Guess I Gotta Do It Now

So, the cleaning lady (Kelli) that I blogged about recently? She says she wants a copy of my business book when it's done. She wants to learn more about business.

I said she's my idea of a great small business owner already. She would be the example I would put forth to my readers!

She said "a day I don't learn something new is a sad day".

THAT, my friends, is a good small business owner!!

So, yeah, I guess I really am going to have to finish this book.....

Oh, dear, what have I gotten myself into?

I (finally) read a handbook on how to write a book and get it published and promote it. I had a vague idea that "some more stuff" happens after I do the hard/important part of writing the silly thing.

Oh my goodness. There's a lot to do and it is all very time-consuming, especially if I want a book to be remotely "successful" (that is, cover its costs and bring me some profit). I'm more than a little overwhelmed right now.

But the business woman in me says "right, then, pull on your boots and get busy! You know that writing a book is business and business = work. No whingeing!". The business woman in me is apparently adopting an Australian accent...

It may turn out that the writing was the easy part!

Taking it Digital

I just submitted my application to be a presenter at the two 2011 World Massage Conferences, all of it online.

Eeep!

It's part of (1) starting to promote my business workshops (I proposed doing an hour on "starter" business plans) and (2) getting my name out beyond the DC massage community. Plus, it gives me a chance to start practicing with putting stuff out there through the 'net.

I am a print kinda gal. Degree in journalism. 20 years writing user guides. I still prefer my books on paper in my hand and newspaper websites make me nuts.

BUT my target audience is getting younger and younger as the masssage community gets younger and they tend to go electronic first. So, I gotta learn how to do this too.

Truth be told, I also want to be one of the voices "out there" talking about what is possible as a massage therapist. A lot of the advice and direction new MTs are getting is all about "go to work for someone else". Nothing wrong with that but it's not necessarily the only option either. Some times it feels like the schools are turning out the equivalent of massage cannon fodder -- cheap labor for the larger entities that are gaining strength in our industry.

Somebody needs to be telling new MTs that there is another option and how to get there. And how to stand up for themselves and how to take themselves seriously as business owners and....OK, if you've ever taken one of my classes, you know where I'm going with this. ;)

Gotta put it out there if you want people to find it.

Three Lessons

The woman who cleans the apartment every week is a whirlwind and a savvy and self-aware businesswoman. We chat if I'm here about business (while she flies around the apartment). Today we talked about insurance and hiring employees and contracts and a host of things.

At one point, she said (from the bathroom) "There are three things I've learned about business from running my own cleaning company." Here's her three things...

Always have a contract

In any professional relationship have a contract and read the contract. She's been on both the winning and the losing end of not reading contracts. The contract is the beginning and end of your business relationship.

AND contracts are negotiated, not just signed.

I've advised students and new massage therapists to take your own contract to a job interview. The fact that the spa/hotel/salon/group practice already has their boilerplate contract doesn't mean you have to accept it as is. If you bring your own, you can use the two of them as the place where you begin your negotiations.

Get everything in writing

No matter how good your relationship is with a businessperson, get everything in writing. Did you agree verbally to a rate change? Get it in writing. Did you agree to change who carries the insurance? Get it in writing. Did you agree to a change in duties? Get it in writing.

Everyone's memory is as susceptible to modification and mis-remembrance. Any conversation that's reduced to "you said..." vs. "no, what I said was..." is a losing conversation.

Remember it's business, not personal

Actually, she said "don't trust your employees", which made the employee working with her today laugh. She corrected herself and explained that she meant never mistake a business relationship for a personal relationship and vice versa. Remember and maintain those good boundaries.

You can have a cordial, even friendly, working relationship but remember it's always about work.

Trust your gut/trust yourself

It turns out, she had lots more lessons learned but I liked this one best. She said that when she first started in business, she wanted to be nice and she wasn't entirely confident in own judgement so she tended to do what others told her to do, even when her gut/intuition told her differently.

And she always regretted not listening to her gut.

A corrollary to this was to develop a strong sense of who you are as a business owner and keep that in your mind as you do business.

She actually had lots of other nuggets of learned wisdom that kept coming once she got started. You may see her and just see "cleaning lady" but she has multiple home and business contracts, has a staff, works hard, and knows that she is a small business owner.

She's very much like us and we could learn a lot from her.

Slogging My Way Through The Words

Writing. Writing. Writing. Writing. Writing.

I actually went to college for this??

I'm back at the Brisbane Square library today for another 2-hour session in the learning lounge. The lounge gives me access to a PC with Word, fast internet, Publisher, etc. etc. etc. and a printer. I have been coming here to do my writing several days a week because (1) it helps me break the isolation of working alone at home and (2) they've actually got decent office chairs for working on the PC!

It makes a difference.

It's funny that every time I come over to reserve a space, they ask me what I'm working on (directly or subtly). This learning lounge is meant to be for working, not just surfing the web. (They have another busy lounge for that.)

I've been coming here 2-4 days a week for several weeks now and they still ask me every time. I don't know if they're getting more or less suspicious.

The plan for today is:

1. Get a couple more pages of the NCBTMB Approved Provider application finished. It's not a horrendous application but (1) it's long, (2) it's detailed, and worst of all (3) you can't save your work.

Truly. You can enter all the info you want into this 35-page online application but you can not save your work. I found this so incomprehensible I actually called their offices (yes, from Australia) and they confirmed that, yep, that's how that works.

They agreed it's not ideal and suggested I print off each page as I get it complete. Since I don't have a printer in the apartment, I have to work on it here.

2. Whack away some more at chapter 1 of the "Travel Guide for the Spiritual Journey" book (my working title). I've finished a rough draft of the introduction and I'm now working on chapter 1. I've got a detailed outline but it's still a lot of work to turn that outline into readable prose.


Do I sound a bit whingey (translation: whiny)? I feel a bit whingey. I've done a lot of writing this week and my word brain cells are getting a cramp. I remind myself how fortunate I am to have the freedom and support to just write, something I've fantasized about (and, yes, I did go to college for this. I have a degree in journalism and spent 20 years making my living as a writer before switching to MT). But I'm kinda dragging today.

It is work. Struggling for the right word or sentence construction. Making sure I don't over-use phrases (and that is sooooo easy to do!). Analyzing the flow of information through the paragraph, the chapter, the book. Re-arranging and re-arranging and re-arranging. What if I put this sentence there? Does it read better if I swap these paragraphs? Oh but that would mean deleting this sentence and I really like this sentence! Am I using the same phrasing I used in the introduction (because I should be)? Am I still being engaging? Is this sentence too long? Should I expand upon this idea or is it self-explanatory? Do I sound arrogant? Do I sound simple-minded?

Work.

Maybe after my two hours are up here, I'll go grab my togs (translation: bathing suit) and head over to the manmade beach on Southbank and ogle the life guards.

It's a living.

Thinking About Money

I've been thinking about money lately. Not just about whether I have it or not but about the role it plays in our professional and personal lives.

Insight #1: Money Has No Intrinsic Value

If I hand you a random piece of paper with green ink and a profile on it, is it money? In the US, that's all our money really is (in other countries, they get to use a wider range of ink colors, darn it!).

It works as a medium of trade but only because we all agree to see it that way. Yes, there's that whole "backed by a heap of gold and silver in Ft. Knox" but have you ever actually seen that pile o' gold and silver? Me neither. I'm taking that on faith too. And I don't recommend you walk into a bank and ask to change your dollars for gold and silver.

If we all woke up tomorrow and decided that those pieces of paper didn't look all that valuable any more, our economy would collapse. Money is a mass delusion but a mass delusion we've all agreed to and gotten (more or less) comfortable with.

Insight #2: Money, Like Energy, Has To Move

I may get a little prejudicial with this.

