A biography of Kyle R. SimonsonAs the founder and CEO of Simonson's Salon & Day Spas, Kyle R. Simonson is an experienced salon and day spa owner. The first site opened in 1983. Simonson's was one of the first salons in the U.S. to recognize the movement toward combining salon and spa services in a collectively appealing environment. The first location in Anoka was relocated twice because of the rapid growth, and an expansion of the present facility is planned for the summer of 2003.
Foresight, together with Kyle's tremendous business and communication skills, made it possible to open a second site in 1995. This store, located in the Minneapolis suburb of Maple Grove, became so popular that it was expanded first in 1997 and then again in 1999! In 2001, Simonson opened her third location in Elk River and 2002 saw her enterprise in Minnesota grow to a total of four salon and day spas! The newest site in Plymouth is a standalone building that features a beautifully appointed interior for salon and spa services, a training center and corporate office. Operations are currently in progress to launch numerous medically directed face and body treatments during the 2003 calendar year.
Simonson's Salon & Day Spas has been recognized six years in a row by Salon Today magazine as one of America's fastest growing salons. Simonson's career in aesthetics is diverse. She has been a consultant to many Miss Minnesota contestants and was Gretchen Carlson, Miss America's personal aesthetician. She is an internationally educated clinical aesthetician and respected industry presenter, and has been acknowledged by the likes of Horst Rechelbacher, who honored Simonson during the 90's by presenting her with an award for GREAT ENTREPRENEURIAL ACHIEVEMENT.
The Salon Today 'Editor's Choice Award for Best Philanthropic Program' was presented to Simonson's Salon & Day Spas at the Think Fast conference in Chicago to celebrate the enormous success of FASHION WITH COMPASSION which raised $11,000 for Sharing and Caring Hands in a single day. She shared her experience and knowledge in choosing a charity to support, how to organize a successful fund raising event and concluded by saying: "Connecting is a basic need for humans in general. It's good for our health and well-being. The success of these grass-root efforts clearly demonstrates the power of people when joined in a common cause. You can make a difference in your community!"
Simonson's Salon & Day Spa is best known for their vast variety of distinctive hair, face, body and nail services and products. It's an affordable, mini-getaway that serves the needs of both men and women.
For a comprehensive registry of the latest 'look good, feel good' services available, the company's web site @ www.simonsons.com,
Simonson Salon & Day Spa's motto: "You're like no one else, so are we." mskyle@simonsons.com
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Peggy Wynne Borgman is the CEO of The Preston Wynne Group, Inc. and director of Preston Wynne Spa in Saratoga, California. The spa, founded in 1984, has three times been honored with the Day Spa of the Year Grand Award by the readers of Spa Management Journal. Preston Wynne has also been recognized with the Distinguished Day Spa of the Year Award from the Day Spa Association. The company has 55 employees, and will launch its first hotel spa in late 2002, with the opening of a new facility at the Hotel Los Gatos in Los Gatos, California.
Ms. Borgman is also the director of management education for Preston Wynne Success Systems, renowned for its innovative training programs, including the Spa Director's Management Intensive, the first management seminar in the spa industry, as well as employee training programs tailored for the unique culture of the spa industry. Programs are now offered in Hong Kong as well as the US, and the first Australian Spa Directors Intensive will debut in Sydney in 2003 with Borgman as principal instructor.
Preston Wynne Success Systems consultants have served clients as diverse as Hyatt, The Peninsula Hotel Group, Estee Lauder and Gold's Gyms. Ms. Borgman is known for her pragmatic, "real world" approach to spa development and management, and for being a voice of reason in the overheated spa marketplace. One of her contributions has been to initiate and perpetuate dialogue about actual financial performance in the spa industry, and to question long-accepted industry practices regarding compensation, gift program management, and branding. She is a sought-after, stimulating and frequently irreverent speaker at industry events. Her expertise in spa design, program development, internal marketing, compensation and customer service has aided spa startups throughout North America. Her vision is to help the small businesses that comprise the spa industry to mature into a dynamic force within the hospitality sector.
