Spa Vuré owner spreads love to her clients

Being the boss at 25 does not affect Vuré Kpea’s ability to lead a luxury medical spa company with four locations in the state, she said.
Since taking the helm of her family’s business, Spa Vuré, Kpea has made accountability her No. 1 goal for the year, including for herself.
“I’ve found that it doesn’t work when people feel like they’re not being heard she said. “I’m really making a concerted effort to listen to what [employees] need.”
When there’s no communication it leaves too much room for fear and doubt, she added.
Kpea started working full time for the company as its marketing and public relations director after graduating from college two years ago.
Kpea said her father, Nomate Kpea, opened the first spa five years ago because “he had this vision for beauty spas that he’s had for years.
Nomate Kpea has been practicing dermatology in the state for 20 years. He is also founder and owner Skin Medicine USA Inc., a dermatology and cosmetic surgery practice with five locations.
Spa Vuré got its name about two years ago when Mr. Kpea decided to rename what had been called The Spa because Vuré means love, Vuré Kpea said.
“That’s a very, very powerful thing to run a business or provide a service for people that is really rooted in love,” she said.
And because of her father’s profession, another thing that sets Spa Vuré apart is the fact that it is a licensed medical spa, which means it carries products that have prescription-grade active ingredients.
Kpea said the biggest threat to the spa isn’t necessarily competing spas. It has more to do with people’s mentality about skin care. People don’t see going to a spa as something they should invest in.
“People don’t realize with massages … you’re actually breaking up toxins in your body and you’re flushing them out. … Your stress is not going to group up in different places and you can actually process information better.”
And because the best way to relay the message is through the health-and-beauty providers, Kpea said she has to focus on making sure her employees are the best they can be.
That involves listening and responding to their needs, giving them a supportive environment and caring about their families, she said.
“It’s really their business,” she added. “We provide the facilities. We provide all the extras. But really each person is responsible for the lives they change and touch.”
One of the benefits of being linked with Skin Medicine USA is that the spa company has a pool of medical professionals to pull from for the cosmetic medical services it offers. In addition, medical professionals at Skin Medicine often refer people to the spa and vice versa, when a spa employee notices a skin condition that needs care.
“We love the synergy between the two,” Kpea said.
As for the future, Kpea said her first goal is to make sure each spa is operating at capacity. Her biggest concern is that all the recession talk will affect employees’ state of mind in a negative way.
“It’s my job to encourage everybody,” she said, and to explain that there will be people who still come to the spa. •