Because money has no intrinsic value, because it is strictly a medium of exchange, I think it has be be, well, exchanged. It makes sense to lay a little aside for things you know you'll need it for in the future -- next month's rent, next year's vacation, your retirement -- but I think money actually....stagnates if you lay too much aside just because.

We've all met people whose whole sense of security comes from the number of zeroes in the bank / retirement / money market / etc. accounts. They can be reluctant to actually spend that money, however. It's existence in a place they can call their own is all that matters.

They often say they might need it for an emergency or "just in case". True enough. But I've met a few people who I think don't ever intend to spend it, not if they can help it. Money's whole value is that their name is attached to it and it's not going anywhere.

I also find these people tend towards a certain stagnation in themselves (yes, this is the prejudicial part). The more energy / attention / moments of your life you spend stacking up dollar bills just to have a stack of dollar bills, the less of that energy / attention / moments of your life are available for, well, living.

Insight #3: Money Picks Up The Energy Of Our Intentions

Yeah, I'm gonna go all woo-woo on you here. You have been warned.

American paper money is made from organic matter -- a blend of cotton and linen (Australian paper money is made from polymers). I teach in Energy 101 that all matter has an energetic signature. So, dollar bills have an energetic signature, even before anyone has done anything with it.

But think about how many hands a dollar bill goes through. Each of those hands has a feeling about the money, has intention for it, assigns some emotional and energetic significance to it. That energy has to end up in the fibers of that dollar bill somehow.

I wonder if money is some of the most energetically charged things we touch on a daily basis? What difference would it make to that cotton and linen if the energy we touched it with was the energy of thanksgiving and pleasure vs. fear and insufficiency? Joy vs. anger? A spirit of plenty vs. a spirit of poverty?

Does money live differently in your pocket -- and affect you differently -- if you accept with an open attitude of thanksgiving? And give it out the same way?

I don't have an answer. I just find myself thinking about this a lot lately.

On the Strength of My Own Determination

While I was at the AMTA conference in September, I introduced myself to each publisher that was there. I explained my business book and talked to them about whether it was something they would be interested in.

Most of them focus on textbooks and I don't really envision this as a textbook. Lippincott Wilkins and Williams (the biggest publisher in our biz) were at least intrigued. I got a biz card and said I'd follow up when I got back to Brisbane.

Which I did. And heard back on Friday that they are unlikely to be interested in the book. They feel they already have enough "massage business" books.

sigh

I'm glad she responded. She encouraged me to keep writing, if for no other reason than because I clearly believe so strongly in the book. And I will. I do believe in this book and I really want to write it.

I'll focus on self-publishing now (once I figure out how that actually works). I don't know that this book will ever be a best-seller, even in our small industry. But I still believe it has value. I still believe it's unique. And I'll keep writing.

Size Matters

Since I live in the heart of "downtown" Brisbane (the CBD), there are frequently people on the sidewalks handing me flyers, free newspapers, coupons, that sort of thing. On Fridy night, there were two young women in traditional Japanese costume handing out business cards for a hair salon / fashion boutique.

I was stunned when I finally looked at it to see how much information they had crammed into a 2 inch x 3 inch space!

When I taught business practices at PMTI, we talked about business cards as part of marketing. They are generally inexpensive to produce so there's no good reason not to have one. We spent a good bit of time in class talking about the practical challenges of a business card.

From my perspective, a business card exists to let a person know (1) who you are, (2) what you do, and (3) how to reach you. You can include a few other things but the challenge is normally to resist the urge to put everything about yourself on your card. It's not a resume. It's not an autobiography. It won't sell people on your practice by its lil' ol' self.

There needs to be enough on it to remind someone why they have it in their wallet when they pull it out again in 2, 4, or 15 weeks. Its design conveys, subtly, a general feel for your practice but you can't even take that too seiously. From my perspective, its purpose is to transmit basic data and facilitate contact.

From my perspective, the biggest mistake you can make with a business card is to not have one. (On you, at all times. In the immortal words of Kitty Southworth LMT "I will leave home without my underwear before I leave home without my business cards!")

But, yowsa!, the Ryota salon seems to have not gotten the message that "less is more". And there was more on the back of the card!

In contrast, I've laid their card next to a card I picked up at the recent AMTA conference from a publishers' rep.

When I pull either of these cards out of my wallet, I'll remember why I have them. But I won't get an eyestrain headache trying to contact the publishers' rep!

I think the salon would have been much better served with a 4x6 or 5x7 postcard (or maybe even better served with a simple brochure). Then they wouldn't have had to resort to 2 pt type.

Yet, everything I need to know is on there, including the name of the salon mascot, Lolly the dog. But at what price? This is a full color (though not glossy) card with 9 photographs! Not cheap.

I won't rule out cultural differences either. Perhaps there is a segment of Japanese culture where this kind of card is both common and expected. Except, of course, they're not handing these out in Japan. They're handing them out in Brisbane where business cards tend to look just like they do in the US.

Are they wrong to use this business card? Well, they certainly got my attention and I will remember them. But mostly I will remember it as an irritant and an example of what I wouldn't recommend.

When I Grow Up, I Want To Be....

Jeff and I have talked about the odds and practicality of extending our time here in Australia. We may have that option but if we do, I will need to find work I suspect.

I could look for massage work in a spa or group practice. Since I don't have a client base (or even my massage table and supplies) it's impractical to try to establish my own practice.

I could go back to my previous life and work as a writer, especially a technical writer. Though the software used to write technical manuals has changed in the last 10 years I'm sure and I haven't kept up.

What I find myself thinking about though is temp or retail work (though God help my sacrum if I have to be on my feet all day!). Something simple. Something without assumption of commitment or long-term relationships.

Something I can walk in and out of without much guilt or personal investment.

I don't feel the need to flex my well-developed professional muscles, either as a writer or an MT. I can be in it just for the paycheck and some co-workers.

I'm enjoying the simple and relatively unattached life here in Brisbane. There's a peacefulness to it that I'm coming to appreciate.

More On Touching Strangers

Compliments of NPR.

Touching Strangers: A Creepily Wonderful Concept

Touching Professionally and Non-Professionally

While I'm here in Brisbane, I'm taking the chance to meet some locals through an organization called CouchSurfing that I'm active in at home in DC. This morning I had tea with a beautiful young woman, Erica Field, who's a performance artist.

One of her favorite shows to take part in is called "Six Women In Front Of A White Wall" by the Little Dove Theater (she's on the far left in this pic). The premise is, as the name implies, 6 women stand in front of a white wall on stands, "acting out" somewhat in the Japanese Butoh tradition. The audience is invited to come up and touch the women. The women react honestly to the touch.

Erica talked about the profound nature of putting yourself up to be touched by strangers and the challenge of responding honestly. She talked about the profound things she has seen from audience members when they are invited to touch strangers but knowing that they will respond honestly to how they feel about the touch.

Of course, we talked about the intersection of that performance experience and the massage therapy experience. Vulnerability. Honesty. Touch. The necessity of being totally present to the experience.

I had a flash that it would be fascinating to have that performance performed at, say, an AMTA convention. How different would it be when the audience touches strangers every day (naked strangers to boot!)?

How different would it be for us to touch strangers with intention but not in our official roles as massage therapists? The balance of power shifts. While the audience is the one that decides whether or not to touch, the performers "control" the space by being the ones who initiated the experience and are the ones who will have the freedom to react honestly and immediately (something our clients don't always do). They're the "pros" in this setting, where we're the "pros" when we touch in session.

What happens when someone else is creating and has final control over the touch experience? Can we just....touch? Could we touch without the overwhelming urge to rub, to massage?

I hope I get a chance to see this performance some day. I imagine I will be one of the ones who want to touch but how will the performer respond to my non-professional touch? I hope I get to find out.

