I built my practice on massage for pain relief. You can, too. And you don’t need to shell out thousands of dollars to learn how to do it. Why? Because on some level with every massage you do now, you’re already doing pain relief massage. You can make pain relief massage your signature massage by doing these 3 things: 1. Calibrate your pressure, 2. Double down on therapeutic rapport, and 3. Follow a treatment plan. I Thought I Had the Answer I became certified in neuromuscular massage therapy (NMT) in 1999 because I wanted to get people better. In my mind at the time, here’s how things would g ..read more

Is there a bad body-mechanics position when doing massage? I used to think so. But the answer to me now is more nuanced. Instead of “good” and “bad” or “correct” and “incorrect”, I view body mechanics positions as “short term” and “long term” positions. A “short term” body position will cause you pain sooner than later. That means you don’t want to hang out in this position for too long. For example, if you are hunching over to work an area, you will want to change that position before it starts hurting your back. You probably see where I am going here: A “short term” body position is okay to ..read more

Relaxation massage at medium and deep pressure can beat up my hands. That’s why I use a massage pressing tool. Dude, that’s called acupressure. True, if I only pressed, but I glide, too. A pressing massage tool (pictured below) not only can be used to do static or reciprocating pressure when gliding with body parts (hands, knuckles, fists, forearms), it can also be used  as the primary gliding vehicle, too. Using a Massage Pressing Tool for Static Pressure During a Glide Stroke Using a massage pressing tool for static pressure during a glide stroke is fairly straight forward. You glide w ..read more

I have a “that’s good, but wtf?!” feeling towards national massage spas, like Massage Envy. The “good” part is that they provide steady work. The “wtf?!” part is everything else: Low wages, a churn and burn business model, and the soul sucking break room where if you weren’t already miserable walking in, you will be before you walk out. These massage titans are ubiquitous. Massage Envy has 1200 locations, 1.5 million members and are in 49 of 50 states in the US. And they have massive budgets for marketing. Meanwhile, the independent massage therapist is rolling change to see if she has enough ..read more

I’m 100% on my own when it comes to making money in my massage practice or any other business that I have. That means I have to sell, produce and deliver to eat. No one gives me sick days or vacation days. No one pays for my insurance. Without me it all falls down. And, yes, I wear Depends. Okay, so I don’t where Depends, but the pressure of working for myself sometimes makes me feel like I need them. But there’s a good side to pressure, too. Pressure forces me to figure things out. Here’s what I mean. Pressure and Having a Massage Practice Say you take the leap and go out on your own. Okay ..read more

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This post was going to be called How to Hit Your Massage Number. But I didn’t go with that title because before the how there needs to be a why. And that why needs to be compelling for one simple reason: If you stay connected with the why (the need to hit your number) then, more than likely, you’re going to hit your number. Let me explain. Hitting Your Massage Number First, by hitting your number I mean that you achieve the weekly number of massages you set as a goal. If you were in sales hitting your number would be straightforward. Your sales goal number would be put on a board or entered in ..read more

What do you really need to do to build a massage business? Before you invest in branding and more advanced massage certifications, invest in understanding what: 1. motivates you, 2. keeps you focused, 3. scares you to death and, 4. compels you to finish a task. The Problem With Not Knowing Yourself Here’s a question that I still ask myself: Why did it take me so long to build a cranking massage business? The answer? I didn’t understand me. More specifically, I didn’t understand what prevented me from accomplishing my goals. For example, once when my wife, Lisa, and I opened up a new office, i ..read more

You have to sell—especially if you’re going to work for yourself.  But, if you’re like me, selling is a gigantic mountain to climb. For one, I hate, hate, hate sales scripts, strategies and formulas. Sales, to me, is not a game where the customer is prey. A customer is a human being who deserves honesty and respect. That said, I finally found a way to sell where I don’t feel like I need to take a shower afterwards. To Sell Is Human I don’t think selling is simple. Throughout my life, I’ve failed a bazillion-ish or so times to be comfortable with selling. Then, after reading To Sell ..read more

Am I introverted? OMG, put a laptop with a WIFI connection in my massage room and you won’t see me for a month. Basically, that’s how I ran my massage business when I first started. I’d sit in my office at The Edge (a local fitness center) writing on my laptop with my door half-open. Only customers who really wanted to see me would put up with the irritated looks that I’d give them after they’d knock on the door and interrupt my stream of consciousness (haha). Talk about a doomed-to-fail marketing strategy: Be semi-visible (and give nasty looks) to potential customers who randomly walked by ..read more