2-How Spa and Wellness Entrepreneurs Can Thrive Even When Faced with Adversity

How Entrepreneurs Can Thrive in a Hostile Environment

Some days, being an entrepreneur feels like walking uphill in a storm. You’re doing everything you can to grow your business, yet the world around you seems designed to make the climb harder. It’s a feeling many small business owners know all too well.

Costs rise, regulations shift, and support often seems directed toward bigger companies with bigger influence. If you’ve ever wondered whether the system actually wants small businesses to succeed, you’re not imagining things.

This sense of struggle formed the heart of a powerful discussion between tax expert Tom Wheelwright and business strategist Dan Varroney.

They explored what it takes for entrepreneurs to not just survive difficult conditions, but to genuinely thrive in them. Their insights revealed something important: even when the environment feels hostile, small business owners still hold more power, creativity, and resilience than they realize.

This article expands on those ideas with a warm, human lens—helping entrepreneurs understand the practical steps they can take, the mindset shifts that matter, and the ways they can turn adversity into fuel for growth.

In the video How Entrepreneurs Can Thrive When the System Is Against Them, the discussion dives into how small business owners can navigate and thrive in a challenging economic environment.

The Pressure Small Business Owners Carry Beneath the Surface

Running a business today can make anyone feel stretched thin. Owners often feel like they’re solving problems no one else sees. It’s easy to think, “Maybe the system just isn’t built for people like me.”

That thought is more common than most entrepreneurs admit.

Many quietly struggle with questions such as:
• How do I stay ahead when policies keep changing?
• How do I keep reinvesting when capital is so expensive?
• Why does it feel like big companies get the advantages?

Economist Dan Varroney has spent years working with policymakers and understands how disconnected the system can feel for small business owners. During discussions with entrepreneurs, he often brings forward a simple truth:

“If you’re not at the table, you’re on the menu.”

It may sound blunt, but it reflects a real dynamic: when small business voices are missing, decisions get made without them. That’s where advocacy becomes essential—not loud, political advocacy, but local, relationship-based involvement that builds influence over time.

Why Local Advocacy Gives Owners More Power Than They Realize

When entrepreneurs hear the word “advocacy,” they often imagine high-level political debates. But in reality, local advocacy is where most small businesses see the greatest impact.

Advocacy is about proximity, not volume.
It’s about showing up where everyday policies start• Chamber of commerce meetings • City council sessions • Community development workshops • Local business roundtables

These meetings may look small from the outside, but they set the tone for zoning decisions, licensing rules, small business grants, and economic programs.

Dr. Laura Tyson, an influential economist and former advisor to U.S. presidents, has long explained how local participation strengthens small businesses. She puts it plainly:

“Local leaders make the policies that shape your everyday operating environment. The closer you are to them, the more resilient your business becomes.”

For spa owners, wellness professionals, independent beauty practitioners, and other small service-based businesses, this is where the real leverage is.

When you show up, you’re no longer invisible. Your needs, constraints, and contributions become part of the conversation.

Trade Associations: Your Most Underused Lifeline

One of the strongest forms of support small businesses can tap into is shockingly underutilized: trade associations.

Owners are often too busy running the day-to-day operations to realize how much these associations can lighten the load. They provide:

• Plain-language explanations of new regulations • Access to industry research • Networking with peers who face similar challenges • Educational resources • Advocacy at state and national levels

For spa and wellness professionals, this can translate into clarity on safety protocols, product regulations, licensing changes, and industry trends that affect revenue.

John Arensmeyer, founder of Small Business Majority, has spent more than a decade studying the relationship between small businesses and trade associations. His observation is simple:

“When small businesses band together, they gain strength that no single owner could have alone.”

Trade associations help owners stop operating in isolation and start tapping into a network that’s already fighting for them.

