How did retailer Sally Cantwell find a fresh career as an endota spa franchisee?

“I had a boutique in Crows Nest for 10 years and loved every single minute of it,” says Sally Cantwell.

“My husband Chris and I also had a small resort on the north coast of New South Wales and were looking to add amenities – a spa was an obvious choice.”

As an avid spa user, she felt that the pick of the crop was endota, a hunch backed up by research.

“We wanted to work with a business that had expertise in the area, because we didn’t. We felt that would be a really great add-on. It’s a fantastic location on the beach front in a renovated cabin, just four rooms. It’s a little reminder of how far we’ve come in eight years.”

That little beach cabin became the catalyst for a portfolio of salons that now numbers nine across New South Wales and Queensland.

“Once we saw how it really resonated with the client base we were interested in, and we became aware of the fantastic footprint the brand has in Victoria and in South Australia, we saw an opportunity in New South Wales, and particularly Sydney.”

While the couple continued to invest in endota spas, Sally kept on working in her boutique until 2012. “The irony is that Chris started work in the business before I did. It’s usually the reverse in this industry.”

With five spas in Sydney and increasing business pressures, it became obvious they had spread themselves too thinly, she says. “We’ve always been very hands on. I’m very operational, and to some extent so is Chris. He has taken a commercial and financial perspective, we’ve had managers from the start, but we want to be involved. We enjoy interacting with clients.

“I really enjoy working with my management team, and they enjoy working with their staff as the business grows. It’s really satisfying. One of our managers is the part-owner of one of the Surfers Paradise spas.”

Communication is key to her management of the business, with all the tools at her fingertips playing a part in regular daily contact with her managers: face-to-face meetings, phone, email and Skype communications. And relying on technology allows her to walk out of her spa at night with her business at her fingertips.

“I’m quite stunned how much I can do on my phone, and I always have my laptop. One thing that really helps me is using Dropbox – if someone needs a document, it’s there, it’s nice and consistent.”

Chris brings his skills to the all-important data analysis. “We find that this gives us good insights and helps us drive what we’ll do for next year.”

So what does success look like?

“A good commercial outcome, and the professional development of the people who work for us. About 99.9 per cent are female, and giving the young girls help with understanding they are part of something really big, that’s at the forefront of our industry, and that their experience will stand them in good stead. Many of them join us straight from beauty college and it’s important to give them career opportunities.”

The Sydney group of six spas is the focus for Sally, who puts clients front and centre of the business. The spa chain has taken a more clinical approach to skincare results, and this has gone down well with Sally, who can see her clients appreciating the strategy. But the spa is still a place of relaxation, she says.

“We have a heritage of relaxation. People come to switch off and relax, even if it’s just for an hour.”

When they invested in the endota spa chain, the couple faced the strictures and compliance central success in a franchise network, not always easy for experienced, independent business owners.

“I think working within a system is good, it makes us stronger if you do it really well. We can still be creative. We just have to follow the rules of the road. A national brand has to mean something. To me, the standards are just commonsense.”

Paying attention to details such as a missing order, or a malfunctioning bed in a treatment room, ensures the business does not slip, she says.

“It has to look right, it has to be right. This is your business. If you want a nine-to-five job, go work in an office.”

She says there is no clocking off for the owner of a seven-day-a-week business. “I’m always available, but I like it.”

Sally and her husband spend time together away from work every day walking their two dogs, and admits that some of their best conversations about the business have taken place on the local oval. They do manage to escape further afield…to the coastal resort they still own.

“We have a place up there we’ve been going for 20 years, and for me it’s a real opportunity to switch off. I still work but I love it. Appointment books are on my phone, I can see what’s happening.

“I’m so focused on running excellent spas. That’s what I want to achieve, to know that we’ve done endota spa proud, particularly in the Sydney market. It’s a big footprint. I want to look back and say I had a real part to play in that.”

Sally Cantwell’s spas:

• Chatswood
• Crows Nest
• Four Seasons
• Martin Place
• Paddington
• Rozelle
• Foster
• Diamond Beach
• Surfers Paradise

You can read more of these Empire Builder stories in the Jan/Feb edition of Inside Franchise Business, out in newsagencies now.