CCSU student Sara Owen is proud
of her Yankee heritage and shows it in her strong work ethic. In May,
when she receives her B.S. in Management and Organization with a
concentration in Marketing, she will be able to put that Yankee
ingenuity into practice by preparing to launch her own business. That
goal, she says, is much closer due to the educational and practical
experiences with a business plan and a marketing strategy that she has
gained during a recent internship.
With strong encouragement from
Dr. David Fearon, professor of Management and Organization, Sara plans
to open her own spa, providing a variety of healthcare services.
“Sara’s participation in an
internship turned out to be a life-altering experience for her,” Fearon
says. “Not content to simply observe events unfolding, Sara became a
truly hands-on intern and did a great deal of groundwork to help
establish The Oasis Spa at The Orchards at Southington, a large,
non-profit active senior and assisted living community. In our
experience, it is unique to have spa services offered to senior citizens
by the practitioners at reduced fees, along with no-cost lectures and
other health-related services. It soon became apparent to me that Sara
was inspired by working in the non-profit environment and with a
population not usually attracted to spa services.”
Sara Owen has long been
organizationally minded. Indeed, her first career choice was to be a
wedding planner, using well-honed people skills and her knack for
working with complex situations that may change from moment to moment.
Her internship at The Orchards, however, changed the focus of her ideas
and energy.
She says, “I was inspired by
the way the facility’s management rose to the challenge of offering
residents an alternative solution to help them heal and to prevent many
aches and pains that they suffer on a daily basis. Although I was there
as an intern, I quickly felt like a member of the team and wanted to
help emphasize the importance of residents’ health and well-being, while
allowing them to enjoy a relaxed and open forum.”
“Once the idea was born, the
team had to determine how to interest the residents in the services of a
spa, since most had not been to one, and, initially, did not seem
receptive to the idea,” Sara reflects. “After narrowing down some
options, the Oasis team decided that the most effective and soothing way
would be through an holistic approach. They reviewed various options
that should be incorporated into the Oasis Spa. I was fortunate in being
able to work with them and learn from them as they began contacting a
variety of vendors who offered services and products that we wanted to
be made readily available to our residents, their families, and
friends.”
The result is a staff of spa
professionals who specialize in services such as massage therapy,
reflexology, therapeutic touch, natural make-up, aromatherapy, herbal
supplements, and wig/hair products. Sara worked with licensed
specialists and helped coordinate efforts to enable the residents and
those close to them to benefit by learning about the services or
products, as well as alternative solutions to attaining healthier and
happier lifestyles.
During her internship, Sara was
part of the effort to organize a “senior wellness series each month to
allow people to hear how each individual service or product could help
them feel better about themselves while healing them.
“It is an opportunity for them
to hear individual professionals speak about their fields of expertise
and relate to them on a one-to-one basis,” she says. “This approach
helps people to feel that they are not being ‘sold’ to, but, rather,
have opportunities to experience services or products to help them on
their road to finding the most effective solution to their problems.
“Some of the topics that we ask
the professional to touch upon include: insomnia, depression, headaches,
arthritis, diabetes, memory loss, lung and liver health, and cold and
flu and allergy defense,” she says.
Having seen the development of
a new aspect of an existing “business”—albeit a non-profit—Sara Owen has
a clear view of how she can build a business and her career. She credits
School of Business courses in entrepreneurship and capitalization as key
elements in her future plans. And she has not ruled out the potential of
developing a non-profit business.
Sara says, “In putting together
the Oasis Spa, we experienced the satisfaction of seeing residents, the
people we see day in and day out, walking around much happier and
healthier. Knowing that we helped improve their lives in this way was a
definite reward. By keeping the service non-profit and specifically for
residents and their affiliates, we added to the feeling of ‘family’ that
is not always found in residence facilities. Plus, the residents can
have access to and enjoy the services without the hassles and prices
that they would encounter in a commercial spa.”
Applying her knowledge to
identifying and quantifying a market, Sara notes, “The Oasis Spa is
geared toward a specific generation and helping them mainly because they
are often overlooked and even ignored. The Orchards at Southington is
the first of its kind to open such a facility and now these residents
and their affiliates are experiencing the benefits of it—to the extent
that this service is now financially self-sustaining. And that’s good
for any business.”
