When You Can't Stop Working

Crap happens. That's probably my #1 rule about running a small (micro) business. Crap happens.

What this means is sometimes we are forced to stop working for a few days, few weeks, or (shudder) few months.

We tear a tendon. We cut our hands. We get pneumonia. We have to have surgery. Our jobs are 100% physical. If the body doesn't work, we don't work.

Snow storms. Hurricanes. Floods. Nature may be beautiful but she ain't always helpful!

Deaths in the family. Car stolen. Aging parent takes a turn for the worse. Child gets seriously ill. Partner is seriously injured in an accident. That's the downside to loving people. When bad things happen to them, it affects you.

There are things that are simply beyond our control and may force us to have to stop working now for a period of time. Except many of us really need that steady income. We don't have another source of income at home. We have bills to pay. Mouths to feed. Obligations and expenses.

So, what do we do?

We start today (ok, you can start January 1 if you'd like) to put aside a little bit of money every single week. Maybe it's $10. Maybe it's $100. Maybe it's the equivalent of one massage. Whatever it is, you put it aside every. single. week.

Your goal? 3-6 months of savings -- that don't get touched for anything else -- as your emergency stash. This assumes, of course, that you know how much you need to bare-bones sustain yourself for 3 - 6 months. For me, that's $3,000 - $6,000.

Yes, that's a lot of money. At, say, $50 a week, that would take me 1.5 - 2.5 years to build that up. At $10 a week it would be ... longer. Lots longer.

If you've got an emergency today, it won't help that you haven't being doing this for the last year or two. But if you start today, I can virtually guarantee that you will need that money at some point. And you will want to send roses and kisses to in-the-past-you who started putting that money aside.

Three steps:

1.  Decide how much money you can / want to set aside each week.

2.  Put it somewhere it won't tempt you. Set up an automatic withdrawal to an out-of-state credit union maybe? Switch it to a CD when you have enough accumulated? Don't put it in the stock market. It's not an investment. It's a save-your-butt / I-need-it-right-now fund.

3.  Don't touch it till you are forced to stop working unexpectedly (no, this isn't a vacation club account). If you retire without using it then (a) you are one lucky MT and (b) then you can spend it if you want (though I'll warn you, emergencies don't stop when you retire!).

True Confessions Time

I was working with another MT yesterday, helping her get some things straightened out in her practice. I mentioned something I was working on straightening out in my practice.

She said "oh, I'm so glad to hear you say that, I thought you already had everything working just right. There's hope for me now too!"

I do not have everything "all worked out". I have my foibles and hidden pockets of "gotta get to that one of these days" too. So, in the holiday spirit of giving, here my Top 10 things in my practice that aren't as they "should" be.

1.  My major plan for next year is to start using intake forms. I don't use them at all right now. I should.

2.  My website is 2 months out of date (which is obvious because I have material on there with a date/time stamp). Some of that is technical but most of it is just me.

3.  I share parts of my personal life with my clients (though, honestly, I only do this when I think it's appropriate).

4.  I have been out of my "new client" cards (that I give to all new clients at the end of their first appointment) for months. Since I can print them out at home, this is especially annoying.

5.  I contribute to my retirement account randomly at best.

6.  I have needed to get myself set up as an LLC for several years. It's not hard and it's not expensive. And it still needs to be done.

7.  I have fallen behind on my bookkeeping badly this year. I chalk it up to a very rough year emotionally (the theme of this year has been "death" and "grief"). I'll spend part of my Christmas vacation going through a year's worth of bank statements and paper receipts to get myself updated. And I know I'll still miss some deductions.

8.  I signed an IC contract a few weeks ago without really reading it or negotiating. It's for a very short-term relationship -- it ends mid-December -- and I just didn't want to be bothered. On the plus side, I know the owner very very well and knew exactly what I was getting myself into.

9.  My session notes are free-form (that is, not SOAP), done in Word, and mostly for my own benefit. But one of my goals this year was to actually do them consistently and I have.

10.  I haven't backed up my (electronic) business files in weeks. I'll be doing that as soon as I post this blog.


We've all got a list, long or short, of things we "ought" to be doing. Every small business owner does. We're just one person (is that grammatically correct?).

Perfection is not an option.

But working away at that "ought to" list is. Here's hoping I get a few of the things on my "ought to" list knocked off in the next few months and have a shorter list to report this time next year.

Which Type of MT Are You?

How would you define a "massage therapist"?

That's actually an important question in our profession. The answer governs how:

• professional organizations serve us.
• states write massage regulations.
• schools structure their professional training programs.
• national chains work with us.
• we talk to each other about what our profession needs
• we see the future of our profession.
• continuing ed is (and isn't) developed and offered to us.
• we want the public to see us.
• we identify and work on problems in our profession.

Here's the thing: there isn't one definition of "massage therapist". There are at least 5 valid "sectors" of MTs (based on my experience and observation; there could absolutely be more). As long as we fail to recognize that, we've got problems in all those situations I listed above.

Each type:

• defines its goals differently.
• attracts clients for different reasons.
• has its own priorities when it comes to initial and continuing education.
• has a different vision of the future of our profession.
• has different financial opportunities.
• even has its own language / vocabulary.

And each of them are a valid way of being a "massage therapist".

By the way, these sectors are not exclusive. There is overlap between many of them. Massage therapists can also practice in more than one sector.

Medical / clinical MTs are deep into the physical anatomy. They are drawn to solving problems and helping people improve their physical functioning. You find them in chiropractor offices, working with PTs, sometimes in hospitals. They are drawn to working with athletes, the ill, and anyone else with a condition or problem to solve.

Asian medicine MTs work with clients primarily through the modalities from the Eastern traditions. Ayurvedic. Shiatsu. Acupressure. They can be similar to the medical / clinical crowd but they're using different tools.

Energy healing MTs are drawn to working with the energetic body -- chakras, auras, etc. They are the "woo-woo" community in our midst.  :)  Reiki, Brennan, Donna Eden, chakra clearing are all types of energy work.

Spas are environments that work to provide a specific kind of relaxing, soothing environment for the client. These MTs are also more likely to do skin treatments. They don't exclusively provide relaxation -- the often include offerings from the other sectors -- but they provide a lot of relaxation. This is the "feel good" segment of our world.

I've left health & wellness for last because I think this may actually be the biggest sector. I call them the jacks/jills-of-all-trades. They combine a hodge-podge of modalities in their work and address a broad spectrum of clients. A lot (most?) of our group practices are in the health & wellness because they often try to provide the broadest range of possibilities. The MTs who fit most snugly in this category aren't drawn to specializing in one of the other sectors. They like to mix it all up.

There are also our cousins / neighbors who are developing training and products specifically for us as well as those who are providing all that business development consulting.

A friend of mine is a librarian working in corporate environments. In her industry, there are recognized sectors / sub-specialities of librarians that have their own professional organizations, their own issues and challenges, and their own training. They don't, generally, fight among themselves about who's a "real" librarian and who isn't. They recognize each other as deserving of the title "librarian".

Why don't we do that? Why are we still fighting with each other about what a "real" massage therapist is? How much energy would be freed up if we stopped these arguments for something more productive for our profession?

Based on some of the invective I've seen and heard, the answer is "a lot of energy".

