In no particular order, here are things I've claimed as business deductions lately. Just to give you an idea of what can be done (reasonably and legally). I put these out there to show you what you can be done and to get you thinking fully about your business expenses.
A writer's retreat weekend
Food, lodging, and car rental. Since I also write professionally, have published, and will continue to publish I claimed this as a "business retreat". I also claim all income from writing.
BTW, wonderfully productive weekend! Finished 3 (of the 8) books that were on my almost-finished list. One has been sent on to editing, two returned to my co-author for approval. It really does help to just get away from home sometimes.
I will be claiming the cost of editing as a business expense.
Uber and Car2Go
These two rideshare / taxi alternatives are very popular here in DC. Those times I just don't feel like walking home from a gig, I use them. Since I'm travelling from a business location to my home office, they qualify.
Non-monogo-what? workshop
The place I now practice -- Freed Bodyworks -- hosts workshops in all manner of interesting things. This workshop was an introduction to polyamory (non-monogamous relationships). Since Freed Bodyworks specifically includes the poly community in their outreach, I attended this workshop with the "business" intent of understanding the community and learning the vocabulary it uses. It was an educational expense.
Yelp discount
About a year ago I decided to offer a special "75 minutes for the cost of 60" deal on Yelp. I have had two people use it. The difference between what the client paid and what they would have paid was a "discount" expense. I have to claim the would-have-been amount as income before I can claim the discount as an expense.
Membership in (and mileage to) a writing space
There's a neat little biz here in DC called Cove where you can get access to a quiet space for writing and work on an as-needed basis. It's perfect as a place to get away to when I'm not getting any work done at home. More than a coffee house but less than a formal co-working space. I go there to work on my ebooks, my business workshops, etc. Since I joined with a business intent and primarily use it that way, it's a business expense.
Thai, reflexology, hot stone, healing touch, and other bodywork
I joined Freed Bodyworks in March. I have received 1-2 treatments from almost everyone who works there. My intent was to experience their bodywork so I would know how best to refer clients when necessary. Business expense.
Tea with another massage therapist
I met with another local MT to talk about how easy or difficult it was to operate a home-based practice in my part of the city (she's doing research for a business plan). We also talked about e-publishing (and she joined me on the writers retreat weekend!). The cost of the tea and the mileage to/from the meeting was a business discussion.
Note: there are some non-intuitive rules around when you can and can't claim meals. Take a class with Margo Bowman or talk to an accountant to be clear on this.
Lights for my bike
I talked to my accountant about this first. I wanted to ride my bike to/from work more often but didn't have lights. Since my primary purpose in buying the lights was work-related, she said I could take them as a business deduction.
Now I need to find out if I can deduct the cost of the new bike I had to buy last month when that other bike was stolen soon after I bought those lights!
A talk-therapy session
I have an ongoing relationship with a holistic psychotherapist. Every now and then I will use one of the sessions for supervision; that is, to talk about issues specifically related to work or clients. Those sessions (and the associated mileage and meals) are a business deduction.
Wednesday, May 27, 2015
Friday, April 24, 2015
We've Changed
We are not the profession we were 10 or 20 years ago. For better or for worse and it's because we have won. Here's what I mean:
I started massage school in 1998, graduated in 2000. What did we want and dream about then?
- The death of the prostitute/wink wink nudge nudge bullshit.
- Legitimate licensing.
- Greater visibility in the general public.
- Being valued for more than a "vacation/birthday rub down".
- Being noticed (and even being taken seriously) by the medical profession.
- Opportunities to work with other "complementary" health care providers like acupuncturists and chiropractors as peers.
- More multi-therapist practices.
- The ability to bill insurance so more people could get massage therapy.
But as with everything, there's a price to pay.
As we have gained visibility, we've become a market for non-MTs to make money. Whether it's quickie schools or massage franchises, we are now a legitimate way for those outside our industry to make money from our work.
Along with that, our industry is becoming increasingly "corporatized". How many national school chains and national franchises with a standard business objective -- profit -- are dotting our landscape?
With increased visibility, our customers have higher expectations. They want a great massage experience -- and now often have the experience themselves to have higher standards -- but they want a smooth business operation too. They want the same kind of benefits they get from the local pizza place, hair dresser, and clothing store: credit card processing, long hours of operation, online scheduling, etc. They have higher expectations of us as massage therapy practitioners and massage therapy businesses.
We are actually showing up in hospitals! My business partner / partner in crime Kitty Southworth is training with Healwell this week to provide massage (for pay!) in local hospitals. There is a growing demand for this program locally, enough that the massage therapists who designed and run the program are having some trouble keeping up.
