing. Yes, you can. Yes you can. The way that you do it is either by creating a specific offer for that practice, if you’re giving, like we’ve talked about this in the past, one of our very first episodes on this podcast, like hundreds of episodes ago, was on gift card marketing, and this is a strategy that I used years and years and years ago, where we would create these plastic gift cards, we would give them out in it would be either a $50 increment, $100 increment, $200 increment, and we could give them out as vouchers to car dealerships to insurance companies To hairstylists to real estate agents. We looked at all these different people that would serve an audience that maybe would be potential clients or patients of our practice. We would then make sure that the back of the gift card was numbered and we would have a spreadsheet that listed out gift cards, one through 50 went to real estate agent. A gift cards 51, through 100 went to this person, right or this business. And so when you’re getting those redeemed, you’re highlighting them, and you’re able to see who is actually referring people back. 

All right, so this can absolutely be tracked. Get into, you know, my love of spreadsheets here, which makes this whole process a heck of a lot easier, but it absolutely can be tracked. And what you’ll find is, let’s say that you have relationships and partnerships with maybe 10 companies. About two of them are going to be regularly and consistently referring people to you. The other eight, they may highlight you on social media. 

They may do a blog post about you. They may have, you know, your spa brochures in their front area, but they’re not actively, consistently referring people your way. And that’s okay. That’s okay. I personally, my approach with strategic partnerships is having a small amount of people that I can go deep with. But in order to figure out who those ones are, that you can go deep, that you can really find those kind of a level strategic partners, you’ve got to test out different people. You’ve got to test it’s as simple of that it is a long term game. 

All right, so let me just do a quick recap of some of the objections, what I’m calling myths that you may have told yourself as to why you’re not going to do relationship marketing. Maybe you’ve never tried it before. Maybe there’s other businesses in your area that won’t want to collaborate. Maybe you’re not a natural networker. Or maybe you don’t have time, maybe you don’t know who to partner with, and maybe you’re worried that you can’t track all of those things are untrue, all of those things, it is so worth the time and energy for you to put in to this relationship marketing piece by shifting your perspective, by implementing these actionable strategies, you can harness the power of community to drive your spas growth. Now I want to challenge you choose one myth, just one this week, that resonated with you, and do the action items. Remember that relationships aren’t just about expanding your network. It’s about enriching your business and your community. Okay, relationship marketing is an essential piece to your spas growth. I’m not discounting social and paid ads. I’m not discounting SEO. Those are important, but really, as I’m zooming out, relationship marketing is the foundational piece. This is the thing that, above all else, can help you grow. 

Alright? I hope that you found this episode insightful. Do me a favor and share it with a fellow spa CEO. Let’s collaborate. Let’s continue this conversation, and I’ll catch you on the next episode. 

Welcome to Spa Marketing Made Easy, a podcast for spa owners who want to step up their leadership and business skills and step into the role as spa CEO. I’m your host. Daniela Woerner, CEO of Addo Aesthetics and founder of the Growth Factor Framework® Program, where we teach, coach and guide spa owners in scaling their spas to the next level of growth and unlocking freedom in their life and their business. I’m so glad you’re here now. Let’s dive into the show. Well, hello, my dears, so happy to be here with you today on the spa marketing Made Easy podcast. We have a great episode. I am joined by Anthony Standifer, who is the co founder of mSEED, which is a manufacturer whose work spans product formulation, contract manufacturing and brand development. So what does that mean? This is not simply finding a private label company and slapping your label on it. It’s actually going to the next level, where you have the ability to customize and even own your own formulation. So really, really cool expansion possibility, new vertical for those of you that are really into E Comm, those of you that are potentially interested in creating something to go direct to consumer, Anthony really opened up, shared so generously with his decades of experience in the industry. I learned a ton. I hope you enjoyed this episode. It was a really fun one to record. Anthony, welcome to the Spa Marketing Made Easy Podcast. I am so excited to have you here. I think this is going to be such an eye opening conversation for so many of our listeners to really get them thinking outside of the box of what is possible for them with the skill set that they have. What are the other verticals? What are the other ways that they can be making money in their business and kind of adjacent to their business.

Awesome. Well, thank you. Daniela, I’m excited to be here, and this is going to be a great conversation and hopefully informative for the folks that are listening and watching. Yes,so to give everybody just kind of a background of who you are, I know you’ve got 24 years of experience in our industry, but tell us a little bit about kind of how you started in our space. What were you doing, and then what brought you to founding mseeds

Gotcha. Yeah. So I’ve been extremely fortunate to have found the beauty industry early in my adult career. So my second job out of out of undergrad, I got hired as a junior marketer for a small, family owned brand here in the Chicago area where I’m born and raised, and I started on the marketing and brand management side of things within that, one of my first brands that I managed was the company, salon professional brand, which has since defunct. But it was amazing experience.

And so I went, I think, in the context of my experience, I went from starting to two weeks later going to a very large hair show in Atlanta, the Bronner brother hair show. And it was like magic for a then 22 year old Anthony to say, like, wow, these people are extravagant and so but it started my really love and appreciation of the beauty space and of supporting both consumers and professionals in the in the market. And so I spent 14 years working in corporate America for a lot of big companies, most of the time. I think eight of those 14 I worked in different divisions of Revlon on several of their consumer brands and some professional brands as well.

And then just a little bit over 10 years ago, at the last place that I was employed, I met a woman, her name is Erica Douglas, who was my co worker at the time, and was the cosmetic chemist inside of the company that we were both working in. And she had an idea, and that idea was she’d left the company, and then shared with me, after she left, that she had this idea for a company, and the The goal was to support small businesses entering into the beauty and personal care space across hair care and skin care and personal care. And I thought it was an amazing concept, because what I did know is most of the companies that I worked for had huge manufacturing facilities that were associated with them. In some cases they did, like most people didn’t know at the time, and still true today, that Revlon will actually manufacture for other companies, and so they have contract manufacturing as a part of their their business model. But the complexities of doing business in that environment are oftentimes a barrier for new entrepreneurs, and it is assumed that you’ve got to have six figures of revenue in order to start a brand. And while that’s true for most, it shouldn’t be true for all. And so MC group was formed with the ethos of lowering the barrier entry for both custom product of. Development, as well as for small batch manufacturing.

And so we’ve been super fortunate over the last 10 years now to have supported roughly 250 or so entrepreneurs at various scales, whether they’re newbies just starting with ideas like in the market for one or two years and trying to figure out how to grow, or a few established brands that are doing some pretty incredible things.

That’s amazing. I know we had Jamie Kern Lima on the podcast, and she’s the founder of IT Cosmetics, and it was such an eye opening thing when we had her on, because she it was like, how did she start this brand herself as like, in her living room, and, you know, got down to her last $1,000 before she got onto QVC and all of this. And it really just having that conversation with her made it seem possible for so many other people, because she started just like us and as a very small consumer, and then ended up getting purchased by L’Oreal for 1.2 billion. So it shows there’s, you know, her alone is proof of concept that with the right ingredients and work and marketing, you can really let a brand take off. You don’t have to be those companies that you know have $100,000 to invest on an idea. Right off the bat, correct?

