The pages of a romance novel is where a teenage Verona Wharburton first discovered and fell in love… with massage. After joining her local library, she then proceeded to literally put her hands on everything she could find on massage therapy and spa therapy.

Now 50, a mother of three and recently a grandmother, Verona has been soothing sore muscles with the palms of her hands, in offices and homes of clients all over Jamaica for the past 15 years.

But as life often goes, the road to self-discovery and our passion is often filled with twists and turns, and for Verona, it was no different. Before ending up with her own mobile spa business, Samambaia Holistic Mobile Spa, Verona worked in fashion design, as a florist, and even in the entertainment industry.

It was only in her 30s that she concretely began pursuing her goal of studying massage therapy.

“The course was very expensive then. It was like $35,000, $40,000. And in those days that was a lot of money…and I couldn’t afford it. It was just the elite people who could go into massage therapy in those days, or the nurses. So I took other career paths and saved the money to get in. And that’s where I started…” she explained.

However, she was determined, and in 2001 while visiting Barbados, Verona saw the concept of a mobile spa and was inspired to start her own. This was a natural progression as she was already giving house calls to various diplomats, expats, and other local professionals. This continued to grow and soon her small side job became so significant, she was forced to quit her day job with Nirvana Day Spa in Kingston and Renova Spa at the Riu Hotel in Ocho Rios.

“I resigned my job in 2011 to focus on my now growing client’s needs, as moonlighting was getting the better of me physically and mentally. I then got my business registered.”

Today Verona is the owner and operator and Director of Samambaia Holistic Mobile Spa, under the umbrella of Your Lifestyle Services. The business is owned by herself and her two daughters. “We provide holistic mobile spa services islandwide mainly for the corporate entities but also for individuals in the comfort of their space: Offices, homes, church, schools, villas and hotels.

“We also provide our own skincare line, Samambaia Naturals and spa supplies, and provide skincare products and spa supplies to schools, spas and salons, spa retreats and excursions and also training”

Verona used the Portuguese version of her name, Samambaia, which is a healing fern plant which grows deep in the rainforests of Brazil. “…Verona or Fern as a name for the business was already taken-names in the wellness industry. So I used the Portuguese version of my name – Samambaia… I chose to add “holistic” based on the fact that we focus on the whole person and not just their physical or beautification needs.

They are currently located at Mystic Ridge Hotel in Ocho Rios but provide services mainly in Kingston, Ocho Rios and Montego Bay.

Their specific services are wide and include holistic stress management, holistic massage therapy, reflexology, manual lymphatic drainage, hotstone therapy, reiki treatment, body talk treatment, clinical massage, anti-ageing facials, acne facials, body scrubs/wraps, body and facial waxing and manicure/pedicures. Most of these can be done effectively in a corporate setting, except for the body scrub and wrap which require a shower.

They can even refer clients to other wellness or medical professionals in order to diagnose or treat clients.

Their spa services are also often requested at various functions.

“We provide spa services for baby showers, sweet sixteen parties, bridal groups, family reunions, corporate functions, sports days, fund-raising functions, church and couples retreats, teachers, nurses or secretary spa day treats, girlfriends spa day, men’s rejuvenating spa treat, mom’s time out spa treat or Christmas spa parties.”

NO HAPPY ENDING

Over the years, the entrepreneurial journey has been challenging for Verona but she has weathered the storm and stayed the course.

“I started the business with my life savings to buy equipment, raw materials and inventory, paying for graphics work, brochures and labels. That was a big risk. Now, I had no other source of income but the business. Those days were very rocky. Currently, I do have challenges as we need another vehicle in the company and a good salesperson.

One big challenge she had to overcome was , “ The perversion in the industry.” Verona explained that often her clients from her male shirt design business moved with her to her florist business, to entertainment and then with her to her massage company. However, to her surprise, some of these clients, then started to make sexual advances, during her work. She was shocked.

“A lot of them were people who would like to get intimate with me, and in those days massage was not seen as something that would enhance your well-being, it was just seen as sex… and so it was hard for me to educate them that listen, ‘…This is something to help you, something that will enhance your physical and emotional well-being. This is something to balance your whole being, this is not sex!

“A lot of times I was harassed by people I’ve known for years, and it didn’t happen until I started my massage therapy practice.

“A lot of them I have given up on and I no longer do business with them. But not everyone was like that. Some I eventually convinced them that this is not what this is about. But some of them, were really asking me to go the extra mile – I mean the happy ending thing. And so I had to part ways with those.”

On a more practical level, another difficulty for her was her accounting.

“I struggled personally with bookkeeping for a long time. I’ve never really been disciplined enough to keep a proper accounting system.” She is, however, grateful to Paramount Business Solutions who have assisted her in improving. “I will be doing a lot better coming 2018 and onwards…” She explained.

The goal is always to help others

Despite these challenges, Verona deep motivation is seeing people feel better.

“I’m eager and hungry to help people. Also when you see how pleased people are, and how happy they are, and people telling you , you have hands of an angel, and you are a healer… The praises I get are also very gratifying for me.”

She’s also seen the power of massage and it’s ability to rejuvenate and bring muscles back to life “ People having difficulty walking, improving after a few months, others with migraines gone… It’s really rewarding for me.”

A group that particularly concerned her were corporate and medical professionals. She saw a gap to fill and was motivated to meet the demands of these individuals. There was a need to help “balance the well-being of the corporate and medical individuals that lead such busy lifestyles they wouldn’t have time to go to a spa to get a massage, facial or even to get their nails done on a regular basis”.

She also saw a market for distributing spa supplies, which often took weeks to be refilled. However, now with her products, she supplies within a few days and sometimes even within 24 hours.

HEALING TOUCH

What makes Samambaia special is that they literally take the spa experience to their clients. “We turn their space into a spa ambience with aromatherapy candles, essential oils, relaxation music and flowers to heighten their sense of relaxation and get them out of work mode. We have everyone change into spa robes and slippers at the end of their treatments and they are given the Samambaia special blend of herbal ice tea.”

Being a family business also plays a part.

“My two younger daughters work hands-on in the business. One is a clinical therapist and the other is an aesthetician/data entry clerk for the company, while my eldest daughter is an advisor and sometimes the writer for our marketing content. My two oldest nieces also assist. We will go the extra mile to make our clients happy. We work outside of the normal work hours taking clients as early as 6 am and as late as 9 pm. We genuinely love what we do,” shares Verona.

Continually improving her craft through education, Verona is driven by a desire to learn as much as she possibly can about her craft, and as a result has done a course almost every year. She is a licensed holistic massage therapist (LMT), certified in: Level 3 holistic massage therapy, level 1 and 3 reflexology, level 3 manual lymphatic drainage massage, level 2 reiki practitioner, level 1 and 3 spa therapy and aesthetics, hot stone therapy, business studies and marketing.

Today, Samambaia Holistic Mobile Spa is doing well and has seen an increase in both foreign and local clientele

“Compared to three to six years ago. We have grown 100 per cent. Our business has flourished for sure. More tourists are reaching out to us for bridal and group treatments. More locals and corporate groups are requesting our services.”

In addition, they have recently signed a new contract with a corporate group to offer spa services to their team of over 1000 members, every quarter.

For the future, Verona hopes that Samambaia becomes the spa of choice for Jamaica’s corporate entities and individuals.

“I am hoping to expand on another Caribbean island in the near future and to launch our online spa supplies store in 2018.”