Over the holidays there was a video going around. You may have seen it. A woman dies of cancer. Before she dies, she leaves a message with her best friend. The friend is to give it to her husband when he is ready to re-marry.
The message was full of love and encouragement for this new marriage. One of the things she told her husband to do was to give his fiancée a day of pampering -- mani/pedi, facial, massage.....
You'd think that would make me happy, massage mentioned in a viral video. Eh.....
Once again, massage is being depicted as something you only do when you want to "pamper" yourself. Something you do only every now and then, even rarely. Not as a part of your regular ongoing journey of living in a human body. Not as a way to deal with injuries, aches, and pains.
I'd rather it was viewed like yoga, or walking 3 times a week, or zumba, or even an aspirin. Something you go to without any fuss and bother when you're hurting. Something you do to keep your body moving well. Something that's part of a sensible, easy health care regimen. Something simple, commonplace, even mundane.
If you work in or operate a spa, then the "pamper" approach probably works better for you than it does for me. I want to be part of the fabric of people's lives, of their self-care, of their responses to injuries. I want to be thought of with that kind of "of course" mentality.
Still working on that......
Tuesday, January 21, 2014
Tuesday, January 14, 2014
An Uncomfortable Intersection of My Professional and Personal Life
I had a rude surprise a few months ago and I have to lay it at the feet of my clients.
I see clients in my home. Based on where the massage room is, my clients use the bathroom my husband and I use. I have the same things in the bathroom everyone else does -- toothpaste, cotton swabs, aspirin, dental floss, etc. I also store medications I am not currently taking in the bottom drawer of a rolling cabinet.
A few months ago I went looking for a prescription for Ambien for my occasional insomnia. Couldn't find it. I was very frustrated with myself for putting it somewhere I couldn't find it when I was sure I'd put it in that drawer in the bathroom. My husband also looked. He was the one that noticed that not only was the Ambien missing, so were prescription pain meds left over from surgery the previous year.
The only way they could have disappeared is if someone who had been in the house took them. The only people who'd been in the house (and bathroom) were my clients.
This just knocked me over. In hindsight I realized it was a fairly obvious risk. Of course, I've since moved all prescription medications out of the bathroom.
I've always focused on the bathroom being clean and presentable, that I had enough toilet paper and hand soap, and that the towels were clean. I'd forgotten that the bathroom represents an intimate intersection of my private life and my professional life.
It bums me out that a client stole from me and stole something I needed! I had a spurt of new clients about the time the meds went missing. I've chosen to believe it was one of the new clients, one of the ones that didn't return, that took the meds. It saddens me too much to think one of my regular clients may have done this.
I tell myself they may have needed the meds themselves and couldn't afford them. I know that's rationalization on my part.
It has made me take a look at my home massage room with new eyes. Where else might my personal life and my professional life intersect uncomfortably? What, if anything, can I do about that?
In a variation of a common TV commercial: what's in YOUR bathroom?
I see clients in my home. Based on where the massage room is, my clients use the bathroom my husband and I use. I have the same things in the bathroom everyone else does -- toothpaste, cotton swabs, aspirin, dental floss, etc. I also store medications I am not currently taking in the bottom drawer of a rolling cabinet.
A few months ago I went looking for a prescription for Ambien for my occasional insomnia. Couldn't find it. I was very frustrated with myself for putting it somewhere I couldn't find it when I was sure I'd put it in that drawer in the bathroom. My husband also looked. He was the one that noticed that not only was the Ambien missing, so were prescription pain meds left over from surgery the previous year.
The only way they could have disappeared is if someone who had been in the house took them. The only people who'd been in the house (and bathroom) were my clients.
This just knocked me over. In hindsight I realized it was a fairly obvious risk. Of course, I've since moved all prescription medications out of the bathroom.
I've always focused on the bathroom being clean and presentable, that I had enough toilet paper and hand soap, and that the towels were clean. I'd forgotten that the bathroom represents an intimate intersection of my private life and my professional life.
It bums me out that a client stole from me and stole something I needed! I had a spurt of new clients about the time the meds went missing. I've chosen to believe it was one of the new clients, one of the ones that didn't return, that took the meds. It saddens me too much to think one of my regular clients may have done this.
I tell myself they may have needed the meds themselves and couldn't afford them. I know that's rationalization on my part.
It has made me take a look at my home massage room with new eyes. Where else might my personal life and my professional life intersect uncomfortably? What, if anything, can I do about that?
