...offering Pay What You Can. There's a taxi driver in Burlington VT doing it and it's so popular he's thinking of hiring some additional drivers!
And he doesn't feel that he's ever been cheated / ripped-off / taken advantage of either.
It absolutely can work. But then, I already know that.
Wednesday, June 27, 2012
Tuesday, June 26, 2012
It Ain't Necessarily So
I overheard two MTs talking recently. One mentioned that business was down for her, so she was going to "take some continuing ed" later this year.
My guess is that by "continuing ed" she meant something modality-oriented: pregnancy massage, craniosacral therapy, lymph drainage, oncology massage, that sort of thing. I've heard some variation on this conversation many times before. The implication always seems to be that by broadening our table-oriented skill set, we can grow our practice.
It ain't necessarily so.
If I break my ulna, I need a cast on my arm. If I cut my hand on broken glass, I need stitches. The cast won't help my cut. The stitches won't help my broken arm. Both are valid medical responses and very effective when used in the right situation but only when used in the right situation.
If you can't get group practices or chiropractors to consider you because you aren't skilled in trigger point therapy, then you should take continuing ed in trigger point therapy.
If you are turning away pregnant clients because you aren't certified in pregnancy massage, then you should take continuing ed in pregnancy massage.
If you're regularly encountering issues on the table that you can't adequately respond to (and your clients are leaving dissatisfied), get training so you can.
If, however, "business is down" because you don't have a website (and everyone else does) or because your marketing is insufficient or you need to reach out to a new population or you need to define your unique value in the face of new competition, then continuing ed in a modality isn't going to help much.
(Because even after you take the modality-based continuing ed, you've still got to find a way to let people know about your hot new skills!)
When business is down, we are tempted to go with what makes us feel stronger and more competent as massage therapists -- hands-on skills. What we may need, however, is what makes us stronger and more competent as business owners -- business skills.
The AMTA conference in October in Raleigh NC has business courses. As does the World Massage Festival in August in Las Vegas. So do many chapter meetings and regional conferences. My company, The Healing Core, specializes in business courses. (And all of these come with CEUs!)
Get out there and get the training you really need and grow the practice you really want!
My guess is that by "continuing ed" she meant something modality-oriented: pregnancy massage, craniosacral therapy, lymph drainage, oncology massage, that sort of thing. I've heard some variation on this conversation many times before. The implication always seems to be that by broadening our table-oriented skill set, we can grow our practice.
It ain't necessarily so.
If I break my ulna, I need a cast on my arm. If I cut my hand on broken glass, I need stitches. The cast won't help my cut. The stitches won't help my broken arm. Both are valid medical responses and very effective when used in the right situation but only when used in the right situation.
If you can't get group practices or chiropractors to consider you because you aren't skilled in trigger point therapy, then you should take continuing ed in trigger point therapy.
If you are turning away pregnant clients because you aren't certified in pregnancy massage, then you should take continuing ed in pregnancy massage.
If you're regularly encountering issues on the table that you can't adequately respond to (and your clients are leaving dissatisfied), get training so you can.
If, however, "business is down" because you don't have a website (and everyone else does) or because your marketing is insufficient or you need to reach out to a new population or you need to define your unique value in the face of new competition, then continuing ed in a modality isn't going to help much.
(Because even after you take the modality-based continuing ed, you've still got to find a way to let people know about your hot new skills!)
When business is down, we are tempted to go with what makes us feel stronger and more competent as massage therapists -- hands-on skills. What we may need, however, is what makes us stronger and more competent as business owners -- business skills.
- Effective use of social media
- A compelling website
- Referrals relationships
- Visibility in the local community
- Outreach to special populations
- Marketing savvy
- Etc. etc. etc.
The AMTA conference in October in Raleigh NC has business courses. As does the World Massage Festival in August in Las Vegas. So do many chapter meetings and regional conferences. My company, The Healing Core, specializes in business courses. (And all of these come with CEUs!)
Get out there and get the training you really need and grow the practice you really want!
p.s. If marketing is your challenge, seriously consider taking a one-day marketing class with Laura Allen, one of the leading lights in the massage community on business. She'll be in DC in August. You can take the class on Saturday or Sunday. The early-bird discount ends this Friday, JULY 1.
Tuesday, June 19, 2012
Can You Really Sell A Private Practice? Maybe...
You can spend decades building a thriving practice, with a full schedule and a fat juicy client base. But you can't massage forever and one day you may decide it's time to sell your practice and move on to another career or even into retirement. Why not? It's a very valuable practice.
To you.
As many MTs have discovered, it's incredibly difficult to sell a private practice. Partially that's because other MTs may not have the money to pay what you think your practice is worth. More importantly, there's a lot of disagreement in our profession about (1) the value of a client list and (2) whether it's even ethical to "sell" your clients.
