Marcia Mehrali, founder of Beneath The Surface Spa, a boutique day spa in Madison, New Jersey, has announced her contribution to The Entrepreneurial Impact, The Purpose, Influence, and Value Businesses Create Beyond Their Own Growth, a book bringing together the perspectives of entrepreneurs on the broader significance of building and leading businesses. Her chapter, titled “Build a Business That Changes People,” draws on her experience developing a business in the aesthetics and wellness sector to examine how entrepreneurship can influence individual confidence, decision-making, and personal experiences.
The book explores entrepreneurship through the contributions of founders whose work extends into areas such as customer experiences, professional opportunities, community involvement, and the development of new solutions. Its central theme considers the relationship between business activity and the people affected by it, inviting readers to examine entrepreneurial success through a broader range of considerations. Within this collection, Mehrali’s chapter brings attention to the human experiences behind everyday business interactions, drawing connections between the decisions entrepreneurs make and the influence those decisions can have on individuals over time.
In “Build a Business That Changes People,” Mehrali reflects on how her experience building Beneath The Surface Spa informed her understanding of entrepreneurship. She discusses the responsibilities that come with business ownership, including leading a team, making decisions, and taking responsibility for the experiences customers have with a company. These reflections introduce a central theme of her chapter: the role businesses can play in influencing people’s confidence, knowledge, and everyday decisions.
Drawing from more than 14 years of operating her company, Mehrali examines how her professional experiences have informed her definition of business impact. Her work in aesthetics has involved interactions with individuals who bring different concerns, expectations, and personal circumstances into their appointments. “These experiences have contributed to my belief that the value of a business can extend into the knowledge, confidence, and decisions people gain through their interactions with it,” Mehrali shares.
A central theme of Mehrali’s contribution is the relationship between customer experiences and the broader responsibilities of business ownership. She considers how everyday interactions can influence the way people make decisions, understand their options, and engage with the businesses they choose. The chapter includes a client experience that illustrates this perspective, offering readers a glimpse into how personal interactions can become part of a business’s wider contribution.
Mehrali also introduces a five-part framework for entrepreneurs, examining key considerations around listening, customer education, personalization, recognizing meaningful change, and establishing values that extend throughout a team. These principles provide the foundation for her discussion of how business owners can evaluate their influence beyond conventional business indicators. Through this framework, she invites readers to consider the relationship between the experiences they create and the responsibilities that come with leading an organization.
The contribution also considers the role of leadership in extending a company’s values beyond its founder. Mehrali explores how employees contribute to the experiences associated with a business and how shared principles can inform the way teams interact with customers. This introduces another dimension to the chapter’s discussion, connecting individual leadership decisions with the broader organizational culture they help establish.
Bringing these themes together, Mehrali concludes with an invitation for readers to reflect on their own entrepreneurial journeys by examining the positive impact and wider significance of building a business.
Through her contribution to The Entrepreneurial Impact, Mehrali adds her experience as a spa founder and aesthetics professional to a collection examining the wider implications of entrepreneurship. Her chapter offers readers an opportunity to consider how business ownership can involve responsibilities extending into education, relationships, employee development, and the experiences of the individuals a company serves.