The author of the consumer book Four Seasons of Inner and Outer Beauty: Spa Rituals for Well-Being, Ms. Borgman's seasonal self care rituals are also included in a new series of journals published by Tools With Heart. Borgman is also a contributor to Dermascope, Spa Management, Day Spa and American Spa magazines, has been a guest on WebMD and quoted by Time magazine and USA Today in their coverage of the spa industry. She serves on the board of advisors of the Day Spa Association, and is a resource on Spa Trade's "Ask the Expert" feature. She serves on the board of directors of Next Door, a domestic violence agency in San Jose, California, and developed the Healing Touch Project to encourage spas to donate treatments to victims of domestic violence. She holds a degree in Fine Art from the University of California Santa Cruz and is a licensed California esthetician. PegWynne@aol.com
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Nancy Griffin is the founder of SpaTrade.com and The Wellness Resource, a marketing and interactive media company focusing on the health and hospitality industries. Griffin is currently director of the Spa Finder Partner Program, which promotes spa travel through day spas while improving the business literacy of the spa industry.
Griffin has a master's degree in marketing from the Cornell School of Hotel Administration. She is a founding board member of the American Spa Therapies Education & Certification Council (ASTECC) and was a Day Spa Association advisory board member for seven years.
Ms. Griffin offers highly diversified experience in the health and hospitality industries. In early 1996, she founded The Wellness Resource – a marketing and trends research firm focused on spas and wellness. Venturing onto the Internet in 1998, she introduced World Spa Exchange (now SpaTrade www.spatrade.com). With a membership of over 3,000 spa and resort professionals from 65 countries, SpaTrade is the spa industry's most frequented online community.
Prior to forming The Wellness Resource, Ms. Griffin completed Graduate management studies at the prestigious Cornell University School of Hotel Administration. Griffin has shared her marketing expertise with lodging, fitness, beauty, and health care companies. Nancy@spatrade.com
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As a young man, Richard Laurie was recognized as a true athlete and received a full scholarship for football to West Virginia University. While in school, his other interests took him away from football and he graduated Suma Cum Laude with a degree in Business and Economics with a concentration in Marketing.
After college he became an Assistant Buyer for Woodward and Lothrop Department Store in Washington, D.C. Following that Mr. Laurie went on to become the Assistant to the Divisional V.P. for Wedgewood China and Crystal, Inc. This brought him to New York City, where his career took an immediate turn.
Richard began to hear from friends and acquaintances that he should give modeling a try. He took their advice and was quickly introduced to top beauty and fashion model photographer Palma Kolansky. Palma loved Richard's look and proceeded to create his entire portfolio for him. This launched Richard's modeling career and he spent the next 6 years traveling in and around the United States and Europe. He became a very successful print and commercial model.
Eventually, Richard decided that it was time for him to close that chapter and move on. He was offered the Division Sales Manager position for Wedgewood in Manhattan. Richard took the job, but knew that it wasn't his dream. Feeling unfulfilled, he contacted his old photographer friend Palma, and their reconnection prompted him to found Richard Laurie, Inc. Essentially, Richard started a business as a representative for fashion and still life photographers. He enjoyed creating and developing wonderful relationships as well as supporting photographers in fulfilling their dreams.
Then Richard made a shift that ended up changing his life forever. Having been in the modeling industry for years, Richard was familiar with massage therapy. He had the luxury of receiving massages while waiting for photo shoots and would always feel so grateful and thankful to have been able to receive such wonderful healing bodywork. Richard decided he would go to The Swedish Institute and become licensed as a massage therapist. He went and loved it! While in school, Mr. Laurie took a trip with a friend to New Mexico. It was in Santa Fe, Galisteo and other surrounding cities including a visit to a well-known spa called Ten Thousand Waves where his vision for Carapan first appeared.
Richard visited many sacred and healing places and traveled to discreet Native American villages and the Carapan concept gradually came into view. He had learned of the word Carapan from a friend in New Mexico and was told that this word meant “A beautiful place of tranquility where one comes to restore ones spirit”. As soon as Richard heard this word and it's meaning, he saw his dream could become a reality in New York.