I recently read an explanation of how to sell a private practice. It puts all these concerns in perspective.
The explanation is in "Twelve Months to Your Ideal Practice" by Lynn Grodzki. I'm working through this workbook over the course of a year with a study group being run by local therapist Connie Ridgeway. Here's a summary of Lynn's explanation.
But how does a one-person practice create a client experience that can be transferred to another therapist to our client's satisfaction?
If you could find MTs who are or would like to be like you and formed a partnership, I could see working out a mentor-to-ownership (sorta like rent-to-own) arrangement.
Lynn gets more specific about how to make this sort of thing work:
Lynn goes on to spell out exactly how to do this (it reminds me a bit of what I've heard about the E-Myth). She also says...
AND A REMINDER....The Healing Core is offering One Year To A Successful Massage Therapy Practice (the secret? marketing) in August here in Washington DC. The "early bird" discount expires in 10 days (June 30).
You can attend on Saturday, August 11 or Sunday, August 12. Register now to save money on learning how to attract more clients and make more money!
8 CEs for you massage therapist types.
To you.
As many MTs have discovered, it's incredibly difficult to sell a private practice. Partially that's because other MTs may not have the money to pay what you think your practice is worth. More importantly, there's a lot of disagreement in our profession about (1) the value of a client list and (2) whether it's even ethical to "sell" your clients.
I recently read an explanation of how to sell a private practice. It puts all these concerns in perspective.
The explanation is in "Twelve Months to Your Ideal Practice" by Lynn Grodzki. I'm working through this workbook over the course of a year with a study group being run by local therapist Connie Ridgeway. Here's a summary of Lynn's explanation.
In order for your therapy business to be attractive to buyers, it needs to have multiple transferable assets.In short, if your clients feel their primary connection is to you (and it so often is) you're going to have a very difficult time selling your practice. There's only one you and your clients know that.
Too often, a therapy business has only one asset, and it's a nontransferable one -- the therapist's relationship to his or her clients...Can your clients be transferred to a buyer? That depends on whether your clients perceive that their main attachment is to you, the practice, or both.
But how does a one-person practice create a client experience that can be transferred to another therapist to our client's satisfaction?
Create tangible value that is transferable. Turn your ideas into programs, document those programs, and establish your methods of therapy into writing and on video. Create as much product as possible. Write, research, and publish to validate your methods. Begin to train others in your methods, so that you have a pool of potential buyers when you are ready to retire.I think that last idea -- train others in your methods -- is probably the way for most of us. I don't know many MTs who have created truly unique methods. What we do have is the whole combination of:
- the way we approach massage,
- the things we like to focus on,
- how we think about our work,
- the combination of all the methods we've actually mastered, and
- our temperament.
If you could find MTs who are or would like to be like you and formed a partnership, I could see working out a mentor-to-ownership (sorta like rent-to-own) arrangement.
Lynn gets more specific about how to make this sort of thing work:
Here's a list of six tangible assets that can add to the selling price of your practice and how to accomplish each one:
1. Brand name. If you can name your type of services in a recognizable way as separate from your identity, you have a salable asset...
2. Direct-mail list. Build a large direct-mail list for your practice of clients and referral sources...
3. Promotional materials. Develop brand-name recognition via your promotional materials now, with brochures that highlight the method or the program name more than your name...
4. Measures. Have a system to track your effectiveness over time...
5. Ancillary products. If your state sanctions selling products to clients under your licensure (some do and some don't; ask your licensing board), you can develop a product line of material to sell--pamphlets, audio- or videotapes, training tapes, books (your own or others), nutritional supplements...
6. Practice management. If you have created a thriving practice with easy-to-understand administrative systems in place, you have an additional asset...
Lynn goes on to spell out exactly how to do this (it reminds me a bit of what I've heard about the E-Myth). She also says...
What price can you expect to get for your business? While a manufacturing company might be sold for five times its annual earnings because it has a product, plant, staff, and systems in place, a therapy business without these elements in place might sell at one to two times its annual earnings. You can add to this ratio by having as many tangible assets [see above] as possible.So, yes, you can sell a private practice but if you really want to make a profit, you need to invest a couple of years to create the kind of practice that has something to offer besides a list of names who may or may not want to work with your buyer.
AND A REMINDER....The Healing Core is offering One Year To A Successful Massage Therapy Practice (the secret? marketing) in August here in Washington DC. The "early bird" discount expires in 10 days (June 30).
You can attend on Saturday, August 11 or Sunday, August 12. Register now to save money on learning how to attract more clients and make more money!
8 CEs for you massage therapist types.
Monday, June 11, 2012
The Conversation No One Wants To Have
If you're a massage therapist, sooner or later you're going to get THAT client -- the one who has misguided ideas about what massage is and what kind of "services" they can get from you. It's usually not grotesque or dramatically overt (though it can be). It's often just a series of comments or body positions that lets you know your client is thinking entirely Wrong Thoughts.