I see so many aestheticians, nurses, practice owners that are so passionate about ingredients and what they want to create and what they need specifically for their patient and for us here in in the spa world were mostly exposed to traditional private label. So you can go to a manufacturer, you can get there already done. The packaging is done, the formulations are done. You just put your label on it and then sell it. And there’s a lot of interest in that. There’s better profit margins. And and you guys do that as well, from what I understand, but you also have the opportunity. You can help work with the product formulation and the the your customer can actually own that product if they choose that particular package, which really is a big differentiator from other private label companies, yeah.

And so for us, we we anchor ourselves primarily as we were starting the company. The thing that we did not want to be was this company that just has a vat of moisturizers and serums and hair care products sitting in drums in the back, and we’re just pumping them into bottles and jars and shipping them out. It was super important for us that these brilliant entrepreneurs that we were engaging with have the ability to have custom formulations.

And so even in today’s environment, while I do some private label the majority of my customers, like 90% are actually dealing with customized formulas today, 2025 and our current ecosystem. And so we do this model where even within stock formulas that we have, and so if you’re looking for specific product, again, our goal is to lower the cost of entry for most entrepreneurs to get into the market. Because our belief is that the real magic is when you’re on the field selling product to consumers or to clients. And so the idea shouldn’t be that you need a 250 $250,000 just to vet an idea. And so for us, when people come and they want to develop products, we find out, well, what is the profile of the product that they’re looking for? We then provide them with that profile with what the formulation cost will be.

Now that can be as little as $3,000 that could be as much as $15,000 depending on the type of product that you’re looking to put into the marketplace and what features and claims you want to be able to make with that sometimes a $15,000 price tag is a Whoa, sticker shock for a bootstrapped entrepreneur that is self funding an idea at that point. And so we offer them products at a smaller scale, or, excuse me, at a smaller price point, where you can take one of our stock formulas and you can add some customizations to it, but essentially, the base of the formula has already been has already been developed, has already been tested and validated to be effective, and then you have the ability to come in as a brand owner and then add the uniqueness that you want in terms of marketing story. What’s a little known fact inside of the beauty space is that in many cases, the things that people are marketing as the bells and whistles of a product are usually not added at significant amounts. There are some exceptions to that, but when we talk about ingredients specifically and unique things, there can be some variances there.

And so our goal was to support, you know, the entrepreneur that was doing that. So there is the stock formula option, and then there is the custom formula that then says, like, Let’s build it from the ground up and make sure that you’ve got something that really, really works for. You and will deliver and stand in alignment with how you’re positioning your brand. And both options exist in our universe, and it’s really, really important for us to be able to make that distinction and to make that offering available to our customer base. In addition to not having to buy 20,000 units or 10,000 units as a starting point. MC group has also been a place where people can come and start with 1000 units, or 2500 units, to really validate their concept. And then as they scale up, they get distribution. Multiple chains are taking it. Whatever the pathway forward is. I’m also happy to make 100,000 units of the same something as your as your brand, scales in the market.So what is the the kind of scope of products that you’re manufacturing? So are we looking at when we’re talking about skincare specifically? Are we talking about cleansers, serums, moisturizers? Are you additionally doing, like chemical peels or body products. What kind of Yeah,so for us, we’re doing most things that are liquid or cream, with some exceptions in today’s landscape. So for instance, I don’t do FDA regulated products in terms of pharmaceutical grade products, because they have a different set of requirements that are that are mandated by the government in order for us to formulate and produce it. But on the skin and body side, I’ve got the ability to do the foundational basics in terms of body washes, cleansers, moisturizers. We can do exfoliating agents in terms of depending on the format, if we can get them into a liquid cream or gel format, serums, moisturizers, what am I forgetting? I feel like I’m forgetting something.

Oh, body products. Big part. Did you say cleansers? Yes,cleansers, yes. So we can do cleansers and moisturizers, so all of the foundational things that are there. It gets a bit trickier.

I do have clients who then come in that are looking for very specific things that perhaps are outside of our purview, and then we’ve got partner organizations that we and partner manufacturers that we send them to. So my goal again, is to lower the cost of entry and lower the barrier of entry. And so if you come to me with an amazing idea and I’m not able to fulfill that, then I’m happy to then refer you to another qualified manufacturer that can do that. And we do have customers who do business, both with our company as well as with other companies. And so it’s not uncommon, particularly as a brand scales, to have multiple manufacturers, multiple formulators, that are working on on your behalf. And so we’re happy to play, you know, our role on the team as entrepreneurs are out entrepreneuring and making things happen.So can we that that what was coming up in my mind was packaging, because when COVID happened, and there were so many that were pivoting into the E com space and private label and all of these types of things, they were loving this formulation from this place, and this formulation from this other place. And the issue was this consistent packaging was not happening. And that was, that was a real challenge.

So how does it work with your company or your partners? Do you are you guys giving the products in the big gallons and then packaging is done themselves? Are they in the actual bottles. How does that work? So we’re,we’re a turnkey manufacturer, and so within that scope, we provide finished product to our customer base so that they can then go either execute on services or sell directly to their their retail customers. And so we want people focused on sales and marketing and not like, where’s the bottle or where are the labels that go along with this unique with this unique product. And so for us, we go out and we work with a dozens of packaging suppliers to come up with the format, whether those are salon sizes and larger formats or smaller formats that can be delivered and either used in service or sold directly to the to the consumer. What makes it interesting? You’re correct. I call 2020 and 21 The Hunger Games period, because we literally scavenged for packaging everywhere here in the US internationally, and it became a significant challenge.

But here was what was interesting in that is by force we had to make, we had to say the brand owners, you’ve got to make some pivotal decisions when supply is so low right now, do you want to sell product in the standard format, or do you want to make an exception during this global crisis to then do alternative formats in terms of packaging, so that you can still deliver what’s in the packaging to your end customer. And so it was a, you know, very not ideal situation, but it was the thing that we did, like most other brands, and we made tweaks and variations.

So people who traditionally had, like, pink caps, now we’re doing Black Caps. And I was like, but the product is the same, and the customers, if you communicate with them in.

The middle of this global crisis, will understand that, hey, I’m still able to get product and get delivered in the in the same format. So for us, packaging is a part of the process. When you come in to work with us, we start talking about, what do you want your product to do, and what the performance is that is conversation number one, and then conversation number two is then, well, what is the format that you want to deliver that packaging in. It gets really interesting when we start talking about, like, customization of packaging and the minimum order quantities that come along with that. Most of my customers come in and they have an idea and the packaging formats that they’re looking for, you know, usually have some sort of unique, ornate or customized format.

And I go, great, as long as you’re prepared to buy 10,000 units of that from a US supplier or a Chinese supplier, then we’re, I’m happy to go and procure it. But the minimum order quantities to do truly customized, innovative, never before seen packaging comes with a with a hefty, minimal order quantity. And if you can financially support that, then it’s a great way to go into the market with, you know, differentiated packaging. But here’s the thing, and this is a sometimes controversial stance, I’m of the opinion, particularly on the professional side of the business, with professionals, is that packaging is less of a less of a decision making factor for making a purchase, if you’re delivering a great service to Me and you’re a source that I trust, I believe most customers don’t care what format is.

I think you can actually go with more standard formatted packaging and still have an amazing business. Rather than going for the uniquely shaped double walled glass jar, go with a thing that is that is standard and that is accessible in massive quantities because managing the supply chain. Even today, when we talk 2025 we’re dealing with the issue of what are tariffs look like in terms of bringing in products from from other countries at this point, and if I’m sourcing your packaging from Asia or from Mexico or some other country. We’re now dealing with a cost implication that is going to be significant. And while we can do those same packaging formats in the US, we’re also now finding that there is a supply and demand issue where US suppliers are already higher than sourcing from from overseas. Well now that supply is going up, these same manufacturers are saying, okay, great.

