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Statistically, you’re successful if your small business lasts seven years. Peggy and Frank Baker opened a therapeutic massage salon, Healing Garden Therapies, in 2001, with about 40 dedicated customers, made it through Katrina and are thriving.
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Peggy Baker, a former banking professional, had a deep desire to help people. Entrepreneurial drive wasn’t a priority, she said, but it came with the territory. After graduating from massage school, she connected with another student looking for a job, and the Bakers found a retail space.
Her banking background drove Baker to make deliberate choices. It was important, she felt, to make herself available regular hours so people could count on her.
“A lot of people get themselves a cell phone and want customers to call and arrange a time. That didn’t feel right. I had to be visible,” she said.
There were times when Baker worked at bookkeeping and organizing. There were few customers for the tiny shop, less than 700 square feet, on U.S. 49 North.
With help from family and friends, Baker dug in and made a go of it, publishing attractive fliers and walking them from Oak Street to Interstate 10. They wore uniform shirts with their names on them.
“It was important that people know who we were. I wanted a professional appearance so people would get to know us and come by,” she said.
Now, they have a larger, attractive spa supported by 5,000 clients from as far away as Wiggins, Jackson, New Orleans and Mobile.
In July 2005, Healing Gardens moved to its present location at 12100 U.S. 49 North with three times the space, hand-painted wall décor, Zenlike ambience, and a team of contractor-therapists working in successful harmony. Weeks later, Katrina crashed through the tranquil space, taking off most of the building’s back and roof.
After the first shock, Baker and company decided they could be immobilized by depression or dig in and wrench victory away from Katrina. By hand, sometimes tired to the bone, they and neighbor business owners dug away debris and began recovery.
Three weeks after the storm, Healing Gardens reopened and the Bakers hoped for enough business to hold on.
Business boomed. A steady stream of shell-shocked people came for a quiet hour of help for fatigue, deep muscle pain and pain that only human caring could heal. Baker cautioned her therapists to work quietly, not asking questions or making customers relive grief. To her amazement, no one could stem the surge of stories, remembrances and feelings from people needing to vent.
Repairs took a year. Now, the last leak is gone. Healing Gardens’ reputation, said Baker, brings patient-referrals from doctors and calls from resort/hotels wanting services for their guests. The customer list grows and the team, headed by Eilene Woodward, spa manager, is the best she’s ever had.
Baker said following a dream is risky and stressful. She and Frank made life changes to accommodate her responsibilities. Frank learned to cook and fend for himself, Peggy said. She believes to succeed you have to jump in with both feet and commit to challenges.
“You need a budget and you have to be married to that business for a while. You have to love what you’re doing,” she said. Discipline is something she appears to understand.
Baker developed strategies as she went. She said high volume spas take in annual receipts upward of $1 million. Her goal is to provide personal service and attention. She wants to know people’s names and remember their preferences. She doesn’t want to lose the trust of medical professionals comfortable in referring their patients to her.
She keeps Healing Gardens’ growth controlled, with gross receipts less than half the high figures. Expenses are substantial, with electric massage tables costing $2,500, rising energy costs, laundry expenses and cosmetic inventories that must rotate with trends. Contractors take half of each service fee, so payroll can be $200,000 annually.
Baker’s customer base is 60 percent women and 40 percent men. Healing Gardens provides therapeutic massage, body wraps, facials, aromatherapy and other services, with hours daily except Sundays.
Peggy Baker profile
- Business: Healing Gardens in Orange Grove, therapeutic massage spa.
- Age: 57.
- Hometown: Wiggins. I was born and raised there. My family is still there.
- Person, living or dead, you would most like to have dinner with: My dad.
- First job: Working in a small clothing store in Wiggins, called Bufkins.
- Next goal: Longevity in the spa business.
- Three personal items on your desk: Picture of my daughter, a little ornament she gave me, and my licenses. I’m very proud of those.
- Greatest influence in your life: My love of helping people.
- Ideal vacation: Alaska cruise; I plan to do it in the next year or so.
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