With the growth of that kind of demand, however, is a commensurate rise in expectations: we are expected to be able to function in a clinical setting. We can't even agree on how to define "medical massage"! The standards for what we need to know and what we need to be competent at are rising. "Just" knowing the basics about muscles and massage strokes isn't really enough any more.
Which means rising standards for education and for licensing. Which we are bitching and moaning about as well.
Which leads to a growing segregation between and segmentation into spa, medical, "wellness", sports, etc. specialties. Will there be a time, not so far away, where an MT has to choose their area of specialization early in their career to be competitive?
Will schools need to offer specialized tracks that MTs have to commit to, like declaring a major in college, to be able to graduate?
Now that more than half the states / quasi-governmental-jurisdictions (forgive me, I live in DC, the capitol of quasi-governmental jurisdict'ing) have licensing there's going to be more and deeper legislation. It's just how governments work. We still have to fight the "no, we're not prostitutes / human traffickers / etc." but now we face fights about the value of also having a college education, the need for more classroom hours, continuing education (hands-on, online, etc.), and who governs whom.
Finally, wonder of wonders, more and more of us are able to bill insurance and/or be included in insurance networks! But that also means that insurance companies are getting involved in the licensing decisions because they've got money involved now. What insurance companies ultimately always want to do is control / manage / at least affect how a profession does their work since the insurance companies are helping to pay for it.
How long till we do our work officially in 15-minute segments so we can bill for it?
Now, I want to tell you how we avoid all the bad parts of "winning" the dreams we had.....we don't. These things are the price of success. We won. This is what it looks like and what it will continue to look like.
It means we, individually, need to change too.
- We need to step up our game as business owners.
- We need to push ourselves to be smarter about the body and try to keep up with changes in our knowledge of how the body works.
- We need to find the time and energy to speak for ourselves to legislative bodies and insurance companies.
- We need to broaden our vision about what's possible and gather the knowledge and skill to get there (including learning how to run smart group practices if we don't want to all be working for franchises).
My simplest piece of advice? Join hands with the other MTs around you whether that's through formal channels like a local AMTA chapter, through an alumni group, through Facebook, or just through a semi-regular happy hour. We grow best when we grow together.
Monday, April 13, 2015
Are You More "Uber" or More "Taxicab"?
I had a stupid-early flight recently. 6-am-stupid-early. Which meant being at the airport at 5 am. Which meant leaving home at 4:45 am (not a lot of traffic at that hour of the day).
I didn't want to ask my husband to drive me that early. So I called.....not a taxi. I called the car service, Uber. In fact, I haven't called a taxi in years. I either use Uber or a local guy who runs an informal but super-reliable car service.
Why did I give up on taxicabs, a long-established service that's supposed to provide exactly this service? Because....
I can request an Uber car from my phone through an app. The app tells me how long the car will take to get to me, keeps me apprised of their progress, and gives me the car's license number and the driver's name and photo. I have a credit card on file with Uber so payment is automatically withdrawn from my account and tips are not accepted or expected.
In short, I gave up on cabs not because of their ability to drive, which is their primary responsibility. I gave up on cabs and chose Uber because they are an easier business to deal with and give me a more pleasant professional experience.
Why am I going on and on about this? My decision -- ditch cabs, embrace Uber -- is the same kind of decision a lot of our customers or potential customers make. Are we a good business to deal with?
When we panic about competition, it's not uncommon for us to start flailing around for that next modality that will save us or start offering crazy deep discounts in a desperate effort to lure people in.
How about, instead, we take a long hard look at the full customer experience?
You don't necessarily have to offer last-minute appointments or accept credit cards but it is wise to ask if you are providing a good full experience for your clients? This is one of the big differences between a lot of us who are one-person operations and the bigger spas or massage chains. We'd like to think it's allllllllll about what happens on the massage table. What happens on the table is important but you're fooling yourself if you think that's all that matters.
Our clients feel happy or not happy with us based on the total experience. They don't make as sharp a distinction as we do between our "massage" side and our "business" side. It's all us to them.
Another example: I had a hair dresser I liked. But I gave up on her for the following reasons:
Maybe you can't do all of these all at once. You are allowed to grow in your professionalism over time. But what I want to always be creating is the best full experience for my clients, on the table and off. Which means taking my business practices as seriously as I do my massage practices.
I didn't want to ask my husband to drive me that early. So I called.....not a taxi. I called the car service, Uber. In fact, I haven't called a taxi in years. I either use Uber or a local guy who runs an informal but super-reliable car service.
