Dunn is launching an affordable spa consultancy programme in November / photo: samantha Dunn
A first-of-its-kind DIY consultancy programme to help entrepreneurs make the leap into the wellness world will launch in November.
WellBusiness Builder’s Academy has been created by Samantha Dunn, who’s been a spa consultant for nearly 25 years, working on famous brands such as Kamalaya and Chiva-Som.
Affordable consulting Dunn, who’s based in Sydney and was chair of the Australian Wellness Association until recently, has devised the programme to take entrepreneurs through the steps she takes as a professional consultant. These include phase one of a project, comprising market study, concept development, business planning and feasibility, as well as phase two, which covers implementation and pre-opening. “Participants will effectively have their entire business mapped out,” she says.
WellBusiness Builder’s Academy is split into 12 modules delivered via online videos with downloadable transcripts and supported by weekly live sessions and a one-to-one mentoring slot per section. Customisable templates, worksheets and access to support calls will also be available.
The basic package will cost US$4,900 (€4,498, £8,856) and can be completed over 12 months. In comparison, Dunn estimates that a professional spa consultant could charge anything from US$20,000-US$60,000 (€17,927-€55,080, £15,740-£47,216) for a phase one scope and much more for pre-opening services.
Encouraging entrepreneurs “We’re not aiming to replace professional consultants,” says Dunn. “There’s no substitution for years of hands-on experience.
“We intend to expand the entrepreneur pool by providing a solution to those who wouldn’t normally engage a consultant in the first place.
“They’re typically people who have a dream and deep desire to make an impact. They’ve often been through a crisis and/or had their own lives transformed through wellness and now want to bring that experience to others. However, they’re usually working on a shoestring budget and are put off by not knowing where to start.”
Dunn will trial the offering at an in-person boot camp at Bali’s Adiwana Bisma resort in October. The five-day event, limited to 12 entrepreneurs, will provide immediate feedback on the content before the official launch of the programme on Dunn’s website, www.thewellnessmakers.com, in November.
She’ll also be running a two-day consultant training camp on top of this, with a view to building up an A-team to support the potential new industry arrivals.
Read more from this issue of Spa Business magazine
View contents of Spa Business 2024 issue 3
Editor's letter: At a crossroads
As the UK prepares to host this year's Global Wellness Summit, fresh research shows its wellness industry must address a number of issues if it's to maintain levels of unprecedented growth
Spa People: Charlotte Church
The Welsh singer talks about how growing up in the media spotlight has influenced The Dreaming, her healing retreat business
Spa People: Julia Bradbury
Leading a series of Walk Yourself Happy retreats based on her best-selling book and years of TV presenting
Spa People: Samantha Dunn
Shaking up the industry with her new, affordable DIY consultancy programme for entrepreneurs
News report: Big spenders
Finn Partners’ latest research shows how China’s high-net-worth women are redefining luxury travel
News report: Step back in time
Two new GWI reports analyse the growth of the global spa and hot springs markets over the past 10 to 15 years
Interview: Dillip Rajakarier
Following a 450 per cent increase in core revenues, Minor Hotels is planning 200 more properties. Megan Whitby sits down with its CEO
New opening: Kintsugi Space
Patrizia Bortolin talks to Lisa Starr about creating a transformative women-only sanctuary in Abu Dhabi
Research: To inform and inspire
The UK Spa Association has conducted its first survey of spa businesses in the country for 18 years. GM Bobby Griffiths unveils the numbers
Research: From wellness to wellbeing
A new study uncovers four wellness consumer market segments ripe for innovation. WELLSurvey co-author Kevin Kelly reveals the findings in a Spa Business exclusive
First person: To the source
Jane Kitchen takes to the sulphurous waters of Terme di Saturnia in Italy and shares details about its exciting upcoming sister site in Milan
Promotion: L'OCCITANE en Provence – the art of recovery
With an approach to wellbeing that’s both holistic and grounded in science, the latest massage from L’OCCITANE en Provence promises to have a powerfully-beneficial effect on customers, both in the spa and at home
New opening: Surrenne at The Emory
The £15k memberships at this wellness club in London sold out in just weeks. Creator Inge Theron tells us why
First person: Playful wellness
A Stella McCartney facial and Tracy Anderson studio are just two USPs Megan Whitby finds at Surrenne
Promotion: TechnoAlpin – naturally cool design
TechnoAlpin’s snow technology is not only an effective way to introduce gentle cold therapy into the spa environment, it’s also a powerful biophilic design element that can bring the wonder of nature indoors
Promotion: Biologique Recherche – potent partnership
A new anti-senescence serum from Biologique Recherche offers transformative results and raises the bar in anti-ageing skincare when combined with its iconic collagen formula
Promotion: Comfort Zone – A longer life for skin
Created to combat the visible signs of ageing, Comfort Zone’s latest range revamp is based on the company’s pioneering research into cutaneous cellular longevity
Promotion: G.M. COLLIN – Clinical excellence in skincare
With laboratories based in Montreal, G.M. Collin’s highly researched derma-corrective treatments have been helping skincare professionals deliver exceptional and exclusive results worldwide for many decades. We talk to VP Myriam Sayer
In a world where imbalance often accumulates quietly, Wildsmith unveils its newest
wellbeing innovation: Silent Loads, an approach designed to meet the needs of modern spa
guests with precision and depth. [more...]
