It’s always been your dream and you know now is the right time to make it happen. You have researched and planned and prepared and at this point there is only one thing standing between you and the doors of your spa – money. You envision a waiting list of clients, a talented and attentive staff, and because of your success you will be profitable early on and be able to pay back your loans early! You are sure that because your business and marketing plans are so well designed, you will have multiple lenders ready to offer you the money you need to launch your spa into business. Isn’t this the way it’s supposed to work? Well, not to burst your bubble, but it doesn’t work this way. Funding your dream takes more than a great vision for success. It takes a black-and-white detailed financial plan, and the more organized your plan is, the clearer you can present it to a lender which improves your chance of getting financing. The Pieces of the Puzzle Prior to determining how you will fund your medical spa, you need to have a clear but flexible picture of what it will look like. Read More

At the onset of a design or re-design of your skin care facility you may want to assess or reassess your vulnerability to Mother Nature. It is a very real threat accompanied by the fear of loss of income, loss of wages, workplace disruptions, structural damage, and sometimes injuries and even death. What is a business owner to do? What is an employee to do? How do you plan for such disastrous scenarios? Many spas and salons are caught off guard when destructive weather takes power lines down and damages their businesses to the point of not being able to work at all. The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) states that about 40 percent of small businesses do not reopen after a major disaster. A savvy owner should confront the potential of a disaster and be prepared. A temporary interruption is usually due to a smaller storm, affecting the business with the loss of electricity and/or water for a brief period. Such local storms usually cause similar problems at the home of clients or employees, so many are unable to keep their appointments. Disruptive as these situations are, most businesses can weather them with minor inconvenience. However, a major hurricane Read More

Let’s get it right from the start, anyone, any skin type, any skin color is at risk for skin cancer. Indeed, nobody is safe from skin cancer. Skin type and skin color do not fully protect an individual from skin cancer. Skin safe, sun safe practices do protect and do help in skin cancer prevention. Lynne Kurashima, Hawaii Licensed Aesthetician, says, “It’s a misconception that darker skin types think they’re fully protected.” This common myth continues today because of the belief that darker skin types have natural melanin protection from solar radiation exposure. While it is true that darker skin types are at a lower risk for developing skin cancer and have some natural melanin protection from solar radiation, this false sense of security leads to a lack of education and sun protection practices that are important for all skin types. In a study of Hispanics and Blacks, solar radiation exposure seemed to play a large role in the development of melanoma in both of these groups1. Education on sun protection and skin cancer risk should be offered and an annual skin cancer screening should be performed by a dermatologist for all people. Read More