I'm definitely in the "health & wellness" sector with my other foot in training and business development. My clients come for relaxation, to have pain reduced, to live more peacefully with long-term conditions, and often just to cope with living long enough to have age-related issues. I use more clinically-oriented techniques like myofascial release but I'll also do some chakra clearing if that's called for. I'm eyeballing training for next year in lymph drainage, reiki, and acupressure.

What about you? Where do you find yourself, most or all of the time? What excites you and governs how you understand the massage therapy world?

Comparing Apples to Lawn Furniture

You're looking at your options:

Setting 1: your work for yourself out of your home. You charge $80 / hour.

Setting 2: you work in a group practice. They charge $80 / hour. You get 50% of that ($40).

Setting 3: you work for a chain. They charge $65 / hour. You get $20.

It's obvious that working for yourself out of your home is the absolute best way to go and you'll definitely make the most money that way, right? Why would anyone work for someone else??

What you've just done is compare, head to head, apples and lawn furniture and used the results to decide which type of car to buy.

It absolutely matters how much money we make. You know what matters even more? How much money we get to keep and how much work it takes to make that money!

If you want to have a good life as a massage therapist, you have got to look at more than "how much money do I make per massage". That is one small part of the equation. Here's the full equation:

How much money can I make as a massage therapist?
 
minus
 
What will it cost me to run my practice?
 
divided by
 
How much effort will it take me to make that money?

Let's take a look at each of these questions in a little more detail.

How much money can I make as a massage therapist?

This a good place to start. This question has a little equation built in as well:

How much per massage x how many massages + tips

That first part -- how much per massage -- is where too many of us stop. But you're still reading so let's keep going.

How many massages? When we compare private practice to group practice to a massage chain, there really is a difference between how many massages you're likely to do in a week.

In private practice, some of us have full schedules most of the time. Many of us don't. It takes constant marketing to fill your schedule. That takes time and energy.

In a group practice, having a full schedule depends on how good the owner is at marketing the practice. Read manymessage boards and you'll learn pretty quickly that lots of owners aren't necessarily any better at filling the calendar than we are.

One of the things a massage chain has going for it is that they do marketing really really well. And they've got the budget (and national office support) for it. So you're more likely to have a full schedule at a decently-run massage chain.

Let's look at tips then. Lots of clients have a complicated chart in their head when it comes to tipping. Are you the owner? Are you working out of commercial space (i.e., do you have a lot of overhead)? Are you a health necessity or a luxury? It seems those first two -- owner, commercial space -- affect the tips the most.

I find that in my home office, I get very few tips. Your experience may vary. I figure about 10% of my clients tip me.

When I worked in a group practice, I got more tips. Not 100% of the time but probably 50% of the time.

From the conversations I've had with people working for corporate massage chains, tipping is the norm. Closer to 100% of the time.

What will it cost me to run my practice?

We really don't think this through well enough! Often because we don't want to think about it. It makes us feel nervous, uncertain, incompetent, uneducated, overwhelmed (not to mention frustrated). It can make us feel lots of unpleasant things.

Plus, it involves the not-fun part of math (that is, the subtracting-from-what-we-make kind).

Calculating the costs of running a practice often comes down to the difference between being self-employed, an independent contractor, or an employee.

Working out of my home means I am self-employed. Here's a rule of thumb for being self-employed in virtually any profession: 50% of your income will go to your expenses.

Yep, I said 50%. Ouch. But I can also say that having analyzed years of my own business bookkeeping gives credence to that number.

Again, ouch.

Why? You buy your own massage supplies and office supplies. You pay for all of your own marketing. You pay for the laundry. You pay 100% of your taxes. You pay for all of your licensing and continuing ed. You pay for your scheduling software and credit card charges. You drive to the bank. You suck up the discounts. Etc. Etc. Etc.

It's all you, baby.

If I work for a group practice, the odds are I'm an independent contractor. Some of my costs go away / are covered by "the split":  space rental, massage equipment, some office equipment, some marketing expense, laundry. You've still got your license, continuing ed, taxes, some of your marketing (because you should still be putting at least some effort into marketing yourself).

When I worked for a group practice as an independent contractor, I found my expenses were more like 40% of my income.

Most people working at massage chains are employees. Virtually all of the expenses (beyond your license and about 75% of your taxes) are paid for by the employer. Plus you might (depends on the chain) get paid health insurance and paid time off, something you pay for yourself as a self-employed MT or an IC.

So your expenses drop down to more like 20-30% of your income.

How much effort will it take me to make that money?

You know, none of us have endless energy or endless time (if you do, don't tell me, it'll just depress me). So we really do ourselves a disservice when we don't take the amount of time and energy it takes to run a practice into consideration.

This is an entirely personal calculation -- how much time and energy (and interest) do you have for the business of massage -- but let me give you some numbers, short and sweet, based on my experience and lots of interviews:

Self-employed home-based practice: 40-50% of my time and energy goes to managing the practice. This includes the time I spend randomly worrying about whether I'm doing the right thing or have forgotten something or should be trying something new or....

Independent contractor in a group practice: 20-30% of my time and energy goes to worrying whether the owner is keeping my schedule full, doing my bookkeeping, staying on top of my license and continuing ed, paying my quarterly and annual taxes, helping with laundry, and (if the owner isn't keeping my schedule full) worrying about whether I should jump ship or wait for things to get better...

Employee in a massage chain: 15-25% of my time and energy goes to keeping up with the schedule (every hour on the hour!), worrying about whether I'm being taken advantage of or could be doing better elsewhere, possibly stewing about being expected to do too many massages in a day, and filing my annual taxes.


How much money can I make as a massage therapist?
 
minus
 
What will it cost me to run my practice?
 
divided by
 
How much effort will it take me to make that money?

Sometimes working for yourself is the best way to go. Sometimes working for someone else is. You have to ask yourself deeper questions about what you're good at outside the massage room, what kind of energy and enthusiasm you have for running a business, what the rest of your life needs from you, etc.

Don't start and stop at the "how much money do I make per massage". You deserve a better-thought-through answer than that will  provide.

At the end of the day, all you have is your time, energy, and skills. Spend them wisely.

They're Not Out To Get You

When you opened your doors, what other practice were you hoping to put out of business? Whose clients were you planning to steal? What were your specific plans to have complete control over your area?

What?? Those weren't your goals when you opened your practice, were they? You weren't out to conquer and defeat every other massage practice in a 10-mile radius, were you? You weren't trying to put anyone out of business, you were just trying to take care of yourself I bet. Me too.

So why do we take it so personally when another massage practice opens up in our area (corporate chain or not)? Why do we assume they have it in for us, personally? Why do we assume they live and breathe (and structure their fees) specifically to put us out of business?

We don't think that, you say! Oh, yes we do. Lots of us think that if a practice in the next neighborhood offers deep discounts or a fancier spa experience, it's because they want to drive us out of business. We presume that Massage Envy / Hand & Stone / Massage Heights / etc. looked around with a wicked gleam in their eye and said "you, yes you!, I'm putting YOU out of business by stealing ALL of your clients!" And then they probably rubbed their hands together maniacally while chuckling "bwahahahahaha!"

Most people, even most chains, open their doors because they see an opportunity for themselves to make money. They see a need not entirely being met. They've structured their business (including their rates) to attract the people they think will be most profitable for them.

