INTRODUCTION A few years ago, a friend contacted me to offer to collaborate with her on the purchase of a day spa. I have always wanted the freedom and satisfaction that comes from being my own boss. After deciding to move forward with my partner and purchase a day spa, I learned how to put together a business plan, staffing criteria, and marketing plan.1. ACTUAL EXPERIENCE Before purchasing the day spa, I learned during my research that the spa industry is a growing sector and that more than any other time in history; people lead very stressful lives. Because of this stress, they are becoming more conscious of their health and well-being and are willing to spend their discretionary funds to pamper themselves with spa services. After purchasing the day spa, the first thing to do was to create a partnership agreement between me and my partner. After reaching a consensus on the terms, we met with an attorney who formalized our agreement and incorporated our business. We decided to form a company so that we would not have to pay the company's debts if we were involved in any dispute. The next order of business was to prepare a business plan. There are many aspects of a day spa that can be co-managed, but I felt that my background as a legal assistant and executive in corporate America qualified me to take the lead in writing our business plan. Our business plan would serve as a strategy moving forward, but first I needed to establish our mission. Basically, our mission was to provide excellent services to our customers while making a profit. In writing the business plan, I determined our target market and our marketing strategy to gain market share. I also had a marketing plan that will form the basis of all your marketing activities. Today there are literally dozens of ways you can communicate your message to your target customers, from traditional ones, such as advertising in magazines, newspapers and direct marketing, but one of the most recent communication methods that has been developed is the Internet. (Ebook) With the expansion and increasing use of search engines, many small businesses can now cost-effectively and successfully own and operate their own website, giving them unlimited exposure.IV. ACTIVE EXPERIMENTATION Unfortunately, many small businesses fail or do not reach their full potential because the small business owner spends too much time working on the business and too little time working on the business. Works Cited Shahzad, Imran A. The Business Review, Cambridge 16.2 (December 2010): 161-166.