Supply is is growing. I can actually take my prices up even more. And so as business owners, we are constantly playing this economic game of, how can we keep our costs lower reasonable? But these external factors that are beyond our control are then impacting us, and we now have to make really interesting decisions about what we want to do. And so if you’re a new business owner, just recognize that business ownership is all about a series of decisions and concessions in many instances, but keeping your eye on the goal of like I got to get in market and deliver this product, or deliver the value of this product.

There’s multiple ways to do that, but just recognize that packaging is one of those things that in today’s landscape is very, very relevant, and there’s things that are beyond both of our control. So being willing to negotiate and make compromise is, fortunately part of the process, because the unfortunate part would be, it’s not available. I can’t do it, so I just abort the brand completely. And that’s a that’s a tragedy, in my opinion.So you MC, your company also helps with consulting and business development. Your expertise and your experience has been bringing brands to mass market, so getting them into targets. Is it like Sephora Ulta? Something Correct?

Okay, most of my experience has been in the mass retailer. Some of it has been within salon, professional chains of distribution. But honestly, across this 25 year career, most has been direct to consumer, recognizing that the professional has a unique channel of distribution, and there’s expertise that comes along with that. So I always caveat in areas where I’m not like 100% subject matter expert, that I’ve got an opinion and some limited experience, but there are people who live and breathe that world that should be counseled and taken and their perspective should be taken into consideration. If you’re wondering, like, hey, how do I expand in this very specific, unique channel of distribution?

Yeah,I know there’s a lot of spa owners who want to create a separate vertical. So there’s, you know, one aspect of, here’s what I do in my spa. This is my professional brand, or this is my name brand. You know, we’ve seen some celebrity aestheticians out there that are kind of creating their product, but they are where, traditionally, in Spa, the perception, or the the kind of feeling. Is, we don’t want these things sold on mass market.

We want to we’re consulting with our patients. We are making our recommendations, and kind of what we have in house is a certain level of quality that’s balanced between the expertise and the treatments that we’re doing in the spa with, you know, the home care that we’re sending these, these individuals home with. But there’s also this whole other vertical, where, by being an aesthetician and by being a skincare expert and developing a product, where you have a separate vertical to get into mass market, would be something that you essentially would have a competitive advantage over someone who didn’t. And I love to look at like drunk elephant, or, you know, these different brands where her story, you know, she started in her 40s. And I love that. I love when I hear people that are starting midlife or later in life, to do things that really take off with great success. Because I think it’s never too late to kind of follow on a dream. And I feel like there’s a lot of estheticians who are interested in E Comm, who are interested in this, you know, direct to consumer or mass market type of thing, and that’s an area where you really shine and where you’re you can help them navigate.

How do, how do I even start with that? How do I, how would I even create something that would get into a channel like that?Yeah, so again, as you’re as you’re thinking about this as a business owner and a professional esthetician or doctor, the thing that I would start the conversation is, what is the intention? And so if the intention is, I have a service based business. I’m an esthetician, I’m providing a dermatologist or some other professional and I want to be able to have as much impact as possible within my practice.

If your goal is to make sure that your practice is thriving at the level and the scale that it can then, by all means, stay in that lane and excel in that lane. And I believe that there’s a ton of growth and opportunity that can happen within that model, but recognize you’re not going to be all things to all people then. And so if your desire is like, how do I go beyond the walls of these physical locations or the places where you or your teams actually physically show up and you want to make a footprint in the homes where there isn’t a person? The mass retail is the way to do that. And there’s tons of ways to approach it. I do believe that there’s tons of opportunity of leveraging professional expertise in the mass market. It is a tried and true methodology. I think as we start to look at just how the world is evolving, how technology involves the way that business was done 20 years ago is not the way that it’s going to be done four years from now. And so I know it’s a sticky topic.

When you talk about, like, how do you control and keep, you know, professional, great products out of the hands of the end consumer, because we don’t want them improperly using it. And yes, those are valid concerns, but I believe that the way that the world is moving from media to information to all these other things, it is the democratization of access, and people are going to be getting their hands on all of the things. And so how do you as a business owner maintain a proper ethos? And I, and it gives a great I have a dermatologist who was a client, and so we had a salon Grade Form, or a professional grade formula for him as a dermatologist that he used in his office. He had a two practice office on the east coast. But then he also desired to then move into mass retailer, and started with a direct to consumer e commerce site to leverage his expertise.

Clients flew from all over the country and sometimes the world to see him, and the ability that they didn’t have to come to his office or engage his office to get product, then opened up the landscape. And so if I’m having amazing experience with you, Daniela, and I’m like, oh my god, this is amazing. You’re you’ve cleared all of my issues, and I want to now tell my friend about this and provide them with access to the same things, but they maybe are not able to afford or get to the physical location where your services are being offered. Then it becomes a barrier, and the more barriers that you have, the more constraint you have in the scale of your business.

And so think about it as my only word of caution and advice to a business owner as they start to think about what limitations they want to have on the access to products that they offer and services that they offer to the larger landscape. If I’m in the middle of Kansas and things are just there, but I desire great products, and you’re on the West Coast, how do I. Still have that same experience, or a version of that experience, because it could be with consumer grade formulas in that instance, but it’s still branded around your brand, and then caveat it with the things that it can and cannot do within that specific format. I think there’s a ton of opportunity to be made there.

And so consider those things. It’s, it’s, there’s no easy one way. I know for a fact they’re going to be people that are going to cut the system. And particularly as my younger professionals are coming into the marketplace, they are like, I’m ready to make money. I’m ready to do these other things. And they are moving fast. And so this idea that, Oh, there has to be this separation between the two things, in some cases, from my experience, is not necessarily as rigidly held as it is with folks that are that are my age, that have been in this, this industry for some time, and are really looking to maintain what previously was the standard for salon and professional grade products.

So let’s talk about timeline then. So with your experience of, you know, your 250 plus patient or clients that have come to you. And I’m sure there’s a range, and it, you know, counts on how fast your client can actually have the answers that you need. But what would you say is a typical timeline like, Hey, I’m coming to you, Anthony. I want to have a product. I want it to be direct to consumer. And here’s my ideas from the time that we come up with a formulation, I bring you on for the business development as well. What can I expect as milestones? Is this a one year, a three year, a five year, like what am I looking at in a general range? Yeah. So we tell people the reality is, is that custom formulation takes time, and so be prepared to make that investment of your dollars as well as your time. Six months is a fast timeline. You’ve got a relatively simple product, and we know what we’re doing in terms of, like, the targets that you want to hit, we’re going to formulate against that six months.

We can generally do two to four rounds of revisions, because I’ll put together an initial formulation, send it to you, encourage you to use it yourself, or to use it on patients first, and to give us feedback. And so that’s six months in a fast time. And so those are typically base levels, slightly salon grade or professional grade products that we’re that we’re offering at that point nine months, is the average that we take in terms of being able to do product development. But on the longer side, particularly if there’s the need to see like progressive progress over a specific amount of time with continued use of a product. It can easily be a year and a half.

