I read a fabulous little blog by Bodywork Buddy a few days back and I thought I might touch on it for you today. The blog, written by Cindy Iwlew, asked the following question: Do you have 10 minutes today to work on building your massage business? Cindy then listed a variety of quick-and-easy tips to building that business in less than 10 minutes a day. These tips included – amongst other things – sending postcards to clients you haven’t seen in a while, calling local wellness clinics to discuss co-promotion, and sending handwritten thank you notes.

What I like about the list Cindy provided (and it is longer; I just gave you a taste above) is that it offers you real-life, totally reasonable suggestions for marketing and building your massage business. Marketing can be a daunting task for many of us, but it is critical nonetheless. It brings people right where you need them: to your massage tables.

Most of you reading this are massage therapists. When you went to massage school, you probably weren’t taking business classes on the side. Just because it wasn’t your choice of study, however, doesn’t mean you can get away without it. Marketing is crucial to growing your business. To build on Cindy’s advice, let me suggest the following: Don’t skirt marketing advice because your business is doing reasonably well. Imagine, for a moment, how well it could be doing if you took a simple 10 minutes each workday to enhance it.

To my mind, the possibilities are truly endless.

We had a client visit the office a few days back. After some time chatting with her, I realized how many connections we shared (both within the industry and outside of it). Although we had known one another for quite some time, we had no idea how many connections we shared. That night, I started thinking about connections and how they factor into our success in the massage industry.To me, it boils down to this: Our connections to others – be they to other massage therapists, industry leaders, or clients – are just as important as our massage skills.

Connections with professionals:The value of attending professional events simply cannot be underestimated. I realize that we don’t always have the time to spend days and weeks traveling the country from one massage-related event to the next. With two kids at home, I know I certainly don’t. However, getting to know other professionals as often as is reasonably possible for you can give you a support system to lean on when a concern arises or when you need advice. What’s more, attending professional events can be tremendously helpful from a marketing perspective. After all, it is the perfect spot to showcase your unique skills.

Connections with clients.The client connection is a sometimes-tricky, but still monumentally important connection. While I don’t necessarily recommend talking to clients excessively throughout their sessions on your massage table, it is important that one connect with them on a personal level during each visit. How do we do this without talking throughout a treatment?Quite easily, in fact. Check in with your clients before and after their sessions. Ask how they are doing and really listen to their responses. I’m always tickled when a service provider of any type remembers something I told him or her a few visits back. It tells me that someone is listening. It tells me that someone cares. This, subsequently, brings me back in for more.

You may not have the time or money to attend all the big industry events, but there are plenty of smaller, local events out there. You may have limited time to chat with your clients, but you’d be surprised what a little extra effort can do. Truth be told, I’ve only scratched the surface of the importance of connections to your business. I hope, though, that the aforementioned examples will get your creative juices flowing on how to make more and better connections with those around you. If anything, you’ll have fun doing it. Connect away … my friends!

Happy Massaging!

Last night I got my nails done. While, admittedly, they might be a little over the top (sparkling purple), I’m rather pleased with them. So much so, in fact, that I can’t help but blog about my experience today. Here’s how the story goes:

I’m typing away yesterday and one of my acrylic nails pops off. I look down, frustrated (I don’t have time for this nonsense!), and I continue typing. Not long after, another pops off. Are you kidding me? Now I’m really annoyed. One missing acrylic nail I can hide, but two missing nails – that is a bit more challenging. Promptly, I call my nail girl, Jenny, and I ask if she can squeeze me in right after work. I know it is unlikely she is free, but I remind her that it has only been a week. I normally don’t go in for a fill before two – even three – weeks. Something, I remark, must be wrong. Maybe they are too thin?

