Honor Roll

Medicine Meets Meditation

Marguerite Barnett

Owner

Mandala Med-Spa & Yoga Shala

Sarasota, FL

2008 DAYSPA Top Honor: Medical Spa

Marguerite Barnett, M.D., has a triple threat on her hands. Her facility, Mandala Med-Spa & Yoga Shala, offers clients the choice between medical options such as fractional lasers and Botox Cosmetic; traditional day spa services with a holistic, Indonesian bent; and a slate of stress-reducing yoga classes. All three aspects of her business are meant to work together as an overall path to wellness.

Photos Courtesy Mandala Med-Spa & Yoga Shala

"I've lived in other countries and seen them refer to what we traditionally call spa services as health services," says Barnett, a Harvard- and MIT-educated physician. "And I think that's finally taking hold here in the United States."

This viewpoint has helped bolster her business during these tough economic times.

How does your business strategy work?

We're like a three-legged stool; they're all part of this whole vision of wellness. There's a lot of cross-marketing; if people don't feel like they're getting enough results from their esthetician, they can come and talk to me—and vice versa. I see people and say, "You don't need a surgeon. Go see the esthetician." And there are others who like the health benefits of yoga, but if they stretch their muscles a little too much, they get a massage.

What impact have you felt from the economy?

People are holding back on big-ticket items, but they're also—in my opinion—realizing what's important. Their feeling is, 'I should've taken that trip, I should've pampered myself.' They're not doing the big surgeries like they were a year and a half ago, but the smaller services are up—injectables, lasers, Botox Cosmetic. Plus, lasers aren't affordable to some people, so they can try something that isn't quite so high-tech but still produces good results. For example, the deeper peels can get through to the skin without costing as much.

What discounts or promotions work especially well for you?

Last year, we were down 11%, but we had our busiest July ever—the revenues were great. We ran what we called Super Summer Savings, which involved giving clients a free 30-minute massage or facial if they booked a full spa service. We did it again this year. I also offer discounts for Botox Cosmetic. The vendors came to us in this economy and gave us excellent savings, so we passed them on to the guests. One particular client, between the discount and a special I was running that week, only paid $50 for a Botox Cosmetic treatment. That was a deal!

Do you have ongoing training programs for your employees?

In our staff meetings, I do what I call "Five-Minute Education." We offer so much that I'm shocked when the women who provide the facials don't understand what we do with fillers on the medical side. The medical side doesn't always understand what's going on over on the spa side either, so we have joint meetings once a week and frequently present a quick tutorial on one aspect of the menu.

What do you envision for the future?

I'd like to hire an in-house nutritionist, as one of the biggest things I see as a problem in society today is bad eating habits. We're also moving more into education, such as teaching and internships with local esthetics schools. We're doing this so they see what it's like to be in a medical spa—there's a lot of interest right now in this field.

>> Go to next DS Minutes article, The Zen Ten: Sweet Dreams