And so if you give yourself that time to be able to see the progression of what happens and to see it over a specific set of patients, then a year and a half is where I’ve seen brand and brand owners go from the time that we start the project to the time that we say this formula and this packaging is amazing, let’s go into production. Those are the timelines that you can typically, you can typically see, but you’re correct. It is a back and forth.

I always call getting customer and consumer feedback hurting the cats. And so we have an internal communication that’s like, have the cats giving you their feedback on that last round of product that we sent to you, because we know somebody sent an appointment for you, they pushed it out a month, or they pushed it out of two weeks, or they just stopped coming completely. And if they were one of, you know, five people that you were getting feedback from in terms of a product, it poses challenges because, you know, they may be three months into the evaluation process and then disappear or just not be able to participate for any number of life reasons. And so it’s the reason that, when we start talking about that evaluating product, I recommend seven to 10 people as a customer, as a testing base across clients that professionals are using, or consumers in general,and as far as the marketing strategy, website development, launch, all of that, can that be done at the same time? Or we wait? Are we needing the actual obviously, we have to wait to take the photos and all of that type of stuff. But are there other pieces of this project that can be worked on during that development process 1,000% and it is the reason that I encourage people start selling your product before you get a formula, goop in a jar or group in a bottle, and particularly as service providers, it’s the best time to pre engage your intended customer base.

You’re the professional. You’re providing these services as you’re either using them in your practice or encouraging others in other locations or people in your state. Have to do that, like bring them into the journey at some level. Now, you don’t necessarily start day one and then make people wait a year and a half, but certainly, when you feel like, hey, we might be about six months or so out from the actual launch of the product, bring people on that journey with feeding it start.

Oh my god, seed it. Give people like, Hey. This is the intention. This is what we’ve been working on. You know, I spent the last six months, and I think I’m about six months away, I want to bring you on this journey with me. We’re seeing incredible results along the way. A really great launch has pre sales associated with it. So the day that I ship you product, if half of that pre sold, you’re winning. And so that takes a level of consistency and a really strategic effort to do that, because, again, you’re selling something that doesn’t exist, and this idea of instant gratification is delayed.

But the really smart folks who get into this and really follow our process and our system see the value of it, because then those are people who are buying in day one, and those are the people that then will give you great, honest reviews from the onset. They’re also people who are more likely to then re engage you and re purchase products if you’ve got multiple products, if they try a small selection, they’re more likely to then try other products in your collection on a second and third buy. And so the idea of bringing people along on this journey is such a great, smart money wise decision to do and to execute on from the very, very beginning, before you ever have a product in hand. And do you recommend starting with one SKU, or are we starting with three? You know, what is the because that’s another thing too, right?

Like, there’s, it always evolves. It always evolves. So I it depends on budget, and so that’s what I what I tell folks. And it’s funny, you mentioned I had an esthetician who I was like, I think you should probably bring this. She started with, like, five products. And I was like, wow, that’s a lot to start with,but not for us. I mean, it’s like exactly it was like, yes, no, you’ve got to have follow the system. And it’s the pre system, it’s the thing, and it’s the post.

And I was like, okay, but launching and just the physicality of getting feedback from the consumer base is just when it’s done well, is a tedious process, and so I encourage folks, like, if you can do it in one to three products as a starting point, it’s so much easier. Because the hard part that I also advise is, like, the product development is a lengthy process, but it really isn’t the hardest part of the brand journey. The hardest part of the brand journey is actually selling product and selling product at scale, and understanding that you’re spending all of this money and then you’re getting, like drips of money in at a time as you’re selling product. And so managing cash as a business owner is is really where the hard part is.

And so minimize your exposure, I get it seven steps is really what’s going to deliver the best results. But if you can start with the two and really say, like, wow, this is making an incremental difference in my skincare and my body care routine, then I think you then position yourself on a second round to then do three or four more products. But I get the temptation, because the way that we’ve been structured and trained is that it’s systems, but I’ve seen folks do some pretty incredible things. I had a customer who did a spot removal product that was a single product.

She did an excellent job of engaging and really delivering and just talking about a single topic for like, a year and a half, and then when she came out with like, two or three other products after that, like her pre sales were amazing, because she had an instant credibility as somebody that with a single product, could deliver the kind of results that people expected. And I think there’s also ways that we can incorporate products to, you know, really boost our bottom line help with the profit. Because, as you were saying before, our cost as business owners have gone up tremendously, inflation, like you know, all, all of the things have gone up. And so we’re looking at ways that we can make more revenue. So when we have even, like an oil that we use to Derma plane with or a body lotion that has a signature scent from our spa. It doesn’t have to be this insane, you know, formulation that is totally breaking ground of something brand new. It can be something that’s an extension of your brand that helps the person think of your spa and feel your spa when they’re at home. And that’s probably going to be less expensive and less time consuming to manufacture on that first go round, as you’re kind of getting your feet wet and understanding the process. Yeah, and so great. Great, great point and so, and that’s where for us and my manufacturing environment, I then say, hey, why don’t we consider maybe a stock formula that we then do some customizations around? So let’s add, you know, some key ingredients. Let’s add your signature fragrance. I’ve had a spa owner who did that, and again, her challenge was she’s like, Hey, my employees will use everything that I provide to them. They are horrible at selling everything that I recommend. They sell to our customers as they come to receive services. And so she wanted to do a massage lotion for not to have it as a gel or as an oil, but to have it as a viscous moisturizing lotion. And that was part of the service that they offered. And so we put together a great formula. And so then she had the, you know, the formulation was not the hard part, and that was the part that I said, Hey, I can help you and move you forward quickly there, but getting and setting the systems, the structures and the incentives to get each one of your massage reps to then sell this to somebody that’s received a service for them, I said that’s a little bit harder to do for me, and so it became really great point of entry for her to experience it without having to wait. Because in that instance, it wasn’t a year and a half of product development, it was, you know, a six month time frame that we were able to pull things together, maybe even a bit less, because, again, she went with a formula base that already delivered, and we just customized and tweaked that formula so that it was in alignment with, with her, with her business, specifically.And so that’s lowering her back bar cost Absolutely, and creating a more elevated experience, because it’s branded. It’s, you know, making it more unique. So there’s, there’s so much that you can do, if you really think about, you know, like you were saying, what is the intention, what is the focus that we want to do with this? And you don’t have to go in and create your entire line right off the bat. You can come in and think about, how do I create an elevated brand experience? How do I start with something and kind of go from there? I love that. No, it’s amazing.

It’s amazing. Anything else you want to add to, you know, questions that I’m not asking about this topic, because it’s so fascinating. I know there’s, there’s so much, but, you know, I feel like we covered a lot, but I don’t know.

No, this is great. You know, the only other thing that I that I encourage folks, Daniela, is that, if you’re thinking about it, do it. And now that’s a very Anthony thing to say in terms of just get in motion to making it happen. But I, the one thing that I consistently see across the board as I talk to business owners is this overthinking of a concept or overthinking of a thing? We always say action creates clarity. So oh my gosh, 1,000% yes, that is amazing. Action creates clarity. So I’m gonna borrow that. I will credit you. Go for it. No, borrow it, take it. And it’s so true, because in many instances, as particularly as professionals and people that are already in business and, you know, we’ve got life experience. We’ve been burned.