Sweet as apple pie, Jenny offers to fit me in right away. I am, of course, pleased that she has fit me in, but – in truth – I’m annoyed to even be there. I have a million other things to be doing; my nails are not among them. By the time I get there, yet another nail has broken and I probably don’t look too happy. But, true to form, Jenny smiles widely and escorts me to the chair. She apologizes, chit-chats, teases me for looking so professional (I normally show up in jeans and flip-flops on Sunday afternoons – not right after work) and proceeds to give me the wildest, most over-the-top-playful set of acrylic nails I’ve ever had. In fairness, I probably would not have ever chosen what Jenny did for me. I’m normally a French-tip-pale-pink kinda gal. But, her enthusiasm to give me an amazing set of nails after my bad experience was contagious.

So, yes, my nails are a little wilder than usual. They are a brilliant array of cascading purple sparkles. When they catch the light, they glitter every imaginable shade of purple from the palest lavender to the deepest violet. I’ve had more comments on them than I’ve had on my nails in years. And, yes, while they may be a little more playful than I’d have chosen on my own, Jenny did the right thing. Here is my reasoning. Jenny took what was, at the start, a complete and utter frustration and turned it into an experience that I can’t stop talking about. She successfully made a negative into a positive so that I now can’t help but focus on the fabulous artistry painted across my fingertips rather than the fact that the old set broke off early.

That is the point I set out to make in today’s blog. I know you aren’t all doing nails, nor would I recommend – even if you were – that you go glitter-purple on frustrated clients. In fairness, Jenny has known me for years and has a strong enough relationship with me to know that I will let her experiment. But Jenny is a perfect example of how we, as professionals, can turn an experience around. We set the tone for every client’s experience by going above and beyond.

Every client who finds him or herself on your massage table is one who might, given the quality of the experience, rave about it. After all, one incredible hour having my nails done had enough impact on me to result in an entire blog. What might an incredible hour on your massage table result in? At the absolute least, it will result in word-of-mouth referrals. And that, my friends, is something none of us would turn down.

So, the next time you have an upset, frustrated, oreven ambivalent client, make that extra effort. Try that fun new technique and go the extra mile for them. I think you will be amazed at the results.

I have been rather impressed by the number of recent studies into the benefits and efficacy of massage. One, in particular, really got my attention recently. To be clear, this wasn’t just any study; in fact, it was a meta-analysis of the research literature from 37 studies involving massage. In short, it was a study of massage studies. Impressive, eh?I thought so, too.

Not surprisingly, this meta-analysis concluded that there is, indeed, an exhaustive list of benefits to receiving massage. I won’t get into all of the details; you can easily research them online. Instead, I’d like to leave you with some of the crux of their findings – call it a “teaser” of sorts. I hope that this will pique your interest and encourage you to dig even further into the proven benefits of massage.

The results (in a nutshell, anyway):

Compared to control groups, participants who received one massage were more likely to experience reduced anxiety, blood pressure, and heart rate. Collectively, they experienced improvement in pain levels, cortisol, and – amazingly – mood.

What’s more, participants who received regular massages showed a reduction in anxiety and depression similar to levels experienced in psychotherapy. Impressed again, aren’t you?Me too. Considering the ramifications of anxiety and depression on overall health and wellness, this news moves well beyond good. It is, in fact, incredible.

Summing it up …

Yes, you’ve known for a while how beneficial massage is for your clients. They get on your massage table as one person and leave it as another person altogether. They come back to you because they know, on many levels, that massage benefits them. But, did they (and do you) really know the depth of it? If not, now is as good a time as any to learn. You are a part of the healing process that massage offers. So, take some time to research its proven benefits. You know that clients come to you for a reason. Back it up with facts and share that information with others. Your business will be the better for it.

Sometimes I think that facecradles don’t get the attention they deserve. After all, they have the ability to dramatically affect the comfort of a client during their experience on your massage table. But, exactly what makes a quality facecradle? I’ll try to sum it up.

To start, it’s designed for comfort. This means it was designed to contour and cushion the face and to reduce pressure on the forehead and on the sinuses. To my mind, truly comfortable facecradles are generally adjustable. Because every client’s body is unique, an adjustable, well-designed facecradle is truly crucial.