Just like you did (I hope).

Now, there are businesses that will specifically target their competition with the firm intent of putting them out of  business. I could tell you the story of an outcall business that moved into DC about 15 years ago and very intentionally set out to drive the pre-existing outcall business out of business. And they were nasty and underhanded about it (and they were that way in most of their business dealings, which is why they had a terrible reputation among the local massage community). Those people do exist, unfortunately (and, quick Google search, yep they're still in business in Washington DC though I haven't heard anyone talk about them in years so I suspect they aren't doing a lot of business in DC).

But they really are the exception (which is why I remember them so well). It's rare for a massage practice (yes, including a massage chain) to open with the express purpose of putting you out of business. Oh, if they've done their homework they know you exist and they have an idea of the size and strength of your practice. But they probably think there's enough business still out there for them to thrive as well.

It's not personal.

Does that mean having competitors doesn't affect us? Of course not! And we affect them (didn't think about that, did you?). It's part of being in business.

So what do we do about competition? I'd suggest, first, quit thinking of it as "competition" and start thinking of it as "the marketplace" in which our clients (or potential clients) move and make choices.

You are part of the marketplace. Other MTs are part of the marketplace. Other remedies for their particular woes (gym, personal trainers, talk therapists, physical therapists, acupuncturists, chiropractors, etc.) are also part of the marketplace.

How well are you making yourself visible in that marketplace?

How do your offerings (and hours and rates and scheduling processes and payment options, etc.) stack up against the others in the marketplace?

How well are you getting your message out to the people who are your ideal clients?

How well are you integrated with others in the marketplace?


"Competition"  It's not personal and they aren't (or at least rarely) out to get you. Take it as an invitation to keep yourself sharp. Take it as an invitation to stay focused on keeping your practice alive, relevant, and healthy.

(Because they're not going away.)

How to Make A Beautiful Massage Room Not So Beautiful

I've spent months buying all my supplies and outfitting a beautiful treatment space! I throw open the doors next week! I just need someone to tell me how to get clients....

It's fun to create a beautiful massage rooms. Lighting, colors, furniture, maybe a towel warmer, etc. A lot of fun. Such a personal expression of our passion and personality.

It's not, however, where you start.

First, you need to figure out how you are going to attract clients to that beautiful massage room. Hint: they don't show up just because you've opened for business. Even if you've already spent a lot of time and money on supplies and your work space.

What if you bought your wedding outfit, booked the ceremony space, booked the reception space, chose the caterer, hired the DJ, worked out the invitation list, created your gift registry, planned your honeymoon, and designed the invitation and THEN started looking for a spouse?

Right.

FIRST. Find your clients.

FIRST.

Which means first, figure out your business.

• What is your mission and vision?
• Who are your ideal clients?
• Where do you find them?
• What, specifically, are you offering them (hint: it needs to be more specific and nuanced than "massage therapy").
• What are your policies and procedures?
• How much do you need to make?
• What discounts will you offer (strategically!)?
• And more. So much more.

The odds are you don't really know the answers to these questions. That's OK, a lot of us don't, especially when we're getting started. So you need to do your research, read, and learn. Maybe you need to spend money on a business coach rather than on that towel warmer. If it's builds your practice quickly, you'll be able to afford that towel warmer in no time!

But if you don't know the answers to these questions, you are not ready to spend money / incur debt buying your supplies and getting your beautiful room ready. You just aren't.

You are not ready to open your business until you know (1) who your customers are, (2) how to reach them, and (3) what they want. And you have to be very very specific in how you answer these questions. The more vague your answers, the more vague your growth will be.

If you don't have at least a marketing plan -- and have already started to implement it -- you aren't ready to open your doors. Because you haven't laid the groundwork to get clients.

You can plan your massage room while you are building your marketing plans but you can't put the room before the clients (cart before horse, etc.)

We don't want to think about that. We'd rather think about lighting and color schemes and what we'll put on the walls. But a beautiful room that is empty becomes a not-so-beautiful room quickly.

p.s. yes, it would be wonderful if we learned this in school. But most of us didn't because, frankly, our instructors didn't necessarily know this either. Which is why people like me (and Allissa Haines and Jodi Scholes and all the rest of us massage-business-warriors) exist and keep banging our drums.

Death To Tips!

I worked so hard and they only tipped me xxx! I will never book them again!

I did such great work and they only tipped me xxx! What does that mean?

They didn't tip! What did I do wrong??

I only got a 10% tip! How cheap are they??

I work in a chiropractor's office and I hardly ever get tips! What can I do to get people to tip me??

Is it OK to put up a sign telling people they should tip? Is there a way to do that tastefully? [hint: no and no]

These are the kind of comments that come up all the time on massage therapy boards on the internet.

We need to quit obsessing about tips. In fact, we need to quit thinking about them altogether if we can. Being part of the "tipping culture" isn't doing us any favors.

I lived in Australia for a year. They don't tip. The price you see on a menu is what you actually pay (it already includes the tax as well).

You know what that means? No one sucking up to you for a better tip. No phony smiles for better tips. No false flattery. No one not-so-subtly trying to get you to finish up your dinner and leave so they can get another customer because they really make their money on tips.

I loved it.

We think of tips as "free money". We also think of them as validation. And we often think of them as mandatory. They are none of these things.

I've had so many clients ask me to explain how tipping "works" for massage therapists. They "know" they don't tip the owner but since I'm working out of my home, am I the owner? When I work in someone else's organization, they want to know if I'm a contractor or employee because they think that factors into tips. Should it be more like a hairdresser or more like a restaurant??

They genuinely care and are genuinely deeply concerned that they'll do it "wrong".

Why should they have to know any of this? I don't want to have these conversations!

Tips, sadly, have become a way for employers to throw the responsibility for part of your salary on the customer. It's not enough that customers pay for the service, they have to pay part of your salary on top of that! This has polluted a simple economic exchange -- I give you an hour of professional massage, you give me money -- and made it complicated.

If you must have tips to make ends meet, I have some thoughts:

*  You aren't charging enough.
*  You're not being paid enough.
*  You are charging enough but you can't support yourself on a massage therapist's income

You know what happens in a culture where tipping is not the norm? Service providers and customers can approach each other as equals. There's no "bowing and scraping" (or painfully inauthentic grinning) to make sure you get a tip.

Do I accept tips? Yes, but I don't expect them. In fact, here's how I explain tipping in my newsletter:

I accept tips but I don't expect them. For therapists who also accept tips, there are times when tipping is well-received.

In salons and spas.  In these settings, tips are common. Your massage therapist is only getting a portion of the fee you pay for the massage - sometimes as little as 25-40% -- and your tip is enormously appreciated.

When the massage therapist has gone out of his/her way for you. Did someone work hard to squeeze you into a tight schedule?  Did they open early or stay open late? Did they climb four flights of steps -- with a massage table -- to get to your apartment? Did they go longer than the scheduled time to help you with a particular area? A tip is a good way to acknowledge their extra effort.

When your massage therapist has done stellar work. Did he/she help you get a muscle un-knotted that no one else could get un-knotted? Did their work get you to relax deeper than you've ever relaxed before? When the massage you received is just so much better than you had reason to expect, a tip is not necessary but it is an option.

