Spa-Business

BANKRUPTCY FILING

As the economy slows, the nationwide Solana chain of 50-plus franchised medical spas has locked its Irvine headquarters, filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy, shut down its Web site, and disconnected its phone.  Their website indicates that another site is being developed by Higher Images.  Higher Images is a SEO and Internet Marketing and web design company.

The following is from a Medspa Blog:

Solana Medspas is out of business?

Neither the company’s chief executive, William Maya, nor its bankruptcy attorney could be reached for comment.

The company founder, John Buckingham of Mission Viejo, said he sold Solana on Nov. 20 to a private equity company in San Clemente and could not speak in detail about its current status.
Buckingham remained a director of the company, which helped entrepreneurs set up medical spas that provided spa services plus non-invasive cosmetic medical procedures such as Botox injections.

As recently as March, Buckingham predicted that the nation’s economic slowdown would help Solana MedSpas by freeing up new retail locations for its medical spas.
In an interview with CNN/Money, he said he was “excited about taking advantage of this year’s store vacancies to open another 20 locations in malls.”

At that point, he said Solana had 50 spas “located in upscale strip centers and lifestyle centers, which are typically open-air malls.”
In May, Solana struck a deal with cosmetic-laser company Cutera Inc. of Brisbane, Calif., which declared Solana the “preferred provider” for its products at medspas nationwide.
That announcement said Solana “has sold over 70 stand-alone retail med spas with others scheduled to be opened in 2008” and had established a new division, Solana MD, to open aesthetic spas in doctors’ offices.
Solana’s filing said it had $370,028 in liabilities but assets of only $11,713.

FRANCHISE ADS

Solana MedSpa franchises are still listed as for sale on franchising Web sites, with a total investment of $400,000 to $780,000.

The Franchise.com site, for example, says:
Solana MedSpas has forged a new medical spa model by combining cutting-edge aesthetics and wellness technologies with traditional spa therapies in a retail environment.
In a short period of time, Solana MedSpas has become a nationwide leader in medical spa development with a growing network of uniquely branded medical spas. With an emphasis on regulatory compliance, healthcare innovation, education, marketing and customer service, Solana MedSpas has emerged as the fastest growing developer of MedSpas in the US.

The Chapter 7 bankruptcy filing means that the company will be liquidated, not reorganized.

BANKRUPTCY DETAILS
Solana’s current owner is Strategic Connections L.P., which is listed in the July 7 bankruptcy filing as “c/o WEM Management Company, 422 Avenida Salvador, San Clemente.”
The company’s largest listed creditor is its owner, which had floated it a $160,000 loan.
Solana said it had income of $456,989 so far this year from its consulting services to owners and operators of spas.
It paid Maya $161,112 in salary from Nov. 24, 2007, through June 24, the bankruptcy filing said. Buckingham’s salary for that period was $148,918.
The one company-owned medical spa, Resolutions, A Solana Medspa, also filed for bankruptcy under its legal name, Solana Medspa Development LLC.
The Resolutions medspa, located in a Rancho Santa Margarita shopping center, closed suddenly two weeks ago without explanation, said a hairdresser working in the adjoining hair salon.
The medspa listed assets of $11,713 and liabilities of $121,329. It cited $0 as the value of its unsold inventory of cosmetics, cosmeceuticals and Botox, which were purchased for $51,388.
Irvine-based Allergan, the maker of Botox, is its largest creditor. The medspa owes Allergan $49,260, the filing said.
The Resolutions spa had income of $225,555 so far this year, its filing said.

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 Shelton’s Salon and Day Spa

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Texas Resort Spas • Texas Medical Spas • Texas Spas

Find A Spa or Search the right Texas spa just for you

Claim to fame: A leader in providing its customers with the very best the salon & Spa industry has to offer – identifying an individual’s personal style wants and needs and having the technical skills to create a look or provide a spa service that meets and exceeds their wishes. Shelton’s has more trained stylists than any organization in the region and will always strive to improve the industry as a whole. It offers a full range of services and products for both men and women.

Where to find us:

• 2731 S. Hulen, Fort Worth, 817-921-1744
• 2200 W. Park Row, Arlington, 817-277-6339
• 3160 Harwood, Bedford, 817-283-8000.

Years in business: 44

Secret of Success: Shelton’s service providers have an eye for design that is always looking to the horizon for style ideas and new trends. Color is our specialty. The staff trains and retrains to provide services that are technically outstanding. Add to that a full-service day spa and a friendly and helpful front desk staff and that describes Shelton’s Salon and Day Spa.

 

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 This article is brought to you by Spavelous.com.

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State proposal requires a license to massage

 

 

 

In 1983, Wilhelmina Blank was one of the first massage therapists in the area.

 

Now, Blank, the founder of the Pennsylvania Myotherapy Institute, says she sees massage therapists and day spas popping up all over the place.

That growth over the years has prompted State Rep. Keith McCall, of Carbon County, to sponsor a bill that will regulate the profession in Pennsylvania, one of 11 states that does not regulate massage.

