From Farmer's Daughter to Owner of a Traditional Thai Massage and Spa Business in Virginia

Champaka CEO / Founder, Miss Lamai was interviewed by Thai Embassy and featured in Business Center USA (ThaiBIC). Original story was published in Spa Success Stories, in May 5, 2021 edition.

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Thai Beauty and Charm on display

1. How did you start your Business 

I am very proud to be Thai. My vision is to make Traditional Thai Massage available to the masses in USA. I want to share the therapeutic healing properties of Thai Massage with my community and neighbors. When I started, I was not sure if there was demand for Traditional Thai Massage in USA. It took many years of planning and professional Massage training before I could open Champaka. We approached several Commercial Banks for a business loan to start our business. After reviewing our Business Plan, a bank believed our business would succeed and agreed to a business loan. (It is important to have a good Business Plan). In addition, we re-financed our house and contributed our savings to purchase our Thai Spa facility in Gainesville, VA (suburb of Washington DC). 

In 2014, we opened the first Thai Spa in Prince William County Virginia. The name of our Spa, Champaka, is from my family name Jumpaburi, which means land of the Champaka flower (Leelawadee or Champa Lao). Since my family name is on every service we perform, it is important to provide excellent service. To hear more about my story, see https://www.champakathaimassage.com/blog/2019/3/30/lamais-big-brown-feet 

Champaka Thai Massage Team

2. What was your job/occupation before opening Spa  

I come from an agricultural village in Sakeao Province. At a young age, I worked on a farm with my parents. My work ethic was derived from these experiences where I learned to be honest and put in a hard day's work. This prepared me for work in USA. When I go home to Thailand, everyone thinks my life is easy or that I am rich because I live in USA. They do not realize that I also need to work hard in USA every day to survive. 

Champaka Thai Massage Treatment facility located in Gainesville VA

3. What is your experience working outside of Thailand? 

When I first came to USA, I was shy and could not speak English well. I was only able to entry level jobs at a Thai or American fast-food restaurant. As my English skills progressed, I was able to get better jobs at a Supermarket and Post Office. As a side business, I cooked Thai food sold it to friends, neighbors and coworkers. Thai Food is very popular. It was fun learning a new culture.  

As I learned more English, I attend Massage School, passed exam and obtained a Massage license. After graduating Massage School, I worked in an American Massage Spa for 2 years. During that time, I observed every detail how they operated their business and thought how I could apply these business practices to Champaka.  

From Farmer’s Daughter to proud owner of Traditional Thai Massage Spa in USA

4. What did you learn about operating a business in USA? 

In order to compete successfully with American businesses, you need to learn how to set up a business, regulations, taxes, computer software, marketing, website design, spa design, employee management and business operations. You also need to understand the cultural differences to manage American employees and customers. 

When I first opened Champaka, I did everything myself; front desk, receptionist, sales, accounting, spa cleaning, janitor and massage. Over 8 years’ experience and lots of lessons learned we developed a Thai Spa operations system.   We implemented American business software, systemized our business processes that are documented in our Thai Spa Operation’s Manual. This resulted in a well-run Spa that employees 20 people. Now, I train employees, delegate tasks and manage the spa’s operations. 

5. What is your experience operating a business in USA? 

American businesses are very well run. USA invented modern business practices. Their schools and colleges graduate experts specializing in the latest business techniques.  They have excellent systems, processes and procedures. Competing with American businesses is difficult due to the intense competition. 66% of small business in America fail in the first years of operations. I caution against competing directly head-to-head with American business in the general market unless you have a great business operation, team and resources.  

Opportunity exists for a well-run Thai Spa operation. Thai Massage is increasing in popularity as Americans discover the superior therapeutic benefits of Thai Massage over Western Massage.  Champaka operates in a protected niche market of Thai Massage in the highly competitive Spa Industry. Thai Culture is deeply woven into Thai Massage thus offers protection from American businesses; Americans cannot easily copy Thai Massage in their spas without losing authenticity.  

USA is exciting. There is a lot of opportunity. You see people working hard and becoming successful. It does not matter who you are or where you come from, if you have a good idea and willing to work hard, you can be successful. Coming up with a good idea and executing a business plan is the challenge. 

Lovely team of Champaka Thai Massage & Spa

6. Are you happy with the results of your business? 

Becoming an entrepreneur and starting a successful spa business is an extremely fulfilling experience. I’ve raised my social status from a working-class Thai farmer’s daughter to Founder and Chief Operating Officer (CEO) of an overseas business, Champaka Thai Massage & Spa. I am a role model to other minority females that it is possible to be successful in business by staying true to who you, where you come from, without compromising values, without hurting others to get ahead, helping people live healthier happy lives and taking care of employees. I am grateful for the opportunity to bring honor, respect and dignity to Thailand’s cultural heritage and national treasure of Traditional Thai Massage. For these reasons, I am happy. 

