Black Moon Bathhouse is seeking to raise 1.5 million dollars in total.  75% of that capital raising is being solicited by accredited investors and the other 25% crowdfunded by interested folks like yourself and smaller investors. We are taking this approach because we want to remain Black women-owned and co-op operated.

"Black Moon Bathhouse offers wellness & health practitioners a collective of necessary resources and provides sanctuary for women and non-binary individuals to engage in deep self-care practices with access to a diverse plethora of practitioners and wellness services."

Mission

To hold communal safe space for holistic health and wellness services to heal the community, body, mind, and soul. 

Vision

The vision of Black Moon Bathhouse is to foster a safe, healing space for practitioners, women, femme-identified and non-binary folks to connect and practice radical self care. 

We strive to provide staff, practitioners, co-op members, and all women/femme-identified folks a care-conscious space for communal healing, communal sharing, and community building.

What does it mean?

To hold space for all women through the Black, Queer and Feminist lens means to prioritize the comfort and safety of Black women. In most spaces Black women are othered, silenced, and violently policed. Our company recognizes that the least cared for demographic are Black queer women and by anchoring our holistic care practice in the care of Black women we in turn foster an inclusive and safe care practice. 

Details

Black Moon Bathhouse (BMB) is a care-conscious bathhouse and herbal shop for women and non-binary folks. It is cooperative-operated, providing wellness practitioners with shared resources and space, and patrons with a diverse plethora of wellness treatments/modalities, and a dedicated space for women to relax and recharge. Black Moon Bathhouse will serve as a womens’ social hub for the area, offering both membership options and hourly/daily pass options. We hope to be a destination for women to unwind, socialize, engage in business, and pour into their own health and wellness.

Black Moon Bathhouse’s blended business model intended to serve both B2B and B2C markets will allow us to capture multiple revenue streams. We will provide wellness and body work practitioners with shared resources and space to support their independence and autonomy as service providers. We are dedicated to the mission of supporting women and LGBTQIA+ folk, and hope to unlock access for the community to niche wellness and bodywork modalities in one dedicated space.

Our journey to full time bathhouse operations will occur in three start up phases. Phase 1 will be initial construction, prioritizing outdoor sauna and greenhouse space construction to support Phase 2 operations. During Phase 1, the parking lot and outdoor spaces will be utilized in creative ways to help offset construction costs. In Phase 2 we will start with pre-launch activities, soft launching greenhouse access and outdoor sauna use while interior construction and decorating efforts continue in full swing. The third and final phase of the business journey will commence once construction is completed and after the grand opening of the indoor bathhouse and lounge space. 

The goal in one year is to have completed construction and entered into full bathhouse operations. At that point, we hope to have reached capacity on memberships, and to have filled all vacancies in practitioner suites with wellness/bodywork practitioners of less common modalities. In 3 years we look to have expanded the outdoor space into a garden oasis, with full external bathhouse services in the greenhouse and graduating the first platza training cohorts. In 5 years we look to add AirBnB rental space as well as AirBnB experiences to boost tourism visits and tourism to Detroit. Long term goals include opening additional locations, with the first expansion targeting a second location in Northern Michigan. 

Black Moon Bathhouse’s target customers are young to middle aged women and non-binary folks with diverse backgrounds, who are interested in investing in their health and wellness. Our customers are seeking a communal space for investing into themselves, whether that is mentally, physically, or otherwise. These customers have access to disposable income to support their self-care goals, though this demographic is also known to prioritize health and wellness spending, and view it as “maintenance” rather than as a “splurge”.

We dwell in a unique space in the industry due to our dedication to our target demographic. There are very few bathhouses in the country, let alone in this community. The only other true bathhouse in Detroit, The Schvitz, mostly caters to men. Gyms in this area may have spas and saunas, but no competitor provides access to steam and infrared saunas, as well as cold plunge pools in the same space, alongside diverse wellness practitioners. We provide women and non-binary folks with all of the amenities that our competitors offer, plus the rich culture and diverse community space that we work hard to curate. 

Black Moon Bathhouse is owned and operated by two long time friends. I’Sha Schultz-Spradlin and Melissa Liu have been friends for years, and each bring a unique perspective to the project. They are both women of color, and I’sha identifies as queer, which allows us to benefit from a number of community resources via grants and other support, and provides us with a unique personal perspective. We view ourselves as the ultimate Black Moon Bathhouse customers, which grants us an innate understanding of customers’ needs and desires. Our personal experiences have shaped Black Moon Bathhouse’s business model and company culture, and our professional experiences will support business operations to help bring this dream to life.

Our Founder/President I’Sha Schultz-Spradlin (She/They) is a Black queer woman with a BA in Political Science, Sr. level Fundraiser and grant writer, a Licensed Massage Therapist (LMT), a platza practitioner and a mother. She has managed and worked in a local bathhouse, The Schvitz, for 6 years and has done significant research on bathhouses and the culture through travel and networking. 

Melissa Liu, Managing Partner, is a lifelong Metro-Detroiter and first generation Taiwanese-American. She received an MBA from the Ross School of Business at the University of Michigan in 2022. She has 4 years of experience in consulting and continues to work as a management consultant. During her time at Ross, she worked in various consulting engagements and learned how to start and run a business. She has industry experience in automotive, data and analytics, health startups, and insurance.

Between I’Sha and Melissa, Black Moon Bathhouse will have significant coverage in the many areas of management required to run this company. We will lean on outside services for the areas where we lack personal experience, such as retaining a lawyer and an accountant. As first time business owners, much of this journey will be learning as we go, but we feel that our combined backgrounds, lengthy list of advisors/mentors and experiences will propel us forward and prepare us well for the future.

Bell Hooks sums up my business vision perfectly with the quote, "Rarely, if ever, are any of us healed in isolation. Healing is an act of communion." This became even more a reality for folks after the pandemic, needing to heal in community. I want to provide that space for under-served communities and demographics. 

Thank you in advance for your support!