SMME #461 Open and Resilient: How Two Words Can Transform Your 2026 Spa Business

Summary

Spa Marketing Made Easy Podcast: Episode #461 Summary

Episode Title: Open and Resilient: How Two Words Can Transform Your 2026 Spa Business
Host: Daniela Woerner
Guest: Sarah (previous frequent guest)
Release Date: December 8, 2025

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Episode Overview

This episode focuses on the transformative power of choosing a "Word of the Year" as a guiding theme for spa owners and professionals entering 2026. Host Daniela Woerner and guest Sarah share personal stories, business challenges, and actionable insights centered on their chosen words—“Open” (Daniela) and “Resiliency” (Sarah). The conversation explores adaptability in the face of industry changes, the importance of reframing setbacks, and authentic ways to set powerful intentions for personal and business growth.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Reflecting on 2025: A Year of Weirdness and Transformation

• Daniela and Sarah note 2025 was an unusually challenging year not just for themselves but broadly felt across the spa industry. (00:20–01:39)
  • “I feel like it’s not just me, not just you. There’s been a lot of people that 2025 has just been a weird year, like a shift." – Daniela (00:43)
  • Change, though uncomfortable, is viewed as a catalyst for growth.

2. Adapting to Industry Change: AI and Client Behaviors

• Rapid industry shifts were discussed, including shifting client behaviors and technology adoption, especially AI. (01:54–02:34)
  • “We are in a new era… the spas and businesses that are incorporating AI, that are testing, they’re moving fast.” – Daniela (02:10)
• Adaptation is key: Businesses must experiment and pivot as old client acquisition strategies become less effective.

3. Words of the Year: Setting Intentional Themes

• Daniela picks "Open" to invite new opportunities and approaches, sharing that after 20 years in the industry, breaking from “the way it’s always been” is crucial. (02:34–04:00)
  • “The overarching theme is just being Open, because I want to be open to new possibilities. I want to be open to new partnerships. I want to be open to new ways of doing things.” – Daniela (02:44)
• Sarah’s word is "Resiliency," emphasizing the power of adaptation, reframing adversity, and enduring temporary challenges. (05:24–06:42)
  • “I like to reframe how I’m looking at something—like, what is this teaching me? And how can I grow from it?” – Sarah (06:10)

4. Memorable Story: The “Deer in the House” Incident

• Sarah tells an engaging story about a deer literally running through her city home. (07:05–10:24)
  • The story serves as a metaphor for unexpected chaos in business and life.
  • Sarah uses it to illustrate resilience and reframing adversity: “All the girls know… I reframed it. I was like, guess who gets to redecorate?” – Sarah (10:16)

5. Reframing Setbacks as Growth Opportunities

• Resiliency and openness are described as superpowers for spa business owners.
  • “Being an entrepreneur is your greatest lesson in personal development, apart from having children.” – Daniela (11:00)
• Adversity is normal, and the willingness to pivot builds confidence, self-awareness, and trust within spa teams and clients. (11:23–14:39)
  • Creating a culture of transparency and integrity ensures understanding from clients during unforeseen difficulties.

6. Practical Tips: Setting Intentions and Personal Guidelines

• Daniela shares her practice of writing personal guidelines each year instead of resolutions. (19:11–20:25)
  • “Those guidelines were the type of person I wanted to become.” – Daniela (19:34)
• Sarah highlights the value of actually writing things out, not just keeping intentions “in your mind.” (20:04)

7. The Elasticity of Business and Filling Your Own Cup

• Importance of self-care for business leaders: (16:07–16:35)
  • “If we’re not filling our cup first… then we’re not going to be able to serve at the highest level. And that’s not fair.” – Daniela (16:30)
• Businesses are resilient and adaptable, and taking time for self-clarity directly fuels business success. (17:04)

8. Looking Ahead to 2026: Embracing Newness and Mistakes

• Optimism for 2026: Both hosts express hope and positive energy entering the new year, inviting others to proactively choose a “Word of the Year” as an anchor through the highs and lows. (18:02–21:11)

