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Bodywork Buddy Blog

Bodywork Buddy: business management software for the solo therapist that keeps you organized and makes tax time a breeze.

Thursday, February 19, 2015

Member Spotlight: David Kuhn






Today's member spotlight is David Kuhn of Muscle Therapy Pro in Columbus, Ohio.

Q: What inspired you to be a massage therapist?

A:   My inspiration for becoming a massage therapist came out of a loss of a job which I turned into a positive rather than a negative.  I was at a good paying job but at the end of the day I was not happy.  My desire is to change lives for the better and I was not spending 12 hours a day doing this.  I was at a crossroads, recently divorced then the loss of my job all in a 6 month period and I was narrowing in on 40.  I decided I was going back to school and this was my one shot to do what I wanted for the rest of my life.  I would never give somebody else the power to tell me when my job was over and change not only my life but my children’s life as well.  It has not been easy buy I have never taken my eyes off of my goal.



Q: How long have you been doing massage?

A:   I have been doing massage for almost two years now.




Q: What is your favorite thing about being an MT?

A:  Wow, there are so many good things to say about being a massage therapist!  I guess my favorite would have to be making people feel good and changing their lives at the same time.  My favorite type of client is the one that comes in for headaches and has been taking over-the-counter meds on a regular basis for their condition.  I love explaining to them what the meds may be doing to their stomach and what I can do for them so they no longer need the meds and at the same time they no longer have the headaches.



Q: What do you feel is the most challenging issue for massage therapists?

A: I feel the most challenging issue for massage therapist is to educate the public. This is a profession that has been around for many years. In fact it was the first type of medical care. Unfortunately down the line it has received a bad name because of some much less than professional individuals in the business. Most people view massage as a pure luxury and not for the numerous medical/health benefits as well as emotional benefits.  Think about it, where else can you go for things like plugged up sinuses, constipation, headaches, muscle tension and emotional healing, be treated for all during a 90 minute session then sent on your way feeling like a new person for a fraction of the cost at a doctor’s office and no meds prescribed!



Q: What advice would you give to other MT’s to help build their business?


A:  The advice I would give to other massage therapist to help build their businesses would be knowledge, market, have a vision and stay the course while continuing to be flexible.



Tuesday, February 10, 2015

Cool Tool: Hubspot's Blog Topic Generator


Are you blogging for your massage business? (You should be! More on why later...)
Here's a cool tool from Hubspot.com to help you come up with some topics. The Blog Topic Generator is simple: enter a few nouns of subjects you would like to blog about, and the generator comes up with some ideas for you.

I entered:

  • massage
  • health
  • stress
The generator came up with these topics to blog about:


You might need to tweak some of the results to work for topics for your blog, but this could definitely help get the creative juices flowing.

What other ways do you use to think of topics to blog about for your massage business?

Wednesday, February 4, 2015

New Facebook Call-to-Action Button


Facebook recently added a new feature to their business pages: a call-to-action button. This handy new feature allows you to add your online scheduler right into the top of your page and encourage clients to schedule an appointment with you.

From your business page, click the "Create Call-to-Action" button.







A pop-up window will appear with a drop down box to select a button for your call-to-action.






Select "book now" from the drop down menu.






Add your online scheduling site URL in the field for website.






Choose destinations for iOS and Android. Select "website" if you use Bodywork Buddy for online scheduling. 







Your call-to-action button is ready!








You can even view your results and see how often clients click on your "book now" button from your Facebook page.

Bodywork Buddy already had a "schedule online" app to connect to your Facebook page (see the "schedule online" tab below) but now with this new feature from Facebook your online scheduler can be even more prominent for your clients to schedule from Facebook.




Thursday, January 29, 2015

Member Spotlight: Laura Holt


Today's member spotlight is Laura Holt from Skowhegan, Maine. She owns Laurel Tree Massage.

Q: What inspired you to be a massage therapist?