How much should you tip? There's a lot of disagreement to this but I would suggest using restaurants as a guideline. Tip 10-15% for good service, 20% or more for really amazing service.

I don't expect tips.I don't turn them down either. In the end, the best "tip" you can give a massage therapist is repeat business and a good recommendation to your friends and family.

My advice to you is this: quit thinking about tips. They usually mean nothing beyond "I've been trained to give a tip". You can't really know what they "mean". You are wise not to count on them.

And, oh yeah, the IRS knows that tipping is common enough in our profession that they'll be looking for them on your tax return so you better be declaring them as income! (Yet another reason to say Death To Tipping!)

 

RIP John

Last Tuesday found me in an ICU in central Louisiana, sitting next to a friend as he breathed his last. In 3-1/2 weeks he had gone from "what do you mean I'm riddled with cancer?" to the end of this earthly existence.

As you can imagine, it took everyone in his life by shock and was a whirlwind of grief, panic, and confusion. I am grateful I was able to be by his side when he died.

John was more than a friend -- and he was a great friend of almost 30 years -- he was also a key member of my informal "board of directors". I can't possibly know everything I need to know to run my business but when I look around at my friends and colleagues, I realize I have access to a great depth of professional experience.

John for business and financial advice
Adriana for marketing advice
Margo for taxes, taxes, taxes!
My husband Jeff for a reality-check
Kitty for imagination (and also reality check)
Rich and Lizzie for editorial help
Clare for building quality adult education

There are more.

John, a retired accountant and investment manager 14 years my senior, was particularly important for helping me develop my business, bite-sized courses. A primary focus of those is "translating" business concepts to language that makes them more accessible (and useful) to massage therapists.  I often ran things past John just to make sure that in the process of "translation" I hadn't left solid business truths behind.

When I first talked to him about my very different approach to business plans, he huffed and puffed a bit ("that's not the way one talks about business plans!") (he was also English so saying "the way one talks" just sounded so much cuter coming from him).

But then he stopped, really thought about what I was saying, critically examined whether I was saying anything wrong and, God bless him, asked me good questions about massage therapists so he could understand why I felt the need to re-cast the traditional business plan.

And then gave me invaluable feedback on what worked, where I could get more info, and where I was perfectly right to present things in a non-traditional way. And a lot of encouragement to keep doing what I do.

We all need people to advise us on the things we aren't so knowledgeable about. It's OK (possibly even wise) to admit -- out loud -- what you don't know and ask for help. Sometimes, you need to pay a professional. Sometimes you can find support among your existing circle of friends and family (as long as you don't abuse it!).

I will miss John keenly for a long time as a great friend and fellow trouble-maker in the 4th pew on Sunday morning. I will also miss the wise advisor who encouraged me and supported me in ways I needed.

RIP John. I hope the angels sang you home.

Did We Bring This On Ourselves?

I was working with a new massage therapist recently. She wants to work for someone else while she gets her legs under her and can build a private practice. Gyms, spas, and chiropractors would not be great fits for her but a group practice would be.

When I started to list group practices that were geographically convenient and well-run, it ended up being a surprisingly short list. That's depressing.

Here's a hard but true fact: franchises like Massage Envy are successful in part because they fulfill a need we have and we aren't filling for ourselves as well as we could. In short, they give MTs a place to work who just need a place to work. They give those MTs a full schedule and an organized environment.

Yes, it comes with some significant disadvantages and they aren't always run in our best interest but I could say that about gyms, chiropractors, spas, cruise ships, and every other place we work as well. As long as most of the places we can work are run by non-massage-therapists, we will always be at a disadvantage.

Yes, there are MT-led group practices but (1) there's not enough of them and (2) some of them are run as poorly as places that aren't massage-centric. Too many of these businesses are being run haphazardly and by the seat of the owner's yoga pants.

I will be the first to say that many of us are not cut out to manage a multi-therapist practice and it would be a mistake to try. But there are those who could and who aren't. Why not?

Probably because they recognize how much work it is and they don't have the training or support to set such a practice up well. Or they have done it and they're doing it poorly because (again) they don't have the training or support to run it well.

Where is that knowledge, training, and experience in our profession?

There are coaches who can walk you through that one on one if you're willing to spend the time and money (and it would be time and money well-spent with the right coach). I don't think there are enough of them either, though.

What about the people already running successful well-respected group practices? Are they sharing their wisdom? What would happen if each person running a successful multi-therapist practice set up an apprenticeship or internship with the conscious intent to teach another MT how to run their own multi-therapist practice? How powerful a transformation would that create?

I would love, love, LOVE to see us leading us. I would love to see us employing us. I would love to see us owning franchises (and, believe it or not, there are massage therapists who own Massage Envy franchises!). I would love to see us grabbing the reins of our own profession and riding it boldly into the future.

Do you have the temperament, interest, and/or ability to run a multi-therapist practice? If the answer is yes and ...

... you're not doing it, why not?

... you are doing it, where did you learn how to do it?

Who Can We Trust?

There are a lot of people saying, in effect, "just ask/follow me! I have all the answers to your business questions!" (Possibly even this blog sometimes.) You can't follow them all, unless you're really fond of having a headache. How do you choose?

Last week I learned something important about who not to follow.

I want to offer more business instruction. Webinars, ebooks, live classes, etc. That's a significant re-jiggering of my professional life. I decided it would be wise to do a more formal "market analysis" than I've done so far.

The Small Business Administration has a partner organization that offers free business advice, coaching, and mentoring. These consultations are with retired executives who are volunteering their expertise and experience. I signed up for a consultation.

With just a few cursory questions, the mentor declared that my business idea was hopeless and would never work. He announced this 5 minutes after I sat down and spent the rest of the hour explaining to me why he was so well-equipped to make this decision, how big his former business was (retail furniture sales), how impressive all the other volunteers were (having run multimillion dollar businesses), etc. There were a lot of mistakes in his assumptions about our profession but he wouldn't shut up long enough for me to explain that.

My favorite of his reasoning? Since his organization offered, in effect, the same thing (business classes and mentoring) for free and they had trouble getting people to use their services, my plan couldn't possibly succeed. After all, I couldn't begin to match their qualifications and credibility.

He also chuckled lightly throughout the hour. This may have been sheer nervousness. I'm aware that when I'm really angry, it's almost impossible to keep that emotion off my face.

And I was really really angry. After I got over the urge to cry at being treated so dismissively. I walked out of there utterly determined to make my plans work, just to prove him wrong!

It's not enough to be "smart". When I need help with my business questions, I want someone who:

• listens well,
• asks lots of questions,
• is patient,
• shows compassion for my burning desire to make my business idea work (no matter how unrealistic),
• teaches rather than judges, and
• leads me through the kind of questions and research that will help me realize my idea is unrealistic if that's true.

I didn't get that. A week later, I'm still really really angry.

The quote at the top of this post is from an Australian life coach, Ingrid Arna. She's right. Why shouldn't our business partnerships have a strong (positive) emotional component to them?

It's foolish to think "doing business" is all about what you've got in your head. If you've been a massage therapist for very long, you've learned that every aspect of it, including the business aspects, involves your heart and soul.

When you're contemplating doing business with someone else, listen to the parts of your body below your eyebrows. Does your heart expand when talking to this person? Does your gut relax and trust? Do you get excited about what you and this person can do together?

