Today's Bodywork Buddy member spotlight is Erin Onyskow. Erin is a Certified Massage Therapist and owns Discover Massage Therapy in Granger, Indiana.
Q: What inspired you to be a massage therapist?
A: What inspired me to be a massage therapist??? Hmmm… I really don’t have a cool or inspirational story for that. It just kind of fell into my lap. I signed up for massage therapy school after getting out of the vet field. I had no idea what to expect or what the hell I was doing. Due to my amazing teachers and the more I learned about massage, the more I feel in love with it. I learned that massage therapy just doesn’t affect the body but also the mind. From the elderly to infants to the chronically ill to “I just want to relax”, massage therapy has the unique versatility to inspire and heal. I was essentially hooked. I ended up graduating with honors. Q: How long have you been doing massage?
A: 7 years this month!
A: My favorite thing about being a massage therapist is that it never gets boring. From putting a smile back on someone’s face that hasn’t smiled for a while because of chronic pain or crying with someone because they just lost a loved one, massage is a multifaceted profession. Even though we “just give massages”, it affects people in many unparalleled ways, that we don’t often see.
A: Then most challenging issue for an MT is that, essentially, to be taken seriously in our western society. Massage therapy has been the backbone of health and wellness for many other cultures, for thousands of years. America is just catching on to this fact, and even then, the public’s perception of our field can be a bit muddled. Not only do massage therapists have the exhausting task of “putting people back together” but we also should educate to alter people’s inaccurate, hardwired belief systems. Massage is so much more than relaxing music and soft lighting, it can often be, literally ripping soft tissue apart, in order for their bodies to correctly heal themselves. There is a ton of research out there, that does prove what we have already known to be true for a long time – that massage therapy does indeed work.
A: Advice for other MT to help build their business – don’t’ burn bridges, be patient and be your own curious, weird, bold and wonderful self. Build relationships with the other businesses around you. Prepare for problems and issues. Develop an amazing skill for brainstorming. Have solutions ready for those problems before they come into fruition. Stay consistent and know that word spreads like wildfire. Reputation is absolute KEY. You never know where that next new client is going to come from, so get involved – with community events, networking and hitting that pavement. Clients aren’t going to magically appear at your door. Go out and find them. Once you get the clients, your hard work is just starting. Now you have to maintain that relationship and give them a reason to keep coming back to you and spending their hard-earned money. It’s much easier to maintain clients, than to find new ones. I read a great article - while it was targeting financial planners - the message is the same for massage therapists or anyone with a clientele based business. APPRECIATE YOUR CLIENTS. He states, “Here’s the truth: if you don’t appreciate your clients, someone else will.” Even as a solo massage therapist, with your own business, we can sometimes see ourselves as not having anyone to answer to. No bosses, no management. Wrong. Your clients are your boss. They pay your bills and keep your business open. Treat them as such. Take care of your clients and they’ll take care of you. I highly recommend that everyone read his article. 😊
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