State Massage Licensing Requirements

 

As an unregulated industry, people with little to no training are able to call themselves massage therapists. That also allows some people to practice the stereotypical parlor massage that trained therapists have worked to overcome.

 

The bill, however, would require massage therapists to obtain a

license under a newly established State Board of Massage Therapy. The license would require applicants to have 600 hours of training.

 

The bill was approved by the state House of Representatives and is currently under consideration by the Senate.

 

Bob Caton, McCall’s press secretary, said that this bill will go a long way in improving the massage therapy industry.

He said that untrained people are able to act as health-care professionals when they have no training, therefore giving reputable therapists a bad name.

 

Before there was “nowhere for the therapist or clients to turn,” but now they will be protected.

“The therapists will be given peace of mind and the client will have protection because they know they’re  getting well-trained professionals,” Caton said.

 

Blank said complaints sometimes come from clients that go to a massage therapist expecting relief from pain and just end up getting more pain because the therapist is not properly trained.

 

She hopes that the bill will make schools raise the standards of their training.

 

At PMI, students take a total of 725 hours in classes, 100 of which are clinical hours where students practice with clients.

 

PMI, runs his own massage therapy practice from Meadowview Family Practice in Hanover.

Rhodes said some therapists have a little knowledge of the practice, but pretend that they have a lot.

 

“A little knowledge is more dangerous than no knowledge,” Rhodes said.

He said the problem with a lot of therapists is that they get into a routine and perform the same massage on every client.

Jody Phillips has been in the health-care industry for 17 years and is an instructor at PMI.

 

Phillips believes that if someone is practicing “true wellness and true therapy and pain relief,” they cater to each client’s needs. Every person’s body is different and everything in their lifestyle, from their profession to recreation, has an effect on their bodies. Phillips said that even a person’s right and left arms need different therapy from one another, and to practice the same massage would not be effective.

 

“We want to produce excellent therapists with a higher level of training that are out there making a difference,” Phillips said. “If they’re not making a difference in a client’s pain, then its pointless.”

But as for the idea that licensing would do away with unethical massage therapists, Blank is curious to see if it will work.

 

“I think it will depend on whether local authorities choose to enforce it,” Blank said. She has had her fair share of experience, from reporting a spa in the area, she knows that they are out there.

 

She encountered one spa where the therapists were dressed in lingerie. She could only guess what was going on inside the massage rooms.

She has also had clients that expect more because they received a “happy ending” massage from another therapist.

 

“As a therapist you have to know where to draw the line,” Blank said “It’s just unethical.”

 

Blank said that the massage industry isn’t just for relaxation anymore. Spas have been and always will be popular, but massage is moving toward “corporate wellness” and medical use.

 

According to the National Massage Therapy Institute, consumers spend between $4 billion and $6 billion a year on massage therapy. It is one of the fastest-growing industries in the U.S.

 

Many employers are beginning to take their employees’ health and wellness into consideration. It is common now for companies to have incentive programs including campaigns to quit smoking, exercise programs and now corporations are recognizing massage as a way to improve health, Blank said.

 

Blank also said that massage is becoming more prominent in the medical industry. There is a growing need for relief from pain for medical conditions ranging from cancer to geriatrics.

 

She believes that the licensing program will give therapists validity in the medical field and with insurance companies.

“The credibility is now there,” Blank said. “It will also boost recognition and credibility among people that had their doubts about massage therapy.”

Phillips also believes that the license program will make massage more accepted in the medical field. She stresses that massage isn’t an alternative form of medicine but complimentary to doctors.

 

“We want to work together,” Phillips said. She has many doctors and chiropractors who recommend their clients for massage therapy.

Although Blank said the bill will help massage therapists, she did say it has a few drawbacks.

 

If the testing method is consistent with the federal method, it will be a 600-question computerized test, which she believes measures a therapist’s knowledge but “doesn’t truly measure their skill.”

 

She also said that some states with licensing programs have high fees for those licenses and hopes that won’t be the case in Pennsylvania. Caton said whether there is a cost and what that might be would be determined by the

State Board of Massage.

 

Sherry Chenault, practices massage therapy in Westminster, Md. A 2006 graduate of PMI, she has gone through both a state and federal license program and feels that a license makes a therapist worth more.

 

In Maryland, massage therapists are required to complete 700 hours of training. Chenault said that the application process took her six months, but it was well worth it.

 

Massage therapists in Pennsylvania have been waiting a long time as well for this legislation.

The bill has been in the works for more than a decade.

“It’s been a long journey, but it’s worth it.” Caton said.

 

AT A GLANCE

A bill that would regulate massage therapists has passed the state House of Representatives and is under consideration by the Senate. If the bill passes, newer massage therapists would need to do the following steps before getting a license:

 

Complete 600 hours training approved by state Department of Education

Pass a state exam

Complete 24 hours of further education every two years.

Therapists are grandfathered in if:

They have practiced for more than five years

They have passed a national certification test

They have passed a licensing exam or have completed 500 hours of instruction approved by the Department of Education.

 

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