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Too busy at this moment for a massage or a facial? Get a mental pick-me-up from Cornelia Zicu's inspirational story...
About 17 years ago, Cornelia fled her homeland of Romania with her four-year-old son and husband. Today she leads the Cornelia Day Resort in New York (), which has such a special take on the spa concept that it's attracting celebrity clientele and acclaim from publications like the Robb Report, which included Cornelia Day Resort on its 2005 "Best of the Best" list.
The 22,000-square-foot oasis at the top of Ferragamo's Fifth Avenue store features a rooftop garden, Watsu pool, restaurant, relaxation library and many luxurious details, from the scents of citrus and sandalwood that fill the air, to the celadon tiles that cover the floor and the taste of honey offered before each treatment.
America the Beautiful
"I arrived in America in '92 from a refugee camp with my husband and four-year-old son. The International Rescue Committee brought us in and sponsored us from the refugee camp. When we arrived, someone was waiting for us and helped us to have an apartment. They gave us $200 to buy a mattress. We didn't speak any English when we arrived. That was my start in America."
Life in Romania
"It was a dictatorship - the most ugliest dictator. He was bad to the point that life doesn' t have any value in the end. When you have nothing to lose... it's better to take the risk. If you die or stay alive, it's equal. A lot of people prefer to die than to not have anything at all... no water, no candles, no electric, no detergent. (The government) would pay people to spy on you to the point where you don't even trust your family.
"One night we left Romania and took the risk to be shot in the head, with our four-year- old son. We arrived in a refugee camp in Austria. It was like jail. We stayed with 80 people in the room. We didn't have shower. We didn't have more than an army bed to sleep on. We had to take care of our blankets and pillows, because if we didn't, someone would steal them.'
Seeking Freedom, Finding Free People Unhappy
"I didn't come to America to become a millionaire, but to become a free person, and offer my son a life where he can be free to express himself. One of the first places I went after coming to America was Central Park. I love to watch people. I noticed that even though the people have freedom, not all of them are happy. They're worried about something. I had on clothes from the Red Cross refugee camp, but I was still happy. I didn't understand why all these people had everything, but they're still not happy. I thought, 'I have to do something to take care of these people.'"
Pursuing Beauty and Passion
"I went to beauty school because that was my passion and hobby. All my life I studied chemistry and alchemy. But even in the last few years living in Romania, I would help people... I colored their hair, I would do their haircuts, do face treatments for them. That was my way to fight the ugly Communist government was to bring beauty to their lives.
"When I finished beauty school, I worked with the Peninsula Hotel in New York for nine years. I never forgot the dream from Central Park. I tried to learn the system. I was like a newborn. You cannot create something before you understand where you live. I have to work to support my family. I have to be a good mother. I dedicate time to my son every day - it didn't matter how busy I was."
Dreaming about Doing Her Own Thing
"I was working for Peninsula as the head aesthetician, and I was hired by beauty product companies to help them with development. For nine to 10 years, I don't remember having vacation or more than two hours free.
"When I was riding back and forth on the subway to work, I would think about starting my spa. I started to create (my own business) about five years ago. I realized to raise the money for my dream I have to have my name big. All the money I make, I used to hire a personal PR person. I started a PR campaign for myself. Then I study a little bit of business, know how to create a business plan, and start looking to find investors."
Finding an Investor
"Three years ago I find my investor, my partner. His wife was coming to have a facial with me, and she told me her husband is working in real estate. I was asking her if I can meet her husband and ask him a few questions about real estate, thinking I had to educate myself about real estate for when I signed the lease for my business.
"She said, 'My husband has agreed to meet you." In order for him to tell me about real estate, he wants to understand my plan. So I told him my vision down to how I would treat my clients. If I were saying I wanted to create another spa, people say, 'Too many spa.' But there is no spa like this.
"When I start to explain to him about it, he said, 'I never saw someone so ambitious and driven and strong and creative and smart like you." Now he's my partner and he's my investor."
More Than Expensive Tiles and New Treatments
"If you travel all over the world, every single spa has some unique treatment, or some beautiful touches like expensive tile. What really make Cornelia different is the spirit of Cornelia, the soul of Cornelia. I train my people how to care for and how to love the client, how to look to the client and see the human being. I train people when they touch clients to touch them how they would touch their mom or their kids.
"People will forget about the Moroccan tiles in the hallway, but always remember how they were taken care of and how much people love them. That's the base of the Cornelia brand - the touch, the love, the care, the experience that we give."
Pampering Employees
'I grow a family here - I don't pay more attention to the brand than I do to my employees. If you love your employees, they are full of positive energy to love others."
Working Hard, Feeling Happy
"I'm never stressed or depressed because I don't have time to be stressed and depressed. I try to give all my love and positive energy to others. When I see other people happy and their faces glowing, that's the biggest gift I can offer to myself. If you give, you receive 1000 times back.
"My quality of life changed because now I can offer to myself and to my family more things that I can before. Our life is safe here. I don't have to worry about tomorrow, which is another thing that will make you sick and sad, if you' re worried about bread for tomorrow. I feel safe for my family."
Words of Advice
"Make sure 100 percent that starting your business is really what you want. Sometimes people open a business and it's not really what they want. They lose their passion. They stay in it because they opened it. Never lose passion and stay focused, then everything will be easy because it will be coming from the heart. If the heart and the brain are not in sync, then (the business) won't be successful the way it should be. The best would be for people to make money with their hobby. When people can create their hobby as a job, then amazing things can come in life."
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