I cried during a session yesterday. I don't think the client noticed, which is good. Let me tell you why.
Sunday
Every month I do seated massage at my church for the Latino congregation that worships there. Freewill offering. I give all of it back to the pastor's discretionary fund. It's part of my "volunteer to market myself" year.
Most of members of the Latino congregation are working low-paying jobs. They may or may not be legal immigrants (I don't ask and don't want to know). Most of them don't speak English. I don't speak Spanish.
It's my favorite massage gig of the month.
Why? They are so fully over-the-top grateful for the work. The smiles, the changed posture, the blissed-out faces at the end of the massages tell me everything I need to know, with or without a common language. Most of the clients have never had massage before (sometimes the pastor is there to translate). They can't afford it now in time or money.
This past Sunday at the end of a massage, a woman turned to the pastor and said something in Spanish. He smiled and translated: "you have the hands of an angel". I smiled and said "she's right and I am thankful that this is one of the ways God uses me."
Monday
I saw a client yesterday that I've now seen 4 or 5 times. The client came to me with a very unusual problem and request. The client has scarring inside an orifice from surgeries. The surgeries are impeding the healthy functioning of that orifice. I don't work inside orifices. However, the client's naturopath suggested craniosacral therapy. The client found my name on the Upledger website (I've taken level 1) and came for work.
This work is tricky on a number of levels and, trust me, no one has ever taught you how to deal with this particular problem in any class you've ever taken. I could only rely on my little bit of craniosacral training, my intuition, and my fervent desire to be of assistance.
We did some experimentation and found we got the best results with a combination of craniosacral therapy and myofascial release. I'm using MFR in ways I never envisioned when I took the certification course. I even talked to the instructor about this client. His response? "Boy, you really get some interesting clients, don't you?"
How good are the results? Best night of sleep in years. Least amount of discomfort and restriction in this orifice in years. Able to tolerate some much-needed meds for the first time in a long time.
Last week we tried something different. The client came in on Monday and said it had been an awful weekend and we definitely needed to go back to the way we'd been doing things before.
I found myself tearful during the session. The person -- this stranger until a month ago -- has literally put body, pain, and hopes in me and my hands. And I'm guessing about what to do. Seriously folks, guessing. When I guessed wrong last week, this client had a terrible 5 days.
As I sat there with my hands on the client's body I was overcome by the enormity of that truth. This client's entire life has been sidelined for years with this problem! If I failed to be of assistance I was just another in a long line of failed "remedies".
I felt so small and inadequate; I also felt so grounded and strong. It's not just my training and my technical skills that make a difference. It's my fervent desire to be useful, my willingness to talk to the client's body and listen to it, and it's that root system of deep professionalism that was a gift of my schooling, my association with other MTs, and my years in practice.
You couldn't just slot any massage therapist into this situation and have positive results. It really did matter that it was me -- my specific combo of skills, my confidence in myself, my ability to talk with a body, my willingness to experiment, and my belief that some kind of "better" was possible.
The work you do, your business, at the end of the day is all about you. We aren't interchangeable. You are as unique as I am. When you are telling the world about your practice -- in person, on your website, in a blog, or wherever -- don't be afraid to let them see you. Because it's YOU that is going to make the difference when they are on your table.
Tuesday, July 30, 2013
Tuesday, July 23, 2013
With A Little Help From A Friend
Spent all of last week on a business retreat. Went to the home place in WV for the first 7 days before the heat wave drove me home (no working a/c and even in the mountains it was too hot to sleep, think, or breathe!). While I was in WV I worked on putting the finishing touches on the business plan course I'll be teaching at the AMTA convention in September.
Spent the remainder of the week (this past weekend) working with my business partner Kitty doing our mid-year review. In my massage room, which is air-conditioned!
I'm blown away by how far Kitty and I have come in running our little business. It was only two years ago (next month) that we began going for walks on Friday afternoons and talking about whether we could build a training company. It's been 18 months since we started. We're small but it's working!
Two years ago Kitty was full-on numbers-phobic. This past weekend she became the company bookkeeper. We also spent time analyzing how we were actually doing financially and she was the one suggesting how we could work with our bookkeeping to get our answers. We were able to make an important business decision about finding an alternative to one of our fixed costs.