Why did I give up on taxicabs, a long-established service that's supposed to provide exactly this service? Because....
- They are unreliable. I got tired of waiting for cabs that never showed up.
- It could be physically uncomfortable. I've been in cabs that haven't been cleaned in far too long, where the upholstery is ripped, or where clearly the driver all-but lives in the cab, which just gets weird at some point.
- It can be interpersonally uncomfortable. I've had cabbies wax eloquent about "those" foreigners, about Allah, about Jesus, about how they shouldn't have to take credit cards "just" because it's convenient for the customer (hello, customer in the back seat here!), about how their cab companies are ripping them off, etc. etc. etc. I never initiated any of these conversations.
- They don't always know their way around the city. I live a whopping 1.5 miles from the US Capitol and I've had cabbies meander through the neighborhood because they didn't know how to get where I needed to go.
- I've been insulted for where I live. I've had cabbies bitch and moan and sigh dramatically about how they'll never get a "return" fare from this neighborhood.
I can request an Uber car from my phone through an app. The app tells me how long the car will take to get to me, keeps me apprised of their progress, and gives me the car's license number and the driver's name and photo. I have a credit card on file with Uber so payment is automatically withdrawn from my account and tips are not accepted or expected.
In short, I gave up on cabs not because of their ability to drive, which is their primary responsibility. I gave up on cabs and chose Uber because they are an easier business to deal with and give me a more pleasant professional experience.
Why am I going on and on about this? My decision -- ditch cabs, embrace Uber -- is the same kind of decision a lot of our customers or potential customers make. Are we a good business to deal with?
When we panic about competition, it's not uncommon for us to start flailing around for that next modality that will save us or start offering crazy deep discounts in a desperate effort to lure people in.
How about, instead, we take a long hard look at the full customer experience?
- How easy is it to schedule an appointment with you?
- Is it possible to schedule an appointment last-minute with you?
- Is it easy to find your office?
- Is your website up-to-date and complete?
- Are your marketing materials (business cards, etc.) professional looking?
- Do you present a professional demeanor?
- Is your massage room professional and comfortable?
- Is it easy to get a receipt from you? How about invoices if that's appropriate for your business?
- Are you easy to reach by phone, text, and email?
- Is it easy to pay you (PayPal, credit/debit, invoice, cash, checks, etc.)?
- Do you offer to book the next appointment at this appointment?
- Do you have a referral for common needs, such as chiropractors, acupuncturists, PTs, orthopedists, etc.?
- Do you send appointment reminders?
- Do you offer sensible (not panic-driven) discounts or rewards for regular clients?
- Do you stay in contact with clients throughout the year?
- Do you raise your rates in a reasonable matter on a reasonable schedule, without apologizing all over yourself?
You don't necessarily have to offer last-minute appointments or accept credit cards but it is wise to ask if you are providing a good full experience for your clients? This is one of the big differences between a lot of us who are one-person operations and the bigger spas or massage chains. We'd like to think it's allllllllll about what happens on the massage table. What happens on the table is important but you're fooling yourself if you think that's all that matters.
Our clients feel happy or not happy with us based on the total experience. They don't make as sharp a distinction as we do between our "massage" side and our "business" side. It's all us to them.
Another example: I had a hair dresser I liked. But I gave up on her for the following reasons:
- My hair takes about 20 minutes to cut. She could take up to 90 minutes depending on how lost she got in the stories she told (she apparently couldn't cut and talk at the same time).
- It was a pain in the glutes to schedule an appointment. She wasn't good at returning calls. The other people in the salon wouldn't take appointments for each other. No one checked the voicemail.
- I usually got to the salon before she did for my appointments even though I had further to drive.
- She bitched and moaned about her (admittedly) crappy working conditions to me at every appointment. But she refused to move to another salon or strike out on her own.
- She always laughed, uncomfortably, when she told me how much I owed her. As though it were shameful for her to be taking money from me. Which made me uncomfortable.
Maybe you can't do all of these all at once. You are allowed to grow in your professionalism over time. But what I want to always be creating is the best full experience for my clients, on the table and off. Which means taking my business practices as seriously as I do my massage practices.
Saturday, April 11, 2015
Brand You!
Have you ever heard anyone tell you that you need to work on your "brand"? It's quite the buzz in marketing circles. It can also be a tricky concept to truly "get".
The December 2014 issue of More magazine had a nice set of articles about your business brand. Some of it was clearly geared to more traditional corporate / big businesses but it did have a nice wrap-up of what "brand" is.