7. What is the secret to your success? 

I learned a lot of valuable lessons studying American business operations, however, there is one area that conflicts with my Thai values. American businesses focus on profit maximization. As a Thai Theravada Buddhist, I am focused to increase my karma by making the world a better place helping others. My greatest form of payment is good karma received from clients by treating their ailments and increasing their well-being. Our front-end spa operation uses world famous friendly Thai hospitality and customer service. (big Thai smile and respectful wai). Our back-end operations use the latest American business technology. 

Our American clients noticed this and were delighted. We became a trusted health care provider in our community. We've never advertised our massage business. Our business is 100 % word of mouth and we are frequently booked days in advance. We’ve won several awards such as Best Spa in Northern Virginia, Mindbody Visionary Award and listed as #1 online in Google in our area. If you love what you do, your passion shines through and you will be successful at it. That’s our simple secret and corner stone of our success. 

8. How did COVID effect your business? How did we deal with COVID? 

Champaka was shut down for 2.5 months during COVID. Customers were cautious about face-to-face contact and were slow to return. In 2020, our revenue decreased 22% from prior year.  Because we pay our taxes, the government provided a lot of support to help us and our employees. The majority of our customers come to us for medical conditions or pain, rather than a luxury, and did return. Prior to COVID, we were operating at maximum capacity. The slow down provided an opportunity for us to work on business and facility upgrades. Overall, this was not bad considering the situation. 

9. Do you have any advice for Thai people looking to open a Spa Business in USA? 

Business ownership and operating a Thai Spa in USA is an exciting experience. American people appreciate that you come to USA to share Thai Culture and the amazing benefits of Thai Massage with them. In return, USA offers financial safety from political risk, currency risk and low corruption. You have access to USA financial markets, stock market, real estate and business opportunities. There are excellent locations in safe upper-class neighborhoods with access to great American public schools for your family. The right Visa is a pathway to Green Card and citizenship. Before you start a business, it is important to understand American business regulations, legal and tax compliance. Our vision is to make Traditional Thai Massage available to the masses in USA. If you are thinking about opening a Thai Spa in USA, have questions or need assistance starting a Thai Spa business in USA, please contact me at Lamai at ChampakaThaiMassage@gmail.com I am happy to assist. Khob Khun Ka. Sawadee Ka! 

Champaka's Vision for the Future

In June 2019, Champaka was honored to be awarded 2019 Mindbody Visionary Award for its vision for the future. We would like to share this vision:

Champaka is more than just a Spa. Champaka is a movement to bring authentic Traditional Thai Massage + Traditional Thai Medicine (TTM) to USA to reach as many people possible to share it’s therapeutic healing properties - please join us!

Champaka is often Imitated,… but Never Duplicated. Why? - our Vision, Mission and Values.

Vision

To be a leader of specialized Traditional Thai Medical Spa services in Northern Virginia.

Mission

Our mission is to increase well-being* using Traditional Thai Medicine (TTM) + Traditional Thai Massage.

*Well-being is defined as

 Values

The set of guiding principles for our organization. These are the building blocks of our culture, because we're grateful for the opportunity to help others. As caregivers, we approach each customer with compassion and empathy. We strive to earn and keep the trust of those we serve by delivering exceptional therapeutic service.

•  Loving Kindness – or Metta, directing well-wishes towards other people.

• Gratitude – We show gratitude for the opportunity to help others and for the trust they place in us.

• Excellence – Seek continuous improvement in body, mind and spirit.

• Compassion – Sympathetic concern for the sufferings of others.

• Empathy – We seek to understand the needs of others and accept and celebrate individuality.

 Our greatest form of payment is good karma received from our clients by treating their ailments, increasing their well-being and helping them live healthier, happier lives.

 Beliefs

We've observed Traditional Thai Massage relieve chronic / acute pain and improve physical and mental well-being countless times and is basis of our beliefs:

• Modern fast-paced lifestyle results in higher levels of stress, chronic/acute pain, poor health from lack of exercise / poor diet.

• Client’s wellness is increased through routine and affordable Traditional Thai Medicine (TTM) + Traditional Thai Massage.

• Traditional Thai Medicine (TTM) INTEGRATED with Western Medicine increases effectiveness.

• Traditional Thai Massage avoids the side effects of prescription drugs

Goals

• Bring authentic Traditional Thai Massage to USA.

• Build a Traditional Thai Medical (TTM) School to train Americans to perform Traditional Thai Massage.

• Bring honor, respect and dignity to Thailand’s cultural heritage and national treasure of Traditional Thai Massage.

