A writer from 805 Living recently asked me a series of questions for an article she is writing and I thought I would share with you what I wrote. Some things you may already know and some things you may not.
My Name is Shannon Neels, I'm the sole proprietor of Le Reve Organic Spa and Boutique. Le Reve is located in downtown Santa Barbara. Le Reve Is the 1st and only certified green spa in Santa Barbara and we use only organic ingredients in all of the spa treatments. Le Reve's core philosophy is to provide nurturing therapeutic treatments in a healthy sustainable environment and we have been doing just that since 1999, long before being "green" was the hip thing to do. I wanted to own my own business and I knew that I wanted to focus on women and their health. 15 years ago when I started researching spas I instantly knew this was my passion.
From the beginning I wanted to set Le Reve apart from more of the outward beauty aspect and focus on the health and wellness aspect. Le Reve achieved this by specializing in Facials,Massage Body Treatments, education and leading by example. What I love the most about Le Reve is that it is constantly evolving. I'm forever researching and implementing new treatments and new and improved green business practices.Le Reve attracts a clientele that is choosing businesses that support their lifestyle philosophy.
If you choose to eat well, shop locally,farmers market,recycle,compost,exercise,take time to invest in your health internally and externally you will choose Le Reve. You should choose Le Reve and make facials and massage an integral part of your health care regime.
Le Reve, unlike many other spas uses not one organic product but all organic products. Unlike some spas we do not cary 3 chemical based skin care lines and 1 organic line. We only carry products that support our belief in choosing green and organic all the time, not just some times.
Le Reve gives back to our community in several different ways.I founded Angels List, a foundation that provides free services to those that have cancer.I started providing free services to women with cancer when I first opened Le Reve and lost a client to cancer. Unfortunately every one knows someone who has cancer and Le Reve can't take care of everyone for free so thats how and why I came up with Angels List. I needed more Angels like my staff to help. Angels List acts as a conduit to connect volunteers to those going through cancer treatments. "Angels" can sign up to volunteer any number of services such as dog walking, grocery shopping,life coaching, yoga, hypnotherapy and spa services. Each service provider at Le Reve volunteers by giving 1 complimentary service every month. We sponsor a person throughout their cancer treatments and up to 3 months following.A person who has cancer can sign up on www.angelslist.org. Once they have signed up they can view the list of "Angels" and contact the one offering the service they would like or need. Hopefully Angels List of volunteers will grow all over the US and every person in every city whop has cancer will have an angel sponsoring them in some way. Le Reve provides gift bags for volunteers and staff when a school or non profit is having a fundraiser. We find that those who give the most often receive the least so we give back to the givers. We also try to get involved in as many local events as we can such as our upcoming Women's Festival March 5th and 6th. My personal passions go hand in hand with my professional passions. I'm one of those lucky few who get to have a job they really love. Sometimes the line becomes a little blurry about where my personal life begins and professional life begins. I'm very proud of the integrity of the products, treatments and services I offer. I have always felt a professional responsibility to my clients to give them green and organic choices. My biggest challenge Is balancing my personal life ,starting a family and being a wife. Finding the right staff is always challenging. I can train anyone to give great facial but I can't teach that person to love their job and actually really care about their client. I I feel very lucky, they always seem to find their way to Le Reve. I feel very blessed to have a growing and thriving business in this difficult economy. I contribute our success to being green and organic on every level and in all that we do at Le Reve, an amazing,educated and caring staff, continually growing and improving and giving back however we can.
Thank you, See you at the Spa, Shannon
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