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

| Timestamp | Quote | Speaker | |-----------|-------|---------| | 00:43 | “There’s been a lot of people that 2025 has just been a weird year, like a shift.” | Daniela | | 02:10 | “We are in a new era… the spas and businesses that are incorporating AI, that are testing, they’re moving fast.” | Daniela | | 02:44 | “The overarching theme is just being Open, because I want to be open to new possibilities.” | Daniela | | 05:30 | “I am very much a person that I can be thrown a lot onto my plate, and I can adapt, not react, and I can push through…” | Sarah | | 06:10 | “What is this teaching me? And how can I grow from it?” | Sarah | | 10:16 | “All the girls know… I reframed it. I was like, guess who gets to redecorate?” (after a deer destroyed her home) | Sarah | | 11:00 | “Being an entrepreneur is your greatest lesson in personal development, apart from having children.” | Daniela | | 13:42 | “People just come with compassion. And I think that we are so hard on ourselves as entrepreneurs… because we're of service to people, we want to help.” | Sarah | | 14:39 | “With our two words of openness and resiliency, they actually pair so nicely together. Because when you do try new things, you are going to mess up… and that’s okay.” | Daniela | | 17:04 | “I… spent two and a half years learning AI… If I didn’t take that time to really dive in and understand how to use it on a much deeper level, [I’d have missed out].” | Daniela |

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Timestamps for Important Segments

• 00:20–01:39: Reflections on 2025 upheaval and growth
• 01:54–02:34: Discussion on adapting to industry changes, including AI
• 02:34–04:00: Daniela’s "Open" word of the year explained
• 05:24–06:42: Sarah’s "Resiliency" and approach to adversity
• 07:05–10:24: Memorable “deer in the house” anecdote
• 11:00–11:23: Entrepreneurship as personal development
• 14:39–16:35: Culture, integrity, and self-care for spa owners
• 19:11–20:25: Personal guidelines and intentional themes

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Final Thoughts & Takeaways

• Choosing a Word (or Theme) of the Year is a powerful exercise for spa leaders to focus intentions, adapt to new challenges, and foster growth in both business and personal domains.
• Openness and resiliency are highlighted as essential, intertwined traits—try new things and embrace setbacks as opportunities to learn and grow.
• Self-care, transparency, and adaptability build a strong foundation, not just in business systems but in culture and client relationships.
• 2026 is positioned as a year of possibility: Reflect and choose a personal theme to anchor your journey.

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Useful for any spa owner or professional seeking motivation and actionable mindset shifts heading into 2026.

Transcript

[A]

All right, Sarah, welcome back to the Spa Marketing Made Easy podcast. This is. This is a welcome back. I know you've been on here at least one time before. Actually, a couple times before.

[B]

Yeah. Maybe 10.

[A]

Well, I wanted to bring you on to talk about words of the year. I wanted to talk about. It's, you know, this past 2025 was kind of a year for the record books for a lot of things. It was. I feel like there were so many things that didn't make sense, but there was also one of the most transformational growth years that I've ever experienced in my 44 years on this planet. And, you know, being faced with, like, pushing your. Talk about pushing yourself out of your comfort zone, talking about getting facing experiences that are going to cause you to say, no, this is actually what I want. You know, like, there's been so many different things, and I. I feel like it's not just me, not just you. There's been a lot of people that 2025 has just been a weird year, like a shift.

[B]

I feel like everybody is feeling it, too. Everyone is feeling like, oh, my gosh, something's different, Something's changing. Change is also good. Pivoting's good. Doesn't always have to be bad. It's supposed to feel uncomfortable. Discomfort's always, you know, it's uncomfortable. But sometimes it's going to be something that's going to set you up for success.

[A]

Yes. Your setbacks can be your setups. And so you. You feel like, okay, this big thing happened, or how am I going to overcome whatever obstacle.

Whether it's, you know, how am I using AI or client purchasing behavior is not the same. I feel like I'm doing everything right, but nothing is working. And that's because it's not the same as it was even just six months ago. Right. We are in a new era where we're having to test, and the spas and businesses that are incorporating, that are testing, that are incorporating AI, that are incorporating all of these different things, they're moving fast.

[B]

Yeah.

Sometimes moving fast is good. You got to be able to adapt quickly, for sure.

