The Oddly (or Un) Structured Day (especially for the new MT)

If you are new to being a self-employed / independent contractor massage therapist, you will discover something odd (especially if you came from the world of traditional employment): when you don't have a client, you don't have to do anything if you don't want to.

In traditional employment, if you don't immediately have something you have to do, you still have to sit / stand / walk / talk as though you did. You can't just......leave. You can't take a nap, go home and bake cookies, or take yourself out to a movie. You can if you're self-employed.

What freedom!

Except....

Except you're the boss. Which means you're the one that has to ensure that phones get answered, email gets answered, business cards get ordered, bookkeeping gets entered, linens gets laundered, supplies get bought, trade pubs get read. That last sentence was chock-full of the passive voice ("gets answered / ordered / entered", etc.). The beauty of the passive voice is that is avoids saying who is going to do all these things.

You are.

So you've got conflicting realities: the reality that when you have no clients booked you're free to do whatever you want and the reality that because you're self-employed there's always something more that needs to get done. How do you structure a day? All free time or all work time? What are your working hours? When does your day end? When does your day start?

Some of you will remember that I started this blog when, thanks to my husband's job, I lived in Australia for a year (2010-2011). I wasn't practicing massage, I was working on my writing. Talk about a day with NO inherent structure to it!

I created a chart for each week. Each day had 3 categories: morning, afternoon, evening. At the beginning of the week, I wrote down what I wanted to do / accomplish / work on in each segment of the day. I went a step further (because, yes, I am that kind of nerd) and color coded the boxes / tasks. Purple for "work" and blue for "personal". That allowed me to see at a glance whether my week was overloaded one way or the other. Here's an example of what it would look like now.

I can look at this chart and realize Tuesday and Wednesday are very long days. But I also notice that I have a chance in the middle of Tuesday to watch the America's Cup races in the afternoon. I also notice that I plan to get a swim in on Wednesday afternoon while I'm at the gym. So maybe those days are just fine the way they are.

 

This is one way to bring structure to an un-structured work life. Any other way that works for you is good. You run your own business. Do what makes sense for you (including take a nap in the middle of the day if you want to!).

The Self-Employed / Independent Contractor Economy

On Labor Day I was listening to the Diane Rehm show on NPR and heard a speaker mention that 1/3 of the US labor force are freelance / self-employed / independent contractors. The speaker expects that number to rise over the coming two decades.

33%. Between 10 and 42 million.

In my experience, it's closer to 95% in the massage therapy profession, at least here in DC.

We aren't unique. We aren't unusual. Heck, we're cutting edge!  :)

But our economy has not yet caught up to that reality. Too many benefits, too many tax laws, too many expectations are still wrapped around the idea that the vast majority of the workforce is a standard employee / standard employer (and that we're 9-5 but that's a conversation for a different day).

You can listen to the 50-minute show here. There's a lot of good info in there about how to do well for yourself as a freelancer / independent contractor / self-employed person.

You may also want to check out The Freelancers Union. It's a gathering place for the self-employed with information on things like buying your own insurance and writing a good contract.

Just One More?

When I travel, I like to get massages. I'm out of my own area so I'm experiencing people who didn't go to the same school I did, may not be operating under similar state legislation (which does affect how a practice operates), and are in a different community of MTs who often have a different perspective on massage. It's good to broaden my experience as both a client and as a fellow MT. I always learn something.

I was in Calistoga California recently. Calistoga is known for its mineral springs so there are quite a few places offering mud baths, soaks, and massages in a spa setting. A good time to try something new!

The mud bath is a completely new experience for me. It's a trough of thick black mud in which I reclined for about 15 minutes. Hot and smelling ever-so-faintly of sulphur, it was more relaxing than I expected, though rinsing the mud out of all the nooks and crannies it had found on me took a little while! It was followed by a soak in a jacuzzi (I do love a good jacuzzi!) and 10 minutes wrapped in a warm burrito-like ensemble in a darkened room.

 

Which is all to say that by the time I got to the massage room, I was a shambling pile of warm readiness. My MT asked a few questions; I mentioned the lingering soreness in my biceps and elbows and asked for a little extra attention there. 
 

He did a good one-hour massage. When he got to my upper arms, I could tell he was trying to  address my soreness but it wasn't very effective. He didn't seem to be able to focus on specific tissue. I got the sense that he couldn't “talk” / “listen” to the tissue. He felt....fatigued. But he did give it a little extra time and I give him full points for that.

