How Spas Manage Stress

Despite a financial adviser and an accountant who advised her on money, Snowdon's friends and family told her she was crazy to plunge into an industry where she had no experience except as a client.

"It was, 'What are you getting into?' My mom, who is uber-practical, said 'This isn't a practical thing to do,' " Snowdon said.

She said one of her smartest moves was hiring talented service providers -- the massage, facial and nail people -- who had a loyal following. She put ads in The Washington Post, the Post Express and Craigslist to lure others. She did lots of interviews: "I would go around and if someone I had heard was a great massage therapist, I would try to get the word in and tell them I had heard they were good and that we were opening a new business."

Her recruitment efforts paid off.

Snowdon said the spa now employs 21 people, including an on-site spa manager. There are 15 full-time employees. The employees she first hired are paid hourly plus commission, while newer employees are paid straight commission. She said she wanted to guarantee that employees had income when she first started, so she had an hourly wage. Straight-commission employees might receive half the fee, while hourly/commission employees receive $8.50 an hour and around 35 percent of the fee.

A good massage therapist can earn $60,000 to $70,000 a year with tips, she said. She tries to maintain morale as well as quality by scheduling sufficient breaks during the day for the staff members, especially the massage therapists, whose job is physically taxing.

"The hardest part is the people-management piece," she said, and not crossing the line between managing the employees and being their friend. "I am running the business and having these financial considerations, but I want input and want [employees] to be happy, but I also can't give [employees] everything [they] want."

In addition to payroll, Snowdon said she spends around $150,000 annually on rent. Other major expenses include insurance and electricity costs. ("You have to be insured in case you push someone off the massage table," Snowdon said.) And then there's the $400,000 air-filtration system and the $18,000 microdermabrasion machine, which helps smooth complexions by rubbing away the outer layer of skin. At a cost of $140 a session, the treatment is one of the spa's highest-margin services.

Big mistakes? Snowdon bought a water wall, which creates a relaxing, bubbly noise, even though "everyone told me, 'Don't do a water feature.' " The wall leaked and has proved difficult to clean. Snowdon now calls the wall "the bane of my existence."

All told, Snowdon said Nusta Spa grosses around $100,000 a month, most from massages, facials and nails, while about 15 percent comes from product sales. Around 70 percent of her customers are women, most of whom walk to the spa from the surrounding offices during the week. The spa is open seven days a week.

Customers come from many sources, including friends, word of mouth and employees who bring customers from their established practice. Walk-in business has not been a big part of the practice.

The business has been successful enough that Snowdon pays herself an annual salary, which is drawn in quarterly increments. It's less than six figures.

"This is never about me having my private jet," she said. "It's trying to find that thing that you are kind of excited to get out of bed every day for."

She eventually would like to expand the company, but she fears overly rapid growth would stretch the business and cause mistakes. The current economic climate doesn't help, either.

"There are kinks to be worked out here," she said. "I don't know how that plays out."