I got that client 2 weeks ago. Twice.
The first time I thought "hmmmmm......his requests and actions are just shy of being inappropriate, I won't say anything." When he did and said the exact same thing during his second appointment I thought "oh, crap, I'm going to have to deal with this."
Step 1: Describe the session to another female therapist who works there. Get her feedback on it as a peer. About 20 seconds into my description she says "I think I know who you're talking about. He did exactly the same thing with me." OK, it's not just me!
Step 2: Talk to the manager about the situation, documenting the experience, my conversation with the other MT, and my intended response. Ask if the manager has any insights, objections, or suggestions. She says "always trust your gut! If your gut says he's having Wrong Thoughts, then you're right, he is." That's a good manager.
She volunteers to talk to the client for me but, really, this is my job. (Plus, I don't want it to dissolve into he said / she said).
Step 3: is not "call the client". It's "plan what I'm going to say to the client" because there are so many things I could say, need to say, need to avoid saying, need to make sure I'm clear on, etc. I also need to decide exactly what will happen in future sessions and what will happen if he does any of this again. And figure out how to say it calmly and professionally.
Step 4a: Stare at the phone for a loooooooong time, wishing I didn't have to make this call.
Step 4b: Sigh deeply and call the client. Follow script. Be very pleasantly surprised when he doesn't argue, protest, break down in tears (admittedly, a long shot), fling counter-accusations, or call me nasty names. He sounds surprised by my objections but agrees to abide by the rules.
Step 5: Drop head on desk in pure relief that it's over. Go home and accept back rubs and snuggles from sympathetic husband.
It sucks but it's something most of us are going to have to do sooner or later if we stay in the biz long enough. Thank you PMTI for an education (and continuing education) that made it possible for me to recognize trouble when it happened and to be able to deal with it as a professional.
I got that client 2 weeks ago. Twice.
The first time I thought "hmmmmm......his requests and actions are just shy of being inappropriate, I won't say anything." When he did and said the exact same thing during his second appointment I thought "oh, crap, I'm going to have to deal with this."
Step 1: Describe the session to another female therapist who works there. Get her feedback on it as a peer. About 20 seconds into my description she says "I think I know who you're talking about. He did exactly the same thing with me." OK, it's not just me!
Step 2: Talk to the manager about the situation, documenting the experience, my conversation with the other MT, and my intended response. Ask if the manager has any insights, objections, or suggestions. She says "always trust your gut! If your gut says he's having Wrong Thoughts, then you're right, he is." That's a good manager.
She volunteers to talk to the client for me but, really, this is my job. (Plus, I don't want it to dissolve into he said / she said).
Step 3: is not "call the client". It's "plan what I'm going to say to the client" because there are so many things I could say, need to say, need to avoid saying, need to make sure I'm clear on, etc. I also need to decide exactly what will happen in future sessions and what will happen if he does any of this again. And figure out how to say it calmly and professionally.
Step 4a: Stare at the phone for a loooooooong time, wishing I didn't have to make this call.
Step 4b: Sigh deeply and call the client. Follow script. Be very pleasantly surprised when he doesn't argue, protest, break down in tears (admittedly, a long shot), fling counter-accusations, or call me nasty names. He sounds surprised by my objections but agrees to abide by the rules.
Step 5: Drop head on desk in pure relief that it's over. Go home and accept back rubs and snuggles from sympathetic husband.
It sucks but it's something most of us are going to have to do sooner or later if we stay in the biz long enough. Thank you PMTI for an education (and continuing education) that made it possible for me to recognize trouble when it happened and to be able to deal with it as a professional.
Tuesday, June 5, 2012
So long, farewell, auf wiedersehn, good night
I've had probably 6-10 corporate massage clients over the course of the last 12 years. The most recent was a govenment agency that I started at in January.
Last week I ended it. There just wasn't enough life in the contract to make it worth showing up every day. I've made a whopping $510 in 5 months of work. I was averaging 1-3 clients a month (and they were 30-minute sessions).
I was at the client every Tuesday for 6 hours. I had 6 massage slots available every Tuesday. I had the capacity for 25 clients a month.
I showed up even when no one was on the schedule and stayed all the way through the end of my shift (it's where most of these blog posts have been written in the last 5 months because I had to do something with my time!).
Why didn't it work? Based on my experience with other corporate contracts, there were two key reasons:
It was in a very low-traffic area. It was in the health unit, which was in a little side hallway. I put signs up outside the office but no one was going to see them unless they were coming to the health unit. And on any given Tuesday, no more than 3-4 people came into the health unit while I was there.
There was no one on the inside who "owned" the contract. This government agency has had massage therapy onsite for years. Each time an MT had to leave, they found their own replacement. Over time, it meant that whoever (in the agency) had been motivated to make massage happen there had either left or lost that feeling of responsibility for the massage work.