He mentioned afterwards that he 'd wanted to go over the hour a little bit so he could do more work on my arms but he was booked back-to-back and he couldn't. I certainly understand. I had that same challenge just last night with a new client. But I know I wasn't his first appointment of the day and I know I wasn't the last. I wonder if the number of clients he had that day affected his ability to connect with my sore arms. 

There  comes a point in the day when I just can't give my full focus to one more body. I can keep moving, keep rubbing, but I can't give them my creative focus. There's none left. For me, I've learned that my limit is between 4 and 5 hours. Your limit may be different.

We sometimes convince ourselves we can keep going, seeing as many clients as we can physically accommodate to be financially successful. What we shouldn't do is try to convince ourselves that our clients won't notice when we've gone past our attention-limit. They may not know why but they may well notice that the session wasn't as good as they've received from us before or that they've received somewhere else.

That's one of my biggest complaints about the national chains, like Massage Envy. They are frequently owned and run by people who don't get these subtleties of good service. For them, one massage is as good as another and if you are physically able, you should keep going. Their pay scale also tempts MTs to try to make up the difference in volume. It's not true of every large spa or national massage chain but it is far more likely to happen there than with an individual therapist.

You want to be able to deliver a high-quality service as often as you reasonably can. Going past your natural limit will not allow you to do that.

The Scapula Obsession

What is it about a stuck shoulder blade that we just cannot resist? Sore elbows, achy arches, we can ignore these if the client has asked us to work elsewhere but if we find a stuck shoulder blade, it almost takes divine intervention to get us to pass it by.

I'm just back from a 2-week  vacation in northern California. I arrived in San Francisco with two goals: check out a practice I'd heard great things of and get some relief for my aching upper body. I must have been doing something terribly wrong with my body mechanics lately because I hurt in my fingers, my wrists, my elbows, my biceps, and my mid-back. I knew my neck and traps were tight but they didn't hurt so they didn't make the A-list. I scheduled a 90-minute massage.

I was upfront about being an MT and explained where I hurt and why. I was particularly concerned about my right elbow. I couldn't seem to get any improvement working on it myself. My MT asked a few questions and then had me get on the table, prone.

He started, as many of us do, with the back. Couple of warming strokes and he discovered that my scapulae were glued tight to my ribcage. Not surprised but, remember, they didn't hurt so they weren't on my A list. He couldn't resist. He spent easily half of the session (successfully) getting them un-stuck. Yeah!

But that meant he only had half a session left for everything else, including the stuff I'd said was  important to me. So he couldn't give everything else the full attention it needed.

Did I stop him? Did I speak up? No, because he really was doing good work and I didn't want to micro-manage the session. I also didn't realize how much of the session he'd spent on the scapulae. I have been in his shoes, encountering a body part so stuck / dense / whatever that I dove in without really paying attention to the time or my session plan.

In my practice, at the end of an intake I outline how I'm going to approach the session with the client, especially if we need to prioritize some aches/pains/issues over others. The client has a chance to re-direct me and to know what to expect. It allows me to be clear on what outcome they're hoping for and reassure myself that my plan will address that outcome. If I encounter something during the session that makes me reconsider my plan, I talk to the client about it and get their OK.

The work I received was good, let be very clear about that. But we owe it to our clients to stick to the plan, unless we get their permission to do otherwise. I had a specific goal for the session – relief of some specific aches and pains. The work on the scapulae did little to alleviate those other areas of discomfort. I don't regret spending the money because I did get solid value for my money but I didn't get  what I came in for and that's a shame.

And my elbow still hurts.

Take Care of Myself, Take A Business Deduction

I leave on Saturday for a 2-week vacation in the San Francisco Bay area. I just booked a massage for myself on Sunday in San Francisco. I'm taking it as a business deduction.

How?

I will, of course, physically benefit from massage (been working hard, body mechanics have not been what they should be...). But I'm specifically choosing a place that comes highly recommended by a fellow MT. He used to work there and loved it. I want to see what makes them such a great place to be a client and to work. I want to see how their business runs and I want to see how they approach a session and how they approach the work.

With any luck, I'll learn something I can apply to my work and my business. I also hope to learn something I can impart to my students in my business classes. If it's really good, I'll be posting it here.

