So, it's Thanksgiving week and we are all encouraged to list our thanks out loud and in a public forum (however did we do this before Facebook?). So, here's mine....
I am grateful that I was dropped into the world of the business of massage. By surprise. And that I didn't land on my head in the process.
About 10 years ago, I was hell-bent to join the teaching staff at my alma mater, the Potomac Massage Training Institute. I kept sending my resume to the Director of Education. She finally called me and said they were looking for someone to teach Business Practices, something I had zero background in.
However, they were desperate (not a lot of other MTs had any background in this either). I thought "well, what the heck, I can learn just about anything if I have to". So she handed me the previous instructor's notes and the COMTA requirements and said "good luck".
I have never worked so hard to learn something so I could teach it, ever. And discovered I enjoyed it immensely. I found it fascinating and challenging and darned useful. I also discovered I have a gift for making the complicated comprehensible and for encouraging people to not be afraid.
Fast forward 10 years....I taught Business Practices for several years. I've developed my own continuing ed in business topics and have even started a company to offer this continuing ed to the larger MT community.
Oh, yeah, and I write a business blog, which forces me to think of something new to say about business at least once a week.
Now that I think about it, I landed in my first profession -- technical writing -- much the same way. I was just out of college with a newly-minted journalism degree. I wanted a writing job. A friend said "I know a company who needs writers to write about computer stuff". I explained that I knew zero about computers. He said the company didn't care, figuring it was easier to teach writers about computers than to teach techies how to write.
I needed a job. I figured this "technical writing" stuff could hold me over for a year or two till I found the job I really wanted. I said "ok". Twenty satisfying years later, I left that field for massage therapy.
Lesson(s)?
The best adventures are often not in the direction you thought you were going.
Be willing to try (which also means being willing to fail).
Trust your ability to make the best of these "detours". They may just end up being your new path.
Saturday, November 24, 2012
Tuesday, November 13, 2012
3 Steps *Before* You Start "Marketing"
Many of us don't feel fully equipped to "market" our practice. We don't know how, we're not sure what will work, everyone has an opinion on what you must do but it all seems like so [bleeping] much work!
Yet, we have to do something. We're a business, we need clients, the answer is this beast called "marketing".
Stop! Picking your marketing methods is actually step #4. Have you done steps #1 - #3? If not, you aren't choosing as wisely as you could.
Step 1: Understand Yourself
It's so tempting to "hide" behind massage when putting your practice out there. What you're offering is massage, so you talk about massage -- techniques, modalities, education, etc. However, the odds are that your practice is not much different from another MTs practice. There are only so many techniques, modalities, education, etc.
What your (potential) client is buying is ... you. Your outlook, your perspective, your motivation, what inspires you, why you do what you do. Why would you be more attractive to a potential client than the massage therapist down the street (who probably has a similar education and list of modalities)? Take a moment (or week or month) to reflect on you. Think about how you communicate that.
Step 2: Understand Your (potential) Client
When I talk to MTs about their "target market" (a common business-y word), they often say "I'll massage anyone!" That's not a helpful answer. I don't want to know who you'd be willing to massage. I want to know what kind of person really wants to receive massage from you.
Who "fits" you best? What kind of person? Age? Where do they live? Have they had massage before? Why? How do they feel about their body, health, complementary therapies, and massage therapy? How did they find you? What made "massage" pop into their head? What is about them that would make your practice, in particular, attractive to them? Where do they get their information about health and body? Who do they respect? Who do they trust?
When you understand them better, you'll do a better job of reaching out to them (which is all that marketing really is).
Note: This step is a whole lot easier to do when you've been in practice for at least a year or two. You can look back at the clients you've had the best connection with. If you are just starting out, you'll be guessing to a much greater extent. That's OK, running a business always involves guess work.
Step 3: Understand What You're Selling
Well, this is easy, right? You're selling "massage therapy". Sorry, nope.
People don't buy services, they buy results. Whether it's the pleasure of a clean house, the usefulness of having a working washing machine, or the relief of a shoulder that rotates all the way around, they are more motivated by what they believe they will be/have after their massage.
Will they be better equipped to handle the stressors of the day? Will they experience a better night's sleep? Will they be able move without back pain? Will they be able to run faster? Will they have a few days without the symptoms of their chronic disease? Will they be taller and thinner?? Will they feel better about themselves?
We have to be careful about making promises we can't guarantee. But you are selling an experience and some kind of result is implied. What results are you, specifically, selling?
Step 4: Choose Your Marketing Tools
NOW you're ready to invite the world to your table.
Daunted? Feeling a little helpless? Do these 3 steps look like a giant stone wall between you and the clients you want to attract? I've got a recommendation: Marketing for Hippies.
Tad Hargrave has some very wise things to say about understanding your self, your product, and your clients. Best of all, he talks in a way we MTs can understand. He uses interesting analogies. He understands that the vast majority of us didn't enter this field for the Big Bucks, we are driven by a passion for the work.
In particular, I found the following articles very helpful in trying to answer these very same questions for myself:
The Results They Crave
Marketing Is Like Making Tea
We Might Be A Fit If...