Code of Ethics

• Conduct all business and professional activities within scope of practice and all applicable legal and regulatory requirements.

• Refrain from engaging in any sexual conduct or sexual activities involving their clients in the course of a massage therapy session.

• Be truthful in advertising and marketing, refrain from misrepresenting services, charges for services, credentials, training, experience, ability or results.

• Refrain from engaging in any activity which violates confidentiality commitments and/or proprietary rights of any other person or organization.

• Committed to follow highest level of anti-human trafficking best practices.

Awards

• 2018 Best Spa in Northern Virginia

• 2019 Best Spa in Northern Virginia

• 2019 Mindbody Spa Visionary Award

Voice of Company

Lamai Jumpaburi Coyle, Founder & CEO

Lamai is spokeswomen for Champaka Thai Massage & Spa. She is recognized expert in the field of Traditional Thai Massage in Northern Virginia region. Lamai is the creator of Champaka’s services and is dedicated to bring authentic Traditional Thai Massage services to USA.

Lamai’s personnel brand elements:

• Role model to minority female entrepreneurs that it is possible to be successful in business by staying true to who you are, without compromising values, without hurting others to get ahead, helping people live healthier happy lives and taking care of employees.

• Instructor, thought leader and advocate for Traditional Thai Massage.

• Anti-human trafficking activist.

• Bring honor, respect and dignity to Thailand’s cultural heritage and national treasure of Traditional Thai Massage.

• Advocate of “Please don’t steal our Culture” campaign to defend Thai Massage against people seeking to profit from Thai Culture and Thai Massage. The Champaka brand provides guarantee that proper credit and respect is given to Thai Culture to prevent cultural appropriation.

Champaka Thai Massage & Spa wins 2019 Best Spa in Northern Virginia by Northern Virginia Magazine

Champaka Thai Massage & Spa wins Best Spa in Northern Virginia for the second year in a row. They are doing something right.

GAINESVILLE, Virginia - Feb. 14, 2019 - Northern Virginia Magazine on Thursday announced that Champaka Thai Massage & Spa won Best Spa in Northern Virginia for the second year straight. Prize is awarded by popular vote from Reader’s Choice award. This is a big accomplishment considering the amount of high quality spas competing for the title of Best Spa in Northern Va.

Champaka Thai Massage and Spa is putting Gainesville and Haymarket on the map as the center of authentic Traditional Thai Massage for improving the quality of life for members of the community. Authentic Traditional Thai Massage is often misunderstood concept that requires years of dedication and study to master. Based on #1 search rankings and 5-star ratings from Yelp and Google reviews, members of the Gainesville and Haymarket community are very appreciative of the services provided by Champaka and support their local trusted alternative health care provider.

“It is with sincere pleasure, on behalf of everyone at Northern Virginia Magazine, that I congratulate you on being named to Northern Virginia Magazine’s Best Spas 2019 May issue.” says Editor Katie Bianco of Northern Virginia Magazine.

What You Need To Know About Thai Massage Westernization

The Bigger Picture of Thai Massage

Thai Massage is not just another massage modality in the western sense. It is part of an ancient culture, lifestyle, and social environment.

It is an element in natural Traditional Thai Medicine (TTM) system. There is philosophy, tradition, a way of life, and a set of attitudes behind it. It is not just a bunch of techniques and stretches.

The Thai Massage Explosion in USA

Since Thai Massage has been "discovered" and embraced outside of Thailand in the last couple of decades, there has been a huge increase demand.

This has generated a large Thai Massage industry geared to Non-Thai clients. Everything from very simple shops to high end spas is plentiful in all tourist areas in Thailand.

This development has spawned regulations, supervision and licensing requirements by the Thai government which had previously not existed. In the process, Thai Massage has become more commercialized and institutionalized.

On this level of Thai Massage you will find fixed prices, fixed session lengths, licensed therapists (maybe), and a relaxed, but somewhat structured environment.

Thai Massage in Thailand – Village Style

Then there is another, less visible level. Every village in Thailand has at least one Thai Massage therapist. That’s not a person who went to a formal school, works out of a clinic and has anatomy charts and certificates on the wall.

Most likely he or she learned the art from a family member, carrying on the family tradition of helping and healing. This therapist is not only in it for the money. He or she generally works in their community, in a very simple environment like a thin straw mat on the floor, and might get paid in cash, produce, a chicken or some other exchange or barter. This is how we learned Traditional Thai Massage from our family. 

The Beauty Of Simplicity

In this environment privacy is not an issue. Most likely everyone can watch the session.

How about clean sheets? There are no sheets at all. Thai Massage is done fully dressed, and that’s all that’s needed.

