A Healthy, Beautiful Business Model

In North London, there are numerous salons and fitness studios to choose from, but there are few—if any—like Perle de Beaute. A joint health and beauty salon, Perle de Beaute offers customers the chance to pamper themselves with salon services or challenge their body in a workout class—all in the same location.

Co-owner Ricardo Nunes said that the idea to combine both beauty and health services in one location came from a lack of comparable businesses in the area. “Because we felt that we lacked a more personalized, proper fitness studio in the area, which encompasses all the beauty, health and spa services, we decided to introduce the fitness studio to our business model.”

In order to add fitness services to their business model, Ricardo and his wife Carla had to move their beauty business out of their home, where they had been operating for years. While out on a walk one day, Ricardo and Carla saw an open shop and knew it was time to make the leap to the next phase of business ownership.

“We saw this shop was available and it just connected,” Ricardo said. “The shop is there, we could make the next step forward and just go with it. That’s how it took off, really.”

As Perle de Beaute launched beauty services in December and the fitness studio in January, Ricardo was investigating how to improve the services he was providing his customers. The studio held events for the local community to learn more about what they could provide, and they began to plan for a children’s Pilates or yoga program.

After launching, Ricardo and Carla chose Mindbody to help manage the operations of both the beauty and fitness sides of the business. “With Mindbody, I can combine the whole business into one single software unit,” Ricardo said. “That’s very key for me.”

Because Mindbody helps with business administration and client management, Ricardo is able to spend more time doing the things he loves most: interacting more with his customers directly.

“Being able to customize our services and see a smile on a customer’s face, that’s what drives us forward,” Ricardo said. “I look forward to seeing the customers walk through the door and making their days. That’s what we’re there for.”