Power Women: Ann Spires

Ann Spires’ career began in a completely different world. By the late 1980s, she was entrenched in the indoor tanning industry — building a distribution business, supporting salon owners and, as she quickly realized, finding great satisfaction in supplying the products people needed long after the initial purchase. Selling one tanning bed meant one sale; selling supplies meant an ongoing relationship.

While attending a trade show in Chicago, Ann stumbled upon a small booth featuring something she’d never seen before: Softub. The concept immediately intrigued her. She became a regional distributor, and soon after, Softub invited her to join the company as its director of marketing. She relocated from Ohio to California, applying her aftermarket expertise to a new product category. At the time, Softub’s dealers were mostly independent entrepreneurs, many brand-new to the industry, which created a perfect opening for Ann’s creative thinking. 

“They were just ripe for accessories,” she says. She developed booster seats, spinning jets, a chemical line called Softcare — items tailored specifically to the product’s unique construction and customer base.

That was the spark. Ann realized she was sitting on something bigger: If she could supply Softub dealers with accessories, why not supply everyone? Out of that insight, Ann founded Essentials Spa Supplies.

By 1997, Essentials had evolved into a full distribution company serving retailers across all brands. Ann focused on curating products that elevated the ownership experience — from chemicals to filters to fun. In the early years, she produced consumer catalogs that dealers could share with customers, highlighting a carefully selected mix of must-have accessories, and as the industry expanded, she adapted. Today, Essentials carries over a thousand SKUs, including multiple in-house brands such as Great Barrier filters, a full chemical line and a growing portfolio of spa accessories. “I don’t just distribute other people’s products,” she says. “I get to create some of those things.”

 Her “10 companies inside one company” approach allows her to innovate constantly, regardless of the season or the industry’s cycles. That drive, and the steady evolution of the business, is a major reason Ann has stayed in the industry for over 30 years. “My job is never done,” she says with a laugh. “There is always something to do.”

But for Ann, longevity isn’t just about product innovation; it’s about relationships. Essentials is known for its stability — something she credits to her long-tenured team. “My core staff has been there 15, 20, 25 years,” she says. Dealers know the people who answer the phone, and that continuity has built trust. She sees that same loyalty reflected in her customer list, many of whom have been with Essentials for decades.

Ann says leadership is simple at its core: Treat people the way you want to be treated. She doesn’t ask anyone to do something she wouldn’t do herself, and she expects the same of her team. Her goal is to be the vendor she would want — to make things easy, respond quickly, solve problems and stand behind every product.

Her career hasn’t been without hardship. The most significant challenge she’s faced was the death of her husband several years ago. Running a business while navigating immense personal grief tested her, but in those moments, work gave her structure and purpose when everything else felt uncertain. Work, she says, can also be a lifeline. “You don’t get a break when you’re a business owner,” she says. “You have to keep going.”

For Ann, women already play an influential role in the customer experience. “Women make the buying decision,” she says. When a couple walks into a hot tub store, she believes retailers succeed when they understand and connect with the woman’s priorities. And because hot tubs and accessories are ultimately about fun, lifestyle and comfort, she believes there is “more here than meets the eye” — and plenty of room for women to shape the future of the field.

Ann’s Tool Kit

• A must-have desk item: photos of loved ones 
• Favorite tech tool or organizational system: my iPad
• A wellness habit that keeps you grounded: Walking 18 holes of golf 
• Go-to coffee/drink order: current favorite is honey citron and ginger tea 
• A song that amps you up, calms you down or motivates you: “Dancin’ in the Moonlight” by King Harvest always brings a smile to my face. 
• A book that inspires you: “The Daily Stoic” by Ryan Holiday — a simple little read for each day of the year. 
• A favorite piece of advice: I have a lot of mantras. On my fridge is a simple magnet that says, “HOORAY!” — just in case I’m not feeling very HOORAY when I walk by. My most recent one is “Observe. Accept. Move On.” And the one next to my bathroom mirror says, “This is the beginning of a new day. You have been given this day to use as you will. What you do today is important because you are exchanging a day of your life for it. Tomorrow this day will be gone forever. In its place is what you left behind. Let it be something good.”