When Capital Is Expensive, Every Decision Feels Heavier

One of the biggest challenges entrepreneurs face today is the cost of capital. When interest rates rise, expansion becomes harder, emergency funds shrink, and creativity often takes a back seat to survival.

Small businesses feel this more intensely because they rely heavily on affordable credit to upgrade equipment, hire staff, or reach new customers.

Economist Claudia Sahm, known for developing the “Sahm Rule” recession indicator, often highlights this very point:

“For small businesses, the cost of capital isn’t just a number—it’s the difference between surviving and growing.”

This is especially true in industries where equipment investments matter: LED therapy panels, massage tables, steam systems, POS upgrades, or even something as simple as improving a treatment room can transform a client experience. But when capital is expensive, owners pause.

Understanding this reality doesn’t remove the pressure, but it helps entrepreneurs make clearer decisions about timing, financing, and growth strategies.

Innovative Business Models Are Born When Times Are Tough

Constraints don’t just challenge entrepreneurs—they sharpen them. Some of the most innovative business structures emerge when the traditional model starts feeling too heavy or too limiting.

During their discussion, Varroney highlighted businesses that adopted distributed or hybrid models to reduce overhead. For wellness and spa professionals, innovation might look like:

• Virtual skin or wellness consultations • Mobile or on-location services • Renting rooms only when needed • Offering hybrid membership models • Collaborating with complementary businesses like gyms or therapy centers

These approaches reduce risk and give owners flexibility while still expanding their reach.

Innovation isn’t always about new technology. Sometimes it’s about letting go of the idea that your business must look like everyone else’s.

Building Community Ecosystems That Lift Everyone

One of the most inspiring insights from Varroney’s work is the power of local ecosystems—groups of businesses and community organizations working together to solve shared challenges.

He often shares stories of manufacturing communities that partnered with nonprofits to train and employ individuals who needed second chances.

These collaborations didn’t just solve labor shortages; they strengthened the entire local economy.

Wellness professionals can apply this same mindset by building relationships with:

• Local schools • Rehabilitation centers • Community health organizations • Senior living communities • Corporate wellness programs

Instead of waiting for customers to find them, entrepreneurs can create partnerships that generate steady, meaningful engagement.

Community-centered business models build loyalty that advertising alone can’t match.

Purpose-Driven Branding: Why Younger Consumers Care More Than Ever

Today’s consumers, especially Millennials and Generation Z, care deeply about values. They look for businesses that stand for something—wellness for the community, sustainable practices, transparency, inclusion, or mental health awareness.

Harvard Business School professor Rebecca Henderson has studied this shift extensively. She explains the movement simply:

“Purpose is no longer a luxury. It’s an expectation.”

Spa and wellness businesses can express their purpose in many ways:

• Using eco-friendly ingredients • Supporting local wellness causes • Offering community classes • Promoting mental health initiatives • Adopting sustainable studio practices

Purpose builds trust, and trust builds long-term clients.

Thriving in Hard Times Requires Believing That Your Role Matters

For many entrepreneurs, the hardest part of running a business in a tough environment isn’t the policies or the costs—it’s the emotional weight of trying to keep going when everything feels uncertain.

If you’ve ever reached the end of a long week and wondered whether you can keep doing this, you’re not alone.

But small business owners have always been the ones who rebuild, reimagine, and revive communities. You are the connective tissue of the local economy.

Thriving in adversity isn’t about pretending conditions are easy. It’s about stepping into the power you already have.

It’s about using community, creativity, and connection to stay resilient. It’s about building relationships that open doors you couldn’t access alone.
And it’s about understanding that your work has meaning that extends far beyond your bottom line.

If you’re feeling the weight of everything right now, reach out to another entrepreneur today. Share a thought, ask a question, or join a local business group. Your next opportunity often starts with a single conversation.

And remember: even when the environment feels hostile, your business can still grow, adapt, and thrive. You’ve already proven you can do the hard things. Now it’s time to keep moving forward—one connection, one idea, one courageous step at a time.