3 Things Massage School Didn't Teach You About the Business of Massage and Why {Guest Post by Hillary Arrieta, LMT}

Owning a massage business is hard. There are many moving parts and massage school didn't cover any of them. It's true that massage training did not prepare us for all of the difficulties we come across on a daily basis. 

As a massage educator, I've heard the complaints for years. "Why didn't we learn this in massage school?" Or "my school didn't prepare me for this." It can be a sobering reality to find out that once you're out of school and in "the real world" you will need ADDITIONAL information, training, and resources to make it in this profession. 

Whether you choose to become an independent small business, buy a franchise, or work for someone else, you'll probably need more training every year just to stay up to date on your education. You'll need even more education to master your craft as a business owner. 

I've compiled a short list of things massage training didn't teach you about the business of massage and why, along with helpful resources to get you pointed in the right direction. 

1. How to do taxes, file a business structure, and manage finances. 

Massage therapy training is just that. We train you to be thoughtful, skilled massage therapists; not bookkeepers, business lawyers, or accountants. These are special skills all on their own and you'll need to build a team of qualified professionals in these fields to help you. People in these professions have degrees and have gone to college for many years to know what they know. Obviously, teaching you this in massage school is impossible and totally inappropriate. All small businesses work with pros to make things run smoothly in their businesses and so will you. Get some good referrals from trusted friends and start building your team. 

Which brings me to number two:

2. How to be a small business owner. 

Massage school isn't business school (duh!). That's okay because there are many resources out there to help you learn this new set of skills. Some of my favorites are SCORE.org which is a mentoring group of retired business owners who volunteer their time and skills to help small business owners thrive. How awesome is that? 

Chances are good that you have a group near you. They also host frequent business oriented workshops. 

I also got a lot out of web marketing classes online. I always recommend Marie Forleo's programs and all her free content on YouTube. She gives solid, classy advice and has some great suggestions that have really helped me in running my practice. I also highly suggest The Right-Brained Business Plan by Jennifer Lee. She really helped me put together a beautiful plan that was both creative and practical. 

3. How to be a good manager. 

Being a good manager of time, people, and tasks are really important skills in the business of massage. We have to manage our clients, our session times, and all of the endless "to do's" while running our massage businesses. This can be overwhelming. Add in a few employees and that can be even more overwhelming. 

Massage school doesn't carve out time in the already jam packed curriculum to prepare you for this. The hard truth of the matter is that not everyone is cut out for this part of owning a practice. 

Once you've discovered that your personal constitution is hardy enough to take on this level of business ownership, it's time to dig deeply into self-awareness and self-development (Yikes!). Finding a mentor or emulating a leader that you admire can be a great way to learn.

Resources:

Now Discover Your Strengths by Marcus Buckingham, and Donald O. Clifton.

The Right-Brain Business Plan by Jennifer Lee

MarieForleo.com

Score.org

About the author:

Hillary Arrieta is a massage therapist and massage educator in the Dallas, Texas area. She owns The Heeling Hut and specializes in barefoot massage. You can find out more at The Heeling Hut.

Need help with your massage marketing content? Check out Bodywork Media.

Are Draining Clients Holding You Back?

You know those clients that seem to suck your energy and leave you feeling drained after working with or dealing with them in any way? It may be difficult to pin down why exactly they drain your energy, or what to do about it.

I’ve found a couple of interesting articles that tackle this topic. While these aren’t specific to the massage and bodywork industry, it’s easy to see how they apply.

Nailing down your ideal client

Marie Forleo suggests preventing draining clients by knowing who your ideal client is.

Make a top ten list of attributes your ideal client would have, and use this as a filter before you take on new clients.

Consider this list when you start any new massage marketing - is the advertising you’re doing going to get you more of these kinds of clients?

Here’s what I would put on my top ten list:  

1. They respect my time as much as theirs.
   Meaning: they show up on time and expect to end on time.
   
2. They schedule their appointments out in advance and don’t expect last minute appointments.
   
3. They’ve made massage therapy a consistent part of their self care regimen.
   
4. They do not consistently cancel and reschedule.
   
5. They can afford my services.
   
6. They are not deal-seekers.
   
7. They don’t expect me to “fix” them.
   
8. They schedule online or in person at their appointment.
   
9. If they cancel with less than 24 hours notice or no show, they happily pay the cancellation fee.
   
10. They do not try and direct my work or the session.

What attributes do you want most in your ideal client? Think of your favorite clients who you love working with. What qualities stand out the most to you? Now think of those draining clients… What about them gets under your skin?

At first, it seemed hard to come up with ten, but after thinking about that a little bit the ball starting rolling and I felt like I could go on!

6 types of clients who aren't worth the money

Christine Kane cuts right to the chase with some tough love: “You get what you tolerate.”

If you allow a client’s bad behavior, it’s only going to continue. Maybe until you get to your breaking point, and then it may be too late to salvage the therapeutic relationship.

I once allowed a client’s chronic lateness without putting my foot down because I liked her as a person. By the time I did something about it, I was so irritated that I didn’t want to continue to work with her even if she corrected the behavior.