Is there love present? Love for your work, love for your profession, love for your business?

I will say, this guy helped me get real clear about what my approach to working with all of you is. I will:

• actually listen to you and ask a lot of questions, not presuming I'm so damned smart I already know all I need to know
• give you the education to help you make your own decisions, possibly including the decision to change your mind about what you want to do
• respect the passion that drives you to make your practice work, maybe even get excited about it with you
• use language you can understand
• explain terms and concepts in ways that fit in your world
• presume you're smart and deserve to succeed
• respect that your dream may be a little crazy but it's still worth a try
• NOT MAKE YOU CRY

Now you tell me: what do you want out of someone offering your business advice or coaching?

Did Your School Really Prepare You To Be A Professional?

I think Lauren Muser Cates is one of the blessings to our profession that we can never be thankful enough for. (OK, editor friends, did that sentence parse correctly?)  In addition to her beautiful work with oncology massage, she also writes a blog about massage therapists for massage therapists. She can be funny, wry, and even hilarious. She can also be biting and spot on about some of the issues in our profession.

A recent post had me nodding in agreement from the first paragraph to the last (and not just because she mentions me by name!) She talks earnestly and pointedly about what it means to call yourself a "professional" and what behavior doesn't qualify as professional.

I realized that our strongest lessons about what it means to be a massage professional came first from massage school, from the faculty and the administration.

How did they run the school?

How did they move, talk, and represent themselves? Was it with dignity and compassion, and (yes) professionalism?

Was it clear they were as devoted to the profession as they were to making sure your check cleared? Did they attend conferences and participate in professional associations? Were they independent of any given employer of massage therapists?

Did they actually turn people away that they didn't think were wise to be entering this profession? Did they hold back students (or even "flunk" them) when it was clear the student was not able to meet the academic standards of the school? Did you have classmates that clearly couldn't learn this stuff but were passed through anyways? How many of your classmates came out of school reasonably able to pass either national exam (if required in your state) on the first or second try?

Were the faculty now or ever practicing massage therapists themselves? What was the experience of the administration with massage therapy? Did they even receive regular bodywork??

How did they talk about being a professional?

Did they have a clear idea of what you can and can’t do and still consider yourself a “professional”. Could they explain their reasoning? Could the engage in a back and forth about it?

Did they have these conversations with you in and out of the classroom? More than once? Possibly related to every aspect of what they were teaching you? Did they explain why this or that made you more or less of a professional?

Did they set a high or low bar for what it means to be a professional MT? Did they tell you it took more to be a professional than effectively rubbing oil on naked people?

How did they talk about our profession?

Did they denigrate our profession in any way? Did they -- subtly or overtly -- suggest that MTs who talk about "professionalism" are taking themselves too seriously? Did they -- subtly or overtly -- suggest you set your professional expectations low because, after all, you're just a massage therapist. Did they talk about reasons to be (or not) involved in professional associations, conferences, licensing issues, research, and the future of our profession?

Did they talk about being connected to other massage therapists after graduation? Did they talk about other massage therapists as your colleagues or your competition?

Or was it all about where to go to make the biggest buck and let someone else worry about all that other boring stuff?


I suspect too many schools would not do well if measured against these standards. Why? Because I read the invective and confusion out here in the misty reaches of the internet on too many massage therapists boards. I see the hate. I see the befuddlement. I see the hurt. I feel the hurt because it hurts me!

How did / does your school measure up?

Your Marketing Headspace: What's True For You?

Two weeks ago I talked about general rules for marketing. These are truths that are generally true for all businesses or at least for massage therapists. We need to keep these in mind when thinking about how we market our practices.

There's a second side to this marketing headspace: what's specifically true for you. Some of the marketing decisions and realities you have to deal with are unique to you. When I sit down with MTs to help them jumpstart their marketing efforts, I explain that they need to have a clear picture of three things:

• What they're offering
• Who they're marketing to
• Themselves

What You're Offering

You aren't selling massage therapy. If you were, everyone with the same educational credentials would be the same. They aren't. What we're really offering is (1) an experience and/or (2) a particular outcome.

Are my sessions sports-oriented or am I all about the energetic body? Do I prefer working with athletes or geriatrics? Is my office warm and fuzzy or neat and medical? Am I likely to engage you in an extended intake or will I stay tightly focused, gettin you on and off the table as quickly as possible? Do I tend to form long-term relationships with clients or am I more focused on helping you rehabilitate a problem and move on?

How will you be different after a session with me? Lighter? More graceful? In less pain? Centered? Able to run faster and jump higher? More in touch with your own body? More flexible? Less emotionally "gummed up"?

This is a one-on-one industry. Each of us offers a different kind of experience and are better at helping to produce particular outcomes. What's yours?

Who's The Best Person For You To Market To

I've said this many times before but what the heck, I'll say it again: most of us are functioning with limited time, energy, and money especially for marketing. It makes sense to spend those resources connecting with the kinds of people that are the very best fit for us. It doesn't mean we won't work with someone outside that profile but our energies and resources are focused on the clients that are the best fit for us.

I don't market to athletes. If you're hardcore about your training or competition, there are other local MTs who are a better fit for you and I'll happily give you their name and number. On the other hand, I particularly like working with people who are using massage to endure the slings and arrows of middle age or of long-term conditions. I like ongoing relationships.

I'm going to use language and images to speak to these people. I'm going to put myself in places these people are more likely to be. I can't be everywhere and I can't be everything. I have to choose. We all do.

Who Are You

You are at the epicenter of your practice. Baby, it is all about you! What are you good at? What are you lousy at? What energizes you? What drains you? When are you at your best and your worst? You might as well accept these truths about yourself and take them into consideration when planning your marketing efforts.

I don't do networking events because I'm an introvert and they drain me completely.

I write newsletters and blogs because I'm a professional writer and I enjoy it.

I will build my own website (after finishing my WordPress class) because I've got some rudimentary technical skills. I pay people to provide graphics because I don't have those skills.

I will talk to groups because I'm comfortable doing that (despite being an introvert) but I know I may need extra downtime afterwards.

I will donate chair massage to organizations I am strongly attached to.

I don't offer a lot of discounts because, honestly, I get confused about what I'm offering at any given time!

I don't answer the phone after 9 pm.  :)

It does me no good to try to fit myself into someone else's model of the "perfect marketer" because the odds are very high that I won't fit. If I had the money to hire a professional marketer I would but I don't so I'm stuck with me in all my glory and mess. When you are honest with yourself, what kind of marketing efforts make sense for the person you actually are and what are things you're just not going to be good at?

What are you offering?
Who are you trying to reach?
Who are you?

When you have solid answers to these three questions, you are well on your way to making better marketing decisions.

Calculating the Split

"The Split" is often a source of consternation and confusion for massage therapists. "What's normal" or "what's right" or "what's legal" are often bandied about by MTs who don't fully understand the Split.

Here's what most of us don't grasp: the portion of a massage session payment that the establishment owner keeps is payment for specific goods and services they provide for you. It's not (or it shouldn't be) a random number based on what any of us think we are "worth". It's a payment for goods or services.

No two business owners and no two massage therapists are exactly alike. Which is why you need to negotiate this as part of your contract and why it needs to be spelled out in your independent contract.