We spent a few hours on exercises to help us further refine our business plan. It's been somewhat skeletal up to now, based on what we knew and could reasonably say about ourselves. We added more meat to that skeleton and have a much more robust picture of our values, goals, and purpose.
I have felt for a while that I was carrying the lion's share of responsibilities on my shoulders. Kitty was feeling the same way but also feeling helpless (useless?). We couldn't grow because I was worn out. So we listed all the responsibilities and activities required to keep us going. We found ways we could re-distribute the load. I felt lighter, Kitty felt more engaged, and we can grow.
Our company offers courses in bite-sized fundamentals of business and of the energetic body. We've focused on the business courses this year. We want to add the energy courses next year. Together we figured out how to re-work a weekend energetic body course into four "bite-sized" courses. We wrestled with the material together and came up with something we think will be attractive to our client base. Neither one of us would have come up with a good answer on our own.
We looked at our business course offerings for 2014 -- what to repeat, what to add. I have a powerful imagination and am strongly prone to over-committing myself. I get excited by the idea of doing something and forget to weigh the cost in time and energy. I pitched some new ideas for next year and Kitty refused to agree to any of it until I could show her how I would have the time and energy to do them.
Kitty was adamant that we change our name. We are called The Healing Core because Kitty already had that name (website, logo, bank account, etc.) and she wasn't using it. It was quick and easy to re-purpose it but it doesn't really say anything about who we are and what we do. We planned a "baby naming" day, came up with a long list of creative people (both MTs and not) to invite to help us re-name our company, and sent out the first invitations.
We decided we need to meet like this quarterly, not just semi-annually. We scheduled a one-day quarterly biz retreat for October as well as our next semi-annual weekend biz retreat for January 2014.
There was more; it was a very productive weekend. I learned (re-learned?) a few things:
It is incredibly valuable to set time aside at least once a year -- more often if you can -- to step away and just think about your business. It can't be done (at least not well) in the dribs and drabs of time you have between clients / courses.
It makes such a difference that I've got a partner in these endeavors. I've known for years that I wanted to offer continuing education but I had the good sense not to try to do it by myself. Frankly, I talked Kitty into this adventure and she has gamely followed me. However, we are turning ourselves into great business partners and it makes such a huge difference to not do it alone.
Numbers are the muscle and bones of your business. If you want to know your business, you have to be able to look at your numbers. Which means you have to keep up with your bookkeeping. You don't have to be an accountant or an MBA but you do have to be able to answer questions like "are we actually making a profit?", "where are we spending money and is there a way to spend less of it?", and "how much money do we really need -- and want -- to make?"
You can grow into being a business owner. In fact, for most of us there really isn't any other way. You don't have to know everything when you start out but you've got to be willing to learn as you go.
A good business partnership is a lot like a good romantic relationship.
Spent the remainder of the week (this past weekend) working with my business partner Kitty doing our mid-year review. In my massage room, which is air-conditioned!
I'm blown away by how far Kitty and I have come in running our little business. It was only two years ago (next month) that we began going for walks on Friday afternoons and talking about whether we could build a training company. It's been 18 months since we started. We're small but it's working!
Two years ago Kitty was full-on numbers-phobic. This past weekend she became the company bookkeeper. We also spent time analyzing how we were actually doing financially and she was the one suggesting how we could work with our bookkeeping to get our answers. We were able to make an important business decision about finding an alternative to one of our fixed costs.
We spent a few hours on exercises to help us further refine our business plan. It's been somewhat skeletal up to now, based on what we knew and could reasonably say about ourselves. We added more meat to that skeleton and have a much more robust picture of our values, goals, and purpose.
I have felt for a while that I was carrying the lion's share of responsibilities on my shoulders. Kitty was feeling the same way but also feeling helpless (useless?). We couldn't grow because I was worn out. So we listed all the responsibilities and activities required to keep us going. We found ways we could re-distribute the load. I felt lighter, Kitty felt more engaged, and we can grow.
