If there’s any indication of an entrepreneurial gene, it might exist in Renee Cofield’s family. A resident of Naples and the owner of MassageLuxe/FaceLuXe Spa, in Bonita Springs, Cofield grew up as an entrepreneurial fledgling amidst a family of creative risk-taking go-getters. “It’s the only business model I’ve ever known. My grandparents had that entrepreneurial spirit working in business, as did my father, who opened his first retail shoe store at the age of 19, in Warsaw, New York, our hometown. He grew his shoe business and moved it to Geneseo, a neighboring town with a bigger population. This was shortly after purchasing Swain Ski & Sports, a sporting goods store in Geneseo," advises Cofield.

As young girl, Cofield thought that it was cool and exciting to work with her dad after school and during summers. “What kid doesn’t like to hang out at a sporting goods store? My dad was gracious. He was excited that I wanted to learn from him. Shadowing Dad and getting hands-on experience while he was growing his retail store each year gave me a head start in acquiring good business and marketing acumen," she recalls.

Cofield’s sister was a cheerleader in the early 1990s. Cheerleading coaches in the area frequented the sporting goods store in search of footwear and apparel. “Then, cheerleading footwear and apparel was hard to come by, especially for the coaches and participants. Many of the local coaches approached Dad about carrying the items in his store. His business sense went far beyond our store walls, and he discussed a bigger idea of offering such things to cheerleading coaches throughout the country through national catalog production and distribution. Dad reached out to the major suppliers with whom he had established a longstanding relationships—like Nike and Adidas—to gain their approval and support of the idea,” explains Cofield.

As a result, we opened Team Cheer and created our own nationally mailed product catalogue, and even handled the photo shoots. We had a warehouse, a catalogue business, and when the online boom hit, we added a full commerce website, which took off because there was a need in the market. My dad excelled at seeing people’s needs as opportunities to help and be of service. This was something I greatly admired about him, and hoped to one day follow in his footsteps,” says Cofield.

After two years of college at the State University of New York at Geneseo, Cofield moved on to earn a bachelors degree in marketing from Simmons College, in Boston, where she shared life with her sister, a graduate student at the Boston Conservatory pursuing a master’s degree in musical theatre. Afterwards, she returned to Geneseo to work in the family business at an assistant-level position. Throughout her 13 years of service, Cofield was promoted several times. During her final position as vice president of marketing, the company launched their Girls Got Game division, based on the model of Team Cheer. The division filled the need of female athletes in basketball, softball and volleyball.

When the Cofields saw the need that individuals have for affordable, proactive, preventive measures for health and wellness, they filled it by opening MassageLuxe/FaceLuXe Spa. "My whole family shared a passion for getting a regular massage for health and wellness reasons, so it was a logical step for us to start a business in this field,” Cofield says.

At MassageLuxe/FaceLuXe Spa, Cofield has a staff of more than 10 massage therapists that offer eight types of massage—Swedish, deep tissue, prenatal, sports, trigger point, aromatherapy, reflexology and hot stone. The day spa also offers facials. Four types of memberships are available.

Massage Luxe/FaceLuxe Spa is located at 3300 Bonita Beach Rd., Ste. 129, in Bonita Springs. For more information call 239-992-5893 or visit FLMassageLuxe.com.