Ask yourself this:

• What would I pay the establishment owner for at the end of every session if I had to pay as I went along?
• What goods or services do I receive that make my work possible?
• What goods and services are easier for me to have them provide than to have me provide?
• What would cost me time and money if I had to provide them for myself?

And here's your bottom-line question: What goods and services have actual financial value to me?

Make a list. Don't list everything you get by working in someone else's space. List those things that have measurable financial value to you. Those things that would cost you a noticeable amount of money if you had to provide them yourself. Here's my list of what I'd pay someone for:

• Doing the kind of marketing that gives me a reasonably full schedule
• [OR If I'm a tenant in a medical office, referrals of their clients to me]
• A massage-appropriate room (with table!)
• Doing the laundry
• Handling the scheduling (and doing it well)
• Massage supplies (lubricant, linens, music)
• Processing payments for me

Assign a percentage value to each one. How much out of each massage would you be willing to pay for that good or service? Since my personal philosophy is to never pay more than 50% of my earnings in goods and services, my percentages look like this. These percentages are based on real quantifiable economic value to me; they're the things that help me make money (which is why you don't see "office decorations", for example). I know what it costs to provide these things for myself:

Marketing / full schedule = 15% [OR referrals (in a chiro / medical office) =  15%]
Room = 10%
Laundry = 5%
Payment processing = 5%
Scheduling = 5%
Supplies = 5%

I'll negotiate these numbers to a certain extent, of course but if, in effect, I can walk in, do my work, and walk out I will pay up to but never more than 50% of what I make. The more I've got to do, the less I pay them.

We need to think about The Split in a business way:

1. They are paying us 100% ($70 / $80 / $90 / $whatever) to provide a professional massage to their clients.
2. We pay a certain percentage of that back to them for any goods and services they provide that make it easier for us to provide professional massage to their clients.

In practical terms, how do we pay them for the goods and services they provide? Through a portion of each massage. We could also agree to pay them a flat fee per month. Or a monthly fee for the actual cost of these goods and services. In our industry The Split has become the most convenient way to do this.

Quit thinking "they're only paying me $$ for each massage!" Start thinking "They want me to pay them $$ for the goods and services they provide. Are these goods and services worth this kind of money to me?"

If you don't know what your Split is paying for, you need to get clear with the business owner about that. If your Split keeps changing based on the owner's whims, you need to get clear with them about this. If the business establishment is adding on little fees on the fly, you need to sit down with the owner and specify, between you, what you pay for and nothing else.

You don't do this because you're mean or venal or greedy or aggressive. You do it because you are a smart business owner yourself and you know that getting clear on this leads to fewer problems in the business relationship down the road. It's what real business owners do.

Lots of business owners don't realize this is actually the thinking that is underneath The Split. They may rant and rave about "I need to make $$ from massage or I can't survive!" Possibly true, but not your responsibility as a contractor. You are in business with this person for your mutual benefit. You can like each other and hope for the very best for each other and strive to make each of you successful. But your relationship is still a business relationship and needs to be conducted like one.

What happens if the business owner won't do this? You are dealing with someone who is less professional than you are and, I promise you, that will come back to bite you in the piriformis at some point. How long are you willing to wait for the Munch On Your Backside to happen (because it will happen)? Plan accordingly.

Are We Nothing More Than Cannon Fodder?

From Wikipedia:

Cannon fodder is an informal, derogatory term for combatants who are regarded or treated as expendable ... generally used in situations where combatants are forced to deliberately fight against hopeless odds (with the foreknowledge that they will suffer extremely high casualties) ... derives from fodder, as food for livestock. Soldiers are the metaphorical food for enemy cannon fire.

I was going to write about marketing this week but I've got a burr up my butt and I'm going to share it with you, you lucky people.

I read a couple of massage therapist boards on the internet. This week it seems like every third post is some form of "I'm being taken advantage of but I don't know what to do about it" or "they say I have to do [fill in the blank] and that doesn't seem right but I don't know!" or "the workplace is so toxic but what else can I do as a lowly massage therapist?"

I'm not angry at the MTs posting. Most of them are young and/or new to the field (though not all of them). But I am very angry at the schools running these people through their "professional training programs". There are way too many schools teaching people how to rub oil on naked people but not really preparing them to be massage therapists. That sucks.

Preparing someone to truly be a massage therapist includes giving them a realistic picture of the work world for massage therapists and giving them the tools to navigate that work world. As near as I can tell, more than half the schools in this country are turning out the massage equivalent of cannon fodder -- you are just meat to fill the pockets of business owners. Don't ever forget you can be replaced!

We are a profession in an active state of evolution. Evolution should be towards something bigger and better. That is not where too many massage therapists are being led. I'll be damned if I'll sit back and watch us "evolve" into professional serfs. So listen up, kids, here are some truths about the massage therapy workplace.

We are not as educated as PTs, OTs, chiropractors, and doctors. But in a room with them, we're the experts about massage therapy.

Yeah, you spent months and months and too much money getting your  massage education. In the workplace, no one cares (nor should they). That's not the reason you should get respect. The reason is this: if you're the only massage therapist in the room, you are the one that knows the most about massage therapy!  Quit allowing yourself to be cowed by their educational background!

If you don't believe you're a valuable asset, no one else will either.

Yes, you're the expert on massage if you're the only MT in the room. But you may not be the only MT in the room. Or you may not be the first MT they've worked with. So you're green and insecure and they know it. They aren't going to respect that.

The answer: conquer your insecurity. Your insecurity resides securely and entirely in you. You need to fix it and you need to interact with the work world with confidence even if you are completely faking it. All confident people are faking it at some point.

The green-ness? Of course you're green. That doesn't mean you're worthless and should accept crap. They'll be charging money for your work. If it's good enough for their clients then it must be worth something!

The only real power you have in a professional relationship is your willingness to end it. Be willing to end it when it becomes abusive, dismissive, or wrong. Walk the bleep-bleep away!

What is it Dr. Phil likes to say? You teach people how to treat you. No, you aren't directly responsible for some manager / owner / other kind of professional treating you like s**t but you are directly responsible if you put up with it. You. Are. It's only "taking advantage of you" if you let it happen.

• If someone regularly short-changes your check and you keep coming back to work, you're letting them take advantage of you.
• If someone regularly schedules you on your day off and you come into work on your day off anyways you're letting them take advantage of you.
• If they won't block Mr. Happy Pants from scheduling massage and you do a session with him anyways you are letting the owner and Mr. Happy Pants take advantage of you!

Quit expecting them to take care of you. That's your job.

If a client is acting inappropriately, you don't have to ask permission to end the session. You are the massage therapist in the session, you end the session and inform management that you're doing so.

For the love of all things holy, you don't have to wait for a client to actually sexually assault you before you're "allowed" to end the session! You're the professional. If, in your professional opinion, the behavior is out of bounds (and they did teach you about boundaries in your school, right???) then end the session.

If management doesn't like it they can take the chance of being groped next time.

You don't have to be nice to your clients. You have to be professionally courteous. They aren't the same thing.

Too many of us can't differentiate between rules of social engagement and rules of professional engagement. You have to be "nice" at family reunions and at your partner's company holiday party. You have to be professionally courteous with your clients.

