Making Life Changing Decisions to Start a Business - Arielle’s Story
“My best advice to women in business is to ask for help when you need it.”
Let’s start with an introduction. Tell us about yourself. Feel free to share your business, your life’s mission, and what brings you joy.
My name is Arielle Thomas, or Ari for short. Professionally I consider myself a serial entrepreneur who spends most of their time running a day spa, Luna Float Spa, and selling residential real estate. Personally, I love to connect with others and build lasting personal relationships. It’s also really fun for me to connect people with similar interests and help others grow their own network. It is my life’s mission to simply bring joy to others, to help them feel seen and heard by being authentic and genuine in all interactions. I have a few hobbies which make me feel elated like snowboarding, camping and being outdoors. I absolutely love to travel, especially internationally and when I visit a new city I want to do excursions which is not the typical tourist activity. I love to try local cuisine and walk local shopping markets to experience what life is like for people in their own culture.
Here at BBN, we’re all about sharing Women’s stories. Tell us about a time you had to overcome an obstacle? What did that moment in your life teach you?
A major obstacle I had to overcome as a business owner was the decision to sell my home in order to purchase our brick-and-mortar Luna Float Spa. It was a tough decision to leave what felt the most dear to me, a stable living situation. After the initial mandatory shutdown during the pandemic our loan to purchase the business was declined and after months of filling out paperwork and working with the prior owners this was a total devastation. My husband had the idea to use our equity in the home to purchase the spa by selling the house and moving into a rental but it was such an uncomfortable decision and brought me a ton of anxiety. I definitely appreciate the moves we made because having a business which brings so many people joy in our community is completely worth it.
What do you believe is the biggest challenge women in business face?
What is the biggest challenge women face? Female entrepreneurs have to constantly battle the stigma of being too bossy or controlling. For example, if a female manager or business owner tells someone to complete a task in a certain way, her behavior can be overlooked as micromanaging. In my opinion, women are very skilled at assessing what works vs. what doesn’t work very well through trial and error where many men appear to get stuck more easily on an activity. Women are more adaptable and easy to flow with quick in the moment solutions while so when we ask someone to do something a certain way it’s probably because we have tried all other potential options and discovered which method works best and is most effective.
What did the younger version of you want to be when you grew up?
When I was younger I wanted to grow up to become a TV personality. I believed that my charisma would bring me far in being adored by fans and bringing a smile to as many people as possible.
What advice would you give Women in Business?
My best advice to women in business is to ask for help when you need it. I am still working this out for myself to follow my own advice because it can be so difficult to just admit when you’re overwhelmed or over worked. Asking for help not only reduces your stress, increasing your productivity, but it also allows others the opportunity to experience what you do and understand the behind the scenes of running a business.
To connect with my online my name on Facebook is Arielle Thomas and on Instagram is arielle_mrsthomas.
I wear many hats and to support my businesses on Facebook, Instagram or tiktok you could follow @lunafloatspa or my real estate page for tips & tricks in buying & selling using the handle @ariellecorealtor.