Our company offers courses in bite-sized fundamentals of business and of the energetic body. We've focused on the business courses this year. We want to add the energy courses next year. Together we figured out how to re-work a weekend energetic body course into four "bite-sized" courses. We wrestled with the material together and came up with something we think will be attractive to our client base. Neither one of us would have come up with a good answer on our own.
We looked at our business course offerings for 2014 -- what to repeat, what to add. I have a powerful imagination and am strongly prone to over-committing myself. I get excited by the idea of doing something and forget to weigh the cost in time and energy. I pitched some new ideas for next year and Kitty refused to agree to any of it until I could show her how I would have the time and energy to do them.
Kitty was adamant that we change our name. We are called The Healing Core because Kitty already had that name (website, logo, bank account, etc.) and she wasn't using it. It was quick and easy to re-purpose it but it doesn't really say anything about who we are and what we do. We planned a "baby naming" day, came up with a long list of creative people (both MTs and not) to invite to help us re-name our company, and sent out the first invitations.
We decided we need to meet like this quarterly, not just semi-annually. We scheduled a one-day quarterly biz retreat for October as well as our next semi-annual weekend biz retreat for January 2014.
There was more; it was a very productive weekend. I learned (re-learned?) a few things:
It is incredibly valuable to set time aside at least once a year -- more often if you can -- to step away and just think about your business. It can't be done (at least not well) in the dribs and drabs of time you have between clients / courses.
It makes such a difference that I've got a partner in these endeavors. I've known for years that I wanted to offer continuing education but I had the good sense not to try to do it by myself. Frankly, I talked Kitty into this adventure and she has gamely followed me. However, we are turning ourselves into great business partners and it makes such a huge difference to not do it alone.
Numbers are the muscle and bones of your business. If you want to know your business, you have to be able to look at your numbers. Which means you have to keep up with your bookkeeping. You don't have to be an accountant or an MBA but you do have to be able to answer questions like "are we actually making a profit?", "where are we spending money and is there a way to spend less of it?", and "how much money do we really need -- and want -- to make?"
You can grow into being a business owner. In fact, for most of us there really isn't any other way. You don't have to know everything when you start out but you've got to be willing to learn as you go.
A good business partnership is a lot like a good romantic relationship.
- Speak up when things aren't working for you.
- Wrestle problems to the ground together (not just your way or his/her way).
- Be with someone you trust.
- Be with someone you respect.
- Be open about your own shortcomings.
- Ask for help.
- It helps enormously to actually like the person!
- Make time for the relationship.
- Commit to the work necessary to keep your relationship afloat.
Wednesday, July 10, 2013
I cancelled clients so I could take a nap
On Mondays I work at a gym. This week when I walked in there were three people on my schedule and they were nicely spaced. I was pretty content. I was tired from a long series of events but I figured I could power through three and sleep in on Tuesday.
At the end of the first massage I went out to the front desk and told them to cancel the other two appointments. I was done for the day. I was going home to sleep.
Am I crazy?? How do you turn away scheduled (guaranteed income) clients? Especially one who made a point of booking with you that day because she was leaving on a trip the next day? Was I being indolent, lazy, unprofessional?
When I began the first appointment I realized as soon as I touched her that my fatigue was deeper than I'd realized. I was exhausted. I had trouble "reading" my hands. I had to stop (just for a moment) in the middle of the massage to remember what I was doing and why I was doing it. Shoot, I had trouble remembering what body part I was touching!
The massage went OK (believe it or not) but I knew three things:
1. I could not give quality work to the next two clients.
2. If I didn't go home and sleep -- a lot -- I was going to get sick.
3. If I got sick, there was zero money coming into my practice for at least a week, if not longer.
#3 is the big one. The odds are you, like me, don't get sick leave. We don't get paid when we're home sick. If we're the only source of income our business has, that's critical.
I had to choose between cancelling two appointments or possible cancelling a week's worth of appointments (a good head/chest cold can take 3-7 days to clear enough to do massage responsibly). I'm the only real asset my practice has. Everything else -- everything else -- can be replaced. I can't.
Self-care is a critical business decision. Not just a high-sounding "we should all take care of ourselves" principle. It's how you have a profitable business. It's a business "best practices". It's the difference between short-term success and long-term failure.
