I spent the weekend in Durham NC talking about the massage therapy industry with two people who have absolutely nothing to do with the massage therapy industry. It was one of the most professionally productive two days I've had in an age!
Background: Kitty Southworth and I are launching a new company in 2012 called The Healing Core. Our original vision was to offer continuing education, specifically in energy and business, to people in the healing arts. We went to Durham to talk to Clare Reece-Glore about adult education and Adriana DiFranco about marketing.
Clare helped us review the outline for our Energy 101 class. She helped us see what we did well (lots, blessedly!) and what we can do to make it even better (lots, just as blessedly). We also made plans to bring her to DC to teach a class on how to develop a good continuing ed class.
Adriana asked us to describe our business and our industry and then helped us imagine a business so much bigger than we had imagined. She helped us see that we could be even more than we imagined. She led us to see things we never would have been able to see for ourselves.
When you talk to people who are already embedded in the same industry you are, they have the same (frequently unknown) limits to their worldview that you do. When you talk shop with someone outside your industry they ask questions like "couldn't you do....?" and "why don't you....?" Sometimes their suggestions won't work because there are things they don't understand but just as often they will invite you to see things in a whole new light.
I enjoy talking shop with other MTs and I learn much from them. But sometimes I find it's good to get out of the "shop" and see how the world looks on the other side of the office door.
Tuesday, August 30, 2011
Monday, August 29, 2011
Happy Endings?
One of my long-term clients was on my table last week. It was the end of the session and I was doing some scalp work (that she loves) to finish up. She mentioned that each MT she's seen has one "special" body part that they are particularly adept with. Another favorite MT of hers does especially good work on the shoulders. I am known for being great with the feet.
"Of course," she said "you also give great head."
I began giggling (quietly!) and pushed back away from the table because I was starting to shake with internal laughter. There was a pause and she said "Wait, that didn't come out right...".
Sometimes we can give our clients happy endings and still stay within our professional ethical boundaries and personal comfort zones. :)
"Of course," she said "you also give great head."
I began giggling (quietly!) and pushed back away from the table because I was starting to shake with internal laughter. There was a pause and she said "Wait, that didn't come out right...".
Sometimes we can give our clients happy endings and still stay within our professional ethical boundaries and personal comfort zones. :)
Friday, August 26, 2011
Made The Nut
When your income is highly variable from week to week, it's common to have a "minimum" you want to reach each week/month to meet your living expenses. I call mine "The Nut" (though I can't remember why I call it The Nut).
Week Two back in business and I made The Nut this week! And got approached by two more clients to schedule appointments. Apparently I'm going to be OK. :)
Week Two back in business and I made The Nut this week! And got approached by two more clients to schedule appointments. Apparently I'm going to be OK. :)
Thursday, August 25, 2011
Getting Too Close
I'm at the end of my 2nd week back to massage (one more client!). Most things have come back to me with practice but I have one problem that's going to take more practice.
I've often joked that "bodies talk to me". What I mean is that I have the ability to open my senses up to a clients body while they are on my table and "read" their tissue, to a certain extent. I can get a sensation of "tight" or "open" or "weak" or "congested" or even "happy" or "angry". This doesn't usually tell me anything personal about the client but it does help guide me in my work.
But I am remembering how much it takes out of me too. I feel all these things -- tight, open, weak, etc. -- in my own body. That's just how it works for me (it's a form of empathy). Unfortunately, it tends to drain my own energies and after two sessions I can be more run-down than I should be. That kind of fatigue can lead to compromised judgement (as is always true with fatigue) and it can lead to over-eating (in an attempt to re-charge myself).
I think this has always been a challenge for me but I've gotten better at recognizing when things are happening to me, energetically, in the last few years and especially in the last year. So now I recognize it faster but I have to re-learn the practices of energetic self-care! I know what to do but I've gotten far too casual in actually doing the things I need to do.
It's like trying to go for a jog when you haven't run in a year. You certainly remember how to do it but it may take a while to get good at it again!
I suspect this will be my biggest challenge in the months to come.
I've often joked that "bodies talk to me". What I mean is that I have the ability to open my senses up to a clients body while they are on my table and "read" their tissue, to a certain extent. I can get a sensation of "tight" or "open" or "weak" or "congested" or even "happy" or "angry". This doesn't usually tell me anything personal about the client but it does help guide me in my work.