That doesn't preclude you from being sympathetic and friendly and gracious with your clients but it does mean you don't put up with bulls**t because you're afraid of being seen as "not nice". You aren't friends just because you work together. You're colleagues. And the person on the table? Also not your buddy. That's your client.

If the client is out of line, say so clearly and directly. Don't know how to do that? Figure out your go-to phrase now (maybe with some help from other MTs) and practice it as long as you need to (out loud!) till you know you can say it when you have to.

If you are contemplating setting a client straight on boundaries and the voice you hear in your head is your mom's telling you that's not a nice thing to do, that's a pretty clear sign you're operating from social rules rather than professional rules (also, unless your mom is also a professional massage therapist, tell the voice to shut up).

They make money off your hands. You have concrete measurable $$ value to them. Quit acting like the beggar at the gate.

"But they'll fire me!" (whimper whimper) If you're an employee they might. That can happen virtually anywhere to anyone. There are no guarantees. You should always be prepared for that. But remember, while they're trying to find your replacement and bring them up to speed, they aren't making any money from you or them. You are their INCOME. Start acting like that matters.

If you are an independent contractor, your contract spells out the conditions under with either party can terminate the contract early. Which means your contract needs to define (1) the length of the contract and (2) the conditions for early termination. But, wait, their standard contract doesn't have either of those things? Don't sign it until it does. Those are basic requirements of a legal independent contractor relationship.

They won't hire you if you don't sign their contract as-is? Then they aren't someone you want to work with because the odds are that down the road they will, intentionally or unintentionally, take advantage of you.

Any contract is only as strong as your willingness to take it to court.

That's true for everyone, including the person / organization you're signing the contract for. Yes, they might take you to court (and they're even more likely to threaten to take you to court) but that costs money and time and energy. Are they really going to do that?

Same goes for you. Don't threaten it if you aren't going to follow through.

If someone is regularly violating the terms of your contract, they aren't going to stop.

They aren't going to suddenly have a change of heart and be all nice and fair and sweet. If they have a history of doing it, they'll keep doing it. Tell them -- once -- that they've violated the terms of the contract. Give them one chance to straighten up (this is not baseball, they don't get 3 strikes). If they don't respect your backbone and the contract after your warning, walk away. It's the only choice you have.

Private practice is not easy and it takes anywhere from 2-5 years to build a full client base. But it's all yours when you do.

Private practice is not nirvana. It's not like free money just flowing into your hands. And your schedule won't be full 6 weeks after you open. But if you're sick of working for other people, figure out how to do it.

There is no shame in having a second job so you can still do massage therapy.

There are tons of us who can't make a full-time income from massage. It's not easy. It's no shame to have something else with a steadier income stream. It doesn't mean you're not a "real" massage therapist. It's means you're a real person who deals with the reality of their life.

Independent contractors are not employees. You must understand how independent contracting works.

You are working with another organization as an IC, not for them. You have a contract with them, you aren't employed by them. I'm not just splitting hairs. It really matters. Not understanding the difference is at the root of a lot of massage therapy conflicts.

The split isn't because they're greedy. It's because they're providing you with specific services. Make sure it's worth it.

What are they providing for the money they're keeping? A room? Linens? Lubricants? Music? Scheduling? Laundry? Payment processing? Marketing / clients you didn't have to find yourself? These things are all very valuable and worth something. You get to decide how valuable they are to you. Don't just passively accept whatever number is on the contract they flourish in your face.

Seriously, sit down and figure out how many percentage points each of these things is worth to you (and that's the bulk of what it's worth paying for; anything else they throw in there, like office decorations, is gravy). Tell them what you're willing to pay them for. And make sure the contract spells it out! Which leads me to....

Learn to negotiate!!

Oh, Lord have mercy, if you can't / won't / don't know how (and won't learn) to negotiate you've just made yourself cannon fodder and I can't help you. If you are going in as an independent contractor or a potential employee, you can negotiate! The deal's not set in stone just because they already wrote it down. It's only words on paper. They are real easy to change.

You can't compare how much you make per massage in private practice with what you make per massage as an employee. That's like comparing apples to...lawn furniture.

I'm not going to spell it all out here but they are two very different ways of making income. You can't just say "I make more per hour in private practice/independent contracting" and assume that's therefore automatically the best deal.

When you've got a good working relationship, don't take it for granted.

Not all working relationships are doom and gloom (though more than I like to think about based on what I read on Facebook). Some are great. Some are with managers / owners who understand and respect massage therapists. Who strive to create a pleasant professional supportive work environment. Who will have your back when Mr. Happy Pants shows up. Who pay on time (and accurately). Who honor their contracts. Who provide good snacks (wait, snacks? Where did that come from? Must be dinner time).

Treat them like the treasure they are. Take care of them too. Speak well of them to others. Think of it like finally finding that great boyfriend / girlfriend. They're worth doing what it takes (within reason) to hang on to them.


I'm not yelling at you, honest. I'm not angry at you. I'm angry for you. I'm hyper-pissed-off at schools who either didn't prepare you or set your expectations too low (maybe to stay popular with local employers? Only a guess.). It's the #1 reason I teach business classes; it makes me crazy to see massage therapists taken advantage of or leave the field entirely because they don't know these things.

This is still a profession where the vast majority of us are self-employed, either in private practice or as independent contractors (yes, ICers are self-employed). It is our job to take care of ourselves. We have to have confidence, a sense of our worth, and a vertebral column (yes, backbone). Without those, being treated well is entirely up to chance. The odds are slightly better than, say, the lottery but not as much better as you might think.

You are a professional, valuable, and half of a business transaction. Make your half solid.


Confidential to Aries: wow, that massage this afternoon really shook some things up!  Thanks!

Your Marketing Headspace: Rules of Thumb

You can approach marketing a lot of ways. Since I'm so fond of the number 3, I tend to approach it as a triangle:

• How you think about marketing
• Things you purchase for marketing (when you have more money than time)
• Things you do for marketing (when you have more time than money)

The foundation, though, the place you always need to start is "thinking". If you're not clear in your head about how you think and feel about marketing, you'll expend time, energy, and money that you don't need to. Most of us aren't exactly swimming in excess time/energy/money so doing a little thinking first is worth it.

There's two aspects to "thinking about marketing".

• What do we already know is true generally?
• What is true for me specifically?

Let's start with what we know is true, generally (aka, rules of thumb). Next week I'll write about what is true for you, specifically, about marketing.

You will give someone at least 6 business cards before they manage to hang on to one.  That's why you print a bunch and give them away like popcorn. And why you always have your business cards on you. Where do those business cards go? Same place as missing socks I suspect.

It can easily take up to 6 months from the time someone firsts asks for a business card to when they actually book an appointment. Sad but true. Expressing interest is often the first step in a complicated dance (inside them, not with you) that gets them to actually booking an appointment. Or maybe they'll book tomorrow. Patience, grasshopper, patience.

People need to be in a conducive-to-thinking-about-massage headspace for your marketing efforts to have any effect. It's why I think grocery store bulletin boards, for example, are usually pointless places to leave your business cards (unless it's a small town or tight community where everyone uses that board to find local merchants). If they are absorbed thinking about something completely unrelated to massage, your massage will likely wash right over them. Where are your potential clients when they are primed to hear a message about their body, their health, and about spending money on themselves? (No, I don't have the answer. That depends on who you want to attract.)