Upon completion of his massage studies, Richard was inspired to begin practicing massage right away. He was living downtown on 5th Avenue and began seeing clients in his apartment. He took all of the visions and ideas he had gathered from his travels out west and infused them all into his 15th street apartment. Mr. Laurie created his very own special Urban Spa. He wanted to bring his experiences out west back to an urban setting. He called it Carapan and created the Carapan logo of a sun rising over a mountaintop. The logo symbolizes rebirth and renewal. It was Richard's intention that his mini-spa be a place where people could come for a true healing experience and where one could come to restore their spirit. He was tired of himself and others complaining about getting massage work done at the typical sixth floor walk-up in those dusty apartment buildings. He created a beautiful space that promoted health and well-being. His massage practice flourished quickly and he desperately needed more room!
Mr. Laurie found a space to rent on 16th street right around the corner from his apartment. In 1988 he officially founded Carapan Urban Spa. The spa had 3 massage rooms and a small reception desk. In four months, the spa had blossomed and they could not handle the heavy requests. Two months later, New York Magazine did a feature on this cedar and brick lined spa and fortunately Richard was then forced to expand. Fast Track came along and did a story on Carapan and on Richard. That was the turning point for the spa. The business went on to become the place where New Yorkers would come and receive the highest quality massage and bodywork therapies. Richard's intention was to change the reputation of Massage Therapy. At that time, massage was considered a pampering of the rich or it was something that was used in Adult Entertainment. It was not considered a therapeutic healing art. The massage reputation was quickly destroyed by Richard Laurie and by his amazing creation of Carapan. Richard was a pioneer. His commitment was to inform and educate the public about the benefits of Therapeutic Massage and other Healing Arts. How they can and in most cases should be used as part of one's daily health care regime. Richard wanted people to know that these wonderful therapies played an essential role in stress management and in assisting with the reduction of most short and long-term physical and emotional ailments.
In 1995, Richard took over the jewelry store next door to his spa and added a retail store. This Carapan store provided clients the opportunity to bring home the healing products that were used on them in their sessions. Carapan had created it's own signature massage oil made of the highest quality essential oils. This oil was used in every session. Many clients would take this blend home for their own use.
In 1997, Richard added more therapeutic work rooms, additional personal lockers and shower rooms and a private sauna. This brought Carapan to a place where it could function at a high level of professionalism. It began to grow and expand even more and receive a lot of attention.
In 2000, Carapan opened a retail store West Virginia. Then in 2001, a spa was added. The spa and store in West Virginia is just like the Carapan in New York City. The same feel, the same tranquil place. Highest quality Massage and Bodywork Therapies.
July 2002 began the celebration of Carapan's 15th anniversary. In the 15 years of operation, this boutique like spa has been featured in every major spa magazine, including the most established New York periodicals and publications.
Richard Laurie is responsible for raising the level of professionalism of massage therapy and of massage therapists. He has spearheaded the spa industry and was the person accountable for the creation of the Urban Spa concept. Carapan is a place where “ the healing art becomes life in New York”. This motto is something that Carapan employees are very proud of. Carapan is indeed such a place. It is a strong, viable business because everyone at Carapan believes in the concept and truly agrees that there is something magical and special here. Carapan is continuing to expand it's services and will soon be introducing advanced Aromatherapy and therapeutic body care treatments that will provide optimum benefits for it's valued clients. Richard Laurie's goal is to give as many people as he can the opportunity to have the ‘Carapan Experience'. He would like to have a Carapan Urban Spa and Store in every major city in the US and Europe.
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Cheryl Sott brings a fresh perspective to the spa industry having spent the last decade on Wall Street, as a strategist, marketing specialist, and salesperson. In her decade of experience working in the financial industry she has acquired a war chest of business development, analysis and marketing knowledge. Most importantly, however it was there that she had learned how to turn a vision into reality.
During the mid-nineties, Ms. Sott became obsessed with customization and providing the ultimate customer experience. While her ideas and concepts may have seemed radical in the world of finance, the Spa industry, where the “customer experience” is at its heart and soul, welcomed her and her ideas with enthusiasm.