Island A: The Painful Symptom (more about thinking about "results")
Three Foundations of a Thriving Business
Yet, we have to do something. We're a business, we need clients, the answer is this beast called "marketing".
Stop! Picking your marketing methods is actually step #4. Have you done steps #1 - #3? If not, you aren't choosing as wisely as you could.
Step 1: Understand Yourself
It's so tempting to "hide" behind massage when putting your practice out there. What you're offering is massage, so you talk about massage -- techniques, modalities, education, etc. However, the odds are that your practice is not much different from another MTs practice. There are only so many techniques, modalities, education, etc.
What your (potential) client is buying is ... you. Your outlook, your perspective, your motivation, what inspires you, why you do what you do. Why would you be more attractive to a potential client than the massage therapist down the street (who probably has a similar education and list of modalities)? Take a moment (or week or month) to reflect on you. Think about how you communicate that.
Step 2: Understand Your (potential) Client
When I talk to MTs about their "target market" (a common business-y word), they often say "I'll massage anyone!" That's not a helpful answer. I don't want to know who you'd be willing to massage. I want to know what kind of person really wants to receive massage from you.
Who "fits" you best? What kind of person? Age? Where do they live? Have they had massage before? Why? How do they feel about their body, health, complementary therapies, and massage therapy? How did they find you? What made "massage" pop into their head? What is about them that would make your practice, in particular, attractive to them? Where do they get their information about health and body? Who do they respect? Who do they trust?
When you understand them better, you'll do a better job of reaching out to them (which is all that marketing really is).
Note: This step is a whole lot easier to do when you've been in practice for at least a year or two. You can look back at the clients you've had the best connection with. If you are just starting out, you'll be guessing to a much greater extent. That's OK, running a business always involves guess work.
Step 3: Understand What You're Selling
Well, this is easy, right? You're selling "massage therapy". Sorry, nope.
People don't buy services, they buy results. Whether it's the pleasure of a clean house, the usefulness of having a working washing machine, or the relief of a shoulder that rotates all the way around, they are more motivated by what they believe they will be/have after their massage.
Will they be better equipped to handle the stressors of the day? Will they experience a better night's sleep? Will they be able move without back pain? Will they be able to run faster? Will they have a few days without the symptoms of their chronic disease? Will they be taller and thinner?? Will they feel better about themselves?
We have to be careful about making promises we can't guarantee. But you are selling an experience and some kind of result is implied. What results are you, specifically, selling?
Step 4: Choose Your Marketing Tools
NOW you're ready to invite the world to your table.
Daunted? Feeling a little helpless? Do these 3 steps look like a giant stone wall between you and the clients you want to attract? I've got a recommendation: Marketing for Hippies.
Tad Hargrave has some very wise things to say about understanding your self, your product, and your clients. Best of all, he talks in a way we MTs can understand. He uses interesting analogies. He understands that the vast majority of us didn't enter this field for the Big Bucks, we are driven by a passion for the work.
In particular, I found the following articles very helpful in trying to answer these very same questions for myself:
The Results They Crave
Marketing Is Like Making Tea
We Might Be A Fit If...
Island A: The Painful Symptom (more about thinking about "results")
Three Foundations of a Thriving Business
Tuesday, November 6, 2012
Should You Lower Your Rates?
I recently met a young woman who is starting up her practice and struggling. She asked if I thought she should lower the price of her massage to attract clients.
My advice? No.
It's so tempting. Entice them in with lower rates; become sort of the "Black Friday" massage therapist. I think you should avoid it, though, and here's my thinking:
Speaking of which, there are some ways to lower your rates and make it productive:
My advice? No.
It's so tempting. Entice them in with lower rates; become sort of the "Black Friday" massage therapist. I think you should avoid it, though, and here's my thinking:
- You don't want to become the "cheap" massage therapist. You attract more clients who will only stay with you as long as you're the cheap option. Too many will value the $ signs more than the actual benefit. It also severely hampers you -- logistically and emotionally -- when it's time to raise your rates.
- Unless your rates are significantly higher than the going rate for your area, then prices aren't keeping clients away. Other MTs can attract them at full price; you can too (eventually).
- It's also depressing to feel that the only way people want to experience your work is if it's cheap. You know you're worth more, why don't they?
- How low can you go? If you drop your prices 5% and you don't get new clients, will you drop it 10%, 15%, 20%? How low will you go?
- Focusing on prices keeps you from focusing on more productive efforts, like marketing.
Speaking of which, there are some ways to lower your rates and make it productive:
- Lower your rates for a specific population that you want to attract. For example, how about reducing the cost of massage as a pregnant woman moves through her pregnancy? 100% in 1st trimester, 90% in second trimester, and 80% in the 3rd trimester. Or offer a discount for anyone who lives in a certain zip code.
- Offer add-ons rather than discounts. For example, get a 90-minute massage for the price of a one-hour massage.
- Offer discounts for getting more massage. For example, after every 3rd massage they get a 1/2 price massage.