My Australian Office

Behind the couch, tucked between the kitchen and the TV. :)

When I Grow Up, I Want To Be...

After 10 years in any profession, it's a good idea to step back and give some thought to what you want out of the next 10 years. Otherwise, you are a prime candidate for burnout, even if you love your work. You don't need to switch careers but you do need to shake things up.

(Truth in advertising: I wrote a whole column on this for the DC chapter of the AMTA, so I'm sort of stealing my own lead!)

When Jeff and I decided to come to Australia, we decided I would use this time to write a book (or 3) I've had in my head. I'm also using this time to see what bubbles up for my practice. What new directions do I want to take? What leaps of the imagination might actually be possible?

It changes every week. An idea will just grab my brain with both hands and shake it while saying "we could do XYZ!!!" Last week, I was all caught up in the idea of renting a large-ish space and inviting other bodyworkers and allied professionals to rent space from me. Create the multi-speciality practice I've fantasized working in but do it as a landlord.

I spent a lot of time thinking about the logistics of that last week. Where would I find such a space? Should I rent or (gulp) buy? What would it take to get that kind of financing?? What part of the city? What would I be looking for in practitioners? How would I find them?

This week, that idea doesn't excite my brain as much. Today I find myself focusing on the "service" part of my practice, specifically the "pay what you can" policy I have. Where are the people who need and want massage and really can't afford it? What is a massively under-served community?

In DC, I live on the eastern end of Capitol Hill (over by RFK Stadium). Can I help bring massage and its healing to ward 7 and 8, even with my oh-so-white face? Would I be better off partnering with someone who's already working in ward 7/8? What about my existing, loyal, and loving clients who would find ward 7/8 waaaaaaaay the hell outside their comfort zone?

Next week....who knows? It's all part of my deeper psyche exercising it's imagining and envisioning muscles. Stay tuned. :)

Re-believing

I have a degree in journalism. I spent 20 years as a professional writer before I became a massage therapist. I continue to write professionally, even as a massage therapist.

Yet, every time I sit down in front of a blank page or screen, I have to go looking for that place inside of me that contains my writer-ness. I have to choose to believe, once again, that I can write and write well enough to justify claiming people's reading time.

After more than 30 years, I still have to do that virtually every time I sit down to write.

I've spent a few hours this afternoon working on the outline for my business book. I have written business columns for 5 years. I taught business practices for 4 years. I still have all that material. Yet, when I opened a blank document called "outline", I had a moment or three of wondering if I had any idea what I was doing! (4 pages of outline later, I'm feeling much better about that.)

It happens with massage sometimes too. I've been rubbing the naked people for 10 years. Yet there are days I would walk into the massage room and think "What the heck am I doing here? What the heck do I know???".

There's a particular place inside of me, apparently, where my professionalism lives (I think it's somewhere near the 3rd chakra). The connection to that place can, apparently, be lost, misplaced, or at least overlooked for a while. The connection, apparently, needs to be re-established from time to time, maybe especially since the "success" of my work is so....subjective. Did you like it or not? That's pretty subjective.

But today I found my way to my Professionalism Place, my 3rd chakra, my whatever. Hope I can find it again tomorrow.

owowowowOW! Was It Good For You?

I've been getting my bodywork at The Lightworkers Cottage in New Farm, a close-in suburb. Specifically, I've been going to Nicholas Bestevaar, a Pyschosomatic Therapy practitioner.

We all know that the body-language we use around stress -- pain in the neck, monkey on my back, pain in the butt, etc. -- can have literal physical manifiestations. At its simplest, psychosomatic therapy takes that to the next level. Combining professional manual palpation skills with energetic sensitivity, these therapists find places of congestion and tune into the emotional/psychological/spiritual issues that might also be associated.

It hasn't been "counseling" as such. Nick has simply asked me to reflect on the congestion, pain, tightness, restrictions he's encountering. He talks to me about what's been going on with me. He reflects on life issues to may manifest in ways similar to what he's finding. He doesn't inform me that x/y/z is clearly going on and I obviously need to do 1, 2, 3.

He just observes and reflects and encourages me to be open to what might be good for me at that point, all the while using his hands in traditional therapeutic massage kinda ways.

I just got back from a 3-week trip back home to DC. It was a trying visit emotionally and physically. I landed back in Brisbane physically beat (thank you American Airlines!) and emotionally drained. My neck and shoulders have been tight though not painful. My feet were sore and I was experierincing some mild but stubborn jet-lag-related edema in my lower legs

Nick started me prone and began working on my feet and legs. Which turned out to be in worse shape than I even imagined! Holy crap.

Nick worked pretty deeply. His manual techniques were a combo of deep tissue, myofascial release and/or structural alignment, and some stretching. And it hurt. A LOT. A whole lot. I almost kicked him in the chest once -- by accident! I swear! -- in reflexive response to a tender spot he found.

Oh dear GOD it hurt.

While I was experiencing this work (when I had spare brain cells from trying to remember to breathe), I reflected on the role of pain in bodywork. I wondered if I would have been willing to induce this much pain, even if I was convinced it was going to be productive.

I took one of Ben Benjamin's Orthopedic Massage workshops a few years ago. One of the things that hung me up was that the treatment required being willing to do something that the client would experience as painful. My instinct to lighten up, back out, or stop when I got to the point of pain was practically overwhelming.

I always talk to my clients about the difference between "productive" and "non-productive" pain. I have always told the client that they need to let me know if we cross the line from productive to un-productive pain. Even when they give me permission to go deeper into "productive" pain, I find myself very reluctant.

Some of it may be a simple human urge not to hurt someone.

Some of it may be a deeper unwillingness to be the "bad guy" who causes pain, wanting my clients to only have happy associations with me.

Maybe it's a reaction to that over-done 80s mantra "no pain, no gain". How many clients have we all seen who've gone too far in their own body-management efforts, presuming the more it hurts the better it is for them?

Maybe I'm not confident in my ability to know when "enough" becomes "too much".

Of course, I've also met too many people who presume that I'm not doing enough if they aren't hurting. They only know effectiveness through pain. And there are MTs out there who really don't know you can be effective short of pain.

So, was Nicholas being insensitive to me? Was he being clumsy or ham-fisted? My instinct says "no". He was moving slowly and attentively. He approached congestion with a variety of approaches and paid a lot of attention to when congestion finally opened up.

Could he have done all of this with less pain? I don't know, honestly. The fascia of my legs was clearly very gummed up. We had only (!) 90 minutes. It worked, though my legs and feet were sore all day (but much better today). It had been a very trying 4 weeks prior to this and 3 weeks since I'd had any bodywork.

It does have me re-visiting my ideas about the place of pain in professional, compassionate, effective bodywork.

One Last Reason To Go To Conventions

I roomed in Minneapolis with fellow PMTI alum Pauline Lockard. It was her first AMTA convention and it was interesting to see everything -- the AMTA, the convention, massage therapists -- through her eyes.

But maybe the best part happened on Saturday. She had the morning free so she decided to walk through downtown Minneapolis to the Mississippi River. Along the way, she discovered the glory that is the Mississippi River, a farmers market, an Oktoberfest (with an oompah band, natch), and a nice walking trail along the banks of the river.

She came back with a look of wonder and delight on her face. She could not stop talking about how delightful it all was. How surprised she was by how simply pleasant it was.

I took a walk that same morning, though I never made it to the river. First, I stopped in at the Jean Stephen Galleries because they had a special exhibit of Dr. Seuss prints. I had a long chat with the owner about the Dr. Seuss work as well as about several other artists presented there. Some entrancing and engaging work in many different media. I'm very glad I stopped in. I really wish I was in a position to buy art.