[A]

So for me, I chose open as my word of the year, and for words of the year. I've done this for years, and it really is just to kind of set a tone. I'm not really. I don't do a lot of resolutions. I set out kind of guidelines for the year or. Or focuses for the year, things that are important to me in this particular season. But the overarching theme is just being Open, because I want to be open to new possibilities. I want to be open to new partnerships. I want to be open to new ways of doing things. You know, when we bought the farm, I am a beginner in so many things. I'm like, oh, we have an agricultural zone. We have. You can't just, like, throw seeds in the ground and then they magically grow. You know, it's like a boat.

[B]

It's great, though. It's.

[A]

I don't know how to drive it.

[B]

I know we'll figure it out. But again, that's being open. Being open is important because it's something new, it's something that you've wanted, and it's also great to have an open mindset around things that are changing or new. And it is a lot of fun, and it's beautiful.

[A]

I think, especially, you know, it's been 20 years for me that I've been in this industry, and when you are in an industry or in business for a certain period of time, it's kind of like, well, if it's not broke, don't fix it. Or we. This is how it's always been done. Or this is, you know, this is what's always worked in the past. And that whole way of thinking kind of got smashed.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

You know, there. There are, like, customer service, right. There's. There's principles that we have to adhere to, like service. Yes. There's things like that that are obviously not smashed on. On its head, but we can't be doing the same client acquisition strategies.

You know, there's. There's things like that that we really have to be clear on. Like, hey, if this is not working, I've got to pivot and I've got to try something different and move.

[B]

So try something different. And then what worked before seems to be the answer that's also tried and true. Then you can go back to it. There's definitely no harm in trying something new. And if it doesn't work, you know, that's the beauty of being an entrepreneur as well. That's what makes it so much fun.

[A]

So what is your word of the year?

[B]

Resiliency? I would say yes.

[A]

And why resiliency?

[B]

I am very much a person. Anybody who knows me or anybody listening who's getting to know me, I am very much a person that I can be thrown a lot onto my plate, and I can adapt, not react, and I can push through and. And I don't mean in, like, the extreme ownership way. Even though I am not opposed to that.

[A]

I can see Me and you doing some pushups. We'll. We'll read a book and we'll be like, let's do some pushups.

[B]

Right? I don't. I don't know. I. Yeah, maybe I do. Maybe crunches, but I don't know about pushup. My arms hurt from doing facials, to be perfectly honest.

[A]

But fair enough.

[B]

I'm definitely somebody who. I enjoy being thrown different obstacles. I'm not searching for them, so I'm not putting that out into the universe. But I like to reframe how I'm looking at something like, what is this teaching me? And how can I grow from it? And how many things in life are temporary opposed to how many things in life it can feel, like, so hard and so bad. But maybe it's just a lesson. So that's why I think for me, my word would be resiliency, because I just.

[A]

You figure it out. You get back up after you've been knocked down.

[B]

Always.

[A]

There was no other. Like. So we have a. A group text thread, and there's Fab 5 Plus. It's our group text text thread, and it's a very active text thread. And can you tell the dear story?

[B]

Okay.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

So basically, I had. So we'd like to do a mix of pictures and we like to do a mix of audio messages or just plain old texting. We have such a variety in there. Some of us are. More audio. It depends. Well, I sent an audio this day. I was like, almost home. And I was like, oh, my gosh, guys, I don't even know what I'm going to be walking into. But all I know is that I just got a phone call. A deer ran through my house, and I left it at that. And I didn't.

[A]

Can you please also tell people where you live? Because I live in the.

[B]

I live on a main road. So my house is on a main road across the street from, like, a daycare and a bank and a water tower. Absolutely zero.

[A]

Was very busy city environment. It is not a. You're not out in, like, country fields. No. And I came to New Jersey.

