Her Story

Melanie Gleeson grew up in Victoria’s Mornington Peninsula, and it was her childhood memories of light, expanse and stunning natural beauty that nurtured and eventually transformed into endota spa. Today, endota spa has grown into the largest network of day spas in Australia with a total of 90 franchises up and running across the country.

Fifteen years ago, Melanie’s vision of creating a haven for women came to light in a conversation with a school friend over a barbeque. Now, this idea has transformed into one of the best examples of successful franchising. Expanding her vision was a primary goal for Melanie from the start, and she forayed into franchising soon after opening her first spa.

As the founder of endota spa, Melanie believed in curating a space for women where they could replenish their souls and leave their concerns and stresses at the door for some ‘me time’.

“We must act with mindfulness and truthfulness. We want women to be their best and find what their truth is, I believe everyone has a spark inside them that is waiting to be ignited.”

She wanted to construct a place for women to feel physically, spiritually and emotionally cared for and provide the opportunity to step away from the world and rejuvenate.

“I believe that we are here in this world to find more happiness and more joy. I think if we have the right frame of mind and the right energy force, we can work in harmony with the universe. When you’re in sync with the universe, more good things will come. And when you trust your gut instinct, the magic happens.”

Trusting her instincts has certainly worked well for Melanie. With an endota spa in every Australian state, she caters to more than 350,000 customers each year. Aside from her spa services, Melanie has also successfully ventured into retail with endota’s skincare range.

As an expert in franchising and entrepreneurship, Melanie has been invited to share her insights with other female entrepreneurs at the Run the World Conference 2015.

Strategies for Success

  • I believe in the law of abundance. There’s enough market share for everyone out there in business, if you do your business well, with integrity and heart and give for the sake of giving, it’ll come back to you when you really need it.
  • Keep focus for yourself even when you’re busy creating a business that ‘deals’ in the provision of others; it’s really easy to forget what you need.
  • I believe confidence removes the need for us to feel as if we ‘lack’ in areas of our life, and in who we are. It makes us fearless, not fearful. The only way to live confidently, and with purpose, is to align everything you do with the values you hold. We started this business with the client experience in mind – and this is the centre of everything that we do.
  • I believe in the law of balance. Without balance, everything is out of proportion, and a skew from centre can lead to making bad decisions.
  • The only way to live confidently and with purpose is to align everything you do with the values you hold. Pay attention to your values.