About Isabel

I’m Isabel Spradlin and I’m so glad you’re here!

My practice is in Portland, Oregon and I’ve had my full-time, private practice as my sole source of income since 2007. My massage credential is: OR LMT#14111.

I know first-hand that figuring out how to grow a practice full of (full-pay) clients who you genuinely enjoy working with can be incredibly frustrating.  We all need help along the way.

When I started out, I really thought I knew what I was doing and that it would be easy.  I thought everything would just fall into place for my practice.  It was hard for me to admit otherwise when, 6 months later, I was completely, frighteningly broke and thinking this thing might never work.

This is such a common entrepreneurial story – so predictable, in fact, that it’s almost boring! 

Perhaps it’s necessary to go through some of that trial by fire.  But I hope you are here so that you can avoid such extremes.  I hope you’re way out ahead of your practice and are thinking, Hey, how do I make sure I don’t end up broke and scared when I start my practice?

Or, maybe you’re like I was and you need help digging out of a hole in your practice.

Either way, I’m here for you.

Once it was clear that my practice wasn’t going to just happen, I went on a mission to find every bit of information I could to help me grow my practice.  Going back to work for someone else was not an option.  I HAD to work for myself, period.

I went to great lengths to find the help I needed.  Now, I am so pleased to be able to offer my programs in this very focused way so that it can be easier for you.

Because, here’s what I learned:

Growing a business is complex and there’s no easy, one-step solution to anything.  And because I KNOW that, I’ve gained the skills I need (and you need!) to make sure our businesses work. 

I am very proud that in 2018, NCBTMB accepted me as an approved CE provider.  And, that the OYP program finished the extensive vetting process by them and was awarded 42 continuing education hours!

I think it’s important for you to know that I’m still practicing.  Lots of people teach massage business skills who haven’t ever run a long-term, successful, full-time massage practice (or they did at one time, but a long time ago).  That bugs me.  I don’t teach you to do anything I haven’t specifically done for my own practice, and that I don’t continue to do for my own practice.

I’ve broken the down what I teach into the simplest, clearest form I can. I have stripped down all of the information I’ve gained over the last decade, from in-person to online, so that you can have just the information that reliably works. 

My whole idea is to save you huge amounts of time and energy that you can then put into enjoying your time with your family, friends, or building other aspects of your business. I had to piece everything together as I went. Now I am so glad to give you the streamlined version so you don’t have to struggle to piece it together for yourself.

A bit more about me . . .

Over the last year, I’ve been practicing not working quite so much (not an easy thing for me!).  It’s given me a chance to rekindle my love of hard-core gardening, long camping/backpacking trips, and reading for hours on end.  Staying strong through exercise has always been important to me, even more since I was diagnosed with ankylosing spondylitis several years ago.  I’m also a life-long reader and critical thinker – I’m always curious to know what’s going on behind whatever is going on.  I practiced yoga for 20 years (and taught for a few of years, too). 

In the last twelve years, I have started and helped to run two different networking groups for practitioners, participated in (and occasionally run) countless workshops, seminars, and business building classes.  I’ve worked with mentors, mentored others, and once my practice was stable, created solid online programs for my specialty (abdominal massage) in order to serve thousands of people beyond my own in-person practice. All of which to say, I know this business.  I know this industry.  I know the joys and frustrations, the true ups and downs of being a long-time massage therapist in private practice . . . because I am one. I’ve done all of this because I feel so passionately that anyone and everyone who wants their own private practice, should have one.  I really believe that is the best thing for all of us.

When you are truly happy in your own private practice, our whole profession benefits. Check out the programs page here.

Tally ho!  ~Isabel