"10 Things Your Personal Brand Is Not:
What you stand for and your reputation -- what others say about you when you leave the room. That doesn't boil down to any one of the things on the list [above]. But put them all together and these elements communicate to the outside world who you are and how you see yourself."
Brand is definitely about more than our education, our modalities, or our professional society. It's about who we are in our essence, how we communicate that in everything, and how the public perceives us.
More than one MT has pointed out, for example, that you should never assume your clients will never see your Facebook posts in massage therapy groups. If you are all "sunshine and light" in the massage room but all "bitch and moan" in other forums, you run the risk of cross-contamination as it were.
Yet we all need places to vent, to let our hair down, and occasionally to complain about some of the aggravations of our work. That's why it's good to be connected to your local MT community, an alumni association, a supervising therapist, or just some MT buddies. A place you can relax and share the realities of our work (though probably not the local coffee shop because you your clients probably go there too).
AND it's good to sit back every now and then and ponder (or even do a little research) about how clients and potential clients think of us, what they think our highest values are, what they learn about our core essence from our resume / elevator pitch / FB profile / etc. If you are brave and strong you will ask a good and trusted friend to help you with this and you will listen carefully and be grateful for their help.
Then you will either (1) relax knowing that your "brand" is just what you want or (2) start working on that.
The December 2014 issue of More magazine had a nice set of articles about your business brand. Some of it was clearly geared to more traditional corporate / big businesses but it did have a nice wrap-up of what "brand" is.
"10 Things Your Personal Brand Is Not:
- Your job
- Your resume
- Your elevator pitch
- Your network
- Your LinkedIn profile
- Your leadership roles
- Your Google-search results
- Your style of dress
- Your way of relating to others
- Your office décor
What you stand for and your reputation -- what others say about you when you leave the room. That doesn't boil down to any one of the things on the list [above]. But put them all together and these elements communicate to the outside world who you are and how you see yourself."
Brand is definitely about more than our education, our modalities, or our professional society. It's about who we are in our essence, how we communicate that in everything, and how the public perceives us.
More than one MT has pointed out, for example, that you should never assume your clients will never see your Facebook posts in massage therapy groups. If you are all "sunshine and light" in the massage room but all "bitch and moan" in other forums, you run the risk of cross-contamination as it were.
Yet we all need places to vent, to let our hair down, and occasionally to complain about some of the aggravations of our work. That's why it's good to be connected to your local MT community, an alumni association, a supervising therapist, or just some MT buddies. A place you can relax and share the realities of our work (though probably not the local coffee shop because you your clients probably go there too).
AND it's good to sit back every now and then and ponder (or even do a little research) about how clients and potential clients think of us, what they think our highest values are, what they learn about our core essence from our resume / elevator pitch / FB profile / etc. If you are brave and strong you will ask a good and trusted friend to help you with this and you will listen carefully and be grateful for their help.
Then you will either (1) relax knowing that your "brand" is just what you want or (2) start working on that.
Wednesday, April 8, 2015
I've Changed
There have been many changes in the last 6 weeks. The biggest change is that I have closed my practice.
I also had another body part removed -- the gall bladder this time -- which always takes more out of me than I expect. But things are going well now and I'm cautiously optimistic about that.
Closing my practice was a bigger deal.
No, I haven't quit massage therapy. What I've done is close my home-based private practice and joined a local group practice.
Why would I do that (you may be asking yourself)??? Isn't the low-overhead, all the profits all the time, home-based private practice the holy grail of massage therapy????
It wasn't for me.
There are two sides to this move (almost 2 years in the making) for me: leaving private practice + joining a group practice.
Leaving private practice
Yes, in private practice you are the Boss Of (Your) Universe. You get to make all the decisions, control the schedule, and pocket all the income. Woo hoo!
You also have 100% of the responsibility for everything. Every. Thing. It was all on my taut shoulders. Attracting clients, booking clients, processing payments, laundry, replenishing supplies, etc. etc. etc. It's a lot of work.
In practical terms, I never ever stopped thinking about my business. Not when I was working, not when I was taking a shower, not when I was watching a movie, not when I was on a date night with my husband, not when I was on vacation. Never.
That's draining.
Private practice is also isolating. I worked alone. Especially since I worked out of my home I spent a lot of time by myself. I'm an introvert but even introverts have their limits. I was too often at risk of relying on my clients for my social contact. That's dangerous.
The reality of running a home-based private practice had become too much for me.
I also need more energy to develop my classes and write my books. The energy for it has to come from somewhere. That "somewhere" was the administration of a private practice.
Joining a group practice
On March 1, I joined Freed Bodyworks. It's been not-quite 6 weeks (with a week out for that pesky gall bladder) but so far it's meeting my (high) expectations.