A: I was inspired to become a massage therapist as a result of everyone at my CNA job loving their shoulder "rub and foot rubs" on our night shift as CNA, even the nurse would be at the head of the line. She would send someone upstairs to get my peppermint oil so I didn't have to smell sweaty feet.
Q: How long have you been doing massage?

A: I have been a massage therapist for 5 years, all of those working for myself right out of college.
Q: What is your favorite thing about being an MT?

A: I love meeting new clients and seeing all the results as they become regulars, watching improvements.
Q: What do you feel is the most challenging issue for massage therapists?

A: Finding the right software that can be the best thing for your business, that makes all these tasks easier to do for us, but ultimately making it easy to track stuff to reward clients, remember details of their sessions easier and allows them to schedule online so we don't play phone tag, best too is those awesome reminders! 
Laura with her portable bars for
practicing Ashiatsu DeepFeet Bar Therapy.
Q: What advice would you give to other MT’s to help build their business?

A: Get Bodywork Buddy now!!! The only other advice I would give is a program that no longer exists for helping with all the other business stuff. But really opening your heart to be there for the clients vs worrying about the financial part of business, worry about money and it becomes the focus, worry about the clients it builds them knowing you truly care about them... OR WAIT NO!!! GO take ASHIATSU and save your bodies now!!!! BEST THING EVER!!!

Wednesday, January 21, 2015

*New Feature* Overdue Appointments Box Collapsible


Have a lot of "overdue appointments" on your dashboard that you haven't quite gotten to completing into session records yet? Now you can easily collapse the overdue appointments box so it doesn't take up your whole dashboard.


Just click the little arrow on the right of the Overdue Appointments box.


Voila! They are hidden and your dashboard is more open. 

Saturday, January 17, 2015

The Integrated Stretching Harness (ISH)


http://www.ish-stretch.com/
I first met David Henre several years ago at the AMTA National Convention in Phoenix, Arizona. It was in 2008, to be exact... wow 7 years ago!

He stopped by the Bodywork Buddy booth at the 2014 AMTA National Convention this past Fall in Denver, Colorado and brought us a bag of goodies - the Integrated Stretching Harness (ISH). David's timing was perfect as it was day 2 of the convention, Berin and I were really feeling the effects of standing on the convention floor all day in combination with spending our free time in Denver walking everywhere. My calves were screaming at me and the thought of standing in our booth for another 2 days was pretty daunting.


I put the ISH on my calf and let it work it's magic while I stood in our booth and talked to massage therapists about Bodywork Buddy. The difference it made in my legs was amazing. I felt so much better and had no problem standing on the convention floor all day. I wore it most of the day and alternated between each calf. I don't doubt that my body would have been much worse for the wear after that 2nd day were it not for David's ISH.

David explains that it works by pinning 2 points of pressure on a limb above or below the joint, changing the shape of the tissue. This allows the soft tissue being pinned to stretch while you go about your day.






The Integrated Stretching Harness is available for a variety of areas including:
What massage therapist couldn't use THIS? mmmm....
  • Hand/Foot
  • Forearm/Upper Arm/Lower Leg
  • Upper Leg
  • Shoulder
  • Hip/Glutes





A little bit about David:
Growing up in Colorado running cross country, climbing, bouldering, road and mountain biking, and alpine and telemark skiing (doing just about everything The Rockies provide access to!) helped fuel David's appreciation for what gives him the ability to enjoy outdoor activities: strength and health.

In 1991, David cracked vertebrae and compressed and broke a disc in his back. The threat that he may be paralyzed and his lengthy healing process after surgery sparked his interest in fitness and alternative medicine.

"Nobody needs to live in pain. I feel very strongly about this. It's why I got into fitness in the first place," David says.
In 1995, David achieved Personal Training Certification through the National Federation of Professional Trainers.

The ISH is a winner in our book. Many thanks to David for helping us out at the convention by bringing us several!
Learn more about ISH and order one at www.ish-stretch.com or visit their Facebook page.

Wednesday, January 14, 2015

*New Feature* Highlighted Business Hours in the Calendar


We've just made some updates that will now show your open business hours highlighted in light green in the calendar from the week and day views.