But I am remembering how much it takes out of me too. I feel all these things -- tight, open, weak, etc. -- in my own body. That's just how it works for me (it's a form of empathy). Unfortunately, it tends to drain my own energies and after two sessions I can be more run-down than I should be. That kind of fatigue can lead to compromised judgement (as is always true with fatigue) and it can lead to over-eating (in an attempt to re-charge myself).
I think this has always been a challenge for me but I've gotten better at recognizing when things are happening to me, energetically, in the last few years and especially in the last year. So now I recognize it faster but I have to re-learn the practices of energetic self-care! I know what to do but I've gotten far too casual in actually doing the things I need to do.
It's like trying to go for a jog when you haven't run in a year. You certainly remember how to do it but it may take a while to get good at it again!
I suspect this will be my biggest challenge in the months to come.
Fitting In
I know a good massage therapist who has been trying to connect with local medical offices, particularly those who serve the community of people living with fibromyalgia, with mixed success. She recently re-did her brochure for those offices and is now getting regular calls from people seeking appointments.
What changed? I think she made two important decisions for this brochure:
First, she included information on a new study that shows how effective massage can be for those living with fibromyalgia. Most importantly (because she has a scientific mindset), she asked a friend who doesn't think like a scientist to help her explain the study in non-medical, non-scientific terms. She trusted this friend's advice. She made the information accessible.
Second, she invested in a laser color printer so she could print her brochures in full color and on heavier card stock. It gave them a much professional look and feel. Her brochures now look like they belong in a doctors office, right alongside all the other professionally produced medical literature.
MTs (and other healing professionals) often focus on doing things economically (sometimes, even cheaply). We aren't high-dollar professions so we are cautious about spending money. We often think the content will overshadow the economy of the presentation.
However, our marketing material has to look like it actually belongs in the places we have it. It also has to respect the audience it's trying to attract and use language and images that matter to the people reading the information.
This may mean investing in good printing and good paper (for printed material). It may mean asking other professionals (printers, web developers, graphic designers) to work with us. It may also mean asking someone to review our material and make sure it makes sense, not to us but to the potential reader.
This MT did and it's paying off.
What changed? I think she made two important decisions for this brochure:
First, she included information on a new study that shows how effective massage can be for those living with fibromyalgia. Most importantly (because she has a scientific mindset), she asked a friend who doesn't think like a scientist to help her explain the study in non-medical, non-scientific terms. She trusted this friend's advice. She made the information accessible.
Second, she invested in a laser color printer so she could print her brochures in full color and on heavier card stock. It gave them a much professional look and feel. Her brochures now look like they belong in a doctors office, right alongside all the other professionally produced medical literature.
MTs (and other healing professionals) often focus on doing things economically (sometimes, even cheaply). We aren't high-dollar professions so we are cautious about spending money. We often think the content will overshadow the economy of the presentation.
However, our marketing material has to look like it actually belongs in the places we have it. It also has to respect the audience it's trying to attract and use language and images that matter to the people reading the information.
This may mean investing in good printing and good paper (for printed material). It may mean asking other professionals (printers, web developers, graphic designers) to work with us. It may also mean asking someone to review our material and make sure it makes sense, not to us but to the potential reader.
This MT did and it's paying off.
Saturday, August 20, 2011
Good Reads: The One-Page Business Plan
2012 is going to hold some great new things for me as my friend Kitty Southworth and I launch a continuing ed company, The Healing Core. Right now we're working on a business plan for it (of course!).
Quite a few years ago a couple of also-self-employed friends recommended I use "The One Page Business Plan" by Jim Horan to write my first business plan. I did and found it so incredibly user-friendly that I have recommended it to even more people.
His basic theory is that most of us don't need that muscular weighty paper-intensive traditional business plan. In fact, he posits that for most of us, the traditional business plan is a roadblock. So he's crafted a biz plan that is, literally, one page long. His book (now re-issued as The One Page Business Plan for the Creative Entrepreneur) has worksheets and exercises to walk you through creating the one-pager. I used it in 2002 to write my first business plan. Took me 2 days. I've continued to use it every year to update my business plan.
And my business plan really is one page, taped to the wall above my laptop so I can look at it every day if I want to.
That's a useful and practical book! Here are some of my favorite quotes from it:
The most important reason to have a business plan is to clarify your thinking, regardless of the size of your company. Is it possible to have too much clarity or focus?
Business planning concepts are not difficult. You already understand all of them.
The business plan is, in effect, our modeling tool. It provides the sketch, the vision, the road map for our ideas. In many ways, it's just like the composer's first few chords; the musician gets to hear it and so do others. The business plan works the same way. You get to see your ideas in writing and so do others.