Now – let’s chat price. The matter of the fact is that regardless of how incredible a product is, it has to be priced so the average massage therapist or spa can afford it. If it isn’t affordable, quality is really a moot point.

Last, but certainly not least, is a product’s warranty. Now, I know what you’re thinking. What does a warranty have to do with quality? Well, here’s the thing, it doesn’t really matter how incredible a product is if you break it and it isn’t covered under a warranty. So, while a warranty doesn’t improve quality per se, it certainly improves your ability to use a quality product for a longer period. To me, that’s a big deal.

So, do your research the next time you are considering a new facecradle. Read the reviews and talk to friends and industry colleagues about what they are using. Look into the technology used to create a product and ask questions of a company’s staff about its warranty policies. I strongly suspect that you’ll be glad you did.

Have you considered offering gift certificates? If you have, you aren’t alone. In fact, I’d venture to say that most massage therapists have considered offeringthem over the years. To my mind, gift certificates offeran incredible amount to massage therapists. So, if you haven’t jumped on board yet, it might be time to do so. Here’s why:

Gift certificates bring new clients in.Because gift-receivers are prospective (practically guaranteed) clients for you, gift certificates can have a very real effect on the number of new clients you’ll see.

Gift certificates bring existing customers back.In the rare chance that a client decides to move on, the fact that they have a gift certificate for your business is likely to keep them coming longer. This gives you more chances to impress them on your massage table and, thusly, to keep them coming back.

Gift certificates help build your brand.Building a brand is crucial to marketing any business and that includes massage.Gift certificates are a fantastic way of marketing and branding yourself. Every time a client sees your name on a gift certificate, it is a gentle reminder of the services you provide. And, better yet, when a client gifts one of your certificates to someone else, the client is marketing your brand for you. It is hard to go wrong there.

Without question, I believe gift certificates wield the power to improve your massage business. If anything, it can’t hurt to try them out. If you decide they aren’t worth your while, you can always discontinue offering them. But, admittedly, I think that’s unlikely. Either way, happy massaging!

I don’t make it a point of blogging about specific products very often. The truth is that I hope you read and enjoy my blog even if all of your massage equipment isn’t from this website. Why?Because that’s okay. Only you know how to make the right purchasing decisions for your business. My hope is to provide you with relevant information to make those decisions (regardless of what brand you purchase).

With that said, I simply can’t resist talking about the Zenvi™ Sound Cushion today –not because I want to plug a product, but because my experience with it has been truly extraordinary. You see, I am a regular consumer of massage. My intentions to get a massage weekly generally fall slightly short, bleeding into the once-every-two-weeks-or-so category. Still, I’m a pretty regular consumer. And I love it. Simply.Can’t. Live. Without.It.

Okay, so now you know that I’m a massage junkie. What you might not know is what I absolutely abhor during a massage. Well, I’m going to tell you:I abhor background noise. Call me finicky and high-maintenance. Okay … I’m not really that bad. I am, however, easily distracted and my massage therapist’s room isn’t 100% soundproof. So, background noise drives me crazy. Just crazy!

Massage is my one respite amidst life’s unending chaos. When I lay on that massage table, I want every concern to melt away. This is where Zenvi™ comes in. Finally, there is a product that brings music to the forefront, thereby thrusting ambient noise to the background. For me, this is pure bliss. I place my head in theZenvi™ facecradle (a.k.a. Sound Cushion), I connect it to my therapist’s iPod or iPhone(or even to my own if I prefer) and for fifty minutes, I hear the crystal clearsound vibrations that subtly drown out the rest of the world. It is an oasis, I tell you.

To my mind, it’s a must-have for therapists in loud environments. And because the Zenvi™ Sound Cushion fits massage chairs as well, it’s also the perfect accessory for the mobile massage therapist. It’s comfortable, it’s unique, and it transports their clients into what Earthlite calls an “Instant Oasis.” I agree with them: an oasis it is.

