Progressive Management through Quality Education (Without Leaving Home): Think ISM

In business, particularly the spa business, things are always changing, evolving, and moving forward on a day to day basis. What used to be popular or the norm yesterday may no longer be the norm today. So, it is essential that you keep abreast of the latest news, ideas, and methods that are being used in the spa industry today. The best way to do this is to continuously educate yourself as to what is happening in the spa industry, but who has the time?

At the Institute of Spa Management (ISM), you always have the time to learn the latest about spa management and improve your leadership skills through their online learning courses. Whether you are looking to get into the spa industry or are a seasoned professional, ISM has a variety of different management courses that can get you up to speed or help you improve upon your current skill set. The best thing is, you don’t even need to leave home or the office to get this quality education because it is available 24-hours a day, 7-days a week, so you can study at your own pace and on your own terms.

Spa Management: How to Determine Spa Hours of Business

As you know, your spa’s business can ebb and flow from one week to the next. This is especially noticeable after the busy holiday rush. This rollercoaster of high business times and low business times can also fluctuate throughout the week and even hour by hour, so determining the best hours of operation for your spa business can be a tricky task.

Depending on where your spa is located and what the lifestyles of your surrounding client base are can dictate what your spa hours should be. Perhaps you are located in a middleclass neighborhood where most people work during the day. You will probably find that most of your spa business takes place in the evenings or on the weekends. Or you might be in an upper-class area where your business spikes in the morning and during the week due to more flexible client schedules.

You need to keep track of these trends in order to understand who your clients are and what their lifestyles are as related to your spa business. Once you determine your high times and your low times, you can set your spa hours based on these trends in order to increase your profitability.

Spa Industry News: Prominent Spas Work Hard to Go Green

The spa industry is becoming an important leader in the fight against global warming by making changes to the way spas are run in order to help save the environment. The idea of going green is one that fits perfectly with the vision that spas around the world have had for centuries.

In order to spread the word of green spa living, several prominent spas around the country have formed the Green Spa Network. This grassroots, not-for-profit trade organization has started out by creating seed spas, ones that are committed to developing and sustaining environmentally friendly business practices. To date there are nine spas in the seed program and their main focus is to find the greenest ways to run their spas while also remaining profitable and providing their clients with the best services available.

In addition the Green Spa Network is gathering as much information as they can for their Green Spa Toolkit, which will provide other spa owners the tools and information they need to turn their spas green too. They are also putting together an annual green spa conference that will serve as a networking and information exchange opportunity for those interested in going green.

Institute of Spa Management Meets the Need via Distance Education

The ISM Spa Management Program is offered via self-paced, distance education, allowing students the ability to keep a full-time job and still study towards a rewarding spa industry career. Payment plans and scholarship opportunities are available for all students.

Brooklyn, NY (PRWEB) December 27, 2007 — The ISM Spa Management Program is offered via self-paced, distance education, allowing students the ability to keep a full-time job and still study towards a rewarding spa industry career. Payment plans and scholarship opportunities are available for all students.

Across the spa industry, in North America and around the globe, one of the greatest hurdles is figuring out how to manage clients, revenues and business growth in a competitive industry that is continually shifting, changing and evolving. There simply are not enough qualified spa managers to meet the need, and this very subject was a major topic of discussion at the Global Spa Summit in May, 2007. Offering training via distance education to students worldwide, The Institute of Spa Management is committed to educating the spa industry, one professional at a time.

In 2007, the Institute of Spa Management received more than 9,500 requests for the Spa Management Program curriculum outline; reported full enrollment for August through December, and awarded more than $40,000 in full and partial scholarships.

Abby Cavanaugh, Director of Admissions and Student Services, “It takes a trained business professional to juggle spa operations, marketing, demanding clients and a diverse team of spa professionals. We don’t teach massage therapy; nor will we teach students to be an aesthetician or a skin care therapist. We challenge each management student to be a world class leader, via current management teaching models, theories and processes that are used by MBA graduates and CEO’s all over the globe, but which ISM has customized to meet the unique management needs of the spa industry worldwide. We only teach Spa Management and our expertise becomes our students.”

At the Institute of Spa Management, the organization’s primary goal is to further the spa industry through quality management education and professional training for adults. Information about programs, courses and scholarships is available by visiting http://www.spacollege.org

About Institute of Spa Management

Institute of Spa Management (ISM) offers high quality distance education programs and courses at reasonable prices in a dynamic format that enables learning and knowledge retention. ISM believes that the future of the spa industry belongs to those who treat clients with the highest level of integrity and provide cutting edge services in well run facilities.

Snow and Ice - An Insurance Nightmare Waiting to Happen in Your Spa’s Parking Lot

When you own a business where customers are continuously coming and going, you need to always be aware of the many dangers that can present themselves to your customers throughout the year. Not only do you need to keep your customers safe, but you also need to protect yourself from unnecessary lawsuits. The National Safety Council estimates that slips and falls cause over 300,000 injuries and 1,500 deaths every year.

Winter weather can pose some of the most dangerous situations for your spa, particularly due to snow and ice accumulation in the parking lot, on pathways, or steps. In order to make your spa as safe as possible, there are several things you can do to protect your customers and your staff from falls.

If possible, when ice is present, have the parking lot salted regularly to melt slippery ice. Consider installing handrails and non-slip surfaces for steps and ramps. You might also want to install additional external lighting, especially if your spa is open after sundown.

Inside the spa’s entrance, you should have water absorbing mats on the floor to keep snow or ice from pooling on the floor and creating additional hazards inside your spa.

ISM Announces Open Enrollment for January 2008 Spa Management Program

Due to the severe shortage of quality, trained managers in the spa industry, the Institute of Spa Management (ISM) opened its doors to provide this well-needed training to individuals around the world. With its self-paced, online educational program, people looking for spa management training flocked to the school’s website (www.spacollege.org).

Since August of 2007, more than 2000 people have requested information about the program and the October and November classes were filled to capacity. As of this date, there are two spaces available for classes beginning in December and 18 available for the January 2008 classes.

The great thing about ISM is that even though there is a high demand for these seats, the school continues to focus on individual student learning by only accepting 20 students each month into the program. This allows the school to provide one-on-one assistance to students while providing them with the type of high quality services they will be expected to provide once they’re working in a spa environment.

Even though it is an online program, this personalized approach makes it feel as if you’re attending a bricks-and-mortar school while also allowing you to work at your own pace on your own time.

ISM Flooded with Applications for Spa Management Program: The Need is Real

The Institute of Spa Management (ISM) is as hot as the spa industry is right now! This is evident with the flood of applications that ISM has received since they opened their doors less than three months ago. The spa industry is severely lacking quality trained spa managers, but fortunately ISM is now providing this well needed training to highly motivated and career oriented individuals who want to make the spa industry better than it has ever been before.

More than 200 applications have been received for the 12 full tuition and 25 partial tuition scholarships being offered by ISM to qualified spa management candidates each year. The competition is tough, but even if you don’t get one of those scholarships that doesn’t mean you can’t study at ISM. With their easy payment plans and study at your own pace scheduling, ISM is the perfect fit for any budget or busy schedule.

Soon, these students will be entering the spa workforce as qualified and trained spa management experts, so if you’re looking to get into this ever-expanding field, now is the time to start! So, what are you waiting for?