SUCCESSSTORIES
INSPIRING TALES OF STARTUPS, GROWTH AND OVERCOMING HARDSHIPS
Spa Vision Marking a Decade
of Helping Spas Succeed
BY MAE MAÑACAP-JOHNSON
ome paths are meant to collide.
This was the case for Spa Vision
directors Neil Owen and Susan
Auld who, while working on earning their
graduate degree in Masters of Business
Administration (MBA) at The University of
Bath, were introduced by a mutual acquaintance who thought they would make good
business partners. “And here we are 10
years [since that introduction]!” says Owen.
Owen and Auld founded Spa Vision—a
supply, procurement and consulting
company—in 2006 near the city of Bath in
the United Kingdom. “We were both
experienced operators within the hotel, spa
and leisure industry and felt there was a gap in the market for our
services and business approach,” Auld says.
Initially, Spa Vision’s core business focused solely on
supplying premium equipment and furniture solutions to the spa,
wellness and beauty industry, primarily to luxury hotels and day
spas. It wasn’t until this year that the company added consultancy to its list of core services.
“Earlier this year, we acquired Spa Developments Consultancy.
Its proprietor, Colin Cameron, is now a director of Spa Vision.
Our consultancy offering allows us to provide a turn-key solution
for our new and existing clients,” Owen says. “The beauty for
clients is that they can tap into the consultancy and the
equipment offerings or cherry-pick the services they require. This
is another factor, we believe, differentiates us from other organizations in the market.”
S
Facing Challenges
In the early years of its founding, the company had to weather
one of the biggest challenges any startup business may come
across: a global economic downturn.
“The company was set up just before the global financial crisis
hit and the usual challenges of starting a new business along with
operating in these extreme conditions was a tough start.
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PULSE
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November 2016
NEIL OWEN, COLIN CAMERON
AND SUSAN AULD
Directors, Spa Vision, Bath Rd, Box United Kingdom
However, starting a new business in difficult market conditions
and getting through the other end have given us a solid
foundation,” Owen says.
An important business lesson the partners have learned along
the way is to find the right people and say “no” to those who may
not fit in the company mission, culture and values. “As a growing
firm, it is more difficult to say ‘no’ to businesses when they are
not quite the right fit. This has rarely been the case. However, as
you grow, you can be more selective with the partners you work
with—hindsight is a wonderful thing!” he says.
Auld adds that, to find the right partners, they invest in
nurturing relationships. “It takes time to build a good business
relationship—Rome wasn’t built in a day!” she says.
In fact, Owen says building long-term relationships with the
right people has been the company’s most important strategy.
“This involves an investment of time with our new and existing
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