[B]

New Jersey, like, and, yeah, they came charging through, essentially, to set the tone. I was out at the grocery store. My husband and my children and my dogs were at home. And. And I had this really. Instinct feeling. I was actually talking to my. I don't talk to myself in public, but I talked to myself in public, and I was like, I need to go home. I had this gut instinct. I was like, I have to go home now. I didn't leave my groceries there, but I did check them out. I got home within probably a minute of me being from my house. I got a phone call from my daughter telling me that I had to come home. Then my husband drove up into my house, and there was a police officer already outside because there is, like, a restaurant bar area across the street from me. They're always stationed over there. Walk up. What would you think if, like, your child. My daughter's 14 years old, a deer came? I'm thinking they hit the mailbox. I'm thinking something simplistic. And I get there. There's glass everywhere. And, like, disclaimer also, it bumped its face into a closed storm door and do so clearly. Its face was bloody from bashing through the glass. And then it lost an antler in the process. It was storm. The ring camera didn't even pick it up, but picked it up going out. So essentially what happened was my husband was sitting there minding his business. The deer came through, went through our entire downstairs. Thank goodness that my husband was not injured. My children happened to be upstairs, and my dogs, I have two cattle dogs, and they went to work. Their job is to herd. And my one helped to get it out, and my husband was trapped in the room with it and got it out. Luckily, it just ran out the same way it came in. But the aftermath of it, I mean, I think we do this in life, right? You sit there and you say to yourself, oh, my gosh, this could have happened. Or you're feeling. I'm feeling guilt because I was at the grocery store. I'm feeling like, thank goodness. I was so grateful nothing happened beside, besides things being disrupted, nobody got hurt. Yes, the things got damaged. But all the girls know, especially, I reframed it. I was like, guess who gets to redecorate?

[A]

But that's the perfect. That's why, like, resiliency is such a great word for you. And I. I love that story for 2025. Because 2025 was just a year of weird, right? There were so many things that didn't make sense, and you're just like, all right, let's reframe this. Let's. Let's retry this. And in business, that is like a spa CEO superpower is being able to reframe if things don't work. It's like, I actually just said this on a call with our growth factor elite members is that being an entrepreneur is your greatest lesson in personal development, apart from having children. And that's because we're constantly solving problems we're constantly pushing ourselves outside of our comfort zone. We're constantly.

Being judged in a way.

[B]

Especially with clientele or how we're maybe our employees or something like that as well.

[A]

Or there's all these types of things that you have to have a self awareness, you have to have a confidence in yourself, a belief in yourself, and that's a step skill to be able to develop that. And resiliency also is a skill because they're, you know, you're. If you're in the business long enough, there's going to be plenty of times that you want to quit. And absolutely, I think, you know, if you're. I mean, it's like things can get hard, things can be challenging, and sometimes it feels easier to just quit. And, you know, after a year like this, and I don't want to sound doom and gloom because I have talked to so many incredible spot owners that are just knocking it out of the park. There are some people that I'm just like, wow. Like, they're inspiring to me of the things that they're doing and gives me so much hope and positivity of. Of really great things happening in the industry right now. So it's not all doom and gloom.

But there are, like, new things that we're doing. We are figuring out AI. We are dealing.

Consumer uncertainty. We are dealing with a new way that we have to get in front of people. Right. And all of that takes a lot of work, especially if you already had systems set up. And so. And we all also deal with life that sometimes involves a deer running through.

[B]

I had to call. I'm a big person where I don't like. So I'm still.

Practicing within my spa. And I have this very big thing where I will not cancel clients unless it's absolutely necessary if there's an emergency or obviously if I was sick or something like that. And I remember sitting there being like, I'm gonna have to message my clients and I'm honest with them. We build relationships. And I remember sitting there being like, this is unbelievable that I am sending this message to tell them that I can't see them because I have to have all these inspectors and people come out to my house. And you know what? Like, people just come with compassion. And I think that we are so hard on ourselves as entrepreneurs and business owners or even as estheticians, because we're of service to people we want to help.

But we're building something that's so beautiful and people are so understanding. So even when we change and we Pivot or we have life happens. Right. It really just lets you see, too, when bad stuff does happen, who does show up for you.

[A]

But I think that that's built into the culture of your spa. And you're also like, your personal identifying beliefs, like, how do you live your life? You live your life with transparency, with openness, with integrity. And you've got to make sure that that comes through so that when you do call to cancel when there's a legitimate emergency, that's the reaction that you get. Because if you don't honor that in business and in your personal life, then you would not be getting that same reaction. And so, you know, creating that culture, creating.