I've been practicing massage therapy for 15 years and have worked in a broad selection of settings: yoga centers, gyms, outcall services, private practice, group practices, etc. I've learned some things that governed my criteria for where I wanted to land. These were my 5 non-negotiable requirements:
1. It must be run well as a business. Given my particular passion for the business of massage this probably isn't surprising but how many of us put it in the #1 spot on our requirements list? I've seen (and experienced) the effects of working in a haphazardly-run business. Far too many of the businesses in our industry are run haphazardly.
Often it's simply because the business owner has never received any useful education or direction about how to run an actual business. Sometimes it's because they are consumed by their passion for the healing work and let the business side run amok due to inattention. There are also business owners who, frankly, shouldn't be. They don't have the temperament or personality to be the boss.
2. It must have a mission I can get excited about. Lots of businesses have a "sense" of their mission but they couldn't state it clearly and simply if their life depended on it. I know what mine is: helping you live comfortably in and peacefully with your body.
A fundamental piece of that is that everyone -- everyone -- is welcome regardless of size, shape, color, health, self-care habits, etc. I make it a point to never try to "help" someone with their weight, fluid consumption, stretching regimen, etc. unless specifically asked. Even then I often demur if it isn't something I know I have practical and professional experience with (which always rules out any "advice" about weight).
Freed Bodywork's mission is stated clearly on their website, in all their marketing efforts, and in every detail of how they run their business: radical inclusion for all bodies. They live that mission every day in a way that has impressed me for a long time.
Their second chief mission I suspect is shared by most of the well-run group practices: provide a good space where good therapists can do good work. They take care of their therapists as well as they take care of their clients.
3. It must be convenient to my existing client base. I've been focusing my marketing on the Capitol Hill area of Washington DC for several years now. "Geographic desirability" is a serious issue here because of traffic. If I chose one of the other great group practices in the DC area, I ran the risk of losing most of my clients because most of them are not convenient to my current client base.
Admittedly, that limited my choices. Freed Bodyworks was the only one that met this requirement easily. If that hadn't worked, I'd have had to look further afield and risk losing a chunk of my clients.
4. I must like them. What's the point of closing a private practice so I could have co-workers again if I didn't like any of them?
5. The contract terms must be attractive. The "split" needed to make sense. Theirs does. Given the spirit of generosity and support that goes into their relationship with their therapists, I feel well-supported and well-appreciated.
I'm an independent contractor so I'm still self-employed. I still actively market myself as a massage therapist (thought not as feverishly as I needed to before). But now, at the end of my shift, I can go home and quit worrying about it. Plus, my schedule when I'm working is more full than it was when it was just me. I like both of those things.
It's hard to critically evaluate our options when we want or need to work for someone else (which is why I teach a workshop on it called Where We Work and am writing an ebook with the same name). Years of experience have taught me -- the hard way, which is always the best teacher -- what my true criteria need to be.
If you are in the same position I was, spend some time thinking deeply about what you need beyond "income". A high-paying position in a place you hate is never as sweet a deal as it may look like from the outside.
I also had another body part removed -- the gall bladder this time -- which always takes more out of me than I expect. But things are going well now and I'm cautiously optimistic about that.
Closing my practice was a bigger deal.
No, I haven't quit massage therapy. What I've done is close my home-based private practice and joined a local group practice.
Why would I do that (you may be asking yourself)??? Isn't the low-overhead, all the profits all the time, home-based private practice the holy grail of massage therapy????
It wasn't for me.
There are two sides to this move (almost 2 years in the making) for me: leaving private practice + joining a group practice.
Leaving private practice
Yes, in private practice you are the Boss Of (Your) Universe. You get to make all the decisions, control the schedule, and pocket all the income. Woo hoo!
You also have 100% of the responsibility for everything. Every. Thing. It was all on my taut shoulders. Attracting clients, booking clients, processing payments, laundry, replenishing supplies, etc. etc. etc. It's a lot of work.
In practical terms, I never ever stopped thinking about my business. Not when I was working, not when I was taking a shower, not when I was watching a movie, not when I was on a date night with my husband, not when I was on vacation. Never.
That's draining.
Private practice is also isolating. I worked alone. Especially since I worked out of my home I spent a lot of time by myself. I'm an introvert but even introverts have their limits. I was too often at risk of relying on my clients for my social contact. That's dangerous.
The reality of running a home-based private practice had become too much for me.
I also need more energy to develop my classes and write my books. The energy for it has to come from somewhere. That "somewhere" was the administration of a private practice.