Christine lists 6 types of clients who aren’t worth the money:

1. The one who needs convincing.
2. The one who collapses. “the one who constantly collapses is committed to a pattern of helplessness.  She begins to reveal that she has no interest in turning this pattern around. She is a damsel – and she wants you to be her knight in shining armor.   Fix me, I am helpless.” Wow, I know I’ve had a few of those clients!
3. The one who doesn’t want what you offer.
4. The one who argues your pricing.
5. The one who forgets you have a life. Boundary pushers, oy. “Remember:  You teach people how to treat you.  It’s not their responsibility. It’s yours.” ^ So much yes, Christine!
6. The one who doesn’t do the work.

An ounce of prevention

Coaches Getting Clients starts right out with what should now be a familiar theme here: Work with ideal clients!

But some other gems this article offers are:

2) Be clear on your boundaries
3) Improve your awareness.
4) Show up energized & healthy
5) Change Your Business Model
(are packages draining because you know you’re not getting paid at the time of service or you’re thinking about the discount they’re receiving on your awesome service? Maybe it’s time to retire those packages if they aren’t bringing you joy at every step of the way.)

Let go of clients who drain you

Thrive Academy lists these 3:

1. Overgiving. “Charging too little or giving too much of your time, almost always leads to feelings of being drained.”
2. Not speaking your truth.  “Those things that you wish you could say to your client (but it might be rude or disrespectful, and after all, they're paying you lots of money...) Those are the things you need to say!!! Just begin your bold statement with a large dose of acknowledgment, compassion and gentleness. It's nearly impossible to boldly speak your truth and get drained at the same time.” I think this especially applies to enforcing our policies and establishing boundaries with draining clients. We’re sometimes afraid to speak our truth because this client is giving us money! We tolerate their bad behavior because we don’t want to lose their business… but how much time, energy, joy, and space for good clients will we free up by speaking our truth, even if it means losing this draining client?
3. Getting attached to your clients getting results. “Your clients' results do NOT determine your goodness or worthiness. You can be amazing, even if your client didn't get results. And you can be terrible and still have clients get results.”

Wow, I can definitely see a lot of us LMT’s having a tendency to these three. (Myself included.)

Sometimes it can be hard to correct course after you’ve been tolerating these behaviors from clients, but it’ll be so worth it. (More posts to come with some suggestions on how to do just that.)

So, do you have some things in mind for your top ten ideal client qualities? Comment your list here or hop on over to the Bodywork Buddies Facebook Group and join the discussion! *Not in our group yet? You can join after you’ve registered for the free trial within Bodywork Buddy. Paying subscription not required, just as long as you’ve registered for the trial.*

Cindy Iwlew is a licensed massage therapist who has had a private practice since 1999 and cofounder of Bodywork Buddy massage software.

What Are Your Services Worth?

How do you determine what to charge for your services?

While this podcast is about a graphic design company, I think the takeaways can be applied to a massage business as well. 

"What are you worth? It’s an easy question to answer emotionally. Like, What am I worth? I’m worth all the money! But when you’re an entrepreneur, you have to go through the uncomfortable exercise of putting an actual, firm price tag on yourself -- or at least your products or services. You may think you’re worth all the money in the world, but you have to come at the question from a different perspective by asking what others will genuinely pay for you. What do they think you’re worth?"   -Entrepreneur.com

"In any business, you are more than the product or service that you sell." - Sunny Bonnell

How did you determine the rates for your massage business? 

An Easy Change to Get Out of a Rut in Your Massage Business

Sometimes I get stuck in a rut with my massage practice without even realizing it. Usually when I switch up my music, or change my routine within my sessions, I'll feel refreshed and that's when it hits me that I've been needing a shift!

I regularly change my music since I discovered years ago that it was a huge deal for me. Sometimes I change it throughout the day, even. After experiencing some of the work in Mary-Claire Fredette's FasciAshi class a few months ago, I started changing up my barefoot massage routine by starting at my client's feet occasionally. I've felt a bit revitalized with my work doing this! Speaking of continuing ed classes, taking one is always something that has helped me break out of a rut, too. I find that about once a year, I'm itching to learn something new. I haven't decided on what class will be next, but I'll probably be looking to take something in the next 6 months or so. (Do you have some suggestions on what class I should take? Let me know in the comments!)

This past week, I accidentally discovered another new way to help my work feel fresh. I changed my hours a bit. I have a lot of regulars and am usually booked out for several weeks in advance, so I've tended to keep my hours very consistent.

With the change of seasons, I decided to start opening up a few Saturdays. A lot of my clients have “Summer Hours” where they can work half days on Friday. This works out well for them to schedule their massages Friday afternoons during the Summer. But then in the Fall, it’s back to scrambling for those popular 5:30pm appointment times. So to help alleviate this, I’m working a few Saturdays for the Fall/Winter season.

And then this past week, I had a personal appointment for me (to get a facial! YAY!) in the afternoon. So I had opened up my schedule for that morning so that I could still get some work in before taking the afternoon off. I can't remember the last time I had massage clients in the morning, I typically work in the afternoon.

It was really refreshing! It's amazing how changing these kinds of things can reinvigorate my work. And it's easy to do in my schedule now that Bodywork Buddy has the ability to change open/closed business hours by the day. I can click into a day on the calendar, and choose to open or close the hours that day without affecting my usual business hours.

The change of the seasons is a perfect time to make some small changes. What adjustments in your work inspire you?

Cindy Iwlew is a licensed massage therapist who has had a private practice since 1999 and cofounder of Bodywork Buddy massage software.