That second piece -- ownership on the inside -- is the thing that I've seen kill corporate contracts most often. If there isn't someone on the inside who feels a sense of ownership and personally wants to see it succeed, it won't succeed. I don't care how much of your heart, soul, and time you, the MT, pour into the work. If there's not someone carrying the flame when you aren't there, it won't last.
Your inside person doesn't have to be prowling the halls every day drumming up business for you. They do, however, have to have massage in their consciousness -- even if it's off to the side -- to notice opportunities to tell people that massage is available onsite.
Your inside person can be the receptionist (and that's always a great person to have on your side!), someone in HR, or just someone who wants massage for themselves. If there isn't some energy around massage even when you're not there, you may have a tough time keeping your schedule full.
The other thing I've seen is places where someone in management is worried about "pushing" massage on people. They're OK with you coming in but they don't want to remind people weekly that you're coming (too pushy) or they don't want to send messages out about massage except to people who've explicitly expressed an interest in massage (too pushy) or they don't want to let you put signs up that "the MT is IN" on the days you're there (too pushy).
Those contracts struggle as well.
It made me sad to say good-bye to this contract. I was excited about it in January. I was motivated to help it grow. I brought in things to make the massage room (yes, I had a dedicated massage room!) more attractive and friendly. I did special things to reach out to the employees of the agency.
None of it worked. When I gave my notice, no one blinked. They could barely rouse themselves to say good-bye when I walked out the door for the last time. That contract was dead.
I was tempted to try just a little harder....just one more thing....maybe offer a summer discount.....but the numbers told the story. It was dead.
It's tough to let these kind of relationships go. We want to believe that by dint of our own efforts or force of our personality we can Make. It. Work! That's a trap you don't want to fall into. It's like dating -- if the other person isn't interested enough in you to show up, why are you still in the relationship?
So I left. It was time.
Last week I ended it. There just wasn't enough life in the contract to make it worth showing up every day. I've made a whopping $510 in 5 months of work. I was averaging 1-3 clients a month (and they were 30-minute sessions).
I was at the client every Tuesday for 6 hours. I had 6 massage slots available every Tuesday. I had the capacity for 25 clients a month.
I showed up even when no one was on the schedule and stayed all the way through the end of my shift (it's where most of these blog posts have been written in the last 5 months because I had to do something with my time!).
Why didn't it work? Based on my experience with other corporate contracts, there were two key reasons:
It was in a very low-traffic area. It was in the health unit, which was in a little side hallway. I put signs up outside the office but no one was going to see them unless they were coming to the health unit. And on any given Tuesday, no more than 3-4 people came into the health unit while I was there.
There was no one on the inside who "owned" the contract. This government agency has had massage therapy onsite for years. Each time an MT had to leave, they found their own replacement. Over time, it meant that whoever (in the agency) had been motivated to make massage happen there had either left or lost that feeling of responsibility for the massage work.
That second piece -- ownership on the inside -- is the thing that I've seen kill corporate contracts most often. If there isn't someone on the inside who feels a sense of ownership and personally wants to see it succeed, it won't succeed. I don't care how much of your heart, soul, and time you, the MT, pour into the work. If there's not someone carrying the flame when you aren't there, it won't last.
Your inside person doesn't have to be prowling the halls every day drumming up business for you. They do, however, have to have massage in their consciousness -- even if it's off to the side -- to notice opportunities to tell people that massage is available onsite.
Your inside person can be the receptionist (and that's always a great person to have on your side!), someone in HR, or just someone who wants massage for themselves. If there isn't some energy around massage even when you're not there, you may have a tough time keeping your schedule full.
The other thing I've seen is places where someone in management is worried about "pushing" massage on people. They're OK with you coming in but they don't want to remind people weekly that you're coming (too pushy) or they don't want to send messages out about massage except to people who've explicitly expressed an interest in massage (too pushy) or they don't want to let you put signs up that "the MT is IN" on the days you're there (too pushy).
Those contracts struggle as well.
It made me sad to say good-bye to this contract. I was excited about it in January. I was motivated to help it grow. I brought in things to make the massage room (yes, I had a dedicated massage room!) more attractive and friendly. I did special things to reach out to the employees of the agency.
None of it worked. When I gave my notice, no one blinked. They could barely rouse themselves to say good-bye when I walked out the door for the last time. That contract was dead.
I was tempted to try just a little harder....just one more thing....maybe offer a summer discount.....but the numbers told the story. It was dead.
It's tough to let these kind of relationships go. We want to believe that by dint of our own efforts or force of our personality we can Make. It. Work! That's a trap you don't want to fall into. It's like dating -- if the other person isn't interested enough in you to show up, why are you still in the relationship?
So I left. It was time.
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