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The Montreal Gazette 2006

Article from business section - Montreal Gazette

Spa helps refresh gritty part of town
Getting started The Lipsz sisters picked an area in Montreal’s
south-west district as the ideal spot to set up their high-end Spa
Savanna. They saw it is as a neighbourhood on the upswing with
gentrification taking hold
SARAH DOUGHERTY
Freelance
Monday, July 31, 2006
After wallowing in the doldrums, the area
south-west of Montreal’s downtown is coming
back to life, anchored by the Atwater Market
and a refurbished Lachine Canal.
The gentrification is less obvious farther west,
where thrift stores share Notre Dame St. with
bars and derelict empty lots.
But even here, there are glimmers of a
resurgence: an art gallery has moved in. A
new IGA grocery is going up. A sign for a
condo development has been tacked onto a
corner building.
Catherine and Elizabeth Lipsz are taking a
chance on this part of St. Henri, hoping
they’re out in front of a wave of renewal.
In a gutted and renovated greystone building,
they’ve built a high-end day spa - Spa
Savanna - and are courting clientele ranging
from new residents in the neighbourhood to
tourists from downtown hotels.
Restless within the confines of a corporate structure and willing to take a calculated
risk, the Lipsz sisters share many of the traits that drive entrepreneurs to strike out
on their own.
"This neighbourhood has been looking for things to have in it for years," Elizabeth
Lipsz said of Spa Savanna’s location, as she sat down with her sister Catherine over
tea to talk about their project. "I’ve lived here since 1992 and there are no services
here yet."
Part of the underdevelopment stems from the area’s split demographics: long-time,
working-class residents share the neighbourhood with more affluent newcomers.
The Lipsz were well aware of the challenges and figured they had enough business
experience between them to make the spa work in this somewhat unlikely location.
After working in the family plastics business, Leabrooke Inc., the sisters took it over
and ran it for 15 years. The company made containers for pharmaceutical and
cosmetics companies.
"It was four shifts, seven days a week and was unionized," Elizabeth said of running
the operation. "If something went wrong, it was usually really wrong. It was a lot of
pressure."
After selling Leabrooke in 2000, the women took time off. Then the entrepreneurial
urge kicked in.
"I started to putz around the house," Elizabeth said, breaking into a laugh.
"Housework that used to take a few hours took weeks."
"I think we needed a challenge," Catherine chimed in. "There was a side of us, the
creative side, that wasn’t satisfied in the other business."
But neither woman pictured herself in a corporate environment.
"We were used to making decisions," Elizabeth explained. "We had the need to do
something, to drive something, to create something."
In search of relief from the stress of running Leabrooke, both women had
frequented day spas. They thought they could improve on what they’d found.
"I often felt rushed and not entitled to what I was getting," Catherine said of her
spa experiences. "I wanted people to feel welcome."
Based on their market research, the sisters were convinced that, far from being
saturated, Montreal was underserved when it came to what they call "proper" day
spas. "You have a lot of little spas, mostly attached to hair salons," Catherine said.
To fill in gaps in their knowledge of the spa industry, the sisters sought out help.
They hired Vivienne O’Keeffe, a Vancouver-based spa consultant.
O’Keeffe reviewed layout plans, helped choose and negotiate contracts for product
lines and equipment, provided a model for procedures and did initial staff training.
To fund their project, which involved buying the bottom floor of the Notre Dame St.
building, the Lipsz sisters used money from the sale of Leabrooke and obtained
bank financing.
The spa opened its doors in April. From the browns and beiges of the nine
treatment rooms to the relaxation room, with its swaths of material and chaise
longues evoking a desert oasis tent, the theme of the decor is, as the spa’s name
suggests, the savanna.
The spa offers a full range of services, from massage to facials, and catered light
meals. There are plans to add gardens out back next year.
While the women feel they’re up to speed on spa services, they admit they’re still
novices when it comes to retailing.
"We’ve had to learn marketing, advertising, Web marketing - these are all new skills
for us," Elizabeth said. "Even the simplest thing - how to put product in a bag and
make it look nice!"
The sisters said sales have been slower than expected, but they aren’t discouraged.
"It’s a risky business to do, but the feedback we’re getting from the people in the
community is that they’re very glad we’re here," Catherine said.
Bakr Ibrahim would look at the Lipsz sisters and see key traits, the "right stuff" as
he puts it, that entrepreneurs tend to have.
Ibrahim is director of the Centre for Small Business and Entrepreneurial Studies,
and Associate Dean at Concordia University’s John Molson School of Business.
"The rest of us, when faced with an uncertain situation, we stay away and try to
minimize risk," Ibrahim said. Entrepreneurs have a tolerance for ambiguity, he said.
However, entrepreneurs are not outright gamblers. "It is really a calculated risk,"
Ibrahim said. "They test the waters before they jump in."
A strong need for independence and resourcefulness are also common, according to
Ibrahim.
"They say ’I don’t really fit the corporate structure, I’m not really a company man.’
They have the ability to solve problems; with limited resources, they find ways."
And while entrepreneurs are innovators, they aren’t necessarily inventors, Ibrahim
said. "They often enhance the ordinary, what is already there."
But personality traits alone aren’t enough to explain entrepreneurship, said Walter
Good. A marketing professor at the University of Manitoba, Good is author of the
well-known book Building a Dream: A Canadian Guide to Starting Your Own
Business.
"Not all committed, ambitious people become entrepreneurs," Good said. The
process of identifying an opportunity and creating an organization around a concept
are key ingredients, as is the socio-economic context, he wrote.
And while most entrepreneurs long for independence and autonomy, about 80 per
cent have seven or eight years of experience in the same industry in the corporate
world before starting a business, Good noted.
Like the Lipsz sisters, many have grown up with family role models.
"They have a comfort level with the concept because they hear it around the dinner
table," Good said.
The Lipsz sisters agree their family role models gave them a tolerance for risk and a
sense of resilience.
"There’s a flexibility attached to being an entrepreneur," Elizabeth said. "You’re
constantly saying ’that didn’t work, what else can we do?’ "
sarahdougherty@videotron.ca
Spa Savanna, 4032 Notre Dame St. W. 514-931-6544, 1-866-931-6544
© The Gazette (Montreal) 2006