In the last post, we covered how to navigate any blocks you might be having about bringing money into your life through your massage practice.
Now it’s time to dig into the next HUGE stumbling block for most practitioners.
Sadly, most of us are taught to believe that other massage therapists or even practitioners of other modalities are our competition and should be avoided like the plague. I’m serious, this makes me incredibly sad.
Building a massage business is a fundamentally creative act. And who wants to create anything in that kind of environment?
Now, I’m not saying you should send your potential clients to someone else just for the heck of it. You own a business and need to take care of it.
What I am saying is that we can all own businesses and still be in truly vibrant community together. . . in fact, that’s when it works best! You’ll see why below. So, here it is . . .
p.s. I’m going to recommend that you get your worksheet now, but wait to complete it until after you’ve read this whole post.
Get your Myth #2 worksheet now.
Myth #2:
I can (or should) do it alone.
This is such a big and powerful myth. In addition to cutting us off from our colleagues, this can actually slow us down A LOT when building a practice.
Something in our cultural training encourages us to be the fearless leader, the hero, the one who makes a huge and important task effortless. And, while it’s kind of fun to think about, that streak of individual power is somewhat off.
Yes, indeed, you will build your practice through your own good work. No one else can do it for you. However, trying to figure out everything that needs to be done, and in what order, all on your own, is needlessly exhausting, frustrating, and demoralizing.
In owning your own massage practice, you will need to conserve your energy so that you can run a first-class business behind the scenes, while being fully present with your clients during your sessions together.
The absolutely easiest way I have found to make sure this happens is to work with other people who have already achieved what you are working for, and to find like-minded colleagues who really get you and who are working on the same process of growing their practice.
This is super important because, let’s face it, not everyone will really get what you are trying to do.
There are a lot of people who are very satisfied continuing to work for a spa or a chiropractor or holding down a completely different day job and running their small private practice during evenings or weekends. And there’s nothing wrong with that, if that’s what you really want.
But if what you want is your own full-time, thriving practice, then you need mentors and colleagues who are working to do that as well. These connections can save you a MASSIVE amount of time and energy.
Seriously, if you are struggling with pricing (as we were talking about in the last post) and you need to bounce some ideas off of someone, it really is invaluable if that someone can relate and knows exactly what you’re talking about, right?
In addition to the practical help that these collegial relationships offer, there is a lot of joy in them, too. I have never talked to another practitioner who has also built their own practice and we didn’t spend hours swapping stories, laughing, helping each other get to the next level. It is so satisfying (and necessary!) to have companions on this road of owning your own practice.
It is essential to create strong relationships with others who are doing this work, who are going through the trials and successes of practice building.
As much as we each have our own work to do, entrepreneurship really is a team effort. We need each other.
There have been so many times when the encouragement of my massage therapist friends and mentors have gotten me over a hump when I wanted to quit, or when my encouragement to them has helped them do something scary like raise their prices, etc.
We all pass around this needed growth energy when we are in community together.
Now, please take the time to complete your Myth #2 Worksheet.
And, finally, we need to talk about the third big (and possibly biggest) myth that holds people back from really getting the practice they want . . . Myth #3.
Author Profile
- Isabel Spradlin has owned her full-time practice since 2007. She has a deep drive to help other massage therapists and bodyworkers to create thriving businesses for themselves. For comprehensive programs to help you do just that, see the 'Programs' tab in the menu.
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