We’ve, you know, had failures and things that didn’t go well. The product entry space does not have to be a space that you spend three years thinking about an idea like, if it’s really sitting on your shoulder and has been there for some time, get in motion to make that thing happen. And this is the part where we talk about the concessions. You know, maybe you do have this idea for this amazing nine step system that then cures all and does all for the face and the body. Well, that’s the ending point, potentially, or the middle point for you, like, you can start with two products and then make that journey part of your process. But you know, we I say that we oftentimes think our way out of a good time, because we are just constantly in our head about like, this is all the things that couldn’t work. These are the things and maybe this and maybe that. And I find it incredible.

Every business owner that I know has talked about the lessons that they learned for questions they didn’t even know to ask at the beginning of the process. And so I believe that there this entrepreneurial journey is really a process of learning and experience, and those things happen together as you have the experience, you get the learnings. But if we are conceptualizing and ideating all the time, then it you know, you hamster wheel we’re stacking,yeah,no, I love that. So we’ll include all your links under the show. But where is the best place where you hang out the most? Where can people connect with you?

So I hang out the most on social media, uh, Instagram and LinkedIn.

So if you’re in both of those places, the Anthony Standifer, the Anthony Standifer, I’m in both places. Anthony standif on LinkedIn, but for you folks that want to take a look at my content, I’m happy to answer questions in DMS again, in places where I have time I am a person who I. Probably spends too much time on social media. It is my, you know, mindful or mindless thing to do is scrolling through the social media. So I’m like, literally on LinkedIn, just looking at videos, and then I’m like, oh, there’s a message. Let me answer it. Oh, yes, that’s right. I do have this lovely deliverable that was is due in an hour. Let me go back and focus on it. So you’re a welcome distraction for me in my inbox or in the comment sections of postings that I’m making. So I welcome questions. Again, information should not be, you know, hoarded. So I share as much as as possible.

And when there’s times where I can’t share, then I say, Hey, this is something that I don’t have expertise in, or it’s going to take a longer time to answer. But again, getting you and getting people the information that they need to make decisions so that they get an action is something that I’m super, super focused on. Well, hey, thank you for this interview. I mean, this was really great. Answered tons of questions, and I I do really hope, you know, we want that action to create clarity, but I hope that this episode really gets people thinking about what is possible for them and really opening their mind and expanding their mind to different ways that they can create revenue in their business or adjacent to their business, different things that they can do with their unique skill set. So I really appreciate your time and energy. It was really fun conversation. Thank you so much. Daniela.

Welcome to Spa Marketing Made Easy, a podcast for spa owners who want to step up their leadership and business skills and step into the role as spa CEO. I’m your host. Daniela Woerner, CEO of Addo Aesthetics and founder of the Growth Factor® Framework Program, where we teach, coach and guide spa owners in scaling their spas to the next level of growth and unlocking freedom in their life and their business. I’m so glad you’re here now.

Let’s dive into the show. If you’re looking to add $100,000 of revenue or more to your spa in 2025 listen in, because the strategy that we’re going to share around growth through acquisition, could be the game changer in your business that catapults you to the next level. Now, is this strategy going to be easy? No. Is it going to take time? Absolutely. Is it worth it? 100% and I believe with my whole heart that this strategy can be such an incredible way forward for all parties involved. So listen in to this conversation right here on the spa marketing Made Easy podcast with Susan, the founder of Salonspa connection, as we unpack this strategy and walk through the process of buying or selling your spa.

Now Susan is a former hairstylist and salon owner who now sells beauty industry businesses all across the US. She’s been doing this selling businesses of all shapes and sizes Since 2019, and now has a team of 17 brokers and assistants. So I really hope you enjoy this episode, I’m really curious your thoughts on it. If you guys are in the Spa, Marketing Made Easy Facebook group post in there, feel free to send me a DM on Instagram, on LinkedIn, which is where I’m really spending most of my time these days. But I’m really curious your thoughts on this strategy, whether you are a solo wanting to sell, or whether you’re a multi six figure spa or seven figure spa looking to grow super curious, want to know more about it. This is really a topic that’s been on my mind, especially for the past six months, and I feel like we are at that point in time that this is the year that this is going to happen. So enjoy this episode and make sure you let me know your thoughts. All right, Susan, welcome to the Spa Marketing Made Easy Podcast. I am so excited to have this conversation with you. I think that, you know, we talked last year, and I was like, Oh, I really like this woman. I want to figure out, you know, how it’s going to make sense to get you on the podcast share the incredible work that you’ve been doing. And I’m actually so glad that it took until now to get you on, because I think the timing is absolutely perfect for what we’re seeing in our industry. So welcome.

Thank you. Daniela, thank you for having me. I’m really excited to have this conversation today. I think it’s something that not a lot of people are talking about, but something that every you know, solo esthetician needs to know, every business owner, spa owner, salon owner. So thank you very much for having me.

So this is really like, what you and I haven’t talked about, is really a win, win situation for everybody involved. So we’re seeing, obviously, a lot of private equity come into the spa space, which is really transitioning into the health and wellness space. We’re seeing so much wellness come into medical esthetics. So we’re really at this interesting shift in our industry that I think has been coming along for quite a while. I mean, about to not to go on too far of a tangent. But when I started in the industry, I was in medical esthetics, and it was still, you went into the room and you pulled the white paper down, and there was nothing fluffy or anything about it. It was, go sit on the chair. There’s no like bougie stuff, right? And we started to see this trend more and more and and now I think we’re really reaching that pinnacle where health and wellness is combined very much with medical esthetics. But I digress.

The point of this call is to really show like this opportunity that we’re seeing in our space, and it’s not just for private equity. So private equity right now is really focusing on the medical spa space. They’re focusing on spas at minimum, doing 1.5 million in top line revenue, but really looking at the kind of bigger guys that are doing 345, million and above. And what about all of the other 1000s of spas out there that are doing the hard work, that put in the effort, that have got their, you know, that that initial, you know, maybe they got up to six. 7080, $100,000 which is, in my opinion, one of the hardest parts to just get it off the ground. But now they’re saying, How do I exit? What am I? How do I? How do I this thing I’ve built has value? What do I do with it? And that’s really where you and your business comes in. And it’s not that you just help these solos. I know you help large spas as well, but kind of talk to me about what you’ve seen in 2024 and then moving into 2025 in in this space, in the you know, buying and selling space, sure.

Well, one of the main things is that, you know, outside of solo aesthetics businesses, there’s a lot of people, you know, not necessarily private equity, but your regular investor types and or the wannabe investor types that are moving into the beauty space in general. And so they are looking for high cash flowing businesses. You know, I would say that most of our larger businesses that are selling right now aren’t necessarily going to private equity beat. They’re going to like couples, and they’re going to people who want to own a business. And they don’t necessarily understand anything about the beauty industry, but what they know is that, you know, it’s, it’s a high level want, right?

It’s not necessarily a need, but it’s a high level want, and it’s something that can be fairly recession proof, because, I mean, let’s face it, there’s nothing better than going in and getting your face all fixed up and getting a wax and getting, you know, Botox, or whatever it is. And people understand that, and they recognize that, and we are AI resistant. So as we move into sort of the AI age, you know, there’s not a lot of things other than I saw that. Was it the lash machine. But, I mean, oh yeah, come on, you know, like, that’s not going to be, I can’t imagine a real thing. And so people, you know, just your regular person who is interested in business ownership is, is really recognizing the beauty industry as a whole as something that is extremely sustainable and something that could be very profitable.