Mission statements are also about commitments and promises. Ask yourself, "What is your company committed to providing your customers or constituencies?" Under what circumstances would you refund your customer's money and apologize for not providing what was promised? What would you be willing to do to make amends with a dissatisfied customer? The answers to these questions may help you understand why your business exists.
Quite a few years ago a couple of also-self-employed friends recommended I use "The One Page Business Plan" by Jim Horan to write my first business plan. I did and found it so incredibly user-friendly that I have recommended it to even more people.
His basic theory is that most of us don't need that muscular weighty paper-intensive traditional business plan. In fact, he posits that for most of us, the traditional business plan is a roadblock. So he's crafted a biz plan that is, literally, one page long. His book (now re-issued as The One Page Business Plan for the Creative Entrepreneur) has worksheets and exercises to walk you through creating the one-pager. I used it in 2002 to write my first business plan. Took me 2 days. I've continued to use it every year to update my business plan.
And my business plan really is one page, taped to the wall above my laptop so I can look at it every day if I want to.
That's a useful and practical book! Here are some of my favorite quotes from it:
There is no right, wrong, or perfect business plan. Your business will always be evolving. So will your plan. It will also get better with time. Business plans don't have to be long to be good.
The most important reason to have a business plan is to clarify your thinking, regardless of the size of your company. Is it possible to have too much clarity or focus?
You have everything you need to draft the [business] plan in your head.
Business planning concepts are not difficult. You already understand all of them.
A business plan brings out the best and worst in most business professionals. It facilitates creative and analytical thinking, problem solving, communications, interfunctional sharing, and teamwork. It generates hope and enthusiasm about the future. It also brings out procrastination, frustration, differences of opinions, and possibly anger. It is not a benign process. But when done well, the process is very valuable and has its own sense of satisfaction. Your business will be stronger.
The business plan is, in effect, our modeling tool. It provides the sketch, the vision, the road map for our ideas. In many ways, it's just like the composer's first few chords; the musician gets to hear it and so do others. The business plan works the same way. You get to see your ideas in writing and so do others.
Have you considered that Queen Isabella of Spain was one of the most powerful and important venture capitalists of all time?
Mission statements are also about commitments and promises. Ask yourself, "What is your company committed to providing your customers or constituencies?" Under what circumstances would you refund your customer's money and apologize for not providing what was promised? What would you be willing to do to make amends with a dissatisfied customer? The answers to these questions may help you understand why your business exists.
Wednesday, August 17, 2011
I've Still Got It (I think)!
I saw my first client in a year on Monday night. She has been a client for years so I know her body and her background, which helps!
It was lovely to step back into the clinic at PMTI and fall right back into the rhythm of setting up -- sheets on the table, table lowered to my level, adjusting the headrest, plugging in the music, washing my hands....it seems so simple but it was reassuring to have it fall back into place so easily.
The intake....as long as usual. I must do about the longest intakes of anyone I know! It is not unusual for them to last 10 - 15 minutes. I give my clients a chance to really tell me what's going on with them. It's funny the things that come out after 6 or 8 minutes of talking -- their real concerns, the little aches and pains, the insights into what they truly need. It often changes how I structure the session, even if it's just a little bit.
Palpation? Yes, I still can! (phew) Touching, feeling the tissue's response, confirming where things are tight or non-responsive.
Is the pressure good? OK, I need to start lighter. I need to remember "superficial to deep". Got an urge to dive in. Need to soften up just a bit.
Time management? OK, gotta work on that. The clock is moving much too fast! It'll come back.
But I am back.
It was lovely to step back into the clinic at PMTI and fall right back into the rhythm of setting up -- sheets on the table, table lowered to my level, adjusting the headrest, plugging in the music, washing my hands....it seems so simple but it was reassuring to have it fall back into place so easily.
The intake....as long as usual. I must do about the longest intakes of anyone I know! It is not unusual for them to last 10 - 15 minutes. I give my clients a chance to really tell me what's going on with them. It's funny the things that come out after 6 or 8 minutes of talking -- their real concerns, the little aches and pains, the insights into what they truly need. It often changes how I structure the session, even if it's just a little bit.
Palpation? Yes, I still can! (phew) Touching, feeling the tissue's response, confirming where things are tight or non-responsive.
Is the pressure good? OK, I need to start lighter. I need to remember "superficial to deep". Got an urge to dive in. Need to soften up just a bit.
Time management? OK, gotta work on that. The clock is moving much too fast! It'll come back.
But I am back.
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