Subtle Senses Spa : Spa Industry & Spa Career

Subtle Senses Spa

Set against the backdrop of nostalgic Chinatown, Subtle Senses inaugurated in mid 2003. An exquisite & contemporary enclave that promises every modern urbanist a gratifying experience of infinite rejuvenation and an enchanting hospitality... the Subtle Senses way.

Gerald Lim is the founder and CEO of Subtle Senses, and he shares about his journey as an entrepreneur, and how winning the Rotary-ASME Entrepreneur of The Year Award has inspired him to achieve greater success.

Gerald, what inspired you to open Subtle Senses?

In retrospect, it’s very much a natural progression for me as I was previously working for more than 5 years in the Spa and Wellness Industry. I decided to open Subtle Senses as I felt the burning passion and desire to redefine the Spa and Wellness industry in Singapore by giving it a new and robust twist.

What are Subtle Senses’ competitive advantages?

Firstly, it is through our dedicated and professional team of staff who are all committed to delivering impeccable service quality. They all strive to provide the warm and personal touch to make our customers feel relaxed and pampered when they come to Subtle Senses.

Another advantage we have is the flexibility of our customized packages that we offer to our clients. We customize all our spa membership packages because we believe all our clients’ needs and wants are different. We have also invested a lot of research and development into developing our own unique brand of beauty products.

What challenges did you face when you started out as an entrepreneur, and how did you overcome them?

I think that as an entrepreneur, the level of responsibility and challenges that you face are immense.

I faced my biggest challenge in 2003, in the year Subtle Senses opened. That year, the SARS outbreak had hit Singapore, and visiting a spa was one of the last things that people would want to do. To overcome this, we took comprehensive measures to sanitize our premises regularly and reassure our clients that it was safe to visit Subtle Senses. More importantly, we took a proactive approach to reach out to the public and managed to overcome the SARS crisis eventually.

Looking back, I’m happy that I decided to go ahead with my plans to open Subtle Senses in 2003. The thing about being an entrepreneur is that you can’t really spend too much time to ponder if a choice you made is right or wrong, and the last thing you would want to do is to make an about turn and see all your dreams just collapse in front of your eyes. So, I believe that facing up to and overcoming challenges is very vital for any aspiring entrepreneur.

What do you think are the essential qualities that an entrepreneur needs? Do you think education is more important than business acumen?

To sum it up, it is about the determination to strive for excellence regardless of circumstances and challenges that will bring out the true entrepreneurial spirit in you. True entrepreneurs believe that the journey to success can only be enriched by that invaluable lesson of failure. Yes, education forms a fundamental backbone in the entrepreneur’s journey; however, navigating the terrains of a challenging business environment requires more than just good education – It also requires good business acumen as well.

What motivates you to achieve more success?

It is the desire to set new milestones in whatever I do, and winning the Rotary-ASME Entrepreneur of The Year Award 2007 has been a great motivator for me to develop Subtle Senses into a fantastic holistic and rejuvenating spa experience for our clients. As further testament of the hard work that all our staff at Subtle Senses put in, we also won the Excellent Service Awards 2007, the Singapore Prestige Brand Awards for Promising Brand in 2007, and most recently, Established Brand in 2009.

To find out more about Subtle Senses

www.subtlesenses.com

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