You don't have unlimited time, energy, or money. Focus them on attracting clients who are just right for you. We can't reach everyone and we don't want to. Focus the resources you've got reaching the kind of people who are a really good fit for you.

Unless you have a gigantic budget and/or unlimited time and energy, it will take 2-5 years to build a self-supporting private practice. You heard me folks, 2-5 years. That's true of virtually everyone. You might be able to do it in a year if you really bust your glutes and every single star in the sky aligns perfectly but you aren't going to have a full schedule in your private practice in 6 weeks. It just doesn't work that way. This is a marathon, not a sprint (so you may not want to give up the day job right away).

Notice I said "private practice". It doesn't take 2-5 years to get a job working in someone else's shop and have a full schedule (if they know what they're doing). This only applies to private practice.

People need to hear / see your marketing message 5-8 times before they remember they've even seen/heard it once.  Not 5-8 times until they take action; 5-8 times before it weaves its way down through all the layers of noise, news, and consciousness and takes root as something they've seen once.  You have to keep putting stuff out there just to be noticed.

Marketing is as much mystery as science (translation: we're all guessing). Even huge corporations with full-time marketing departments headed by people with multiple degrees make stupid marketing decisions (New Coke, anyone?). Marketing is based on figuring out how people think, how they will value something, and what will generate a reaction. It's about the human psyche and that's still a lot of mystery to all of us. Don't feel bad if some of your marketing efforts go splat. Everyone's do sometimes.

Anyone else out there got any good rules of thumb for marketing? I'd love to hear them!

Is It In Your DNA?

How was "business" understood in your family growing up? Did you talk about "business"? Were members of you family involved in running a business?

When your family (especially your parents) talked about money, was it discussed openly and calmly or was it a stressful secretive conversation?

How did your family tend to think about "businessmen"? (If you're my age, there weren't a lot of conversations about business women.)

What word comes to mind, from your family and childhood, when you hear the word "work"?

I grew up in a military family so we didn't talk about business. We talked about Dad's career but not "business". When my dad retired from the military, he bought a small roofing and siding business. He was.....OK at running a business. I suspect he made too many decisions from emotions (especially his hiring decisions) and the business struggled.

As for money....we may "honor" our troops but we don't pay them very well. Yeah, yeah, yeah, "free" healthcare, "cheap" commissary and PX, "paid" moves. It adds up to less than you think if you didn't grow up in the military and my parents were usually stressed in one way or another about money. They didn't talk about it openly but when you're a kid, you know.

Because of the military background the word that comes to mind, immediately, for me when I think of work is "professionalism". That was a strong motivator for my dad. "Honor" is probably in there too. I now realize how deeply rooted those ideals are in me. Being a professional, and taking our profession seriously, is instinctive for me.

What you saw and experienced in your family around "business", "money", and "work" are a permanent part of your perception of these things. That may be a huge benefit or a significant hindrance but it's there, it's definitely down in you.

I recently read something (can't remember what) that made me realize that people who grew up in families that were involved in running businesses, especially successful small businesses, enter adulthood and their own small businesses with an advantage. They've been steeped in it for years. They may already have a deeply ingrained (and hopefully healthy) sense of what it means to be a smart / good / successful business person.

Re-connect with the person you were as a kid and then answer these questions without too much pondering or analysis. What's the first thing that pops up in your mind?

Business is:

Businesspeople are:

Money is:

Work means:

Take a look at your answers. How much is this affecting your massage practice today?

You Will Never Hear Me Talk About....

Recent client. Middle-aged. Overweight. Single parent. Stressful job. Financial struggles. The weekly massage is the best part of the week, hands down.

Mentioned that in recent visits to both the chiropractor and the physical therapist they directly and indirectly mentioned weight and that the client needs to lose it. Client said "you have no idea how I feel when someone says that. I feel like they're saying 'you're bad, you're broken' and I just don't need to hear that!"

And I said "And that's why you will never ever hear me 'advise' you about your weight."

I've talked about this in some online forums before. I think it is tricky (at best) and irresponsible / way outside our scope of practice (at worst) to engage our clients, unbidden, in a conversation about their weight. I have very little to say about it even if the client starts the conversation.

1.  I am not professionally trained in weight management. In my massage room with my clients, I am the professional. There is no way to have that conversation and not have it be perceived as coming from a "professional".

2.  I do not keep up with the current research or medical literature on weight management. So anything I say is extremely likely to be out of date, at best.

3.  I get most of my info about weight management from the same places my clients do -- the internet, TV, newspapers, and my doctors (who, frankly, aren't up to date on this either). So I've got nothing new to add to this conversation.

4.  My personal experience is just as confusing and frustrating as the client's.

5.  I've yet to meet a client that didn't know if they were overweight (and didn't feel sh***y about themselves because of that sometimes). Every one of them knows at least as much as I do about weight management.

6.  I don't want to make someone feel crappy about themselves unless I'm 100% certain that I can give them something useful to counter-balance the crappy feeling. When it comes to weight management, I can't. I cannot know how someone will hear my comments about weight management and it's not worth the risk.

7.  People are coming to me as a massage therapist. Not a dietician. Not a nutritionist. Not an MD. Not a naturopath. I don't comment on their thyroid levels, their liver functions, or their visual acuity either because these are outside my scope of practice and I don't know enough about to discuss intelligently.

But (you may cry) we're health care professionals! There's an obesity crisis in this country! Don't we have an obligation to say something about that?!?

If we're not trained, not current on the research, and getting our information from the mass media then NO we should not say anything. That's not what a professional does.

And why am I talking about this in a blog about business and massage? Because it pisses me off.

It makes me angry when I'm quizzed or lectured about my weight by a massage therapist who barely knows me (the ones who do know me know better than to say anything).

It drives me nuts that some MTs think calling ourselves "health care professionals" gives us license to talk about anything we want to.

But mostly because I heard the frustration in my client's voice, I saw the pain on my client's face, and I know enough about my client's life to know they really are, honest to God, doing the very best they can with the resources they have. They deserve to be treated better than that. All our clients do.

Business: A Metaphor

I met with a woman yesterday to coach her through setting up her energy healing practice. It became apparent -- as it often does for many of us -- that she has a conflicted relationship with money and business.

Loves her work. Grudgingly accepts that if it's going to provide some needed income, she needs to treat it as a business.

A picture came to me. I drew it on the whiteboard and explained it to her. It resonated with her.

A well-organized business provides the supportive infrastructure that frees our hands to do our work.

Imagine, as in the picture above, a simple clay bowl. In the bowl is some wax and a wick. From that wick, a flame burns.

The bowl is our businesses -- our rates, hours, marketing, bank accounts, scheduling and payment processing procedures, bookkeeping, licenses, insurance, website, business cards, business ethics, etc.

The flame is the healing work we do. Our passion. Massage therapy. Energy healing. End of life care. Whatever it is you do that burns brightly in your heart and soul.

Without the flame, the bowl has no purpose.
Without the bowl, the flame can only burn for as long as the match that brings it into being endures.


The bowl doesn't need to be fancy or complicated. But it does have to be the right size, shape, and construction for the flame it will support.

Do you have a well-constructed bowl for your flame? Is it just the right size? Is it in good condition? Or are you trying to burn from a match, re-lighting and re-lighting and re-lighting it?