You.Are.All.Your.Business.Has
The table? Replacable.
The linens? Replacable.
Your website? Replacable.
You?
When you are faced with taking care of yourself vs. seeing 1, 2, or 3 more clients, remember this: you are the only asset that can not be replaced.
p.s. I slept 11 hours Monday night and was able to resume a normal work schedule the next day.
At the end of the first massage I went out to the front desk and told them to cancel the other two appointments. I was done for the day. I was going home to sleep.
Am I crazy?? How do you turn away scheduled (guaranteed income) clients? Especially one who made a point of booking with you that day because she was leaving on a trip the next day? Was I being indolent, lazy, unprofessional?
When I began the first appointment I realized as soon as I touched her that my fatigue was deeper than I'd realized. I was exhausted. I had trouble "reading" my hands. I had to stop (just for a moment) in the middle of the massage to remember what I was doing and why I was doing it. Shoot, I had trouble remembering what body part I was touching!
The massage went OK (believe it or not) but I knew three things:
1. I could not give quality work to the next two clients.
2. If I didn't go home and sleep -- a lot -- I was going to get sick.
3. If I got sick, there was zero money coming into my practice for at least a week, if not longer.
#3 is the big one. The odds are you, like me, don't get sick leave. We don't get paid when we're home sick. If we're the only source of income our business has, that's critical.
I had to choose between cancelling two appointments or possible cancelling a week's worth of appointments (a good head/chest cold can take 3-7 days to clear enough to do massage responsibly). I'm the only real asset my practice has. Everything else -- everything else -- can be replaced. I can't.
Self-care is a critical business decision. Not just a high-sounding "we should all take care of ourselves" principle. It's how you have a profitable business. It's a business "best practices". It's the difference between short-term success and long-term failure.
You.Are.All.Your.Business.Has
The table? Replacable.
The linens? Replacable.
Your website? Replacable.
You?
When you are faced with taking care of yourself vs. seeing 1, 2, or 3 more clients, remember this: you are the only asset that can not be replaced.
p.s. I slept 11 hours Monday night and was able to resume a normal work schedule the next day.
Tuesday, July 2, 2013
So you're having a slow day / week / month / quarter....
I've spoken honestly here about the challenges in the last 2 years of re-starting my practice after being closed for a year. And I want to take this moment to say it looks like -- after almost 2 solid years of work -- my practice is hitting its stride again.
I'm meeting or exceeding my minimum financial goals most weeks. I'm attracting new clients every month. I have enough work in my home office to start to scale back my time at the gym across town. I can honestly see myself reaching my ultimate goal -- a private practice near (not in) my home in a space that I share with other practitioners -- in 2 years.
Yes, it's a relief.
But, remember, it took me two years of really working every avenue I had and could imagine to get here. Which meant I had plenty of slow days, weeks, months, and quarters. I've had days/weeks/etc. when I was very discouraged and anxious.
This week is going to be a slow/quiet week. With Independence Day in the middle of the week, people's schedules are out-of-whack. People are travelling. Thursdays are usually a busy day for me but I'm closed this Thursday.
Plus, I live in Washington DC. This is a city that takes Independence Day very seriously and formally. Folklife Festival down on The Mall. Big concert by the National Symphony Orchestra at the Capitol. Special bell-ringing at the National Cathedral. All the Smithsonian museums are open, including American History. The National Archives -- which houses the Declaration of Independence, the U.S. Constitution, and the Bill of Rights -- is open.
And let's not forget the fireworks!
Lots of distractions and lots of traffic. I'm closed on Independence Day because I'm 1.5 miles east of the Capitol. It's not worth it to try to get to my house after mid-day. In fact, I plan to be over on the Chesapeake Bay on Thursday, doing a little kayaking and watching the fireworks over the West River.
In short, it's not going to be a big money week.
When we have a low-money day/week/month/etc., what do we do (besides panic and/or get depressed)?
1. Gird yourself with facts to put the day/week/month in perspective.
How much money do you need to make per week / month / quarter to meet your basic needs (food, shelter, etc.)? If you don't know, you are vulnerable. If you do know, will this day / week / month put you in the hole? If not, quit panicking. If it will, decide what you're going to do about that.
