What do you do when your entire business is shut down by a global pandemic? If you’re Marc Baron, owner of Beauty Moves Spa, you reinvent how your business is done – and find a financing partner that can move as fast as you!
BACKGROUND
2020 was going to be a banner year for Marc’s growing full service medical spa retail location. Located in a thriving strip mall, Beauty Moves was building a loyal clientele. Even more exciting, Marc had just purchased and equipped a brand new Mercedes Sprinter van to offer medical services by appointment on-site at medical clinics. Loaded with state-of-the-art tools for performing medical spa treatments as well as a 55-inch 2-way videoconference screen to allow the doctor to be “virtually there” and staffed by a professional nurse/practitioner, the mobile unit was an innovative approach to expanding the business into B2B medical spa services without having to invest in fixed real estate.
COVID EFFECT
The year was off to a great start, but we all know what happened next: like most other businesses around the world, Beauty Moves was forced to close its retail storefront due to the global pandemic. And with non-essential medical clinics also closed, the brand new state of the art mobile unit was sitting idle as well. Like tens of millions of business owners across America, Marc was bleeding money and needed to change course fast.
SOLUTION
Successful entrepreneurs have an agility that allows them to make strategic decisions and implement them quickly. They don’t sit still and hope for the best; they take stock of their situation and chart a new course – immediately.
With customers unable to come into the retail location, and with his mobile unit sitting idle on account of medical clinics being closed, Marc had an idea: why not use the mobile unit to bring spa services to customers’ driveways? It would require a significant investment to outfit the van to offer all the services of the retail location, but it would open the door to a major opportunity that would allow Beauty Moves to survive a pandemic and continue growing the business.
Beauty Moves’ upfitted mobile unit: delivering Medical Spa services to the Miami area.
So, Marc went ahead and refitted Beauty Moves’ mobile unit to include equipment for hydro facial treatments, laser hair removal, and laser skin resurfacing. Then he had the vehicle wrapped in an eye-catching design that showcases the professional services offered inside. Finally, Marc devised an online marketing plan to create awareness of the new service and generate online bookings.
All of this required a significant investment – and this is where ZING came in! In Marc’s words: “The reason we went with ZING Instead of the bank is the convenience and the technology. The application was easy, Luis (@ZING) made it easy to structure the financing, and the whole process took 4 business days. As a result, I got the working capital I needed and just kept moving forward.”
RESULT
Beauty Moves now offers all the spa services of the storefront location on a mobile basis. No longer shackled to a fixed location, and with an innovative online marketing program that is generating results, Marc has reinvented Beauty Moves to thrive during a global pandemic.
And it gets even better: Based on the success he’s had with the new approach, Marc is adding a second mobile unit to capitalize on the demand for at-home spa treatments. And now that retail is open again, he’s adding a second physical location. 2020 turned out to be an even better year that he had planned pre-Covid — talk about a comeboack story!
Here’s to Marc and all the entrepreneurs out there who are finding ways to shift, stabilize and grow their business. This is how Small Business will lead the recovery, and this is why we support your Big Plans!
MORE ADVICE FROM MARC:
Why work with ZING instead of the bank? “The reason we went with ZING is the convenience and technology. ZING allowed me to keep the business moving uninterrupted and made all the difference in the world. The opportunity cost of working with my bank was simply too much.”
Marc’s advice to entrepreneurs looking to finance their plans? “If you’ve got time, go to the bank. If you need to move in 48 hours, talk to ZING!”
How ZING is helping Small Business lead the way:
ZING is a new idea that came about during a pandemic. With the global economy facing its biggest setback in decades, we watched as the Small Businesses that drive the US economy struggled to survive and access the government loans that were intended to help them. Many business owners spent days navigating the traditional loans application process only to find out that priority was given to bigger existing customers. ZING’s mission was born: bring flexible and responsible funding options directly to Small Business owners, make it quick and easy to do business with us, and get them back to growing their business as soon as possible.
ZING is committed to the success of Small Business, and we look forward to partnering with you to provide the financing solutions to help you adapt and grow your business.