Dunn is launching an affordable spa consultancy programme in November / photo: samantha Dunn
A first-of-its-kind DIY consultancy programme to help entrepreneurs make the leap into the wellness world will launch in November.
WellBusiness Builder’s Academy has been created by Samantha Dunn, who’s been a spa consultant for nearly 25 years, working on famous brands such as Kamalaya and Chiva-Som.
Affordable consulting Dunn, who’s based in Sydney and was chair of the Australian Wellness Association until recently, has devised the programme to take entrepreneurs through the steps she takes as a professional consultant. These include phase one of a project, comprising market study, concept development, business planning and feasibility, as well as phase two, which covers implementation and pre-opening. “Participants will effectively have their entire business mapped out,” she says.
WellBusiness Builder’s Academy is split into 12 modules delivered via online videos with downloadable transcripts and supported by weekly live sessions and a one-to-one mentoring slot per section. Customisable templates, worksheets and access to support calls will also be available.
The basic package will cost US$4,900 (€4,498, £8,856) and can be completed over 12 months. In comparison, Dunn estimates that a professional spa consultant could charge anything from US$20,000-US$60,000 (€17,927-€55,080, £15,740-£47,216) for a phase one scope and much more for pre-opening services.
Encouraging entrepreneurs “We’re not aiming to replace professional consultants,” says Dunn. “There’s no substitution for years of hands-on experience.
“We intend to expand the entrepreneur pool by providing a solution to those who wouldn’t normally engage a consultant in the first place.
“They’re typically people who have a dream and deep desire to make an impact. They’ve often been through a crisis and/or had their own lives transformed through wellness and now want to bring that experience to others. However, they’re usually working on a shoestring budget and are put off by not knowing where to start.”
Dunn will trial the offering at an in-person boot camp at Bali’s Adiwana Bisma resort in October. The five-day event, limited to 12 entrepreneurs, will provide immediate feedback on the content before the official launch of the programme on Dunn’s website, www.thewellnessmakers.com, in November.
She’ll also be running a two-day consultant training camp on top of this, with a view to building up an A-team to support the potential new industry arrivals.