- Consider making special offers and discounts time-restricted. For example, offer a 13% discount for the first 6 weeks of 2013. Get a 90-minute massage for the price of a 60-minute massage for the last 6 weeks of the year. Give a 50% discount to returning veterans for one year after they get back. Think especially about the times when your schedule is historically thin.
Friday, November 2, 2012
Who's Making How Much Where (or Location, Location, Location)
The "going price" for a massage varies wildly across the country. Based on a recent post on the Massage Therapists group on Facebook, here's a run-down for your viewing pleasure. Remember that even within a single town, the prices will vary from therapist to therapist.
Bremerton, WA: $50
Port Huron, MI: $50
central Kansas: $50
Seneca, KS: $55
western NC: $60
Rhode Island: $60
Salt Lake City, UT: $60
southern Illinois: $60
Idaho Falls, ID: $60
Tonawanda, NY: $60
Niceville, FL: $65
Atlanta, GA: $65
South Bend, IN: $70
St. Louis, MO: $70
Flushing, MI: $70
Bradenton, FL: $70
Lockport, NY: $75
Naperville, IL: $75
Lacey, WA: $75
Phoenixville, PA: $80
Ely, MN: $80
Washington, DC: $85
Chicago, IL: $90
south Florida: $90
San Diego, CA: $90
Wisconsin Dells, WI: $95
Atlanta, GA: $100
NY NY: $100
Key West, FL: $125
Bremerton, WA: $50
Port Huron, MI: $50
central Kansas: $50
Seneca, KS: $55
western NC: $60
Rhode Island: $60
Salt Lake City, UT: $60
southern Illinois: $60
Idaho Falls, ID: $60
Tonawanda, NY: $60
Niceville, FL: $65
Atlanta, GA: $65
South Bend, IN: $70
St. Louis, MO: $70
Flushing, MI: $70
Bradenton, FL: $70
Lockport, NY: $75
Naperville, IL: $75
Lacey, WA: $75
Phoenixville, PA: $80
Ely, MN: $80
Washington, DC: $85
Chicago, IL: $90
south Florida: $90
San Diego, CA: $90
Wisconsin Dells, WI: $95
Atlanta, GA: $100
NY NY: $100
Key West, FL: $125
Thursday, November 1, 2012
A Little Truth-Telling
I laid in bed Tuesday night having a major pity party. Husband out of town. Hurricane. Hospitalization for appendicitis (with surgery yet to come). A friend who's let me down. Mom doing poorly and I can't help her.
A pathetic massage practice.
It's depressing. I've done everything I can think of and everything I've been advised to do and after more than a year of hard work, it's still an excellent week if I get four (4!) bookings.
If it weren't for my husband (and how many of us would be screwed without a partner with a steady income?), I'd be on welfare. In the past 12 months, I've averaged $1,000 per month. That's enough for food or housing but not both.
And I write a freakin' business blog....
It's hard to write this. It's hard to admit how poorly I'm doing, financially, as a massage therapist. Especially since every week I try to impart some useful wisdom or insights into the business of massage. My husband keeps saying "it's a really tough time to be a small business". It is, of course, complicated by closing my practice for a year so we could live in Australia. I'm, effectively, starting over.
But, wow, it's demoralizing. I often feel like a failure. If I'm doing just a little poorly physically, it's darned hard to convince myself to drive up to the gym where I work two days a week (I work out of my home the rest of the time) just in case someone wants massage (they tend to book same day rather than in advance).
Why am I sharing my tale o' woe here? Because I don't want to deceive you even a little bit. I don't want to give you the impression that I Know Everything and I've Got Everything Under Control. Because, wow, I don't. I will still write about business from the best I've learned but even knowing a lot of great stuff doesn't guarantee financial success.
If you're having a hard time, you are not alone. I'm with you.
A pathetic massage practice.
It's depressing. I've done everything I can think of and everything I've been advised to do and after more than a year of hard work, it's still an excellent week if I get four (4!) bookings.
If it weren't for my husband (and how many of us would be screwed without a partner with a steady income?), I'd be on welfare. In the past 12 months, I've averaged $1,000 per month. That's enough for food or housing but not both.
And I write a freakin' business blog....
It's hard to write this. It's hard to admit how poorly I'm doing, financially, as a massage therapist. Especially since every week I try to impart some useful wisdom or insights into the business of massage. My husband keeps saying "it's a really tough time to be a small business". It is, of course, complicated by closing my practice for a year so we could live in Australia. I'm, effectively, starting over.
But, wow, it's demoralizing. I often feel like a failure. If I'm doing just a little poorly physically, it's darned hard to convince myself to drive up to the gym where I work two days a week (I work out of my home the rest of the time) just in case someone wants massage (they tend to book same day rather than in advance).
Why am I sharing my tale o' woe here? Because I don't want to deceive you even a little bit. I don't want to give you the impression that I Know Everything and I've Got Everything Under Control. Because, wow, I don't. I will still write about business from the best I've learned but even knowing a lot of great stuff doesn't guarantee financial success.
If you're having a hard time, you are not alone. I'm with you.
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