The understanding of, like, your own personal belief system for people to have that trust in you, I think is a really important skill. And, you know, with our two words of openness and resiliency, they actually pair so nicely together. Because when you do try new things, you are going to mess up. Some of them are not going to work. And that's okay. Right? You have to have the resiliency to get back up. And I think that. That for 2026, I am fully, like, I am so ready for 2026. I think it's going to be an incredible year. I feel so positive about it. I feel like 2025 for me was a lot of gaining clarity and having a deeper understanding of myself and my desires and my abilities. And, you know, I finally got really clear over the summer of what works for me and what makes me genuinely happy and what makes me motivated, which.

[B]

Is really, honestly, you should really be grateful that you took the time to do that for yourself. Like, your future self is going to be so happy with your 2025 self that you took the time to do that, because a lot of us will kind of keep on going. And you had, like, this instinct that you needed to disrupt.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

Change.

[A]

But I also, I think that to. For us to be able to give and for us to be able to lead, right, if we are a CEO, leading our company, or if we are giving to our clients, if we're not filling our cup first, if we're not making sure that we are happy and fulfilled and.

Meeting our needs, then we're not going to be able to serve at the highest level. And that's not fair.

[B]

People can feel it. People can feel it.

[A]

They can fill it. So it's. I. I believe that our businesses are so much more elastic than we realize. I think that, you know, one thing is not going to be the end all. Be all Right. Like there's. Everything is possible and I, you know, I believe that to the core of who I am. And yes, I took time to reset, I took time to restructure.

And now, yes, I'm also so proud of, you know, I, I spent two and a half years learning AI and all, all the things that go with it. And which is great if I didn't take that time to really dive into the deep end and understand how to use it on a much deeper level than just like write me a social media post, you know, which is now.

[B]

Meal plan, like what would be the best. But it's great for that too.

[A]

Yeah, but like using it on a really strategic level and how we're going to apply it in spa so that you can have more time, which again is your most valuable asset. Right.

[B]

So important. And two, making sure you understand your why or what you're doing so that you can customize to be able to apply AI properly. If you don't know what you're doing, that's okay. But definitely try to deep dive on it.

[A]

Yeah. So, you know, as we move into 2026, I am open to new things. I am open to new possibilities. I am open to messing up because I put myself out there, you know, I'm open to all of the things that are helping me to be the best version of myself. And so I will have that. I'll put that on my wall here. It'll be something that I see regularly and keep kind of as a theme going into 2026. I'm sure you'll do the same with resiliency, but it's a, it's just a great practice if you don't do a word of the year to think about, like, what's important for you in the coming year, what's the thing that you want to focus on in a particular season.

And just keep it top of mind. I'm not someone that does a lot of, you know, New Year's resolutions or any. But I, I want like a theme of the coming year. So.

[B]

Yeah, I mean, or we could do our. We did and you did intentions last year.

[A]

So I did like personal guidelines. I did like a list of 10 guidelines that I wanted to live my life by in the coming year. Yes. And that was. Those were really important and I had them written in a notebook. I posted that in our chat and I had them in a notebook and they were part of my morning practice where, you know, if you do gratitude in the morning or like whatever it is that you do to Kind of get your mind in the right place. That was something that I was reading over and over because those guidelines were the type of person that I wanted to become, which is amazing.

[B]

And if you don't know and if somebody doesn't know. I remember when I saw that and I was like, wow, this is really great. Because I never personally.

[A]

It was deep.

[B]

It was very deep. And I also know that for myself, I keep a lot in my mind because my memory is good. But some. There's something about putting it on paper or even if it's typing it out and reflecting on it and actually taking the time for yourself to do it to honor your future self that is so special.

[A]

Yeah. So as we're in December, you know, we're. There's a lot of, you know, closing the loop, end of year type of energy that's going on. There's going to be a lot of New Year's resolutions, a lot of planning for the coming year. Just reflect. Reflect on what you want 2026 to what 2025 was for you, what you want 2026 to look like, and what is your, you know, word of the year is a great.

Kind of overall theme, something that can help you through the good times and through the bad times in business because the journey is such an important part of the whole process.

So great. All right. Thank you, Sarah, for being here and talking about Words of the Year and all of that fun stuff. I wish everybody an incredible December, an incredible holiday season, lots of time with your loved ones and your families, and, of course, incredible business success. We'll catch you on the next episode.