1. Mae’s Hot Oil and Traditional Thai Massage
Background
Mae Yoskul was born and raised in Thailand by her mother. Mae’s mother moved to Victoria, BC when
Mae was young to provide money for her family to grow up in Thailand. When Mae was in her late teens,
she took a Thai massage course with plans of following in her mother’s footsteps. When Mae turned 19,
she moved to Victoria, BC, to join her mother at a small, independently owned Thai massage business.
Mae knew very little English but was eager to begin her new life in Canada.
Not long after beginning work, Mae’s mother was unexpectedly fired. The business owner continued on
to let go of Mae in fear that she would take all of her mother’s clients. Mae vowed that this would not be
the end of her career,and in October of 2009, she opened up her own Thai massage business out of a
small commercial building in downtown Victoria. Her business quickly took off, capturing a number of
devoted customers.
Presently, Mae is 25 years old running a massage parlor called Mae’s Hot Oil and Traditional Thai
Massage and has contracted 5 employees to perform massages on demand – 2 part time and 3 full time.
She currently rents out two separate offices in the same building where massages take place. She no
longer performs massages and has taken on an entirely managerial role, taking calls to book appointments
and handling the business’s financing and marketing.
Location
Mae’s parlor is located on the corner of Hillside and Quadra Street in Victoria, British Columbia. There is
an ample amount of free parking available at the location, so clientele can easily access the parlor. There
are two offices for Mae’s massage,which are right next to one another in a rented apartment building.
The first of the offices has two therapy rooms, while the other has three. A Thai theme is carried through
the offices with traditional Thai artwork and light fixtures. The parlor has a relaxed atmosphere and does
not have a receptionist or waiting room, so the clientele are ushered into their treatment rooms as soon as
they arrive. Mae’s hours of operations vary, but are mostly from 9am-11pm, seven days a week. During
the day there are three staff at the parlor, while at night there is usually only one. Although laundry was
originally done on site, it was found to be time consuming, so the used towels and linens are now picked
up once a week by Canadian Linens and replaced with fresh ones.
Promotion
So far, the only promotion Mae has been involved in is her gift cards, which are themed to particular
holidays, such as Valentine’s Day, Christmas, and Mother’s Day.
Advertising
Mae has advertised her services through the use of newsprint, the Internet, and signage. Mae used to
mainly market through ‘Monday Magazine’, a very popular monthly print offering news on music, art,
film, fashion, lifestyle, food, outdoor recreation, sports, and everything in between in the Victoria area.
Mae found it to be too expensive at $200 a month for the results that she was getting, so she discontinued
partnership with them. Currently she does most of her advertising through the use of Craigslist. ‘Used
Victoria’ and ‘Backpage’ are both online sites similar to Craigslist that have been used in the past, but
they have not seemed to draw clientele to Mae’s business. 411, an online service to look up businesses in
the area,promised that, through paying $70 a month, Mae’s business would have a higher SEO. However,
after three months she found that her site was not ranked any higher, so she discontinued her payments to
them. Beta testing to try marketing ideas, such as their ‘Backpage’ endeavor,have also been used at a cost
of $1000 a year. Mae also has a website, www.thaimassagevictoria.com, which allows potential clients to
explore services,fees,and what to expect from her company. Finally, the landlord of the building Mae

2. rents for her parlor has allowed her to have signage for her business on the outside of the building, which
faces out to Hillside Avenue, just off of one of the main streets in the heart of Victoria.
Mae’s tracks her advertising’s effectiveness by asking each of her clientele where they heard of her
massage services from when they call to book an appointment. 85-90% of customers reveal that they
found her services via Craigslist or her website.
Example of Mae’s Craigslist Advertisement
Booking an Appointment/Operations
Mae’s Traditional Thai and Hot Oil Massage does not have a receptionist. Instead, Mae does the job of
taking phone calls from customers and scheduling appointments. When a client calls to have a massage,
Mae takes the call on her cellphone and books them in a timeslot that is available during that day with one
of the 5 employees. Mae then contacts the employees via text message to let them know about the
scheduled booking. There is a small waiting room in the office, but the customers are given an exact time
when the appointment is so there is little to no waiting time if the customer comes exactly on time; the
client simply walks into the office and is greeted by the massage therapist he/she is scheduled with and
the therapist then takes the client into the therapy room to start the treatment. Customers, especially
males, appreciate that there is little to no wait since not only is their time saved, but they also do not have
to deal with any awkward tension that may occur among other clients in the waiting room.
The Massage
The customer has a choice between two massages:a Traditional Thai Massage,or a Hot Oil Massage.
The oils needed for these massages are either purchased by Mae or are purchased and picked up by one of
the masseuses who is not giving a massage at that time. The costs for the oil are split amongst the
masseuses and not Mae so they are not expenses of the business. They only use mineral and baby oil for
their massages. Mae makes a strong effort to have her team of masseuses deliver a consistent massage
from client to client. By doing this, the customer knows what to expect and has the same great experience
every time. The only people that perform the massages are the 3 full time masseuses and the 2 part time
masseuses. All of the masseuses come from similar traditional Thai massage training backgrounds, which
further adds to the consistency aspect of each massage. Mae does not perform massages anymore to free
up her time for the marketing and business side of the company. In the industry, many customers come in
and want a massage from the owner, thinking that the massage would be performed better. This is another
reason why Mae does not give massages anymore,because the high demand for massages from the owner
might take away some of the clients from the other masseuses and fog her clientele's perception of
consistent massages. The price of either massage is $65/hour. The price per massage is very competitive
within the industry at $65 per hour. In the agreement Mae has with her employees, she gets $30 of the $65