Well,even back in 2008 when there was the big crash, it was really only a year that we felt it in our spot. Was like, oh, what’s happening? And then all of a sudden, we were back, and with COVID, you know, so many spas ended up doubling, even with the restrictions that were happening there. And any economic book that you read, it’ll say that we are we’re one of the first to feel it initially, but we’re also the first to come back. And that’s because when people actually realize what’s happening, maybe they cancel their vacation. Maybe they, you know, they’re they’re kind of adjusting, but they want that human connection and human touch to feel good. It’s, it’s they’re looking at our services as a part of their health and wellness routine for overall care. And we saw that big time after COVID that they looked at it more as a part of their self care and health routine. So, okay, so, and I totally agree there are a lot of people interested in business ownership. That’s, you know, an area that’s definitely exploding right now. What I want to talk about today is really and what I’ve been talking about with our students a lot is this incredible opportunity that we are in the midst of right now, and that is that there are so many solos out there who, I think our industry has this tendency to push that that’s what you do, is you go and you become a solo, you rent a suite, you do your own thing.

That’s really hard. It’s really hard because you are what I say, just creating a really hard job for yourself. You’re not getting the benefits of the freedom and the financial find there’s a cap on what you can earn, because you’re one person, and so you still have to be in the room. You don’t get to take the two weeks of vacation and still be making money when you’re gone, you know, there’s all these benefits that you’re not getting, and it still can be a great model for the right person in the right season of life. But if you want to exit, what does that look like? You know, and I think there’s a lot of solos out there that are saying, I don’t want to do the marketing. I don’t want to get out there and be the mayor of my town. I don’t want to deal with taxes. I don’t want to deal with my website. I don’t want to build funnels. I don’t want to do social media, like all of these things that are a requirement, and even more so, a requirement to be seen and and attract those clients. Um. Right?

They just want to be in the room. They want to love other people. They want to do what they went to school for, which is learn how to care for and treat and solve problems with the skin. And so the opportunity is for these other types of spas that are really building a brand establishing who they are. They can build relationships by the business of this solo esthetician who worked incredibly hard to build bring that solo on as an employee, bring her book of clients, and it really becomes this win win for both parties agreed. So let’s, let’s kind of break down the business buying process of like, okay, how does this work? Like? Because solo estheticians, I think if they’re interested in selling they don’t know how to value their business. They don’t know where to find someone to buy them. And I think it’s the same way for spa owners that are saying, hey, I want to try this strategy. And you really, your company really kind of provides those solutions. You’re the the mediator, you’re you’ve sold over 150 businesses, or probably more by now, right in the spa and salon space. And tell me about the types of companies that you’re working with, solos, mid sized spas. Like, what is the normal person that comes to you well, we see it all. And so we see the solo estheticians all the way up to, you know, multi million dollar businesses.

So we definitely see a huge, wide range. But the common denominator, the common denominator is usually the same, as far as, what is it you have to sell? So is it, you know, is it an equipment, heavy business, or is there actual, you know, revenue, and something left over at the end, you know, a net profit? Are you able to pay yourself? And so that those are the things that really are looked at first. But yeah, we see the widest range that you could possibly imagine, in the beauty, all in the all in the spa and salon space.100% salon, spa and Barber, yep. So okay, we’ve sold online businesses before. You know, software, we had a talent agency, we’ve had a huge variety of businesses, but it’s all in the beauty industry. And the reason, well, I’m a lifetime cosmetologist, I’m a former salon owner, and so I ended up selling my business on my own after I worked with broker who just didn’t get it. And we find that that is why people like us so much, is because all of our brokers, including myself, were all Solana spa experts, so we’ve worked in the field, and so we understand not only the language, but the value, and that’s really, really valuable when we’re talking to non industry buyers, because most of the time, they’re just looking at numbers and they don’t understand the industry. And so we’re able to talk to them about what to expect, you know, how to understand this terminology, and then how to grow their business once they’ve bought it.

Okay, so talk to me about the valuation, because for me, I’ve always looked at, you know, net profit times three. And so we’re looking at kind of a multiple of two or three, depending on that. When you talk about equipment heavy, are you looking at like an asset sale rather than the actual sometimes, sometimes it really depends on the business. And so a solo aestheticians business is going to be looked at a little bit differently because you’re looking at, you know.

So let’s say a spa owner buys it, or another esthetician buys the solo esthetics business. What we advise is to, you know, buy the equipment. If this is something that you want. Obviously, if you’re depreciating the equipment on your taxes, that’s really helpful. So then you have a better idea of what the actual value is. So that’s kind of where we go with the value of, you know, not only inventory, but, you know, any type of furniture, fixtures and equipment that you have on top of that, if it’s a solo esthetics business, what we advise is to, you know, agree upon some sort of arrangement where you the seller is compensated for the clients that actually take action for the buyer, and so that is somebody that comes in that, you know, whether it’s one time or six times, you know, that looks different for every single situation, but it’s a matter of them agreeing upon, you know what is fair for everyone involved. So let’s say, you know, client a, she spends $2,000 a, you know, a year in the business.

You know, if that, if client a comes to the buyer, then the seller should be compensated X amount of dollars for every client visit. Or. Or you can buy out an entire client list, which I don’t necessarily like that, because there’s zero guarantee for the buyer, and so it just it looks really different. It’s a matter of everybody feeling like they’ve been fairly compensated for the transaction and really being organized for a solo esthetician, you know, you’ve got to have all of those client files really, really well updated. You know, the notes, the email addresses, the phone numbers, you know, are you? Are they responding to you? Are these clients that haven’t been in for a long time? You know, there’s not a lot of value in just somebody’s name and phone number, right? You’re looking at people who are taking action on a consistent basis.

A couple of questions there. So have you ever had anyone use this strategy that we’re suggesting of actually having the solo join the team of the new buyer and transition into being an employee and help with that transition of getting those clients or patients into the new practice, not personally, but I think that’s a brilliant idea. As a matter of fact, I would love to start encouraging spa owners to do that. But No, we’ve never done that, because usually that’s a thing where you know, there’s an agreement, a private agreement. They already knew each other, or there was a conversation that happened long before, you know, we came into the picture. But I think that’s a fantastic idea, and what an amazing way for spa owners to grow their business, and right, because the new employee has already paid for I mean, I think there’s obviously some hiccups that can happen on like, if you’re used to being the owner, and then you’re merging into someone else’s business. But these are all things that can be navigated and discussed in advance to ensure, like, a smooth transition. I want to give just kind of like an example. Like, let’s say we have a solo esthetician who’s doing maybe 80,000 a year, profiting maybe 20,000 a year. Has 20,000 of equipment. What are the types of things that we’re looking at to actually price this as a business owner,right? And so you say, Annette, does that include, you know, we’re, we’re looking at, where’s that money going, you know, is the net the only thing that the aesthetician is gaining? Or is there cell phone built in? Is there car insurance built in? So we see a lot of, you’re looking at, like the Add backs as well. Yeah.

So we’re, you know, is, how much is it actually costing the aesthetician to perform these services, you know, taking away marketing, taking away all that. So it kind of depends on the buyer. So an individual buyer would be different than, say, an employer buyer, but we’re really looking at what is the actual cost of doing business here. And so it really depends, you know, the net is great, and so the more net the better. But so many business owners, whether they’re solo estheticians or spa owners, there’s not a lot of net there, because there’s they’re either paying themselves a lot, which is okay, because that’s an add back to but a lot of times the net is really low. And so we really need to look at kind of, what are the mandatory expenses here in order to arrive at a fair market value for the business.