In a variation of a common TV commercial: what's in YOUR bathroom?
Wednesday, January 8, 2014
New Year? So What?
It's JANUARY.
A NEW YEAR!
Are you TAKING ADVANTAGE OF THAT?
Are you POSITIONING YOURSELF TO CATCH THE NEW YEAR WAVE???
Business is often cyclical. It's not unusual for those cycles to be timed to seasons (think: Christmas tree merchants) or yearly events (think: florists and Valentines Day). The most recent yearly event for most of us is the turning of a new year.
You've seen it on TV and tried to ignore the ads on the internet -- this is a great time for sales! Specials! Bargains! People are in the mood to change! Make resolutions! Set the tone for their entire year!
What am I doing to take advantage of that cultural push? Very little.
Crazy, right? Missing an awesome opportunity, right? Eh, maybe, maybe not.
I don't like to be part of the Big Push at the beginning of the year. I used to but I realized it only made me anxious and cranky. More importantly, it also rarely produced results that were worth the push.
Every business has its own cycle and seasons. Mine hasn't historically peaked in January. I also historically make virtually nothing from gift cards in December or at Valentines Day (or Mothers Day or any of the other gift-giving holidays). That's been true pretty much from the beginning.
I'm not saying that's not true for other practices; it's just true for mine. I used to peak in August. I think it was because so many other massage therapists took vacation in August. Why doesn't my practice benefit from those seasonal and holiday bumps? I think it's because they don't move me so my energy isn't there. I think it's also that the "temperament" of my practice isn't suited for it. How I position myself and the profile of the clients I'm best suited for aren't making their decisions based on season / holiday.
I've learned that my best marketing efforts are quietly steady. Regular gentle connections. A steady presence through my website. Being connected in enough places (like social media and other local health care providers) that I have a steady influx of interest.
2014 will be the third full year of my practice after my practice-closing Australian-adventure. I'm starting to have enough data to show me when the highs and lows of my practice are now. I'm starting to have enough data to know what marketing efforts have worked and which ones haven't since I re-opened.
Have you stopped (if that's allowed in January) to notice what works in your practice? If you step back, does it feel like your practice / your typical clients will respond well to a January push?
If the answer is "yes", push on! If the answer is "no", go have another hot chocolate on me while you notice what time of the year / season / event / connection does work for you.
A NEW YEAR!
Are you TAKING ADVANTAGE OF THAT?
Are you POSITIONING YOURSELF TO CATCH THE NEW YEAR WAVE???
Business is often cyclical. It's not unusual for those cycles to be timed to seasons (think: Christmas tree merchants) or yearly events (think: florists and Valentines Day). The most recent yearly event for most of us is the turning of a new year.
You've seen it on TV and tried to ignore the ads on the internet -- this is a great time for sales! Specials! Bargains! People are in the mood to change! Make resolutions! Set the tone for their entire year!
What am I doing to take advantage of that cultural push? Very little.
Crazy, right? Missing an awesome opportunity, right? Eh, maybe, maybe not.
I don't like to be part of the Big Push at the beginning of the year. I used to but I realized it only made me anxious and cranky. More importantly, it also rarely produced results that were worth the push.
Every business has its own cycle and seasons. Mine hasn't historically peaked in January. I also historically make virtually nothing from gift cards in December or at Valentines Day (or Mothers Day or any of the other gift-giving holidays). That's been true pretty much from the beginning.
I'm not saying that's not true for other practices; it's just true for mine. I used to peak in August. I think it was because so many other massage therapists took vacation in August. Why doesn't my practice benefit from those seasonal and holiday bumps? I think it's because they don't move me so my energy isn't there. I think it's also that the "temperament" of my practice isn't suited for it. How I position myself and the profile of the clients I'm best suited for aren't making their decisions based on season / holiday.
I've learned that my best marketing efforts are quietly steady. Regular gentle connections. A steady presence through my website. Being connected in enough places (like social media and other local health care providers) that I have a steady influx of interest.
2014 will be the third full year of my practice after my practice-closing Australian-adventure. I'm starting to have enough data to show me when the highs and lows of my practice are now. I'm starting to have enough data to know what marketing efforts have worked and which ones haven't since I re-opened.
Have you stopped (if that's allowed in January) to notice what works in your practice? If you step back, does it feel like your practice / your typical clients will respond well to a January push?
If the answer is "yes", push on! If the answer is "no", go have another hot chocolate on me while you notice what time of the year / season / event / connection does work for you.
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