3. total, and the rest of the money goes to the masseuse who performs the massage. Within the past year the
demand of a massage has been about 12 hours a day in total (approximately 1 massage an hour). On
average about 80% of people that have a massage are returning customers at Mae’s Traditional Thai and
Hot Oil Massage.
The Industry
Thai massage is more energizing and rigorous than more classic forms of massage. Masseusesuse their
hands, knees,legs, and feet to move clients into a series of yoga-like stretches. Muscle compression, joint
mobilization, and acupressure are also sometimes used during treatments. The majority of Thai massage
parlors in Victoria are independently run. Advertising is typically done through craigslist and is where
businesses source their clients. 95% of the clients at Thai massage parlors are males. Males tend to decide
to go for a massage on a whim while they are out and about so appointments are usually booked the day
of. Female behaviour differs from males because they usually plan ahead for spa days so Thai massage
parlors are not usually their first choice. Customers in this industry tend to request for the owner of the
business to give them a personal massage but Mae has realized that this has the potential to ruin the
perception of consistency between masseuses,so she chooses not to practice. Costs between direct
competitors are similar and range between $65 for one hour to $120 for two hours.
Direct Competitors
Mae’s main competitors are those that specialize in Thai massages of which there are over 10 businesses
located in Victoria. The majority of them offer the same core services of both Thai massages and hot oil
massages; other services offered vary from business to business. None of them are located extremely
close to Mae’s business.
Noi Traditional Thai Massage Victoria
Located one block from Douglas St and Burnside St and open everyday from 9:00AM-Midnight, Noi
Traditional Thai Massage Victoria offers an array of services including traditional Thai massages,aroma
therapy/hot oil massages,Thai foot massages,and head/shoulder/back massages. Their special for women
is $50 per hour with their first visit costing $45. Their prices are listed in Exhibit 2.
Rung’s Thai Massage
Rung’s Thai Massage is located near Chinatown and offers the services of Thai massages,oil massages,
and foot massages. Customers have the option of looking in to a package rate for a combination of these
services. Rung is an experienced masseuse with 15 years of experienced and training in Thailand; she has
been practicing for 10 years in Victoria. Customer testimonials show high satisfaction and clientele that
includes both males and females. Prices can be found in Exhibit 3.
Rose’s Thai Massage
Located 5 minutes from downtown Victoria, Rose’s Thai Massage offers traditional Thai massages or
Aromatherapy Hot Oil Massages, which can also be done in combination with a Thai massage. Rose’s
Thai Massage gives customers the option of purchasing gift certificate. Customers receive a $10 discount
when they purchase two gift certificates. Prices can be found in Exhibit 4.
A few yoga studios in Victoria also offer Thai massage services including Ashtanga Yoga Shala Studio
and Metta in Motion but these services are mainly targeted towards the people that frequent their yoga
studios.
Indirect Competitors
Indirect competitors include businesses that offer typical massages such as spas or massage therapy
clinics. Significant amounts of people think of spas first when they are looking to get a massage. The
Canadian Spa Industry is growing at an average annual rate of 17% that has been relatively stable.

