Oklahoma City Business Loans: Starting a Spa | SMB Compass
Ezra Cabrera | August 24, 2021
Are you ready to open a spa business? Deciding to start your own business is the easy part, but taking proactive steps to open your own business is another story. Operating a spa is expensive if you try to fund it out of pocket. In doing so, you may exhaust all your financial resources and endanger the stability of your start-up spa business. Fortunately, Oklahoma City business loans can provide you with the funding you need to start your business.
Related: 3 Main Types of SBA Loans for Small Businesses
Spas are often the place for de-stressing for most people. As such, as an owner, you have to make sure that your establishment provides relaxation and comfort for your clients. When you achieve the level of service that’s incomparable, you gain an advantage over your competitors. You’ll eventually be able to establish your brand and earn both new and repeating customers.
It all seems exciting, isn’t it? To kick-start your new venture, here are seven steps on how to start a spa business.
1. Choose Your Niche
With the number of spas in the market, you should in order to stand out from the others, and gain a competitive advantage over the others. Do this by choosing your niche market. To know your target market, you need to figure out the type of services your business will offer. Are you going to offer healthy and nutritious meals? Will you offer salon services (nail care, waxing, threading, etc.)? Whatever you choose, make sure that you can set your spa apart from your competitors. Even if you offer the same services, strive to create a unique touch that will encourage your customers to come back.
2. Create a Business Plan
Almost every entrepreneur looking to start a business applies for a small business loan. In order to qualify, you need to create a detailed business plan for your spa. It should include an executive summary, company summary, list of products and services, market analysis summary, financial projections, and marketing strategies.
Make sure that your business plan is well curated. It should be able to tell the lenders how you’ll gain profit in your business, how you’ll do it, and convince them to let you apply for financing to get these marketing strategies going. Other than that, it should also have the projected amount of money you need.
3. Choose Your Location
For day spas, it’s better to put up your store in a mall or in crowded shopping districts. If you want to start a retreat spa, you may want to go for a secluded stand-alone building surrounded by greenery. You can also structure it similar to a small bed and breakfast, with guest rooms and private bathrooms. When looking for a location, be sure to consider your spa equipment and your interior design. This will have an effect on the moods and comfort of your clients.
4. Make a Service Menu
The next step is to create a service menu that’s tailored to your target market. You can include specialty facials, luxury treatments, and signature, custom-blended services. Be sure to hire credible employees with lots of experience, which leads to our next point.
5. Purchase Spa Equipment
Once you’ve chosen your location, you can now purchase spa equipment, as well as furniture and other decorative items. Some of the equipment and furniture you may need are tanning beds, comfortable chairs, mirrors, a point-of-sale (POS) system, as well as other costly equipment. If you want to lower your expenditures, you can choose lightly used spa equipment and furniture.
6. Hire Licensed Employees or Provide Necessary Training
As mentioned, you need to hire qualified and licensed employees for your spa business. Depending on the services you offer, you may also need to hire a manicurist, massage therapist, hair removal specialist, electrologist, and/or an aesthetician for facials and waxing.
7. Promote and Market Your Business
You can offer special promos and discounts before and/or during the opening day of your spa. These promos may include free facials, discounted massages, and other irresistible deals. Advertise your business by sending invites or handing out fliers to people near you. Additionally, you can create and post an event on social networking websites.
Oklahoma City Business Loans – Small Business Loans for You
Starting a business means you need to invest a certain amount of money to get it going. Fortunately, lots of financing companies now offer Oklahoma business loans to help these small spa businesses expand and succeed. Without a doubt, cash remains to be one of the determinants of success in every business. Give yours a chance to scale by applying for different business financing options.