Like true pioneers in most industries, Ms. Sott is using her “outside” perspective to engineer a paradigm shift in the spa industry towards customization. Parlaying her business success and knowledge from her Wall Street career to the spa industry has become Ms. Sott's mission and passion. As a result of this commitment, she is changing the way the industry will look in the future, pushing the industry's commitment to personalized care to a new level.
From 1995 to 1999, Ms. Sott researched and developed her company's premier software product, AromaPro - the industry's first interactive application of its kind. In 1999 she became President and CEO of Aroma Works Software, responsible for marketing, business development and fulfilling the corporate mission: to contribute to the success of the spa industry through the development of tools of mass customization and to seamlessly fuse touch and technology to deliver the ultimate customer experience.
On the heels of Aroma Pro's success, she launched Aromapothecary - the first and only line of bath and beauty products engineered, in every detail, for customization, once again pushing the envelope of personalization to a place no one has journeyed.But what drew her to the Spa Industry? After receiving her bachelors degree from New York University, Ms. Sott began a long and successful career on Wall St. with one notable hiatus that would eventually compel her to the industry.
With an appetite for business building and a keen sense of adventure, Ms. Sott found herself in the then newly capitalistic Russia where she consulted to a number of start-up companies. But while in Russia, Ms. Sott had the opportunity to glimpse a culture's commitment to wellness and spa through the ritualistic banyas which was to have lasting effects on her life.
Upon returning from Russia, Ms. Sott continued her Wall St. career joining the firm of PaineWebber, as a Strategist and Corporate Vice President. During her tenure there, Ms. Sott developed innovative relationship marketing strategies and tools of mass customization when she realized her ideas could have a significant impact on the spa industry. Carpe diem! csott@aromaworks.com
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Charlie began his entrepreneurial career at the age of 11, in his hometown of Jacksonville, FL. He started his own lawn care service for the neighborhood and made $10 per week. From there he expanded his business to include a paper route and used the route as a business building opportunity for the lawn service business. Needless to say, Charlie was in high demand by the age of 12 and has never looked back.
Charlie succeeds again and again in the same positions that many others have tried to succeed in and failed. This is no doubt attributed to his well-known “no-fear” attitude. In his early twenties he was one of the leaders at Control Data that spearheaded one of the first “Just-In-Time” and automated factories in the U.S. After that Charlie was hired to help lead a national jewelry retailer out of Chapter 11 Bankruptcy.
Charlie began his career in the beauty/spa industry in 1988 and was in charge of the operations of the mid-west Aveda distribution effort. During his six years with that effort he spearheaded many profitable projects and helped hundreds of salon owners realize their potential for success and profit and trained many others in the Aveda network to do the same. But he clearly saw the Spa Industry coming full-steam. Many did not share his enthusiasm. So, in 1994, Charlie started S.D. Industries, Inc with a rented desk and a phone in downtown Minneapolis. Today, SDI owns and operates four different businesses exclusively in the spa industry. Spa Central is the largest and is the distribution company servicing North America, Mexico, and the Caribbean. Spa Central University is a growing and evolving strategy of higher learning opportunities for spa professionals. Preferred equipment is a rapidly growing web-based importer and marketer for skin care devices. And Reid Systems which is a hydrotherapy equipment manufacturer of vichy showers and hydro tubs. Charlie contributes the success of this phenomenon to marketing strategies and a very talented team that is capable of capitalizing on those strategies. They also share Charlie's passion for the spa industry.
In December of 1999, Charlie had a life altering experience. While in a 48,000-acre State Forest, Charlie had a heart attack at the age of 38. He was certain that his life was over as he was over a mile deep in the forest and totally alone. At one point on the way out, he knelt on his knees and made his peace with God. Well, obviously he made it. He learned that he was born with a highly concentrated artery disease surrounding his heart. There would have to be major changes in his life. All who know him know, that he puts his family first above all else. He now considers his business as a conduit to give back to others all of the successes he has been given. The end result is that all of his companies are committed to helping their clients and his employees with how they will be successful and profitable.
To be continued……….. spacentral@earthlink.net
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