4. Tourism plays an important role in the Canadian Spa Industry and contributes to 25% of revenues but
usually only 20% of marketing efforts target tourists. The key products available at spas continue to be
massages but the interest in facials, manicures, and pedicures are increasingly becoming popular.
Consumers are looking for a total spa experience and look for superior value in the money they spend.
Strong efforts are made to increase male attendance but women continue to be the majority of the
clientele.
Le Spa Sereine
Le Spa Sereine is a day spa located in downtown Victoria. They offer their clients spa services that range
from massages to body wraps as well as complete spa packages. They appear to be popular among both
male and female clients and offers high quality customer service.
The Parkside Hotel & Spa
The Parkside Hotel & Spa offers high quality customer service to both hotel and spa guests. The spa’s
motto is “Renew. Rejuvenate. Refresh” and is a tranquil place where customers can retreat from their
everyday stresses. They offer a full range of services including massages and pedicures as well as special
packages for weddings, anniversaries, or romantic getaways. It appears to be popular for both females and
males.
Massage therapy clinics do not pose a large threat to Mae’s business because their target segments are
different. Consumers that frequent massage therapy clinics are there for health related issues or to treat
conditions such as arthritis, chronic pain, or athletic injuries. Typical services that are offered include
sports massages,deep tissue massages,Swedish massages,and remedial exercises. A couple massage
therapy clinics in Victoria include Shelbourne Physiotherapy Massage Therapy Clinic and Equilibrium
Massage Therapy.
Expenses
Because she runs such a small business, Mae strives to keep her expenses to a minimum and part of the
way she does this is by not having a receptionist. This prevents customers from being able to come in for
a walk-in massage; however,it allows Mae to completely manage the business and appointments from her
cell phone. The business also only takes cash,as taking debit and credit cards would require registering
for a merchant account and paying for on-going fees. Mae has not received any complaints in the past
about only taking cash so she believes there is no reason to pay to set up a merchant account. When a
customer calls Mae,she notifies them of this policy and they usually have plenty of time to stop by at one
of the many bank machines before their appointment. Repeat customers are aware of this policy and
prepare accordingly.
Future
At present, Mae answers the phone 7 days per week,enabling clients to book appointments with minimal
notice. She is thinking about hiring someone else to answer the phone – either local or outsourced – so
she can have more free time either to spend on herself or to spend opening a second business. She feels
that this is feasible considering the operations of the business are similar to that of a franchise – consistent
and standardized. She thinks it is possible to open another massage clinic in a different city, as with the
current set-up she can manage the business from her phone. Mae is also visiting her son in Thailand for
three months in May of this year, and needs to figure out who will deal with the phone responsibilities
while she is gone.
Mae hopes to one day employ more girls from Thailand, thereby providing them with the opportunity she
was once given. She has looked into the logistics of immigration, and sees problems with getting the girls
working visas.

5. Currently, Mae is operating her business successfully and wants to continue to grow, but ultimately, her
main focus is to keep her time free; either to spend enjoying life, travelling, visiting her son, or to
potentially open up new business’ in the future.
Exhibit 1: Prices at Mae’s HotOil and Traditional Thai Massage
Traditional Thai Massage Hot Oil Massage
Time 60 min 90 min 120 min 60 min 90 min 120 min
Cost $65 $95 $125 $65 $95 $125
Exhibit 2: Prices at Noi Traditional Thai Massage
30 min 60 min 90 min 120 min
Traditional Thai Massage - $65 $95 $120
Aroma Therapy Massage/Hot Oil
Massage
- $65 $95 $120
Thai Foot Massage $40 $65 $95 -
Head, Shoulder, and Back Massage $40 $65 $95 -
Exhibit 3: Prices at Rung’s Thai Massage
60 min 90 min 120 min
Thai Massage $65 $95 $120
Foot Massage $65 $95 $120
Oil Massage $65 $95 $120
Exhibit 4: Prices at Rose’s Thai Massage
Thai Massage Aromatherapy Hot Oil Massage
Time 60 min 90 min 120 min 60 min 90 min 120 min
Cost $55 $65 $100 $60 $80 $110

6. Exhibit 5: Income Statement (2013 Fiscal Year)*
Revenues Calculations
From 1 Hr Massages 204750 9 hrs x 7 days x 50 weeks x $65
From 2 Hr Massages 65625 3 hrs x 7 days x 50 weeks x $125/2
Total 270375
Expenses
Rent and Utilities 15600 $1300 x 12 months
MasseuseWages (From 1 Hr) 110250 9 hrs x 7 days x 50 weeks x $35
MasseuseWages (From 2 Hr) 36750 4 hrs x 7 days x 50 weeks x $35
Cell phone 1200 $100 x 12 months
Laundry 4800 $400 x 12 months
Officeimprovements 5000
411 Listingand SEO 210 $70 x 3 months
Sign on building 500
Marketing beta testing 1000
Craigslistmarketing 0
Total 175310
Net Income $95,065 Revenue - Expenses
*Mae does not do formal accounting statements so this was created through the information provided
Exhibit 6: Example ofMae’s Website

7. Mae’s Traditional
Thai and Hot Oil
Massage
Noi Traditional
Thai Massage
Victoria
Rung’s Thai Massage
Rose’s Thai Massage
Exhibit 7: Positioning Map ofThai Massage in Victoria
High
Price
Low
Price
Large
assortment of
Services
Small
Assortment of
Services