The $1,000 Startup That Became a Million-Dollar Spa Franchise
6/8/202622 min
Nuttha Goutier came to Canada from a small village in Thailand with little money, limited English, and one clear vision: help people feel healthier and more connected. Today, her Sabai Thai Spa brand spans multiple locations and 13 franchise territories across Canada.
In this episode, Nuttha breaks down how she launched her first spa with less than $1,000 and no business background — and grew it into a brand where a single location can hit $1.7M a year.
If you're thinking about opening a spa or buying a franchise, she gets into exactly what you can expect to make.
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For more info about franchising →
Connect with Nutta:
Website: https://sabaifranchise.com/
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nutthagoutier/
"How Much Can I Make?" Is nominated for 2026 Women in Podcasting Award!
Music credit: Kate Pierson & Monica Nation
Clips
Transcript preview
First 90 secondsNuttha Goutier· Guest0:00
[gentle music] The first year, it generate almost one, 1.1 million, and then the second years already hit 1.45 million in second year.
Mirav Ozeri· Host0:08
Wow. Welcome back to How Much Can I Make?, the podcast about jobs and careers. I'm your host, Mirva Hazeri. Today, I talk with Nutta Gautier, founder of Sabai Thai Spa. She came to Canada from Thailand, and turned a deeply personal idea of wellness into a million-dollar business. What started as one spa, quickly grew into a thriving multi-location brand, and eventually a franchise. Let's turn to Nutta. First of all, thanks a lot for coming on the show.
Nuttha Goutier· Guest0:42
Yeah, I'm happy to be here.
Mirav Ozeri· Host0:44
Good. I read a little bit about you, and I read that you grew up working in potato fields in Thailand.
Nuttha Goutier· Guest0:51
Yeah.
Mirav Ozeri· Host0:51
So tell me, how did you get from the potato fields to open the Sabai Thai Spa and other spas, uh, the franchise, which we're gonna get into?
Nuttha Goutier· Guest1:01
Yeah, it's a... Definitely I did not imagine that for sure when I was a kid. I would not imagine what I am here today [laughs] at all. [laughs] Let me bring you back when I was a kid. I grew up with pretty much 200 people in my village, and we have no power, no run- running water, no electricity. We don't even have car, bike, no TV, nothing. And we hunting for food. Li- every day just, uh, go hunting for food for survival,