I also stopped for brunch at one of the few food options open on a Saturday morning downtown -- Ike's Food & Cocktail. Wow. When you sit down, they place a sticky bun on your table the same way another restaurant would place bread sticks. They call it the "big as your head sticky bun" and, well, they're right. It's as large around as my face and about 2 inches high.


And it's a freebie. I just kept staring at it with my jaw dropped. The waitress said, in effect, "yeah, we get that alot". You can supplement that with an all-you-can-eat breakfast for $18.


Seriously? Because you imagine I haven't eaten in a week?


I ordered a chicken sandwich. While I waited for it, I managed to nibble my way half-way through that sticky bun despite my earnest intention not to touch it. What could I do? It was just sitting there!


The chicken sandwich arrived. Like far too many chicken breast offerings at American restaurants, it was overcooked and dry. I nibbled the two slices of bacon off it. Discovered the cheddar cheese was excellent and ate that off too.


When the waitress came back to inquire after my satisfaction, I mentioned I wasn't going to eat the sandwich because it was overcooked. She quickly offered to have the kitchen make me another one. Whereupon I had to admit that I had, uh, also kinda sorta ruined my appetite with the sticky bun so I wasn't actually hungry any more.


And she took the chicken sandwich off my bill anyways. So I got a sticky bun, bacon, and cheese for breakfast for the price of a soda.


That, my friends, is genuine Minnesota. These people are as nice as Garrison Keillor keeps telling us they are.


I burped my way back to the hotel and convention center.


When a lot of my friends in DC heard where the convention was this year, their general reaction was "Minneapolis?? Why would I want to go there??????" I was quick to defend Minneapolis but I think part of the low turnout this year was that people didn't think there was anything interesting to see/do/eat in Minneapolis.


They were wrong.


This is a sweet little city and a sweet not-so-little state. I don't want to live here because it's also the upper midwest and I know from experience that I can't take the winters. But I was grateful for the chance to visit a city I think is an under-appreciated gem of a city and call it a business expense.


The AMTA convention, or any other business trip, gives you an opportunity to see a new place with a new set of eyes. I discovered Powell's World of Books through an AMTA convention. I took the time to explore Sedona as a side-trip from the Phoenix AMTA convention. I have a new appreciation for Cincinnati thanks to the AMTA convention.


Get up, get out, go. Or at least give it some serious consideration. You might just discover the next Sticky Bun Of Death.

Social Media'ing

For quite a while, my husband and other friends have been after me to write a blog, especially for my practice. I’ve been very very resistant to this. Even though I am (also) a writer and I enjoy writing, I’ve had a strong sense that a blog would be a lot of work if I was going to do it well (and why do it any other way?) and would be a lot more time-consuming than these well-meaning friends and husbands realize (none of whom, I’d like to point out, is running a business or writing a blog themselves!).

I’ve written travel blogs for years and they are well-received by friends and family. So I have a very good idea of what it takes to do the writing. It is, just trust me, a lot more time- and energy-consuming than it appears to the reader. I enjoy it but writing a travel blog is related to a single event that I know will end. Writing for my business will not end or at least not any time soon.

This blog has confirmed my expectations somewhat. It is work and I do have to think about it all the time but it’s not as time- and energy-consuming as I feared.

Now those same people are telling me I need to be “doing” social media. Everyone is doing it! It’s critical to business success! You have to do it! They, of course, are still not running businesses themselves or doing social media for these non-existent businesses either but that doesn’t stop them from providing their useful opinions.

The session on social media on Thursday validated my expectations and observations. The presenter was very clear that one of the things everyone has to think about first is how much time you’re willing and able to devote to this sorta thing. He was very cognizant of the fact that we don’t make money doing social media. We make money when we rub people.

It’s nice to see someone admit that, that social media is time-consuming and it’s OK to not want to do it or not want to do it all the time. There are a lot of messages -- even beyond well-meaning friends and relatives -- that as small business owners we’ve just got to be all over whatever the latest thing is.

I am rarely an early adopter for new technologies. I’m not technophobic -- I was a technical writer in my previous profession -- but I am techno-cautious. I’m also very time-aware and I know how quickly my time evaporates, especially when I get on-line. I don’t want to get to the end of my life and mostly just remember a glowing screen!

So when I get back to Australia, I will re-visit my notes from the Social Media session, make some decisions that fit into my time and reality, and use it but I’ll use it to my benefit and in a way that fits my life.

Now I think I’m going to actually get off this screen and go for a walk in the real world…..

Where's The Buzz?

I gotta say, this convention does not have the buzz of previous conventions. It’s smaller, it’s quieter, it’s definitely more subdued. The energy just isn’t here. Maybe it’s me but I think it’s mostly the convention itself.

The vendor hall is missing the level of noise that it normally has.

Very few people are hanging around the Minnesota chapter host booth even though they are thoroughly lovely and helpful people full of very practical and useful assistance.

There aren’t the swarms of people in the hallways between session creating the hum of excitement (or disappointment) from their most recent session and in anticipation of the next session.

There aren’t little knots of people sitting on the floor or camping on empty tables perusing the schedule for the next place they want to be/see/shop.

It’s real easy to pick up tickets to sessions at the last minute.

I can move through the marketplace / vendor hall without trouble.

Tables are easy to find in the coffee shop and the snack bar. All day.

I’m not saying these things are bad, just that they aren’t my normal experience at an AMTA convention. Next year we’re in Portland OR (Powell’s World of Books!!!) October 19-22. Hope to see some of you there.

Who Am I?

It’s been an odd week for me. I’m surrounded by massage therapists but I don’t feel like I belong here. I’m not currently a practicing MT and I feel disjointed, disconnected, possibly even discombobulated. I’m interested in sessions that are more about thinking about massage than doing massage (so I may be skipping the morning session today on forearm and arm pain. Useful but I just can’t seem to get excited about it.)

When I became a massage therapist, I left a career that had also defined me for almost 20 years and I found that disorienting for a while too. I get a lot of satisfaction out of my professional life. I worked hard in both professions to improve my skills and my professionalism. In both cases I was active in professional societies. I took (and take) pride in the fact that people appreciated my work. So maybe I shouldn’t be so surprised by how disjointed I feel when I’m not living the MT life, especially when surrounded by massage therapists.

I still am an MT, technically, but I’m not practicing. I gave my sister a foot rub last Saturday but that’s the first person I’ve rubbed since the end of July. What does it mean to be a massage therapist who isn’t massaging?

I have a friend in Texas who, like me, studied journalism in college. Like me, she started a writing job upon graduation. Unlike me, she stepped away from it a few years later to accommodate her husband’s job and then the arrival of her children.

I remember her saying she was no longer a writer. And I corrected her. The skill, the background, the relationship to words, and the very attitude necessary to be a writer still lived within her. No one was paying her to write but she still is a writer in my mind, even 20+ years later.

I know by the same standard, I still am a massage therapist. I still think like an MT. I still care like an MT. The knowledge, the experience, the attitude still live inside me. So by the standards outlined above, I’m still an MT.

But can I tell you a little secret? I don’t actually have an urge to rub someone. I was sure I would. I was sure by this point -- 6 weeks after my last massage -- I’d have twitchy hands, anxious to rub any one or any thing! I don’t and I don’t quite understand that.

I love and respect the life of an MT but I will also admit that it can be hard, draining, and frustrating sometimes. It’s not a lavender-scented float through life, riding the love waves from my satisfied customers. (darn it) It’s…….work. And some part of me is, frankly, happy to be able to walk away from it for 6 months.

But I still feel like I lost a point on my internal compass by stepping away. I lost a filter, a lens through which I knew myself.