And are these being funded through SBA loans, through seller financing, like, how is the actual structure? Are they all cash sales, you know, depending on the size of the business.

What are the different structures that you’re seeing, all of the above, all of the above,literally, all the above. And that’s dependent on business size, you know. And so if you’re looking at a solo esthetics business that maybe is $50,000 a lot of time that can be arranged, either an all cash deal or a seller financing type of situation to where, hey, we’ll pay you, you know, $50,000 over the next year, two years, based on, you know, criteria, a or we will just pay this to you, regardless of what happens. And so it’s it’s every sale, every business is super unique. And so it really is a matter of what is actually going on, what is the arrangement in the agreement between buyer and seller? So, yeah, absolutely. SBA, you know, seller financing, all cash it.

We’ve see it. We see it all. And typically deals do include some sort of seller financing. You know, it’s kind of unusual to have a deal that is all cash or all SBA, usually there’s some sort of seller financing involved.

And so to clarify, for those that are not familiar with seller financing, it’s essentially you’re paying the seller is the bank. And so you would maybe like, let’s say we have a 50. $1,000 business. Maybe you as the buyer, put down $5,000 $10,000 so that aesthetician gets that initial chunk up front, and then you would have a deal that, hey, come join my company. I’m going to pay you this amount as an employee, and separately, I’m going to pay you $2,000 a month for the next, you know, X amount of months with this percent interest to be able to pay down the remaining 40,000 that I owe you for the business.

And so presumably, like the goal is that you’re always increasing the profit from your from your purchase. And so that employee, the goal would be that that employee that you purchased the business from is generating enough to pay for herself and to pay for the cost of the business that you purchased. And so it makes it a really incredible like that solo aesthetician who sold the business is probably getting paid more than she’s ever been paid, and is also so she’s, you know, getting the benefits of all that hard work that she put in up front. She’s getting to do what she loves. She’s getting paid as an employee to do it with the people that she’s already built in. Right? What do you see as the like hiccups that could happen in a transition like this?

Oh gosh, there’s, there’s many things. I mean, the most important thing is that everybody sees the same value, right? And so the buyer understands what the seller has. The seller understands what they’re selling. So I think the major Hiccup is when the seller thinks that they have something that they don’t, that’s, that’s usually the biggest and then, you know, it’s our job to kind of go, Okay, here we have this, this and this, this is what we feel it’s worth. It is up to you to either agree with that or work towards understanding that we can’t create something and sell something just because you think it’s A, B and C.

And I think that it’s a natural tendency to think that your business is worth more than it actually is, because it’s so so much time and energy and effort, and we put so much of ourselves into building these things, and oftentimes the the hard work is just learning that skill set in the beginning, You know, putting yourself out there, which is always uncomfortable, but in my understanding, is that we want to be able to pay, we want to reap the benefits in about three years. Is that the kind of model that you’re looking at, depending on the size of the business, the smaller businesses, it would be a lot faster than that, but your business is, yes, absolutely, three years is a good timeline.

Okay,so let’s walk through just kind of a high level overview of what the process looks like if someone, let’s say someone, is coming to you to sell, what are the the stages or steps that someone would go through. And if someone is coming to you, searching for a business to buy.

Okay, so selling, what we start with is usually a consultation, and so that is myself and or one of the people on our team, and we are talking to the seller. And so we’re trying to understand their goals. We’re trying to understand their expectations, because that’s really important. One of the things we ask always in that first meeting is, how much would you like to get for this business? And so we understand, going in, kind of what they have imagined the value of their business to be, you know, we’re asking all kinds of questions. And so we want to know about the lease, you know, or is it a building that they own? We want to know about the landlord. We want to know about employees and or revenues. You know, just give us an overview. After that consultation, we send a non disclosure agreement, and then we ask for the finances, and we ask for a balance sheet, you know, p and L’s tax returns and the lease, because we want to look at the overall health of the business. We then perform evaluation, and then we meet again. And so we go over, you know, we already understand what their expectation is on selling, but now after the valuation, we have a good idea of what the fair market value is. And so we then meet again, go over the valuation, and we say, this is what we feel we could list your business for. And so it’s kind of up to the seller at that point to either go, okay, you know, maybe I have a couple years left in me. I can really, you know, hit the business hard and grow the business, or, all right, fine, I’m ready to be done. And so that’s kind of the tipping point after that value, or after that second consultation. It’s like. Well, if you want to move forward, this is what this looks like. And so we’ve got three options for sellers. So we’ve got, you know, a very simple DIY type of service. And so basically, we list them, we advertise, they handle everything.

Then we have, obviously, the broker service, which is the full service, where sellers don’t really have to do much other than answer our questions and help, you know, with getting information. And we kind of have this middle ground, what we call broker light. And a lot of solo aestheticians go into that category because they don’t, you know, it’s hard for us as brokers to, when we’re selling a solo business, to really follow up if there’s some sort of, like, you know, agreement between the seller and the buyer on, I’m going to make X amount of dollars over the next three years on these clients. So we typically steer them towards broker light and that sort of, you know, you get a lot of the benefits of broker services, but you can do add ons, so like NDAs, you know, we can send NDAs, we can pre qualify, we can do comprehensive business memorandum. So that’s kind of where we go with our sellers. We try to guide them and give them as much information as they can, and we try to really set their expectations in line with reality, because it’s not usually a fast process.

And so, you know, finding buyers is quick. It’s the buyer decision making process that takes a long time. And then if they need to obtain funding, that takes a long time too. You know, SBA typically is a faster 90 days, right? At least now, yeah, 60 to 90, depending on the lender that you’re dealing with, and you’ve got a good relationship with your bank, that’s, that’s great. So for the buyer, when buyers come to us, you know, it depends on, again, watch what package the seller has chosen. So we’ll just talk about the broker package, because that’s where we’re most involved with buyers. So with our buyers, they come in, submit their information, they sign an NDA, and then we have a conversation with that buyer. And so we don’t reveal what businesses is until we are satisfied as brokers that this buyer isn’t going to be harmful person to the sale, and so that we look them up on social media. You know, we’ve got their NDA, which is cool, but we want to understand who we’re talking to, and so we call the buyer, you know, we set up a meeting, or have, you know, text exchange in order to have that phone call or zoom, and we are looking to pre qualify that buyer.

So we want to gage level of interest, right ability to pay for this. You know why the first thing we ask buyers is, what interests you about this business? Because we want to understand upfront what their main goal is. And usually they tell us so much just in that first question. And so for a buyer, you know, we’re having that conversation, we if they pass, we always say, if they jump through our hoops, we will provide financial information, so P and L’s, we will provide that sim. We call it comprehensive business memorandum. And then we say, let us know if you have any questions. Usually at that point, they’ll either have more questions or they want to move forward to meet the seller. And so we help arrange that seller conversation. You know, if they like what we if they like what they see, we give them a letter of intent template, if they don’t already have one. A lot of our savvy buyers have written many letters of intents, and so they don’t really need it. So they would submit a letter of intent, we would then go to the seller, say, here, this person wants to buy your business.