Joining a group practice
On March 1, I joined Freed Bodyworks. It's been not-quite 6 weeks (with a week out for that pesky gall bladder) but so far it's meeting my (high) expectations.
I've been practicing massage therapy for 15 years and have worked in a broad selection of settings: yoga centers, gyms, outcall services, private practice, group practices, etc. I've learned some things that governed my criteria for where I wanted to land. These were my 5 non-negotiable requirements:
1. It must be run well as a business. Given my particular passion for the business of massage this probably isn't surprising but how many of us put it in the #1 spot on our requirements list? I've seen (and experienced) the effects of working in a haphazardly-run business. Far too many of the businesses in our industry are run haphazardly.
Often it's simply because the business owner has never received any useful education or direction about how to run an actual business. Sometimes it's because they are consumed by their passion for the healing work and let the business side run amok due to inattention. There are also business owners who, frankly, shouldn't be. They don't have the temperament or personality to be the boss.
2. It must have a mission I can get excited about. Lots of businesses have a "sense" of their mission but they couldn't state it clearly and simply if their life depended on it. I know what mine is: helping you live comfortably in and peacefully with your body.
A fundamental piece of that is that everyone -- everyone -- is welcome regardless of size, shape, color, health, self-care habits, etc. I make it a point to never try to "help" someone with their weight, fluid consumption, stretching regimen, etc. unless specifically asked. Even then I often demur if it isn't something I know I have practical and professional experience with (which always rules out any "advice" about weight).
Freed Bodywork's mission is stated clearly on their website, in all their marketing efforts, and in every detail of how they run their business: radical inclusion for all bodies. They live that mission every day in a way that has impressed me for a long time.
Their second chief mission I suspect is shared by most of the well-run group practices: provide a good space where good therapists can do good work. They take care of their therapists as well as they take care of their clients.
3. It must be convenient to my existing client base. I've been focusing my marketing on the Capitol Hill area of Washington DC for several years now. "Geographic desirability" is a serious issue here because of traffic. If I chose one of the other great group practices in the DC area, I ran the risk of losing most of my clients because most of them are not convenient to my current client base.
Admittedly, that limited my choices. Freed Bodyworks was the only one that met this requirement easily. If that hadn't worked, I'd have had to look further afield and risk losing a chunk of my clients.
4. I must like them. What's the point of closing a private practice so I could have co-workers again if I didn't like any of them?
5. The contract terms must be attractive. The "split" needed to make sense. Theirs does. Given the spirit of generosity and support that goes into their relationship with their therapists, I feel well-supported and well-appreciated.
I'm an independent contractor so I'm still self-employed. I still actively market myself as a massage therapist (thought not as feverishly as I needed to before). But now, at the end of my shift, I can go home and quit worrying about it. Plus, my schedule when I'm working is more full than it was when it was just me. I like both of those things.
It's hard to critically evaluate our options when we want or need to work for someone else (which is why I teach a workshop on it called Where We Work and am writing an ebook with the same name). Years of experience have taught me -- the hard way, which is always the best teacher -- what my true criteria need to be.
If you are in the same position I was, spend some time thinking deeply about what you need beyond "income". A high-paying position in a place you hate is never as sweet a deal as it may look like from the outside.
Wednesday, March 18, 2015
Tears and Taxes
I'm (finally) pulling together all my tax paperwork to send to the accountant. I've been good at getting that done in February but this has been an unusually busy year so far.
I didn't expect it to make me cry (and no, not for the reason you think!)
Looking at all those entries reminds me of the details of last year and last year was one of the personally most difficult years I've had as an adult. My mom's long decline to death through dementia. My close friend's insanely rapid decline to death through cancer.
It took a huge toll on me and one of the things that suffered was my bookkeeping. I did not keep up with it and I know I'm missing all kinds of deductions.
Gotta forgive myself for that. Life trumps sometimes.
I didn't expect it to make me cry (and no, not for the reason you think!)
Looking at all those entries reminds me of the details of last year and last year was one of the personally most difficult years I've had as an adult. My mom's long decline to death through dementia. My close friend's insanely rapid decline to death through cancer.
It took a huge toll on me and one of the things that suffered was my bookkeeping. I did not keep up with it and I know I'm missing all kinds of deductions.
Gotta forgive myself for that. Life trumps sometimes.
Wednesday, February 18, 2015
What A Pleasant Surprise!
I received a gift certificate to a local restaurant worth more than $100 from another MT last week. Why did he do that? To say "thank you".
When I moved to Australia 4.5 years ago (which is also when I started this blog) I referred out all of my clients to other local MTs. I thought long and hard about what clients came to me for and chose a couple of MTs that I thought could "fill in" for me while I was gone.
