10 Steps to Developing Your Medical Spa… Avoid the Pitfalls!

A Spa Site Guest Article by By Alexis Ufland, Lexi Design - Spa Definition, Design, Development

 

Index • Step One Secure a Solid Concept • Step Two Creating your Business Plan & Numbers • Step Three Hiring Your Development Team • Step Five Menu Creation and Product Selection • Step Six Creating and Implementing your Business Infrastructure • Step Seven Integrate the Doctor with the Spa Services • Step Eight Medical Insurance • Step Nine Hiring and Staffing • Step Ten Generating Revenue Through Marketing and Retail Sales

Other Spa Site Articles by Alexis Ufland • The Medical Spa - The Next Generation of the Spa Industry

Contact Alexis Ufland Lexi Design - Spa Definition, Design, Development • Address:  9 Barrow Street Suite #3N, New York, NY 10014 • Phone/Fax: 646-336-5549 • Email: alexis@lexidesign.com  • Web Site • Lexi Design Online Presentation

Related Resources • Spa Business Articles and Surveys  • Spa Consultants • Public Relations, Marketing, & Communications Firms • Spa Recruitment Services • Spa Management Services • Spa Suppliers

Step Four:  Finding Your Location
Pitfall:  Underestimating the synergy between your target market and your location      

A Doctor’s office is considered a destination. It does not rely being in the hippest area of town. Patients will travel to see the their doctor. A Day Spa is different as its success relies on location. As a combination of the two, where do you go?  A Market Feasibility and Competition Analysis is recommended prior to choosing a location. Many factors effect the selection of your location depending on your concept.

Demographics

Who is your patient? If you plan to offer expensive cosmetic treatments, you better make sure your surrounding towns can afford it. If you are an Alternative Healing Center with a spiritual flair, you probably don’t want a location down on Wall Street.

Street Frontage

If you are a cosmetically driven Spa, you need a great location. Other factors can now affect your success. If you have a high visibility, Storefront space, you can rely on walk-in traffic. In addition, your retail area will entice the passerby to come into your Spa.

Zoning

You will want to make sure that city/town zoning allows for a Medical Spa. This is a new business and many zoning boards do not understand what a Medical Spa is, so you may have difficulties even getting your zoning issues passed. Do this upfront.  A good way around this is to collect zoning data from other existing Medical Spas.

Parking Availability

Patients may spend, hopefully, 3 to 5 hours in the Spa. A massage seems to lose its relaxation qualities if the client needs to step outside to put another quarter in the meter.  

PREVIOUS STEP                  NEXT STEP

Photo copyright 2003, Julie Register
Licensed to About.com