There are no intake forms, no formalities, no rules, no licensing, no legal considerations, no insurance, no ethics courses, no anatomy, no no-show charges, no fixed duration of the session, no set pricing structures, no tasteful room decoration, no soft music in the background, no association fees, no CEUs, and no threats of lawsuits. Just one human being helping another feel better and get better.

Western Therapists Enter The Picture

A western trained massage therapist may cringe in horror at this scenario since pretty much most of what he or she learned in massage school just doesn’t apply anymore under those circumstances.

Here’s a strange thing. Many western therapists come to Thailand and not only visit such village type therapists but even learn from them.

They consider it special and authentic to learn from a simple village therapist who learned Thai Massage from his or her grandma. And this person who never attended massage school and doesn’t have a single certificate but may well be an effective healer.

The Culture Clash Issue

Then those foreign students go back to their home countries and reintegrate into the western environment. Suddenly everything that was “special” and “authentic” in Thailand is now illegal, unethical and unprofessional in their world. 

Now they are surrounded by people who are pushing to make licensing requirements stricter, strengthening legislation for the massage profession, suing people who lack proper credentials, meticulously following a myriad of rules, and discrediting everything which cannot be scientifically proven.

Can you see the issue? – it’s a culture clash. It’s a matter of entirely different values. It’s two totally different ways of thinking.

Of course not all Thai Massage in Thailand is like this. In cities and tourist areas massage shops have fixed prices, fixed session lengths, and often even licensed therapists. And in higher end spas it is even more structured.

But in general Thai Massage in Thailand is still a fairly relaxed and easy-going scene compared to western massage.

Transplanting Thai Massage

Now let’s look at what happens when the Thai Massage system is taken out of Thailand and brought to USA,

• Instead of providing a very affordable healing service for everyone, it turns into a luxury service which only the middle or upper middle class can afford regularly.
• Instead of blending Thai Massage into the social fabric, it becomes a totally private and more clinical affair, losing its social and cultural character.
• Instead of working with intuition and a sense of energy flow, there is pressure in the western model to convert it into an anatomy based system which it was never based on. This squeezes the energy component out of it.
• Instead of working on a wide floor mat, the setting becomes a narrow massage table which is not ideally suited for Thai Massage.
• Instead of practicing in a social environment in a room full of clients who are lying on mats next to each other, the doors of the massage rooms are shut with “Quiet – Do not disturb – session in progress” signs on the door.

By taking Thai Massage out of Thailand, it is changed in some ways. This is not necessarily a good or a bad thing, just different. Let’s look at this more closely.

Western Thai Massage Applications

There are several ways how Thai Massage is adapted and modified in a western environment.

• Some therapists just add a few Thai Massage techniques to their existing modality. Then it becomes partial or blended Thai Massage.
• Some are practicing Thai Massage as a stand-alone modality, but in a westernized way – as an anatomy-based system, on a massage table, and in a clinical setting.
• There are those therapists who have spent time in Thailand and studied there extensively. They might try to practice Thai Massage in a “pure” or “traditional” way to reflect its original spirit.
• Then there are yoga teachers who integrate Thai Massage into their training. They emphasize the yoga-like stretching elements or are turning it into a hybrid Thai Yoga Massage system.
• Others are trying to make Thai Massage more acceptable in the western world by looking for scientific proof and validation.
• Some therapists present Thai Massage along with the entire Thai natural healing system – herbal balls, herbal medicine, sen line theory and application, and the entire theoretical background.

Pros And Cons Of Westernized Thai Massage

You can find a wide spectrum of Thai Massage applications in the western world. Without placing judgement on right or wrong, better or worse, superior or inferior let's review the differences.

On the positive side Thai Massage has sometimes been expanded and enriched, and even improved in the western world – at least in some cases. There are some very creative, dedicated and highly skilled western Thai Massage therapists.

On the negative side Thai Massage has often been watered down and stripped of its heart and soul by forcing it into a western model of massage therapy.

Lost In Translation

If you happen to speak more than one language, you know that there are some words which just cannot be translated.

The meaning of some words or concepts is not the same from one language to the other.

The same holds true for the healing arts. You can try to look at Thai Massage strictly through clinical eyes and a scientific mindset, and you can disregard the energetic elements as unnecessary or unproven.

However you will end up with something that might look like Thai Massage, but it is just an empty shell. There is a richness and a beauty in Thai Massage which doesn’t come from scientific proof, but from its cultural environment. And this is what often gets lost in translation by moving Thai Massage into a western environment.

Champaka Thai Massage's Position

At Champaka Thai Massage & Spa, we try our best to present an authentic traditional Thai healing art as close to its original form as possible. We recognize the benefits of some western sensibilities and try to incorporate the positive elements.  We hope that you will find the final result enjoyable and therapeutic.

Sawadee Ka! Welcome to Champaka Thai Massage