Does this slow time signal a downturn in your business or is it a normal seasonal slump? If you've been in practice for more than 2 years, look at your schedule for the last two years and see if this is a pattern. Is the week of July 4th always slow? Is July always slow? Does it usually rebound next week or next month?
Is this happening just to you or to most MTs in your area? Talk to them. If it's just you then it's not the market. If it's not just you, then it's not your fault. In either case, talk among yourselves and see what the community's wisdom is around this slow time.
Many massage therapists place a lot of value in their intuition -- what does this situation feel like? -- but quite honestly our intuition around money and business can be clouded by fears, insecurities, lack of knowledge, etc. Undergird any instincts with facts.
2. Take the time to take care of your business.
Are there business activities / projects / initiatives you wanted to do but haven't had time for? Now's the time!
Does your website need to be updated? Or created????
Do you need to add online scheduling? Now's a good time to do the research and get that set up. How about accepting credit cards?
Is your filing a teetering tower on your desk? Time to reduce that fire hazard!
Is your bookkeeping up to date? Reeeeeallllly? (And I don't mean all your receipts are in a shoebox.)
Read the trade pubs lately? Massage Today? AMTA Massage Journal? Massage Magazine?
Have you been meaning to contact select PTs / chiropractors / orthopedists / dentists / etc. in your town? Time to draft a letter and schedule a visit / cup of coffee with them.
Got any books you've been meaning to get to? Business, anatomy, modalities, etc.?
Have you been wanting to come up to speed on the latest massage research (and, really, it would be a huge benefit to you and your clients if you did)?
How about self-study? Want to understand trigger points better? Need to review that stretching class you took last year? How about that marketing textbook you picked up at the last convention?
Is there a training class you've taken that you're still not quite comfortable with? Invite your clients, other MTs, and friends over for (low-cost) practice sessions. If you can get 4-6 sessions under your hands, you'll be a lot more comfortable (and it's a very subtle way to market the fact that you do this particular kind of work).
3. Take the time to take care of yourself.
Self-care is an on-going challenge for all of us. All of us.
Gone for a long walk lately? Or bike ride? Or swim? Gotten your kayak in the water lately? Been camping recently?
How's your stretching regimen going? We're more credible when our clients learn that we practice what we preach. Same with massage. When was the last time you got a massage?
Has it been a long time since you've been to see your parents / grandparents / siblings / best friend? Is a road trip an option? Sometimes the best response to a panic attack about your business is to get the hell away from your business.
Are there good museums / theaters / artsy-fartsy offerings in your town? Are any of them free or low-cost?
Slept in recently? Tried any new recipes? Spent the whole day reading a good (non-massage-related) book? Caught up with the latest season of [fill in the blank]? What do you fantasize about doing when you're swamped by your schedule?
So, which of these three things should you do? ALL of them! Always start with #1. Too many of us are vague about the facts of our business. Don't assume, though, that you have to do #2 before you do #3. Sometimes, you should go straight from #1 to #3. We all know that we can't take care of anyone else (including our businesses) if we aren't taking care of ourselves.
A slow day / week / month / quarter is not the Kiss of Death. It's not The End of The World. It's just.....slow. What can you do with that (besides panic and depression)?
I'm meeting or exceeding my minimum financial goals most weeks. I'm attracting new clients every month. I have enough work in my home office to start to scale back my time at the gym across town. I can honestly see myself reaching my ultimate goal -- a private practice near (not in) my home in a space that I share with other practitioners -- in 2 years.
Yes, it's a relief.
But, remember, it took me two years of really working every avenue I had and could imagine to get here. Which meant I had plenty of slow days, weeks, months, and quarters. I've had days/weeks/etc. when I was very discouraged and anxious.
This week is going to be a slow/quiet week. With Independence Day in the middle of the week, people's schedules are out-of-whack. People are travelling. Thursdays are usually a busy day for me but I'm closed this Thursday.