I’m a little embarrassed by all this. I feel like my internal self-ness should be centered and grounded in something more enduring and essential than my job. But that job engages huge swaths of my mental energies. I suppose if my husband passes before I do I’ll experience something similar because my marriage engages huge swaths of my emotional energies.

So, this is normal. Right? Right?

Fewer People but Still A Good Time

So, yesterday was my first official full day at the convention. And.....?
Marketplace

The vendor hall / marketplace is dramatically smaller than it's been in years past. The word on the carpet is that the AMTA had a lot of trouble attracting vendors this year. It's close to half the size it was in Phoenix or Cleveland. There are still lots of equipment manufacturers and lotion purveyors. But virtually no new small/start-up companies.

The one new one that I think is kinda funny is a guy selling t-shirts and bumper stickers. His products are all screamingly left-wing, feminist, vegetarian, new age, and hippie. Which means I love it! But I haven't seen a collection like that in probably 20 years and that was at a women's music festival back in about 1990.

But he's doing a brisk business! :)

Massage Therapy Foundation Posters

They have bulletin boards with big displays on research projects sponsored by their foundation. I don't usually read them because we're still at the stage as an industry where we have to do research to "prove" that massage can be relaxing and help alleviate pain. (No, the medical community won't just take our word for it.) sigh

There's a display, though, about a program in Boston that provides free hand massage to homeless people in a city program in conjunction with a PT training program. I really liked what I read. I know there are MTs at the women's facility at Luther Place over in Logan Circle but I'm feeling myself drawn to Ward 6 and 7 in NE DC and I'm wondering....casually, lightly.....if my practice (whenever I start practicing again) might be able to do something like this there.

Hmmmmmmm.......

Old Familiar Faces

I ran into former PMTI Executive Director Demara Stamler! She's here with the organization she's currently with (an alternative accredidation for cosmetology, aesthetician, and massage schools, I think). She looks wonderful and seems very happy.

Learning, I'm Always Learning

One of the big attractions to the convention is the workshops. If you take a full slate over three days, you've earned 12 CEUs for the year. You can fulfill all your NCBTMB requirements simply by attending the AMTA convention each year and taking your courses here.

But of course, not every workshop is going to excite and inspire you. Some are well-presented. Some....not exactly. I've taken two so far (I'm blowing off the ethics course I signed up for this afternoon because I'd rather blog).

Building A Successful Massage Practice: I'm going to give it a grade of "C-". My biggest complaint is that I don't think the presenter did a good audience analysis first. She was a solo practitioner in PA for about 18 months (many years ago). She was the only MT in her town and was quickly swamped, so she started hiring other MTs and spent 10+ years running a massage-specific "spa" before she sold it.

Unfortunately, about half the room identified themselves as solo practitioners who had no desire to run a multi-therapist practice. And her whole presentationwas based on the assumption that we all are or want to be running a multi-therapist practice.

Woops.

Plus, her defintion of success boils down to "make heaps of money by following general business best practices".

Eh. It wasn't bad so much as not terribly useful.

Using Social Media: OK, I'm giving this guy an A+. Loved it! He's not an MT (and a Canadian to boot! Oh my!) ;) but he really did "get" that we tend to be small operations, tend to be behind the curve on technology, and don't have a lot of time for social media.

He was very clear, very organized, and very practical. I took tons of notes and now feel like I can actually make an intelligent decision about how to (and whether to) use Facebook, blogs, LinkedIn and other social media to support my practice.

It was exactly what it was billed to be and exactly what I needed.

Today I was supposed to take an Ethics class, which I'm blowing off. Tomorrow is an intensive session on arm and forearm pain (whose anatomy still confuses me) and emotional intelligence.

MT Body of Knowledge: Beth Carey (PMTI Director of Education) attended that. Biggest complaint was that she wasn't sure what we're all supposed to do with this thing.

MT Best Practices: Again, Beth Carey, and she gave it a big thumbs up.

Geriatric Massage: good reports from both Pauline Lockard and Robert Weidemeyer, both PMTI alum.

Hospital-Based Massage Therapy: Beth was disappointed that they weren't more specific about how to make a hospital-based program work.

The AMTA, in general

I'm going to differentiate between the AMTA membership and the AMTA official organization.

The membership is full of diverse, interesting, occasionally obstreperous, often goofy people doing the best they can. The conversations I overhear (or, OK, eavesdrop on) tend to be about "how do I do the best possible work for my client?".

The official organization still frustrates me. The whole message bulletin board thing continues to be a problem (see yesterday's post for the low-down on the blossoming Bulletin Board Fiasco).

• It turns out there are several more PMTI grads here and it would have been wonderful to invite them to the happy hour last night but we didn't know they were here and we had no good way to communicate with them.






The DC, VA, and MD AMTA chapters had their own impromptu happy hour last night that we probably would have folded ourselves intobut there was no good way to put that info out.

The organization has decided not to put room numbers on the tickets you get at registration for each of your workshops. Since they have always done that in the past, most attendees are discovering about 5 minutes before their first session that they have no idea where it is.

THAT information is in the daily "newspaper" that the organization is putting out and it's only available at the registration desk which most of us are not going back to after we've finished registering on the first day.

Unless they are making room assignments at the very last minute (and I don't get the impression that they are), what's the point? It can't be to save paper because it doesn't it. Maybe it's to "force" people to read the daily newspaper??

I would ask but I don't honestly expect a straight answer.

Massage! More Massage!

The bulk of the convention is planned, designed, and run by the national office. However, the local chapter (Minnesota in this case) always has a booth, arranges one evening outing, and hosts/staffs a massage room.

Because MTs are, on the whole, kinda crappy at making sure they're getting regular massage. :)

I always get a massage at the convention (even though I'm quite good at getting regular massages!!). The prices are reasonable and it's always nice to experience a different MTs work.

The space this year is laid out very nicely. It's in a big ballroom with cloth curtains (as always) but the practice rooms are huge (I measured; they're 12' x 12'. Our master bedrooom at home isn't that big!). They are nicely appointed (and you can buy all the appointments at a bundled price!), though they lack bolster (major oversight from my perspective).

And how was the massage? Not bad. It wasn't an Oh My God! kinda massage but she got the job done.

We were joking at the happy hour last night that it's impossible to just "get a massage" once you become an MT. We become kinda particular about the massage we get. We know what a good massage, a bad massage, and a great massage is. It's hard to be satisfied with even just a "good" massage if you've have access to great massages.

One of the things I've noticed in the last few years is that some MTs have a ... presence to them that makes a big difference in the session. From the moment they first put their hands on me, my body at some deep level says "ah, they know what they're doing, they will take care of me, and I can relax into this". Just by that first touch of their hands.

It's a special talent. I first noticed it at a seated massage kiosk (believe it or not) in the Glasgow Scotland airport. Ako Shigihara in DC has that special touch. I know I do too, though not all the time.

Today's MT didn't have it. And there were times I thought "she's going through the motions to fill out the time and it's kind of....boring" though the work was still ultimately effective.

Still glad I did it. My back and neck and feet are much happier than they were when I got up this morning. Even if it can't be a GREAT massage, I'll still be glad I got a good massage.

OK, time for lunch. More tomorrow!

AMTA as alien life form

The AMTA seems like a foreign entity to me more and more.

Alien Observation #1

There used to be a bulletin board at the convention. You posted "hey, meet me at McDs for lunch!" and "anyone found a blue umbrella?" and "can I catch a ride to the airport Sunday morning?" and those kind of notes on it.

I intended to put a note on it about my book and asking for certain kind of MTs to contact me if they were willing to let me interview them.

But there's no bulletin board. It's been "cancelled" because there were too many "inappropriate" postings.

Join me now in a big "huh?".

I asked for clarification. They hemmed and hawed but finally said people were posting "for a good time call...." notes and (drumroll please) poetry. Really, it just couldn't be tolerated any more. So, rather than removing the offensive posts, they just cancelled the bulletin board.