Read more from this issue of Spa Business magazine
View contents of Spa Business 2024 issue 3
Editor's letter: At a crossroads
As the UK prepares to host this year's Global Wellness Summit, fresh research shows its wellness industry must address a number of issues if it's to maintain levels of unprecedented growth
Spa People: Charlotte Church
The Welsh singer talks about how growing up in the media spotlight has influenced The Dreaming, her healing retreat business
Spa People: Julia Bradbury
Leading a series of Walk Yourself Happy retreats based on her best-selling book and years of TV presenting
Spa People: Samantha Dunn
Shaking up the industry with her new, affordable DIY consultancy programme for entrepreneurs
News report: Big spenders
Finn Partners’ latest research shows how China’s high-net-worth women are redefining luxury travel
News report: Step back in time
Two new GWI reports analyse the growth of the global spa and hot springs markets over the past 10 to 15 years
Interview: Dillip Rajakarier
Following a 450 per cent increase in core revenues, Minor Hotels is planning 200 more properties. Megan Whitby sits down with its CEO
New opening: Kintsugi Space
Patrizia Bortolin talks to Lisa Starr about creating a transformative women-only sanctuary in Abu Dhabi
Research: To inform and inspire
The UK Spa Association has conducted its first survey of spa businesses in the country for 18 years. GM Bobby Griffiths unveils the numbers
Research: From wellness to wellbeing
A new study uncovers four wellness consumer market segments ripe for innovation. WELLSurvey co-author Kevin Kelly reveals the findings in a Spa Business exclusive
First person: To the source
Jane Kitchen takes to the sulphurous waters of Terme di Saturnia in Italy and shares details about its exciting upcoming sister site in Milan
Promotion: L'OCCITANE en Provence – the art of recovery
With an approach to wellbeing that’s both holistic and grounded in science, the latest massage from L’OCCITANE en Provence promises to have a powerfully-beneficial effect on customers, both in the spa and at home
New opening: Surrenne at The Emory
The £15k memberships at this wellness club in London sold out in just weeks. Creator Inge Theron tells us why
First person: Playful wellness
A Stella McCartney facial and Tracy Anderson studio are just two USPs Megan Whitby finds at Surrenne
Promotion: TechnoAlpin – naturally cool design
TechnoAlpin’s snow technology is not only an effective way to introduce gentle cold therapy into the spa environment, it’s also a powerful biophilic design element that can bring the wonder of nature indoors
Promotion: Biologique Recherche – potent partnership
A new anti-senescence serum from Biologique Recherche offers transformative results and raises the bar in anti-ageing skincare when combined with its iconic collagen formula
Promotion: Comfort Zone – A longer life for skin
Created to combat the visible signs of ageing, Comfort Zone’s latest range revamp is based on the company’s pioneering research into cutaneous cellular longevity
Promotion: G.M. COLLIN – Clinical excellence in skincare
With laboratories based in Montreal, G.M. Collin’s highly researched derma-corrective treatments have been helping skincare professionals deliver exceptional and exclusive results worldwide for many decades. We talk to VP Myriam Sayer
Four Seasons Resort The Nam Hai in Hoi An, Vietnam, has put together a Global Wellness Day
(GWD) agenda with activations rooted in nature and shaped by four pillars of Joy – in
alignment with the day’s theme #JoyMagenta.
The Global Wellness Summit (GWS) will celebrate its 20th anniversary at the 2026 event in
Phuket, Thailand, later this year with the theme: The Science, Art and Soul of Wellness.
Auko, an all-inclusive development, is opening in Phong Nha in Vietnam in Q3 2026, with a
series of 30 tented eco-lodges and wellness hospitality operations by Lumina Wellbeing.
Therme Manchester’s 28-acre development, which will include interconnected glass pavilions
that measure 65,000sq m, will be the largest bathing and wellbeing attraction in the world once
complete, according to prof David Russell, CEO of Therme UK.
Naples Beach Club, a Four Seasons Resort, has opened a 2,800sq m spa called The Sanctuary,
with the design and concept inspired by the Native American people that populated Florida’s
Southwest coast – the Calusa.
Swire Hotels’ luxury hospitality brand Upper House has revealed it will roll out its two-day
House of Healing retreats at its three hotels in Hong Kong, Chengdu and Shanghai.
LVMH-owned beauty house Guerlain will launch up to five spas with partners a year as part of
its plan to expand globally, according to the brand’s international spa and wellness director,
Diane Davody.
A new global study by Kevin Kelly and Peter Yesawich, called WELLSurvey 2.0, has revealed
more than half of consumers in the UK, US and Germany would not choose numerous high-
profile wellness resort brands for a future trip.
Luxury hospitality and wellness pioneer Jeremy McCarthy has launched Leisure Alchemy, a
digital platform that will provide professionals with strategic guidance on how to build
transformational leisure experiences that drive profit.
In a world where imbalance often accumulates quietly, Wildsmith unveils its newest
wellbeing innovation: Silent Loads, an approach designed to meet the needs of modern spa
guests with precision and depth. [more...]
