As I write the post I have been on the road for 88 days visiting spas and talking to spa owners, and I see some danger on the horizon! And I have found that less then 10% of spas are making profits so that means that 90% of spas are losing money each (or most every) month.

Revenues in most (these) spas are down about 30-40% from before the economy took a dive. And as more and more spas close and the spas that are open have less and less work for their employees the rise of the “single practitioner” is on increase.

As our services have become little more than a ubiquitous commodity that can be purchased almost anywhere we find our very industry in a fight for our own survival. Your may find that your future competitors are not the big spa down the street but instead your past (and possibly present) employees.

I don’t mean to cast a cloud of bad news here but rather to ring the alarm so that we can make adjustments in our business that will insure our survival.

Some of you will find the rise of the “single practitioner” a good thing and may also be an option for many spa owners that are also providers. But for those who are not and for those that have a large, strike that – huge, investment this is not good news for you!

I have also seen the work of those spas that have done things right, streamlined their operation, made the switch to hourly based pay, and marketed solutions instead of commodities. And they are healthy, making more profit now than before the recession, some on less revenue than before and them with slight increases.

I love this industry, I care about it deeply, else I would not be out here giving away help and support for free this summer and I wish I could instantly fix it, I wish I could shake the industry to wake up before it is too late, I wish I alone could save it. But the sad fact is that only a select few will survive, it won’t be easy for them but when you consider the alternative of suffering through endless months of no profit, or closing their doors then the difficult changes that will be necessary seem like a small price to pay.

Are you at the end of your rope?

What will it take for you to turn things around? Do you have the energy to turn them around? Are you willing to do what it takes to turn things around?

I hope the savvy readers of this blog have what it takes, for it is to them that I dedicate this Spa America Tour. It is for them I work my hardest. And it is for them I hope that this tour has helped in some small way to contribute to their success.

What makes me the “expert”? Who am I to be the self appointed voice of the spa owners? Good questions, to which I can only answer that I hope that I am not the only one that dedicates him/herself to the cause of fixing a (frankly) failing industry. But my friends, I am out here in the trenches where you live and I see and feel your pain. My heart breaks knowing what you face each day with the heavy load of debt, and operating expenses that prevent you from paying your personal bills or taking care of your family they way you would want them cared for and I can not sit still and keep quiet about it.

When I return home, I will be more dedicated than ever, I will be more knowledgeable than I was before. For I have seen the challenges first hand, I have been to more spas and spoken to more spa owners than anyone I know, and I understand what works and what does not. And what I have seen humbles me, and if you choose Skip Williams and Resources & Development to help you achieve your goals all I can promise is that you will get my best work, my best advice, and my best efforts to help you enhance your business…

Best Wishes & Healthy Profits

Skip Williams

PS: If the Spa America Tour has meant anything to you thus far please write to me and tell if it is worth repeating next year. Are you learning anything? Have the blogs or the visits been helpful in any way? Please let me know that I am not speaking to the wilderness…thanks!