Care to join me in another "huh?".

Alien Observation #2

The FAQ on the AMTA website about the convention included questions about recommendations more affordable lodging suggestions since the lodging deal is with the Hilton. The answer was, in effect, no we won't provide that. But we will help you find a roommate!

Because everyone loves sharing a room with a stranger.

Does the national office not understand their own statistics that say the average MT in America working full-time makes less than 35K? That makes the Hilton, even with a discount, not so attractive to many people.

And do they appreciate that the vast majority of us are self-employed? We don't have an employer willing to pay for our travel and lodging? (Actually, I've been to the national offices and talked to them about just that question and I can tell you the answer: a very loud "no". They actually believe the majority of us are somebody's employees!)

But to be honest, I don't generally find that the AMTA national office "gets" massage therapists all that well. Kinda disappointing for a membership-based organization.

Mobs and Mobs of MTs!

Sitting in Milwaukee, waiting for my connecting flight to Minneapolis and the American Massage Therapy Association annual convention! Hundreds of massage therapists wandering loose in one space!

Chaos and mayhem may well ensue. Actually, I think we can count on it, at least a little bit. :)

I really look forward to these conventions every year. I know a lot of MTs don't see the point of spending the time, money, and energy but I always find it worth it. I meet cool people who give me a whole new perspective on what it means to be an MT. I take interesting courses. I get the buzz that comes from being surrounded by people dedicated to their professional lives. I get to see a new city (OK, I travel to Minneapolis regularly so it's not as new to me) and....

.....I get to shop!

Honestly, I'm not normally a big shopping kinda gal (OK, admittedly, except for books). But it's just so nice to have all these massage-centric vendors in one place. I've never really found a massage "store" anywhere in the real world (not online) where I can cruise and peruse. But the vendor hall at these conventions is just so fun and interesting. At least half of it is stuff I am never ever going to buy for any reason whatsoever. But there's always stuff that's just interesting to check out and there's always something I end up buying.

(Plus, yes, they have lots and lots of books!) :)

This year, I have a couple of concrete goals for the convention, apart from the continuing ed and the PMTI happy hour.

- Talk to Lippincott, Wilkins, and Williams (the Big Name publisher in our biz) about the business book I'm writing and what it would take to get them to publish it.

- Meet and interview MTs who are running multi-therapist practices about their experiences as "the boss" for aforementioned business book.

- See if there are any other published authors there who can give me a realistic set of expectations about publishing in the massage industry (do I need an agent? Where does one find that particular creature?)

- Talk to the education chairs for a couple of state chapters to see if they would be interested in sponsoring Kitty and I to teach Energy 101 for their chapter. (Damn, that's the promo material I was supposed to pull together before I left. Oh well!) (sigh, I probably should have brought more professional-grade clothing with me.)

- Blog the experience for your viewing pleasure. :)

Now that I see those goals in writing, um, that's a lot ot accomplish in 3 days.....I have been accused of over-scheduling before and it looks like Australia hasn't cured me of that habit just yet.

But I'm jazzed and this is the perfect environment for me to do some important things so I'll just do what I can and see what happens. Kind of like the rest of my life.

Stay tuned....

More On Foot Detoxing

I got this from friend and fellow PMTI alum Sandi Kissane:

I was introduced to the foot bath when I worked at a health club for a short period of time. Frankly, I felt a little like a snake oil salesman. The so-called "research" that the company who developed the foot bath has, in my humble opinion, a poor research design and is more largely based on testimonials and anecdotal evidence rather than being based in good science.

At the crux of my skepticism is something that took place during my training for using the foot bath. The gentleman that was conducting the training, on a real life client, examined the nasty water and concluded that the woman was having difficulty with her gall bladder. She laughed hysterically because she had her gall bladder removed 5 years previous.

One of my first clients for the foot bath later called me and said that if I looked up these foot baths on YouTube I would find videos showing that the water will change similarly if you put something else (like a carrot as I later found) in the water. There was a plethora of videos inserting various other objects in the water and consistently getting the same results.

I'm not sure what to make of this and so without better science, I ultimately left the health club because the owner and I could not come to some sort of understanding regarding my conscience relative to marketing something I don't fully understand.

I admit that I wondered the same thing about the foot detox. I wonder about detoxes in general. I was thinking to myself "I wonder if she's ever tested this without feet in it, just to see what it does on its own".

I had a similar experience with ear candling. Everyone likes to cut the candles open afterwards and point to the junk inside and say "see, that's the junk/wax that was in your ear".

I did a lot of testing of ear candles on my own and discovered a few things:

1. The "ear junk" is a by-product of the candle burning. Even if the candle burns while I'm just holding it in my hand, it gets junk inside. That's not ear wax.

2. The type of candle really makes a difference. The more expensive ones really do burn cleaner and have less clogging.

3. Ear candling will not clean your ears out. It can help relieve sinus pressure. That's where I got my most consistent benefits.

But I learned all that from my own experiments done over the course of a couple of weeks. (Ask Pam Moyer at I Street Massage. I was setting things on fire all the time!) Most people don't do that.

We so want there to be some ..... magic. We want there to be old-timey simple remedies. We want easy access to the ways of the body. And we are, rightly, skeptical that the way to be "healthy" lies exclusively in the hands of modern Western medicine.

We are open to other answers. And that's cool. But it's not enough if we're putting ourselves out there as professionals. It's just not enough. We owe it to our clients to do our own explorations and often our own experiments.

Nasty Feet

I tried a new modality yesterday -- Foot Detox. I tried it at my new favorite haunt, The Lightworkers Cottage.

It started with about 25 minutes with the Trinfinity8 machine ("where technology meets consciousness"). This is meant to tune you up through vibrational frequencies. You listen to a chanted melody while watching fractals on a screen and holding two quartz crystal rods that are wired back into the computer system.

In the course of 25 minutes, it cycles through different levels of de-toxing -- lymphatic system, chakras, integumentary system, etc. -- while offering you a soothing visual and auditory experience.

Then she put my feet in a warm foot bath with some salts of some kind. She also inserted a paddle that was hooked into another machine. I was hooked up to this for 10 minutes or so? I was reading a book so I wasn't paying much attention to what was going on at my feet till she came in to tell me it was done. Then I looked down.

Ick. Ick. Ick. The water was full of a brown/green material that was just kind of disgusting. She provided me with a chart to match the color of the water with whatever organ was most affected by the detox experience.

Apparently my gall bladder needs some love!

She then did a 10-minute or so foot scrub of my feet that left them as smooth and soft as the proverbial baby's butt. I looooooove having my feet worked on!

I was already coming down with a cold when I went in there and it has progressed in the expected fashion (in fact, I'm hanging out in the apartment today doing major damage to a box of tissues). On the other hand, I haven't had any heart burn since then.

Hmmmmm.........

Intention! It's everywhere!

I remember a student asking me how to approach a task a few years ago. I said something about "setting your intention.." and he got all exasperated. Apparently 18 months of hearing about "intentions" was just, finally, too damned much for him.

He picked up a box fan and said "so, if I want to interact with this fan, I first have to set my intention??".

I thought about it for a minute and then, ruefully, said "yes".

Intention is seemingly small, quick, and possibly inconsequential. Except it isn't.

When we therapists use the word "intention" we're talking about something critical -- the mindset with which we approach a person or activity. Your mindset absolutely affects how you engage with that person or activity.

Yesterday, I had a brief chat with Barbara George, co-owner of the Lightworkers Cottage, a group practice combining traditional (western) bodywork and esoteric/energetic/metaphysical treatment. We were talking about what it takes to run a business like that.