So, the next time you’re looking for a facecradle, consider giving clients like me a little something extra. Give us an escape from the ordinary, an oasis … give us musical bliss. We’ll thank you for it.

Let me preface today’s blog by stating that I’m not going to go into extraordinary detail on taking care of yourself. Why?Because I feel confident that you already know what I’m going to say. In truth, you’ve probably said some of the very same things to others. So, rather than go on and on, I thought today’s blog might serve as a simple and friendly reminder. The long and short: You absolutely must take care of yourself in order to effectively perform your craft.

It shouldn’t be a surprise that your health and well-being are crucial in your ability to successfully give massage for lengthy periods of time. After all, you know the benefits of massage. You tout them to others every day. Don’t deprive yourself of those very same benefits. To my mind, you are the most valuable tool in your business arsenal. And you take care of your other tools, right? You clean and maintain your massage table, don’t you? Imagine if you put the same energy into yourself that you do into your massage equipment.

So, swap massages with other professionals, drink plenty of fluids, relax, and make sure to take time for yourself. In the end, I think you know that you’ll be the better for it.

I called up an industry colleague and good friend a few days back. I had a technical question regarding liability insurance for a project I was working on. Over the course of the conversation, I was shocked to learn how few states actually require it. As it turns out, only 7 states require liability insurance for licensing. Certainly, franchises and business owners all over the country can and do require it of their employees, but your average independent massage therapist isn’t (in all but 7 states) required to purchase liability insurance.

Literally, I tell you, I was floored. I’ve long been a proponent of massage liability insurance. Certainly, there are plenty of people out there who would disagree with me. For many, it’s an extra expense in an already tough economy. I absolutely understand that. Others feel that if you are diligent in your practice, it’s highly unlikely you’ll ever actually need it. Admittedly, there is some accuracy to that statement. To my mind, however, that is a big risk to take. A really big risk.

You can be exceptionally talented and diligent in your practice. You can ask all the right questions in the client history interview, maintain and sanitize your massage table and equipment, follow safety guidelines, and still run into problems. After all, you simply can’t control everything. While you are unlikely to ever need it, it’s a minimal expense considering the potential financial risk of not having it.

So, at least consider it. My hope is that you’ll never have to use massage liability insurance, but if you do, you’ll be ecstatic that you have it.

I recently had a massage experience in which the music was less than ideal. It was too loud, the speakers were raspy, and it was so intense that I could hardly relax on the massage table.The first thing I did after that massage was to complain about it. I felt as if my money had been wasted and was angry with myself for having not spoken up about the music. To a certain extent, my bad experience was my own fault and I knew it. While the therapist should have warned me of her unique musical preference, I should have spoken up early on. Still, big baby that I am, I whined to friends and colleagues about the massage.

Strangely, in the days that followed, the internet was abuzz with chatter about new alternative spa treatments. Among these treatments were several that included alternative styles of music (i.e. heavy metal and pop). I read the articles and gave them considerable thought. I even quizzed other industry professionals about the concept. As much of a Metallica fan as I am, I just couldn’t imagine getting a massage to it. So, I wondered, what did others think? Was I alone in my opinion that massage music should be soft and soothing? As it turns out, I wasn’t alone so much as I wasn’t looking at the big picture.

The truth is that we all have varying tastes in music. What soothes one person has the potential to annoy the next. While I still believe that most therapists should default to the more traditional, soothing music that clients are used to (classic guitar, harp, nature sounds, etc.), there is nothing wrong with branching out as long as (and this is key) the client is comfortable with a unique musical experience. If you want to design a treatment to the sound of an electric guitar and market it to your clientele, do so. Just make sure clients are aware of this so they know what to expect. You might find that they love it. I hope you do.

Personally, I’m not able to relax in a massage with these heavier types of music. But I am only one person. There are plenty of people out there who want a different experience. Who am I to say what they want? In short, there is nothing wrong with a little creativity where music is concerned. As long as your client appreciates the experience, you’ve done your job. Happy listening!