Ep. 65 - The Best Investment I ever made in my spa

A spa owner posted a question in a Facebook group: what's the best investment you ever made in your spa business?

Sixty-five comments in one hour. Equipment. Marketing platforms. Coaching programs. Product lines. Everyone had a different answer and every single one of them was confident they were right.

Here's the thing: they probably were all right. But they were also all focused on the wrong thing.

Because the best investment isn't a category. It's a habit. And that habit is auditing what you've already spent before you spend another dollar.

Step 1: Evaluate Past Investments with Numbers, Not Feelings

Think about the last big purchase you made for your spa business. A course, a piece of equipment, a coaching program, a product line. Something that made you just a little uncomfortable because it was a stretch.

Now ask yourself honestly: did it pay off?

Not based on a vibe. Based on numbers.

Here's the benchmark worth using: if you invested in a person, like a team member, you need to be getting at least four times what you pay them back in revenue. If you invested in equipment, technology, a course, or a mentorship, you need to be seeing five times your investment come back to your spa business.

Most spa owners never ask this question. Not because they don't care, but because nobody taught us to. We came up in an industry that trained us on skin and sanitation, not spreadsheets. But if you want to build something profitable, you have to start treating your investments like a business owner.

Three questions worth asking about every major purchase:

How much did I actually spend, including my time? A $500 course that takes 40 hours to implement is not a $500 investment.

What changed in my revenue or operations after I implemented it? Not after I bought it. After I used it. Information does not equal transformation.

Would I buy this again knowing what I know now? That last one will tell you everything.

Step 2: Know Which Investment Categories Actually Move the Needle

Not all spa business investments are created equal. Some feel like growth. Some actually produce it.

There are four categories worth thinking about: education and mentorship, marketing, equipment and products, and employees.

Education and marketing tend to be the highest ROI, especially early on. If you don't know how to run a profitable business that attracts clients, the most beautiful treatment room in the world won't save you.

Equipment and products are sneaky. They're tangible, exciting, and emotionally satisfying to buy. And sometimes they're absolutely the right call. But only if you have the clientele to support them, a plan to market them, and a way to pay them off.

Employees are your biggest investment and your hardest one. And systems, which often get overlooked, are one of the most underrated categories in the whole conversation. A good system compounds over time in a way a single purchase never will.

Pull up your last 12 months of business expenses. Give each one a simple label: worked, didn't work, unclear. Or go old school with a highlighter. Green, yellow, red. You'll start to see patterns you didn't know were there.

Step 3: Build a Smarter Framework Before You Spend Again

Before you put your card number into anything over a few hundred dollars, run it through three questions.

What problem is this solving? If you can't name the problem clearly, you're buying out of excitement or fear, not strategy.

What does success look like in 90 days? If you can't define the win, you won't know if it worked.

Do I have the capacity to implement this right now? This is the one most spa owners skip. Roughly 3% of people who purchase a course actually complete it. Buying something you don't have time to use isn't an investment. It's an expensive reminder sitting in your inbox.

Timing matters too. A marketing course you buy in the middle of your busiest season and don't open for 18 months isn't just wasted money. By the time you get to it, half of it may no longer be relevant.

The best investments spa owners consistently make are ones that make them better at running their business, not just better at their craft. You already know how to do beautiful work. The gap is almost never skill. It's a strategy

Ready to dive deeper into team leadership and the 90-Day Employee Reset? Register for the master class

Listen to the full episode of the S.P.A. Business Podcast for the complete breakdown, including how to categorize every dollar you've spent and what to do before your next investment.