If you've read this blog for a while you'll know that I did such a good job of picking those "fill in" MTs that very few of my clients returned to me when I came back! Turns out, being closed for a year may mean you get to start over from scratch when you come back.
One of those MTs ended up with one of my favorite weekly clients. In addition to forming a great relationship, it's been profitable for him. Which is why he sent the gift certificate (later than he'd wanted to he said).
I definitely wasn't expecting that. But, wow, what a lovely gesture!
There are those who think you should get paid for every client you refer to another MT. Some think you should be paid in perpetuity. I'm not one of those people. It stung to have very few of my clients return but I was genuinely happy that I'd chosen my successors well.
I'm also genuinely touched that this MT sent this gift. It's much appreciated and I'll do the same if the situation arises for me.
When I moved to Australia 4.5 years ago (which is also when I started this blog) I referred out all of my clients to other local MTs. I thought long and hard about what clients came to me for and chose a couple of MTs that I thought could "fill in" for me while I was gone.
If you've read this blog for a while you'll know that I did such a good job of picking those "fill in" MTs that very few of my clients returned to me when I came back! Turns out, being closed for a year may mean you get to start over from scratch when you come back.
One of those MTs ended up with one of my favorite weekly clients. In addition to forming a great relationship, it's been profitable for him. Which is why he sent the gift certificate (later than he'd wanted to he said).
I definitely wasn't expecting that. But, wow, what a lovely gesture!
There are those who think you should get paid for every client you refer to another MT. Some think you should be paid in perpetuity. I'm not one of those people. It stung to have very few of my clients return but I was genuinely happy that I'd chosen my successors well.
I'm also genuinely touched that this MT sent this gift. It's much appreciated and I'll do the same if the situation arises for me.
Tuesday, February 10, 2015
You Matter, From Beginning To End
About 1-1/2 years ago I joined a family support group. My mother had dementia which was steadily advancing. The assisted living facility offered the monthly group and I have attended regularly, through her death and beyond. This despite the fact that the 1-hour meeting effectively takes 3 hours out of the middle of my day. The group, though quite small, has been good for me.
When I showed up for the January meeting, no one was there. I waited a bit and then went to talk to the front desk. After much hunting on their part and mine we found the small notice that (1) the group was now being led by someone different and (2) it had moved to a different day of the month.
I was angry, disappointed, but mostly I felt betrayed. By offering this group and holding it regularly they'd invited me into a space where I could be vulnerable. Where I could take my hurts and be open about the trials and tribulations of my life.
I'd been preparing myself emotionally for the group, taken the time out of my workday, and driven the 25 miles to get there. Now, I felt abandoned. Insignificant. Tossed aside. And hurt. It hurt.
Not, you'll notice, by anything that happened in the treatment room but by what happened with their scheduling and their communication.
It's easy to think of these things as separate from the "real" work and a minor inconvenience. However, the more someone creates a space where a person can be vulnerable, the more every aspect of the relationship -- including mundane things like logistics and emails -- matters. Every interaction in the relationship becomes part of the therapy.
You've probably figured out where I'm going with this. If not, let me spell it out.
The things you do to "run" your practice, those mundane (even annoying) activities like scheduling and emails are part and parcel of the therapeutic relationship you have with your client. They are all part of you to the client.
You serve your clients best when you apply your highest values and your very best self to what happens in the massage room and what happens outside the massage room. Yes, even your business practices matter.
Because if you are doing your job well, you are creating space for vulnerability and thereby for healing. Do it well -- all of it --and with compassion.
When I showed up for the January meeting, no one was there. I waited a bit and then went to talk to the front desk. After much hunting on their part and mine we found the small notice that (1) the group was now being led by someone different and (2) it had moved to a different day of the month.
I was angry, disappointed, but mostly I felt betrayed. By offering this group and holding it regularly they'd invited me into a space where I could be vulnerable. Where I could take my hurts and be open about the trials and tribulations of my life.
I'd been preparing myself emotionally for the group, taken the time out of my workday, and driven the 25 miles to get there. Now, I felt abandoned. Insignificant. Tossed aside. And hurt. It hurt.
It's easy to think of these things as separate from the "real" work and a minor inconvenience. However, the more someone creates a space where a person can be vulnerable, the more every aspect of the relationship -- including mundane things like logistics and emails -- matters. Every interaction in the relationship becomes part of the therapy.
You've probably figured out where I'm going with this. If not, let me spell it out.
