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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

When You Can't Stop Working

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

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

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

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

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

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

So, what do we do?

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

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

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

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

Three steps:

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

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

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

True Confessions Time

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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


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

Perfection is not an option.

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