How Massage Therapists can survive the economic downturn

The following article is contributed by Tara Thompson, LMT. Tara assists us when we are teaching in Nebraska and is a great asset for imassage.

I recently started sharing my practice with another LMT because unfortunately massage therapy isn't as busy as it once was. Because of cut backs, lay offs, and many other economy issues it's made making ends meet as an independent contractor very challenging. Some other ideas and suggestions that have worked for me and other LMT friends are...

1. Your client has to value the work you do. As an LMT we have to educate our clients that massage is not a luxury but a NECESSITY. Showing your clients a photo of the muscle(s) your working on or suggesting a stretch they could try is always a great way to start educating them. Clients will spend money on what they value.

2. Offering referral cards, discounts, package deals, and don't be afraid to hit the streets and hang fliers or put them on vehicles in a packed parking lot. Potential clients need to know where you are and how to find you.

3. Block schedule your appointments so you can save on gas going back and forth to the office. You'll also save on utilities if you’re only using them for smaller blocks of time and not just using them through out the whole day with no appointments.

4. Never forget the power of bartering. For instance if you need some work done at your home or office scan your clientele and see if anyone can help with it or if they know anyone who can and would be interested in trading for the work…it can’t hurt to ask. You can barter for dental work, car repairs, hair cuts; the list goes on and on.

Here are just a few ideas that might help get your head above water if you’re starting to drown in this mess of an economy…Stay positive and remember to always stay flexible. Good Luck and feel free to share your ideas and suggestions with me and others…we can all use the extra support and inspiration! Have a beautiful day!

Tara Thompson, LMT

Omaha, NE

Business Start-up Online Resources

There are times when I spend hours surfing the web searching for information on various topics. Often, there is too much available and it becomes time-consuming combing through the "looks free, but it's not" stuff to get what I’m really needing.

For information on entrepreneurship and business start-up, there are several sites I visit more frequently. I thought I would share these with you.

Business magazine websites with numerous articles:

http://www.inc.com/guides/start_biz/

http://www.entrepreneur.com/

Governmental type websites that offer free articles, templates and resources:

http://www.business.gov/

http://www.loc.gov/rr/business/guide/guide2/guide2.html#get

http://www.sba.gov/aboutsba/sbaprograms/onlinewbc/index.html

http://sba.gov/

http://www.score.org/index.html

General Resources:

http://www.startupnation.com/

http://www.businessownersideacafe.com/

http://www.woopidoo.com/business_articles/index.htm

http://www.sjdccd.cc.ca.us/org/sbdc/startup/index.html

Tips for Home Based Entrepreneurs

Here are some more tips for home-based business entrepreneurs.

SCORE

Getting Your Tasks Organized

Spring is here and with it comes a chance for renewal and a chance to focus on what is really important. The Meyers-Briggs personality profile suggests we all have natural inclinations that lead us to a natural sense of precise order or casual flexibility. Certain types are drawn to structure and organization while others tend to go with the flow, both of which are fine. Regardless of your natural inclination, however, you can take the changing of the season as an opportunity to regroup and find where your energy should be placed for the upcoming months. Personally, my “to do list” is getting nuts. I have so many “great ideas” to juggle that I fear I will drop all the balls. A smart person once told me, “It is better to excel at a few things than be mediocre at many.” With that in mind, I knew it was time to scale back and put some things in the “to do later” file.

If you are faced with a similar situation, it is good to step back and take some time to think about what is most important for today; what is most important for this month and then move out. Your list will quickly begin to sort itself out and the priorities will move to the top. What makes things priority will be up to you to define. Once defined you can place your filters in place and run all the items through it. Your filters can be things like making immediate money, fulfilling external due dates or taking time to relax. Once you’ve decided what is most important for you right now, then the rest will fall into place. My filters included; Assessing the workshops we have booked for the upcoming months and ensuring we have done everything to exceed expectations, meeting an external publishing deadline, planning Fall events and completing items for my yoga teacher training. After that I let some of the other ideas stack on to be reassessed later.

As always, enjoy today and happy sorting.

If you have interest in Meyers-Briggs personality typing, you can take a free online test HERE.

The Business of Massage: Adding in extras to make a difference

I found an interesting article about a massage therapist that had expanded her product line enough, she only focused on that aspect of the business. I thought I would share it for those who have the entrepreneurial spirit and enjoy reading about others successes.

A link to the article is HERE.

The site this article is contained in is INC.com. They offer numerous free resources for entrepreneurs.

Massage Therapist: Helping with Tax Time

Tax Time is here! I will post useful articles as I find them, on how to prepare for tax time. The following is a link to an article entitled "Take Advantage of Home Business Tax Breaks".

Massage Therapist: Ideas for the Entrepreneur

Are you a massage therapist who has always wanted to be in business for yourself? One way to get started is to receive regular articles and ideas about independent success. An easy way to do so is to subscribe to the SCORE newsletter. SCORE is a non-profit business assistance program available in most areas. They have retired business professionals who volunteer time helping new entrepreneurs. They can assist you with building your business plan, guiding you through financial questions and offer many other services.