This is what they’re offering. And that’s kind of a negotiation period, you know, not typically the first offer is something that the seller loves. And so there’s quite a bit of back and forth between, you know, what does this look like? The time frame, and if the seller wants to accept a letter of intent, then we get an attorney involved at that point, because we’re not attorneys, we’re not accountants, we are intermediaries, and so we help, you know, then work with the buyer, the seller and the attorney to get the letter of intent signed and then take it through due diligence all the way up through the sale. So there’s kind of a long answer, but that’s generally speaking, but it’s,it’s important to know all of the steps, because it’s not just a, oh, I’m just going to go buy a business tomorrow. I mean, there’s a step by step process. It’s something that takes time. What do you see? You had mentioned earlier that you kind of help once the business sale has gone through, how are you helping and supporting those buyers after? What does that look like?

So every buyer is different, and we give buyers a host of information, including it starts with how to announce that the business has been sold. And so we have a video that we provide them, and so that is actually for the buyer and seller, so they can sort of, you know, plan ahead and see what this looks like. Because if you have a sale that involves employees, there’s going to be emotions, you know, there’s going to be things that happen. And so handling that is super important, and that is really equal between the buyer and the seller. Seller. In my mind, after that, we provide a list of consultants, we provide a list of education they can get, and we’re there to talk to them, you know, for an extended period of time, say, you know, the next year, we want to provide resources for them and advice for them, because truthfully, they may be a seller someday, and nothing is better than us seeing somebody who bought a business and thrives under it. You know, we don’t want to sell a business and think,

Well, this buyer has no chance. You know, we want to be able to we’re non brand affiliated, right? We, we will provide resources all day, every day, and not you know, there’s no products that lead towards that. You know, we’re just giving advice. And so if our resources that we provide our buyers are not what they need, we go out and find them. So it’s people like you, you know, we will recommend people like you, because you’re actually there to help people, rather than sell more skincare products, you know.

So any other pieces I feel like this is one of those things that I’m just like, oh my gosh, we’re going to see so much of this in 2025, 2024, was a challenging year. There’s people deal. I mean, it’s a whole host of things, right? People are dealing with inflation. People it’s was an election year, which always causes uncertainty, you know? So there’s, there’s this kind of mix of things where people are at a place where they’re like, You know what, I’ve been through COVID. I went through this. I kind of just want to take care of people. So I think we’re going to see a lot of of business owners wanting to sell. And I think also there’s going to be a lot of savvy spas that use a strategy like this to acquire if you buy a solo estheticians business that’s doing 80 to 100,000 a year in 90 days, you could Add 100,000 in revenue to your business, potentially and in what other marketing strategy could you grow that fast? If you study businesses and look at like, how are these other companies growing so quickly? They’re not growing 10, 15% year over year. They’re buying other businesses, buying that business for growth. And it’s it’s kind of like, once you understand the strategy, and I mean, you could grow so quickly if you master that emotional intelligence, the piece of merging the the the employees together, getting everybody on on board with the vision and mission of your spa. I mean, this, for me, is like one of the greatest competitive advantages if you master this skill. agree, and I think there’s a real lack of understanding of that in our industry. You know, we’re not taught that from the beginning that acquiring businesses is the way to ultimate wealth. I mean, it just is. And we that’s a lost concept on so many people in our industry, there’s a lot of like, well, I’m going to retire and I’m done, I’m just going to shut it down. Or, you know, even business owners, there’s so many, they’re just like, it’s like, Are you kidding me?

There’s so much like get the value, after all that hard work that you put in, you know, even, even if you just sell for 20,000 $30,000 that’s a huge chunk of money to be able to get. And think about what you can do with that, as that could be a down payment on a rental property or an Airbnb, that could be a car, that could be an incredible vacation, you know? I mean, there’s so many different things that it could be simply by you putting that energy and effort forward and not just closing your doors.

Yeah, and even digital assets. You know, a lot of people, there’s, there’s no way to really assign a value to digital assets, but if they are producing business for you that’s valuable, you know, we’ve actually had sellers that are like, I don’t really want to sell my Instagram with the business. And it’s like, well, guess what? I mean, if that’s a client funnel, that’s part of the business. And so I think that’s, you know, in my mind, you know, knowing the entire beauty industry and how you know all everyone is growing and working, esthetics can be one of the most challenging to build clientele. So we definitely see a lot more in the spa space. As far as solo estheticians being acquired. Hairstylist business, not quite as much. But I personally always feel like the aesthetics businesses are more valuable because it is such a challenge to grow in esthetics versus, say, hair or, you know, barbering, or even nails, and so, you know, there’s so much value even stuff that can’t be, you know, nailed down like this is worth $10,000 I mean, What? What? Spar statistics? You wouldn’t love to inherit a website that’s producing or a Google business profile or a Facebook page that is actually paying off. So yeah, there’s so much. Even if you don’t think you have something you know, talk to somebody who understands the value in businesses before you go,yeah. So true. Alright. So any last thoughts you want to share before we wrap this up and have every I want, obviously, you to share where people can find you and get in touch with you. But any last thoughts around this conversation, this strategy, anything I’m not asking to make this episode complete, Iwould say the biggest thing is just planning ahead. You know, really thinking ahead as to what is my exit strategy? If you’re someone who owns a business or you’re in a solo esthetician, what does it look like for me to retire? You know, a lot of people move or life things happen. You know, where they can’t necessarily perform the services in that location anymore. And so always having some sort of exit strategy in mind, and understanding, getting your business valued early, that’s probably one of the biggest things we see, is that people come to us too late, and so planning ahead, understanding, you know, we’re working with a couple salons and spas right now to where they said we want to sell them three years.

How much is our business worth right now, that’s the best thing you can do, absolute best thing you can do, because then you know where to go, you know what, what levers to pull to be able to get it okay? So I would say that’s probably the biggest thing. If you’re buying, you know, really understanding what it is you’re buying and nailing down sort of a target business. We get a lot of buyers who will inquire about a multitude of businesses. And to me, that is someone who’s not serious, like, if you don’t understand, like, if you’re not actually chew, if you chose a barber shop and a spa to inquire to, like, really, you know you don’t fully understand what it is you want. So just that, think forward thinking, I guess, is really the idea here. Love it.

Okay, so I know you’re going to have a lot of a lot of people reaching out, which is a great thing, a great thing. I you know, a lot of our clients will call me an esthetician matchmaker, and because I found some some Estee besties in the world, and now I feel like this is such a needed connection to really benefit. It just feels like such a win, win on so many levels. And you are that bridge. And so I want to make sure that everybody knows where they can find you, get in touch with you, reach out to you, learn how to value their business and start that relationship.Yeah, thank you for that. So I’m my last name is pronounced Bosh. Susan Bosh. A lot of people go woes or woos. It’s Bosh. That’s okay, easy to spell. I’m on LinkedIn. My company is Salonspa connection, and so there’s a variety of ways to work with us. We do have a free valuation calculator that anybody can use at any time. It gives you an instant result. And so that is on our website. You can consult with us at any time. We have people. We have representatives now all over the United States. We have a couple of spot experts on staff. And so I would say, book a consultation. You know, let us do evaluation for you.

That’s probably the best thing that we can do to help you, and you can either fill out our contact form or on our website, book a consultation, and that’s always free, because we like to help people, we will include all the links to your website, to your calculator, all of those things below the episode to make sure that Our listeners can find those incredibly valuable resources.

Thank you so much for your time. Thank you for what you’re doing in industry, and I’m so excited to see these Win, win relationships happen in 2025d ame, and right back at you, Daniela, you’re doing such an amazing service for everyone, and I really appreciate you having me on today.