Lay Off Leads Entrepreneur to Diversify Business Interests

For Jim Coleman, owner of the new Elements Therapeutic Massage salon in Warren's Pheasant Run Shopping Center, opening a new business after years as an IT professional was a natural response to being let go from a corporate position.

"That was the first time I'd ever been laid-off and I decided to take more repsonsibility for my career," Coleman said.

He had been working for pharma corporations, and his first instinct was to launch his own consulting business to capitalize on his experience. "I found it was difficult to get into corporate businesses with a small consultancy," Coleman said.

His Coleman Group company was able to take over the IT business of a Swiss-owned company pulling out of the U.S., but rather than keep all of his eggs in the IT basket, so to speak, he wanted to diversify his efforts.

That meant finding a business opportunity that could be "managed remotely," and would ideally be in a health-related field and located between his Whitehouse Station home and his Florham Park office—and an Elements salon in Warren matched all of those requirements.

After five months remodeling the former Adams Pet Safari location, the salon opened Dec. 14, featuring eight private rooms, each offering soothing, amber lighting to help clients relax. The salon's therapists are licensed are capable of providing stress relief, prenatal, Swedish and other therapeutic massages.

"We customize the massage based on the client's need," Coleman said.

The salon was scheduled to open Oct. 27, but had to delay because of Superstorm Sandy. Now, Coleman is looking into further diversifying his company as he stops in to visit at the Warren salon.