How Much Space Does a Spa in NY Need?

When starting your own medical spa, the most important factor in your decision to open is the cost. There are many things to consider when you open your practice, and opening your own medical spa is not cheap. The returns from your investment, however, can and most likely will make the initial startup cost completely worth it. 

Whether you’re franchising from an existing spa or starting from square one, there are basic costs every single opening office has to consider: construction and leasing costs. You’ll likely have improvements and enhancements you’ll want to make in the space you’re opening, to account for the different services you want to provide in your medical spa. Although there may not be very many regulations to comply with, you also have to ensure that your staff and clients are comfortable and have access to anything necessary for treatments or procedures. New York is at the very top of the “Expensive Real Estate” list but the cost fluctuates greatly depending where you’re located (Midtown Manhattan vs. Long Island) and how much space you want. Follow this link to go more in depth on how much office space your medical spa will need. 

For a non-ground floor office space in Midtown NYC, you’re looking for per square foot rent of $55-70. This means that if you’re starting with a 1000sf space, your yearly rent will be $55,000 to $70,000 or $5833 to 45833 a month, plus utilities and other expenses.  For a ground floor space, the typical rent would be 3 or 4 times this amount. A great alternative to paying such high fees in rent is to look for a shared space, or renting out a single room instead of an entire office. This is a great alternative if you are a solo practitioner, or don’t plan to hire a large staff right as you start your medical spa.

Your next biggest expense will be staffing your spa. The clinic will need a medical director (which will most likely be you, if you’re reading this article). You’ll want somebody at the front desk, and you’ll also probably have a nurse or two. Your office will need someone to write down initial client information, as well as someone to answer the phone and handle appointment bookings, while the medical staff interact with clients personally. You can usually expect to hire two or three full-time employees, and a couple of part-time employees as well. If you are renting a room in a shared space, you may have to handle all of the aspects yourself, or there may be a management company to oversee the administrative aspects, for a fee of course.

Another expense to consider is the equipment and supplies you’ll need to purchase. Depending on the services you want to offer in your spa, you can be looking at $125,000 or more. This means everything to fill the spa, from treatment tables and chairs, to specialized machines like lasers or CoolSculpting, to Botox and other injectable products. Learn more about what equipment to purchase for your medical spa here. 

If you’re franchising your medical spa, there may be a cost included as well –  but this cost is typically offset by the established brand recognition and support of the spa you are franchising from.  As an example, here are one Medical Spa’s numbers for licensing. 

Initial Licensing Fee: $70,000 (this is a fee to be paid to the spa)

Investment Needed To Open Location: $50,000

Ongoing Fee: 7% of sales

While these numbers may sound a bit scary, the current anti-aging market is $250 billion, and projected to grow to $331 billion by 2021. Botox is the #1 non-surgical procedure since 2000, and only growing by the day. The industry is on fire and if you’ve read over this page, you know it will be a worthwhile investment. If the prices, and cost, of starting your own medical spa, are the only thing holding you back we suggest reaching out to us to learn even more about why this can be a very beneficial endeavor.