Plus, I live in Washington DC. This is a city that takes Independence Day very seriously and formally. Folklife Festival down on The Mall. Big concert by the National Symphony Orchestra at the Capitol. Special bell-ringing at the National Cathedral. All the Smithsonian museums are open, including American History. The National Archives -- which houses the Declaration of Independence, the U.S. Constitution, and the Bill of Rights -- is open.
And let's not forget the fireworks!
Lots of distractions and lots of traffic. I'm closed on Independence Day because I'm 1.5 miles east of the Capitol. It's not worth it to try to get to my house after mid-day. In fact, I plan to be over on the Chesapeake Bay on Thursday, doing a little kayaking and watching the fireworks over the West River.
In short, it's not going to be a big money week.
When we have a low-money day/week/month/etc., what do we do (besides panic and/or get depressed)?
1. Gird yourself with facts to put the day/week/month in perspective.
How much money do you need to make per week / month / quarter to meet your basic needs (food, shelter, etc.)? If you don't know, you are vulnerable. If you do know, will this day / week / month put you in the hole? If not, quit panicking. If it will, decide what you're going to do about that.
Does this slow time signal a downturn in your business or is it a normal seasonal slump? If you've been in practice for more than 2 years, look at your schedule for the last two years and see if this is a pattern. Is the week of July 4th always slow? Is July always slow? Does it usually rebound next week or next month?
Is this happening just to you or to most MTs in your area? Talk to them. If it's just you then it's not the market. If it's not just you, then it's not your fault. In either case, talk among yourselves and see what the community's wisdom is around this slow time.
Many massage therapists place a lot of value in their intuition -- what does this situation feel like? -- but quite honestly our intuition around money and business can be clouded by fears, insecurities, lack of knowledge, etc. Undergird any instincts with facts.
2. Take the time to take care of your business.
Are there business activities / projects / initiatives you wanted to do but haven't had time for? Now's the time!
Does your website need to be updated? Or created????
Do you need to add online scheduling? Now's a good time to do the research and get that set up. How about accepting credit cards?
Is your filing a teetering tower on your desk? Time to reduce that fire hazard!
Is your bookkeeping up to date? Reeeeeallllly? (And I don't mean all your receipts are in a shoebox.)
Read the trade pubs lately? Massage Today? AMTA Massage Journal? Massage Magazine?
Have you been meaning to contact select PTs / chiropractors / orthopedists / dentists / etc. in your town? Time to draft a letter and schedule a visit / cup of coffee with them.
Got any books you've been meaning to get to? Business, anatomy, modalities, etc.?
Have you been wanting to come up to speed on the latest massage research (and, really, it would be a huge benefit to you and your clients if you did)?
How about self-study? Want to understand trigger points better? Need to review that stretching class you took last year? How about that marketing textbook you picked up at the last convention?
Is there a training class you've taken that you're still not quite comfortable with? Invite your clients, other MTs, and friends over for (low-cost) practice sessions. If you can get 4-6 sessions under your hands, you'll be a lot more comfortable (and it's a very subtle way to market the fact that you do this particular kind of work).
3. Take the time to take care of yourself.
Self-care is an on-going challenge for all of us. All of us.
Gone for a long walk lately? Or bike ride? Or swim? Gotten your kayak in the water lately? Been camping recently?
How's your stretching regimen going? We're more credible when our clients learn that we practice what we preach. Same with massage. When was the last time you got a massage?
Has it been a long time since you've been to see your parents / grandparents / siblings / best friend? Is a road trip an option? Sometimes the best response to a panic attack about your business is to get the hell away from your business.
Are there good museums / theaters / artsy-fartsy offerings in your town? Are any of them free or low-cost?
Slept in recently? Tried any new recipes? Spent the whole day reading a good (non-massage-related) book? Caught up with the latest season of [fill in the blank]? What do you fantasize about doing when you're swamped by your schedule?
So, which of these three things should you do? ALL of them! Always start with #1. Too many of us are vague about the facts of our business. Don't assume, though, that you have to do #2 before you do #3. Sometimes, you should go straight from #1 to #3. We all know that we can't take care of anyone else (including our businesses) if we aren't taking care of ourselves.
A slow day / week / month / quarter is not the Kiss of Death. It's not The End of The World. It's just.....slow. What can you do with that (besides panic and depression)?
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