I recently received a copy of an interview with Julie Morgenstern. "She has turned her "inside out" philosophy of time management into a thriving consulting practice that has aided individuals and major corporations, a series of best-selling books, and regular appearances in both the broadcast and print media."

To read her tips for entrepreneurs, click HERE.
SCORE's Main WebPage, click HERE.

As always, you can email or post questions here on our blog.

imassage 2008: Meeting to plan the future

We just returned from 2 days of dedicated business meetings. Eric and I traveled nearby to the Beaumont Inn (See Picture) to retreat from the world. We wanted to separate from our lives and spend time envisioning what we want our company to look like….next year, in five years and long term. While time was spent talking about revenues and expenses, we balanced that out by writing affirmations, brainstorming on how to acquire the right employees and becoming a company known for its care and good will.

For any business, regardless of size, it is always beneficial to dedicate time to planning and goal setting. Often we become embroiled in our daily life and forget to spend time setting a purposeful path to the future (intentional growth).

Below are some ideas we implement and find useful;

1. Write business and personal affirmations. Write or print these out and place in areas where you will see them.
2. Do some visionary work and get it on paper. Write your ideas about where you see you practice/business in one, five and ten years.
3. It’s not fun…but it is important to do some financial analysis. Create a simple income and expense sheet to assist in understanding what is coming in and out financially. You can use this form to set goals for extra purchases. An example form can be found HERE.
4. Be willing to invest. I’m a firm believer you have to wisely spend money to make money.
5. Keep a “Big Idea” list. This consists of all the great ideas you have, but might forget or not have time for. Our list has over 70 items on it. We realize we can’t do them all now, but we might have time at some point and it’s always a good idea to revisit the list to keep you excited.
6. Set up a time line for projects. This will help you stay on track throughout the year. Ours has immediate action items and a monthly overview of projects to work on throughout the year.
7. Spend time appreciating where you are at in your career and personal life. Most successes didn't happen overnight.

Happy New Year!

The Right Touch: Massage therapy taps into popularity of yoga to make itself more available for masses

The following is an interesting article I received through my "Google Alerts". I thought it was worth sharing in its entirety. It provides some fodder for business ideas. Enjoy

Sunday, December 2, 2007
By M. Paul Jackson
JOURNAL REPORTER

Thomas Wong knows that you get what you pay for.

Wong, the managing partner for Intuitive Touch Massage and Yoga in Winston-Salem, said he realized that more customers were likely to receive massage and yoga treatments if they became a member of his yoga studio, which opened Nov. 7. Wong was a massage therapist at Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center and would often see his patients skip out on their therapy classes, he said. “Massage therapy is just like any other therapy,” he said. “With the membership concept people will return more frequently.”

Yoga-therapy businesses such as Wong’s are becoming all the rage in Winston-Salem. More baby boomers are turning toward alternative treatments such as massage and yoga, and companies that offer those services are poised to grow.

Massage customers say they enjoy the therapeutic benefits of the treatment. Luanne Adams, a Winston-Salem resident, said she receives massage treatment from Intuitive Touch for lower-back pain.

The deep-tissue treatment works better than pain medication or chiropractic treatment, she said.

“When it flares up, I can get in here,” Adams said. “It’s the only thing that works.”

Intuitive Touch is at Miller Street Market. The business offers Swedish-massage therapy, deep-tissue massage therapy, Pilates, yoga and stretching classes.

Massage and yoga therapies are forms of alternative medicine, a form of health treatments that aren’t considered conventional medicine. Other forms of alternative medicine are acupuncture, herbal medications and meditation.

Baby boomers and fitness enthusiasts are adopting yoga for physical exercise and even as a medical treatment. Yoga is form of physical fitness that emphasizes strengthening and toning the body, for example. It also teaches breathing techniques and meditation, designed to promote better mental well-being. The numbers of people interested in meditation, yoga and massage are growing. About 16.5 million Americans practice yoga, up substantially from previous years, according to Yoga Journal magazine, a trade publication. Americans spend nearly $3 billion annually on yoga classes and products.

Adopting an alternative-medicine practice can help people reduce stress, treat back pain and depression. More local companies are attempting to benefit from people who want healthier bodies and minds.

Judi Maloy, the owner of the Yoga Gallery in Winston-Salem, opened her yoga studio about seven years ago, to help teach yoga to more people, for example. She said she teaches about 19 yoga classes a week, and plans to hire three instructors next year.

The business has “been steadily getting better,” she said.

Yoga can also help people deal with everyday problems, Maloy said. “It bleeds into everything that you do in life,” she said. “I think that’s one of the reasons that people are turning toward it, because it works.”

There are other massage and yoga therapy studios in Winston-Salem, including Sunrise Yoga, Arts of Yoga, Branches Holistic Health and Wellness Center and Sixth Sense Wellness Group. Branches and Sixth Sense offer massage therapy classes.

