Massage Practice Builder

Lately I have been thinking about some of the paths that the massage profession has been taking and I wonder how it will all affect the future of the massage profession.

One of the trends that I see is more high school students asking about a career in massage.  They usually come asking questions like ‘Do I have to take math?’ or ‘What classes do I have to take in high school?” Most are looking for jobs not careers.  I have always found jobs to be an interesting topic of discussion.  Psychologists like James Hollis talk about how Jobs are really just a continuation of the dysfunctional family with a boss who never seems to get it to employees who just want their paycheck and want to get out of there. He talks about how people look for jobs to fill needs of security and other needs for love and nurturing.  We project our early childhood needs onto jobs. Massage jobs are becoming more available with the opening of many massage franchises where they hire massage therapists at $15 an hour and have very few if any benefits. The statistics from ABMP from a few years ago still say that the average age for massage therapists is 45 but I would bet that those numbers have changed since more massage jobs have opened up.  But if that is true think about how massage schools are set up to teach older people with more life experience compared to teaching someone right out of high school.  Is there a difference?  I would think that there is but am not sure.

What happens during a massage session done from a massage therapist who is only being paid $15 an hour?  Is it enough for them to be totally present with the client or are they just thinking about when will the session end so they can go to lunch?  Is the quality of care being compromised?

What kind of massage do you get from someone who just wanted to get out of taking math classes in high school?

I have also heard many massage employees who are not just right out of high school say things like “I am not going to voice my concerns to management” out of fear of losing their jobs most likely.  They just do as they are told and would rather not participate.  When they don’t have clients they are usually paid minimum wage.  When the business is slow they are cleaning the bathroom.

I know I came to the massage profession 20 years ago at about age 30 and there weren’t any jobs to be had really.  Some chiropractors may have independent contractor positions but that was about it.  I never even thought about a job.  I started out in my own business right out of massage school and never looked back.  I did have some background in customer service and had been involved in some marketing for companies I had previously worked for.  Massage for me was always learning more about myself and learning to communicate with others.  Massage for me was never a job- I always looked forward to going in to my office for the most part.  I never really felt like it was ‘work’ – the kind of work where you always look forward to Fridays.  I got to set my own schedule, do my own thing and choose the clients that I work with.  I could take what classes I wanted and come and go as I pleased. I looked forward to every client and learning new ways to promote myself and learning new things about myself. I was always learning new techniques to try on my client to see if I could help them more.  It has been more of a spiritual and personal growth career for me – never a job.

What are the people who take massage jobs at $15 an hour looking forward to?  Getting a better job that pays $20 or $25 an hour?  Or maybe not because they haven’t had math classes and don’t know the difference?

Writing a massage business plan begins with creating a simple vision statement as I talked about  last week. The next step is to weave it into a mission and purpose statement which often gets confusing depending on how you want to define those terms.

In order to create a business mission statement you must know what your personal mission statement is because it is important to have the same things in your personal and business mission statement otherwise you will be working out of integrity with yourself.

To do this you must know what you value.  Taking some time to think about what you value and why you value it will help you create a mission statement that is more true to yourself.

Here are some examples of various companies mission statements:

• Reebok: “Our purpose is to ignite a passion for winning, to do the extraordinary, and to capture the customer’s heart and mind.”
• Walt Disney: “To make people happy.”
• Wal-Mart: “To give ordinary folk the chance to buy the same things as rich people.”
• The Body Shop: “Tirelessly work to narrow the gap between principle and practice whilst making fun, passion and care part of our daily lives.”
• Sony: “Our mission is to experience the joy of advancing and applying technology for the benefit of the public.”
• Coca Cola: “The basic proposition of our business is simple, solid and timeless. When we bring refreshment, value, joy and fun to our stakeholders, then we successfully nurture and protect our brands.”
• 3M: “To solve unsolved problems innovatively.”
• Federal Express : “Help the world through better and faster communications”

Your vision that is based on the values that you honor will drive you to take the steps in your mission statement. Your mission is what you intend to become or accomplish. It should be challenging but achievable. It is what will take your vision from dream to reality.

A mission statement will include your purpose an values.  Your values are often inherited or values that have been ingrained in you rather than ones you have personally chosen.  Taking the time to consider your values and choose values can make a powerful impact on the way you will run your business.  Your values drive your actions.  The mission does not say how the results will be achieved.  That will be done in the planning section of a massage business plan.

For more information see also:

Massage Business Plans on www.massage-career-guides.com

Mission Statements on www.thebodyworker.com

Share your Mission Statements here to try them out!

One of the most basic things to do when starting or building your masage busines is to create a simple massage business plan to keep you focused on what you want to achieve and outline the steps you want to take to get there.  It doesn’t have to be a comprehensive plan with detailed financial statements unless you are looking for small business loans.

A business plan will keep you inspired to move forward even in challenging times.  It begins with having a vision for yourself and your business.   What do you envision for yourself? What will make a successful massage business?  A successful massage business has the required income it needs to be able to pay the bills and have the things you desire while also providing meaning for each business owner.  You can be financially well off but not be personally satisfied.   Your vision will include what it is that will bring you a feeling of satisfaction or meaning in your life.  Without a business vision to inspire you, your chances of ending up in a state of burnout increases.

A vision statement is a one or two sentence statement about what you see is possible for your business.  Bill Gates started with the vision of “A computer on every desk’.   I know when I first started out my vision was that every person in the world should be getting a massage once a week and that would lead to world peace!  While that may seem a little grand it has lead to me writing extensively online about massage, becoming a massage therapist and supporting other massage therapists in building $100,000 a year businesses.  I actually never thought I would be writing when I first started out, but I did believe in that vision and still do!  (Maybe Obama is looking for  a minister of massage?)

Your business vision will require that you take steps to learn and continually improve yourself in some way.  Your business plan will then complete the process on how you will achieve that.

You can also start with a simple massage business vision of ‘having 20 clients a week that pay me $100 per session”.  That may or may not fit for you.  It may bring up many feelings of I don’t think I can charge that much or want to charge that much.  Set a goal that you feel that you can achieve.  ‘I have 10 clients a week that pay me $60 an hour’.  As you achieve your goals you will build self confidence to the point where having 20 clients that pay $100 per session is not that far off.

Your vision should call to you and pull you along.  It should inspire you to take the steps you need to take to achieve it.  Reviewing your business plan every week and making adjustment or adding a project will help you to get to where you want to be.  Then you start it all over again with higher and bigger goals?

What is your vision for your massage business?  What is your vision for the massage profession itself?

Read more about Massage Business Plans on my site at www.thebodyworker.com