Barbara used to be a hairdresser and ran a salon. After a divorce in 2007, she underwent some significant changes in her life that led her to owning this practice, along with her friend Ken Warren.

She talks freely about the way things came together, seemingly randomly (but we all know nothing is ever entirely random, don't we?) to lead her to this place. I asked her about what it takes to be a business owner in this kind of environment.

And she quickly told me it was all about (you guessed it) intention.

She said that when she managed a hair salon, she was more focused on income / money / profits. Profits are good but a profits-only focus has some unexpected disadvantages -- it's hard to build anything that's more than just an income generator when you're primary intention is income generation.

I think it makes it much more difficult to be in partnership with the people working in your shop too.

She said that now her intention is to create and manage a space so that others can bring their healing gifts into it. That is her primary intention. She still has to pay attention to all the nuts-and-bolts of running a practice, including the financial responsiblities, but she's got a different focus.

She said that it makes a difference in who works there. When she is approached by someone who wants to be part of the space, she "interviews" them to see if their intention fits with her intentions. If, after working there a while, there isn't a match-up in intentions, the practitioner ends up choosing to leave of their own accord. I don't think she's had to "fire" anyone in two years.

I enjoy visiting with her and talking to her because she just seems....happy. The Lightworkers Cottage is growing. It is attracting more and more clients and classes and workshops. Beyond a website and some print ads in Insight Magazine ("Australia's Number 1 Spiritual Lifestyle Magazine"), she does little conventional marketing.

Setting your intention is not some airy-fairy excuse for not doing anything and just "trusting the universe" to take care of you. Years before I became an MT, I met an MT who was frustrated about the lack of growth in his practice. He said "I don't understand! I put it out to the Universe!". Sadly, I think that was the only thing he did.

Setting your intentions, especially for the business side of your practice, is actually a little bit of work. You actually have to calm your mind, get centered in your heart, and get clear -- and specific -- about your true purpose in the coming day / event / activity / life / whatever.

That means slowing down, quieting down, and tuning in. You may only need 5-10 seconds to that before you walk into a massage session, especially if you make a habit of it. You may need 15 or 20 minutes at the beginning or end of your day. But I've learned that it's something you really do need to do regularly.

It's part of why I do my business retreat every January. I'm doing a lot of things that weekend but one of the things I'm doing, by updating my business plan, is setting my intention for the year.

I gotta tell you, the years I set all kinds of goals about making money and numbers, nothing worked out that way. I think there's just something about being in a healing profession that isn't going to respond, primarily, to numbers.

Barbara says her biggest challenge is probably one lots of us face -- getting out of her head and into her heart and spirit. While I'm a big fan of brainpower, I have also learned over these last 10 years as an MT that "thinking" can only take you so far. If you want a practice (and life) that means more than just moving from one day to the next, you've got to connect to the Universe and that isn't going to happen through your head. That happens through your heart.

Barbara learned that when she jumped out of bed in the morning and ran right into her day, she was living in her head. She has since developed the habit of spending 15-30 minutes first thing in the morning settling into her heart and spirit.

It's sooooooo easy when we're trying to deal with the business aspects of our practice to default to "brain". Isn't that where savvy business people live? Isn't getting ahead in business a function of being really smart?

It helps. But I agree wholeheartedly with Barbara that it's not the primary vehicle to get where most of us really want to go. We've got to operate from our soul / heart / Spirit.

Which means (with apologies to my former student) we've got to set our intentions.

Now, for something completely different...

OK, so I know this isn't exactly a professional observation or anything but....look at my nails, look at my nails!! I'm incredibly impressed by how long my nails have grown after about 6 weeks of not having to cut them.

I might even break down and put nail polish on them. Ohhh la la!

When I started massage school back in '98, I had punky nails that chipped and broke all the time. I could never grow them out so I always kept them short.

One of my instructors said that it's ironic that being a massage therapist can give you great strong nails (maybe it's the daily application of oil) and...you'll have to keep them cut short all the time because of your work.

It's true. I now have the strongest nails of my life and....I don't have to cut them! Well, not until I start scratching myself (which could happen soon). They click on the keyboard and I find I am forever tapping them on desktops and other hard surfaces just because I can!

I feel so.....girly. :)

I am a business owner....

If you've ever taken Business Practices from me at PMTI, you've learned to say that phrase: I am a business owner. I'm re-learning what that means here in Australia.

I am on sabbatical from bodywork. I did not bring a table and I am seeing/touching no clients. So....am I still a business?

Yes, I am.

I came with a different business intent: to write a book on the business of massage and to work with Ben Risby-Jones to write a book on a spiritual/metaphysical understanding of "healing".

When I am a bodyworker/massage therapist, it's pretty clear what qualifies as a "business expense" -- rent, mileage, oil, linens, my AMTA membership, office supplies at Staples, subscriptions to massage journals, marketing, etc.

So, what are my business expenses here?

I still have some obvious expenses: office supplies (post-it notes, envelopes, notebooks, pens, to get myself set up here in the apartment); transportation (going to and from Ben's place). But I have to think more broadly about what my business is and what qualifies as a deduction.

If I get a massage at the Dome spa at the Marriott with the intention of experiencing "remedial" massage, Australian-style" to broaden my understanding of massage......that's a business expense.

If I take a taxi to the Queensland State Library with the intention of exploring their writers center to see what support is available to me as a writer while I'm here in Australia....that's a business expense.

If I take the owner of the Lightworkers Cottage out for lunch with the intention of talking about how her business arrangement works with her practitioners (especially if I hope to write about it), that's a business expense.

The new type of business deduction I'm learning about here is the per diem. Margo Bowman, queen of massage therapy taxes, has taught me about this one.

The idea is this: when you are aware from your home/office, you can either:

• take a deduction for specific travel-related expenses (food, for example) or
• take a flat per diem deduction

The sweet part is you can choose to take which ever one is more beneficial for you. The IRS publishes a list of per diem rates based on your location in the US or overseas.

For Brisbane in the 2nd half of 2010, my per diem is $98. Since I'm not spending more than $98 a day on travel-related expenses , I'm generally taking the per diem!

What do I have to do to qualify for the per diem? I have to do something here that:

• is related to my business and
• I couldn't reasonably do in the US.

For example, today I had a good conversation with a woman who owns a cleaning company (she cleans our apartment). We talked about how taxes are viewed differently in both countries, the differences in tipping policies, the pros and cons of having big companies as clients, what it takes as a small business to raise rates, and a few other things. I gained some interesting insights into how being a small business owner is different from and yet very much like it is in the US.

I think of conversations like this is on-the-ground research for my book on the business of massage.

Since it would be hard to have this kind of conversation with this kind of person back in DC and this was a legitimate business conversation and it informed my view of being a small business and I intend to use the material in my book....it's a business deduction!

Ergo, today I'm taking the per diem deduction of $98. It's already entered in my Quiken books (aren't you proud of me Margo!).

I am a business owner.
I am a business owner.
I am a business owner.

Hope Springs Eternal

Today I had a chance to visit a "boutique" spa for a massage at Genesis Bodywork.

As I mentioned before, it seems like most MTs work either in spas/salons/hotels or privately out of their home and the ones that practice privately don't have websites. I found a place in a near-by suburb (think Rosslyn or Bethesda) that had DC-level pricing ($80 / hour) and booked an hour session for today.

I asked the owner over the phone what "boutique spa" meant. He admitted that it simply meant they were smaller than the bigger name spas. They were set up in a house and primarily offered massage and a few bodycare options like waxing.

They seem to still feel that they have to make you think "fancy". But the house was a simple house and the decor was lovely and not overdone. In fact, they used a similar color scheme to that used at Eye Street Massage in downtown DC -- tans, browns, greens, etc. Asian-ish.