Trudy Swenk and her husband, Bruce, opened Bikram Yoga about five years ago, to teach customers the benefit of “hot yoga,” where practitioners perform yoga in a very hot room. The company has three other yoga teachers and opened an additional studio in Greensboro last year.

Intuitive Touch offers a $55 monthly membership. Members pay additional fees to receive extra treatments. Nonmembers can also receive treatments, but they typically have to pay more.

The membership plan insures that customers will get the most out of their money, Wong said. Customers who receive sporadic massage treatments often don’t get the full physical benefit of the treatment, he said.

“We can make massage a little more accessible,” he said.

Wong has a long history in massage therapy. He worked for WFUBMC and was a massage therapist at the Central YMCA in Winston-Salem.

He started Intuitive Touch with Kim Myers, a business partner, and a third partner whom he declined to name. The business has nine massage rooms and 14 employees. Wong and Myers also plan to open a studio near the North Carolina coast, but the plans are preliminary, Wong said.

As the country’s baby boomers age, more people will turn toward massage and yoga therapies, Myers said. In addition, more people are becoming aware of the need for a healthier lifestyle.

“I think they’re actually starting to realize that there are alternatives, and if they change their lifestyle, they’ll be a little better off,” she said.

■ M. Paul Jackson can be reached at 727-7473.

Article Source:
Winston-Salem Journal

The Business of Massage: An underdeveloped aspect of career success

Recently I have been scouring the web and talking to massage schools about their business programs. There seems to be a wide range of interest and number of hours dedicated to this topic. The business portion of the massage curriculum is often passed around amongst the teachers. Without enthusiasm, they will attempt to teach students who also have little interest in this portion of their leaning. This lack of engagement is interesting when you recognize poor business savvy as a leading cause for therapists departure from the industry.

The following was taken from ABMP’s 2006-2007 Professional Statistics

Attrition an Ongoing Concern:
Practitioner attrition continues to be cause for concern in the massage therapy profession. ABMP estimates some 50,000 massage therapists leave the profession each year. One primary factor that drives this defection;

• As most professionals indicate they wish they had more clients, it is reasonable to conclude that at least some practitioners leave the field because of insufficient economic reward. Contributing to this may be unrealistic expectations of new graduates and a simple lack of business skill and confidence. It proves difficult for sole practitioners to reconcile their sense of higher purpose with the more mundane aspects of self-employment and the competitive realities of self-promotion.

I found some schools only dedicate between 6 – 12 hours to business. I cannot imagine this will equip therapists to thrive in their practice. I did run across one school, Body Wisdom Massage Therapy School, with an impressive 58 business hours. On average, most schools dedicate between 20 – 25 hours. Still, this does not afford a lot of time to equip a therapist with the business aspects of their practice.

I am looking for input from therapists on this topic: What do you feel you need upon graduation to be successful? What did you learn in school that was useful?
What did you feel you missed out on?

You can respond via email at debra@imassageinc.com or feel free to post a comment.

Massage Therapists: Permits and Licenses Quick Link

I receive a newsletter from SCORE and the current edition had a link directing to each state's license and permit requirements for massage therapists. Visit www.business.gov. In the upper right corner you will enter your state and select massage therapist (if the state is regulated). A list of suggestions will populate.

Massage Therapist: Qualities Sought by Employers

A large percentage of therapists will choose to work for others, rather than going into business for themselves, especially right out of school. To be successful, it is important to understand what can be expected in different work environments. I recently sat down with a manager from a large massage center. With almost 20 massage therapists on staff, I was interested in her insights about managing therapists. When asked what would be the top three qualities she would look for in a potential therapist, she listed the following;

1. Communication Skills

Proper communication should begin the second a therapist receives a client into their care until they are transferred to the front desk or the next service. Communication can be broken into three sections; the intake, the session and the transfer. Each section requires thorough, well thought-out client communication to ensure a highly satisfied client.

2. Professionalism

Many employers will have standards in place to create a professional consistent experience for clients. These standards can involve attire, tattoos, hair styles and hygiene. If seeking employment, a therapist should inquire about these standards to ensure they are in alignment with what they are comfortable with. The purpose of standards is not to inhibit personal style, but to deliver to the expectation of the client as determined by the business servicing them.

3. Going Above and Beyond

In her words, this means demonstrating professional “extra interest” in a client. Examples include; taking time to recommend alternative options for pain relief, books of interest for subjects discussed and demonstration of care through remembering previous conversations. These examples demonstrate a level of service most clients will not experience during other interactions with businesses they frequent.

If seeking employment with a massage provider, make a point to ask them during the interview what are the most important qualities they look for in potential employees.

Starting a New Business

The thought of starting a new business can be overwhelming. There are many things which need your attention, usually at the same time. A great resource I have used has been entrepreneuer.com. There are numerous articles on many topics that can assist you. Stop by and take a peek.