The things you do to "run" your practice, those mundane (even annoying) activities like scheduling and emails are part and parcel of the therapeutic relationship you have with your client. They are all part of you to the client.
You serve your clients best when you apply your highest values and your very best self to what happens in the massage room and what happens outside the massage room. Yes, even your business practices matter.
Because if you are doing your job well, you are creating space for vulnerability and thereby for healing. Do it well -- all of it --and with compassion.
Monday, January 19, 2015
Change Your Mind
It’s not uncommon for us to have a conflicted relationship with “business”. It’s almost like our massage practices are a house with two rooms: one for massage and one for business. Different rules and values govern each room. Sometimes, even our personalities change as we move from metaphorical room to room.
For example: we’re the very heart of generosity in the massage room but we resent even the small amount of cost involved in letting our clients pay with credit cards.
As a profession we don’t even know how to think about business. Since our schools don’t give us enough to work with, we look around for role models. Should we do business like doctors? Chiropractors? Concierges? The local pizza shop??
It's time we built our own model of how to do business. How? By looking at our highest values and principles as massage therapists. Yes, massage therapy can teach us how to do business.
Get Educated. You needed an education to do massage. Why should you expect yourself to do business without any education? You don’t have to get a college degree or an MBA. But you can take basic business courses at a community college (which have more and more online options), through community organizations, and at massage conferences.
Never stop learning. The best therapists invest time and energy in improving and expanding their skills throughout the life of their career. A basic business education is good but you’ll need to keep going. There’s always something you can understand better. Spend some time and money on business continuing education.
Develop a business ethic. Our profession has at least 3 codes of ethics – AMTA, ABMP, and NCBTMB. They vary in details but agree on the basics. We can use that to develop a business ethic. For example:
- Maintain healthy boundaries in business dealings between yourself and your clients.
- Avoid dual relationships in business.
- Be aware of transference / counter-transfererence in business interactions.
- There is an inherent power imbalance in the massage room and in your business dealings. Be conscious of and respectful of that.
- Represent yourself honestly in your business dealings.
Practice business self-care. We know what we need to do to keep our bodies operating well (whether we do that consistently is a whole ‘nother conversation). How do you keep your business healthy? Set and raise rates in a professional manner. Use discounts strategically. Choose partnerships carefully. Keep up with your bookkeeping. Separate your personal and business accounts. File quarterly taxes on time.
Use good body mechanics. The key to good body mechanics is two-fold: knowing how to use your body well and being aware of how you’re using your body. In business that means knowing what good business practices are and being aware of whether you’re doing them or not. Setting money aside for quarterly taxes. Knowing what you can and can’t deduct as a business expense. Keeping licenses – business and massage – current.
Perfection is not an option. We would all love to do perfect massages each and every time. We can’t. We’re merely human. Setting “perfection” as your goal is a recipe for disappointment and failure. Do not expect yourself to be perfect in business either. You will make mistakes. You will have days / weeks / months? where you don’t do business well. Forgive yourself for being merely human, admit your mistakes, and keep trying to do things right.
Don’t go it alone. Even if you are a solo practitioner working out of your home, it is oh-so-wise to stay connected, even lightly, with other massage therapists. It’s also wise to have someone you can go to for supervision when you have an issue with a client. Talk to other MTs (or small business owners) about business. Share your successes and concerns. Teach and learn from each other. If nothing else, gripe together about the aggravations of running a small business!
Maintain confidentiality. We don’t talk about our clients outside of the massage room except in a professionally appropriate manner (supervision, for example). Don’t talk about your client’s financial situation (good or bad) outside of the massage room except in professionally appropriate settings (supervision, for example). No one needs to know which clients are only paying you a part of your fee because they’ve been unemployed for a year. No one needs to know which clients are unbelievably wealthy. No one needs to know which clients have maxed out credit cards or whose check bounced. What you know and learn about your client’s financial life should be kept confidential.
This is not an exhaustive list but if gives you a good idea of what I’m talking about. I think it’s time we defined what a healthy business mindset is for our profession and quit trying to blindly follow another profession. It’s time we changed our minds from “helpless/lost” about business to “solid MT values” in business.
Change your mind, change your world.
Tuesday, December 2, 2014
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!).
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!).
Tuesday, November 25, 2014
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.
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.
Tuesday, November 18, 2014
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:
Each type:
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?
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.
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?
Tuesday, November 11, 2014
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.
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.
Monday, November 3, 2014
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.)
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.)
Tuesday, October 14, 2014
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.
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.
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.
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.
Tuesday, October 7, 2014
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:
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!)
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!)
Tuesday, September 23, 2014
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.
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.
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