Rather than covering with sheets, they use towels here. Couple problems with that.

• They aren't extra-big towels. So, if you've seen me, you know I kinda stick out on the two sides. Not horribly but it makes me feel a little exposed.


• It's really tough to secure the draping when working high on the leg. I'd asked for hip flexor work, which made for a challenge for my MT.


• A towel won't cover you shoulders-to-feet so I ended up with a second towel over my feet/lower legs but there was still a bit of gap.


• Since you need multiple towels (and they are nice thick towels) for a session, you aren't saving anything on laundry with towels. One or two under you. One or two on top of you. A smaller one as a facerest cover. Per session. It's gotta add up.

So.....not a fan of the towel approach.

After the session, I had a chat with the owner about one aspect of the local massage scene I've been curious about. Prostitution is legal in Queensland. I explained about how DC legislators (and others) often try to get "at" the prostitution trade through the massage therapy regulations and asked if, with legal prostitution, they had any problems with "happy ending" kinda clients.

He said he rarely gets those kind of calls. When he does, it's usually someone with a foreign accent asking for something like "body to body" massage. He wondered why men still do that.

I gave him my standard answer: hope springs eternal! :)

He also said they encounter what he called a "Mr. Creepy" from time to time, but again pretty rare. I guess they are, truly, unavoidable.

I feel like I'm beginning to get a clearer picture of the massage therapy world here in Queensland Australia. The more I learn, the more I'll write.

You need a website. You really do.

I have told new massage therapists and MT students that there are two things you should do right away when getting started to market your practice -- business cards and a website.

Business cards are super easy to get. A basic website is not a whole lot more difficult.

In both cases, I've found that the #1 reason MTs don't have them is that they get stuck on the design. It is less important that it be "perfect" and more important that it "exist".

I'm so frustrated here in Brisbane that I can only find spas on the web when searching for massage therapy. I've found one whose prices are similar to DC but the rest are "spa-priced".

It's not that I don't think spas should exist. However, they put sooooo much effort into creating a certain kind of space and ambience that they have to have higher prices to maintain the that. I care less about the ambience than I do about what happens on the table. So paying extra for the space is pointless for me.

Just give me a good massage in a private room with a non-wobbly table. I'll deal with the rest of it.

But if individual MTs don't advertise their existence, how can a person who is new to town (or new to massage) find you???

What does a business card need to contain, at a minimum?

- Your name
- Your profession (so they know why they have your card when they pull it out of their wallet in 3 months)
- At least one way to contact you

If you've got that on your business card, you're good to go.

What does a website need to contain, at a minimum?

- Your name
- Your profession
- How to contact you
- Where you're located
- Your price(s)

You can, of course, get much more involved than that. At some point, I would encourage you to get more fancy than that. But to get started, at least get that up. You can easily change / modify / expand your website (and your business cards) down the road but at least give me, the poor clue-less would-be client, something to start with!

(grumble)(grumble)(grumble)

Off to continue my search for an (affordable) MT in Brisbane.

Don't underestimate "intuition"

I finally got a massage today. I ended up at the Marriott spa, so I paid way too much -- $135 -- but it was a fantastic massage, so I'm not as annoyed at the price as I might be.

I even tipped $20, which shocked the heck out of the receptionist and the therapist. I finally got them to accept the tip by saying "I'm a massage therapist and I know good work when I receive it.". (Tipping is not common in Australia.)

The MT has only been in practice a year but she's got very well-honed palpation skills. She found all my tender spots, even ones I wasn't aware of. She also did a great job of listening to me and getting feedback at the appropriate time.

We talked a bit about how she works and she admitted she goes on "intuition" a lot. She sounded a little embarassed about that and said she wasn't always sure it wasn't just her imagination.

I hear that a lot from MTs. It's a shame. The more I've learned to trust my intuition in these last few years, the better my work has gotten.

Intuition doesn't get the respect it deserves. "Intuition" is just the name we assign to data we gather by other-than-overt-obvious means. It's still valid data, it's just coming in on some subtle channels.

I found myself reflecting on how much better the massage was because she was using her intuition. It made for a different kind of partnership between she and I. She wasn't just following a set protocol but actively responding to the tissue and to the clues that were coming in on those subtle channels.

And she was talking to me about it. It made me reflect on / connect to my body at a different level. It asked me to pay attention to more subtle things and anything that gets a client to really hone in on their body and connect with it runs a good chance of improving your session.

In the end, despite the price, I felt like I'd really lucked out by getting assigned to this therapist. PLUS she gave me a lead on some "woo-woo" practices in a nearby suburb. :)

All in all, a good day for intuition.

Maybe those first aid classes are a good idea.

Jeff just saved my life. Literally.

I was eating a meatball. It was large. I started swallowing before I'd really gotten in chewed up in little bits and it jammed half-way down. Just got jammed and all of a sudden I was choking.

In the heat of the moment, will you remember your first aid classes? Jeff did.

I stood up. Jeff asked if I was OK. I shook my head "no" and made the 'hands at the throat' sign for choking. He quickly came behind me, puts his arms around me, and started the quick squeezes to dislodge the stuck food.

It took two tries but he he got it out. Everyone sitting around us was very very impressed. So was I.

He said afterwards that one of his challenges is that I'm not built like the dummies they use in first aid classes. I'm taller than him and...ah....rounder than the test dummies. Finding my xiphoid process from behind? Good luck with that!

Please award that man 10,000 Husband Points. And sign us both up for the First Aid Course at PMTI next time we're in town.

How do we find us?

I had a chat with a housing / relocation guy today who is a big fan of massage therapists. In fact, he says he has 3 or 4 that he goes to, since he tends to be a "last minute" kind of client and needs a couple he can call to get last minute availability.

I mentioned that I'd been looking around for MTs and was only finding them in spas, hotels, and salons. I asked if there were group practices or if most MTs that he knew were working on their own, by themselves out of their homes or in rented space.

He confirmed my observations that it's either salon/spa/hotel or solo practitioner.

That's a definite "step" in the evolution of our profession. If it's like the US, they haven't quite gotten to the group practice / consortium level. That comes when we have enough MTs who've been in practice long enough to discover some of the disadvantages of working alone and, therefore, wanting to work with other MTs.

I'm not suggesting there's anything inherently wrong with working alone or in isolation. However, what I'm finding is that those MTs working alone aren't necessarily advertising through that most common of search tools -- the internet.

So how does a consumer like me find them? If they're relying on word of mouth, I'm kind of out of luck. I don't know anyone here to share word-of-mouth with! I'm counting on the internet to hook me up with a good MT, darn it.

I'll keep looking but I'd really like to connect with some MTs not working in (in my opinion over-priced) salons/spas/hotels. My back could use a little love.....

What am I doing here?

Wait, wasn't I just in DC? Just at PMTI? And now I'm in Brisbane Australia. How did that happen?

Short answer: my husband was offered a 6-month assignment in Brisbane and we decided:

(1) we like Australia,
(2) we've been talking about living overseas for more than 10 years, and
(3) we could afford to live on just one income for a little while, so
(4) what the heck, he accepted the assignment.

So I am living in Brisbane, the capitol of the state of Queensland, where massage is un-regulated, prostitution is legal, and everyone drives on the left.

But what am I doing?

For the next 6 months, I will be returning to my previous profession and will be writing professionally. That is, I will be working on several books, my usual columns, this blog, and the usual Facebook posts and letters-home-to-Mom.

Specifically, I intend to take my experience teaching business practices and my business columns for the DC AMTA newsletter and turn them into a book. I will also explore what it's like to be a massage therapist in this culture, in this business climate, in this country, on this side of the planet.

And along the way, I'll be posting my findings, musings, and observations on this blog for anyone who's interested. Check in from time to time and see what I've discovered lately!