That's how I'm making it a business discussion -- with my intent. It really is a huge part of how you justify a business expense.

I learned this from someone I consider the master, Margo Bowman (LMT and accountant). If you'd like to learn some of these secrets of the trade, she'll be in Washington DC in October. I can't recommend her classes enough!

Thursday, October 24: How the 2013 Tax Changes Affect You (2 hours)
Friday, October 25: Getting Your First Year Started Right (7 hours)
Saturday & Sunday, October 26-27:  Taxes & Bookkeeping for the Healing Arts Professional

CEs are available for MTs.

Guest blogger: An Antidote for Self-Employed August Panic

I subscribe to Mark Silver's blog. He's writing wise for people like us, doing business motivated by our hearts. His post last week was so good, and so in line with some things I've written (so you know he's brilliant!) that I asked for his permission to share it with you. You can sign up for his e-newsletter as well, which is free and well-worth the 20 seconds it will take you sign up.

An Antidote for Self-Employed August Panic

by Mark Silver, August 6 2013

August is a strange month for the self-employed. In July you can still say you’re only half-way through the year, but by August you begin to feel the year ebbing away already.

There are goals you had hoped to be much further toward. Plus, it’s holiday time for many people, and so depending on your industry, clients can be a little thinner on the ground than usual.

Maybe “panic” is too strong a word- that probably won’t set in until October or November when you realize the year really is drawing to a close. But some anxiety, some hint of unsettledness… wow, are things ever going to change?

In our culture we are so addicted to breakthroughs and quantum leaps. Progress needs to be measured with a meter stick, anything less we tend to ignore.

Speed has a certain allure. With the windows down and The Clash (requested by my 4 1/2 year old son- raising ‘em right!) blaring from the speakers, the wind in your hair is exhilarating. For awhile.

Then the noise of the road gets to you. You wonder, do I really need to travel this fast? What is an organic rate of growth?

Our tomato plants have grown tremendously huge, large numbers of tomatoes all over them… all of them green. Not one red or yellow ripe tomato yet. Still waiting. It’s been months.

I’ve been working with a client for over a year. Given where he started you’d think results would have happened a lot faster for him.

Yet the work we did at first was the same work I did in the garden early this sprig. I double dug garden beds, loaded in lots of compost. Planted small plants with lots of room.

He had had an exhausting experience with a high-octane coaching program. It took time to recover. It took time to regain his sense of himself. It took time to bring healing to his business.

Wisely he chose, and I supported him, to move slowly, to not push, to not go into exhaustion. Slowly, being compassionate with his tender heart he took steps into strength and clarity
.
Now things are moving more quickly. Now results are happening. But the preparation took time.

In Sufism it is said that sincerity is the most necessary quality for the seeker. It is a precious gift of the heart that allows you to seek only the truth, to cut through story, drama, fears. It is sincerity, not cleverness, that will ultimately bring us to our most yearned-for destinations.

It’s never too late to slow down. It’s never too late to rest. It’s never too late to let your heart turn away from the noise of the road and toward the tender garden of your soul.

I invite you to allow the sincerity of your love and desire to serve to slow you down, even bring you to a full stop, so that you can take careful stock this month.

You may not have seen the results you had hoped to yet this year. Question: Are you trying to move quickly and ending up paralyzed or with scorched earth syndrome in your soul? Or…

Are you slowly, gently, step-by-step putting the pieces in place, double-digging your beds, gaining clarity on what you really need to do?

Take a moment now to stop. Just stop. Put it all down. Breathe in. Let go of the road you’re on. Ask: what does your heart say about this year?

There are so many messages to move quickly. But what is your organic pace? We often have to slow down to find it, to connect to our own hearts again. Then we can move from the deep sincerity we find there..

With love and appreciation,

Mark

Us Talking to Us

My practice has the August doldrums. Like the rest of DC, it's slow and sluggish. I had exactly one client in my home-based practice last week. I have exactly one this week (and it's the same client!).

I am taking my own advice about the down times, especially rule #1: get the facts. The facts are that August is usually a sluggish month, so I'm not worrying.

I decided to use this sluggish time to market to an under-served population: other massage therapists. I already offer massage at half price to other MTs. So I put the word out, reminding the local community that I'm available and affordable. Couple places on Facebook. Local AMTA listserve.

Got one MT booked so far.......    :)