What do you need to consider when starting your own business? After you decide what type of business to start, you have to consider how to start a business. You will have to consider things like finances, equipment, advertising, and paying your bills.
One well-respected business anyone can start is becoming a massage therapist. Once you have acquired the necessary certification, you can go into business for yourself.
There are many options to make a good living as a massage therapist. But if you want to prosper, then your best option is to approach it as an entrepreneur. This means that you should treat it more like a business than a way to find employment.
5 Ways To Think Like An Entrepreneur
Here, then, is a 5-step blueprint to create your own massage business:
1: Offer A Service
You must decide what type of service to offer your clients. It’s not enough to advertise yourself as a massage therapist. It is better to specialize. For example, you can specialize as a pain management specialist. Another popular niche is to become a sports massage therapist.
Essentially, then, you need to make a clear offer to the marketplace. The term “massage therapist” is not clear to everyone. You have to spell out what you will do for people. Do you help people ameliorate or overcome chronic pain? Do you help athletes recover from a sport’s injury? Do you help burned-out executives recover from stress? In other words, create a clear value proposition.
Step 2: Get Clients
There are many ways to get clients.
Here are a few ideas to stimulate your imagination:
#1: Advertise in a local newspaper or magazine. Learn copywriting skills or hire a copywriter to create a compelling ad for you. Simply slapping an ad in a print publication is not enough. You must make the ad compelling. This extra step can make all the difference. It’s the difference between barely getting a response to getting flooded with prospects.
#2: Create an online campaign. This can include a website, a blog, and some paid advertising. For paid advertising, you can use Google PPC or Facebook Ads.
#3:. Network with health professionals or athletes.
#4. Visit studios, gyms, and other places where people might need your services. For instance, you could hand out flyers at yoga studios, gyms, or dance studios.
#5. You could get referrals from other massage therapists. Often good therapists are overbooked. They would love to send their clients to someone they can trust to do a good job.
#6: You could work partner with a health care business. By working with a chiropractor, you can complement their practice with your skills.
3. Find A Good Location
Like any other business, location makes a huge difference. While it is possible to work from your home or to travel to a client’s home, this is not a good idea. You will get more walk-in clients by opening up a small office in a retail center. Satisfied clients will then give you referrals.
4. Set Up Your Business
There are some formal steps that you have to go through to set up your business.
Here is a short list of the most important things you need to do:
a. Register the name you have chosen for your massage therapy business with your county or state agency.
b. File an incorporation document with your state. Decide whether to incorporate your business as a limited liability company, a sole proprietorship, or a corporation.
c. Get an Employer Identification Number (EIN). This will help you open a business checking account and pay your business taxes.
d. Obtain financing for your business. You might, for example, apply of a commercial business loan with the help of the Small Business Administration (SBA).
e. Get insurance for your business.
5. Get good equipment and supplies.
Perhaps the most important thing to consider is your massage table. Earthlite.com offers the following tip: First and foremost on the list of importance is the quality of the table. It should strong and stable. For this reason alone the cheapest one on the market should be considered unacceptable for a professional. An effective table should be well constructed so it will last for a long time no matter how much you use it or how much weight it has on it over time. So, make sure to check the weight limit of the table and ensure that it includes a good warranty.
An Excellent Business Model
What makes massage therapy a wonderful business to start is that with low overheads and high earnings per hour. If you approach it like an entrepreneur, you can prosper.
Good side hustle Pauline. I know a lot of massage therapists who visit gym where I work out. They hand out fliers and sometimes do massage on the site.
I would also add to listen to your clients. Some like a deeper massage while others like a lighter touch. Asking and knowing your clients will help you keep them coming back. Also be sure to ask if they have any trouble areas to focus on too.
This is a great idea for a business. I actually have a friend who started such a business and he’s thriving. He’s done some serious studying, quite some work, but I have seen outstanding results for him. Definitely a great business idea, if done properly.
This is a really great article, not only for massage therapists, but for anyone who offers a service. My husband is a drummer and is trying to build up his student base. The list of ways to “get clients” that you included is awesome for helping him as well! I’ll have to send it to him!
I hope that massage therapists can become financially stable. Whenever I go to massage therapy, I feel like a new person afterwards. I think if they offer such great services, they should get paid for it. I like your tip to get clients and stick with them.
Thanks for sharing this awesome content about of massage. I am really thankful to you. Waiting for your next piece of content. Well done. Keep posting regularly. Because I would like to visit your site regularly.
Informative and interesting Blog! Beautifully written, as usual, I like the post. Thank you so much for nice sharing with us. Keep posting!
Massages are one of my favourite de-stress methods! You definitely got all of the benefits down! Love the post and am now inspired to go make an appointment for a massage!
Great business idea! Love this post. Thanks for this great think that really helpful.
That sounds like a dream job. And thanks a lot for sharing this article. You give me a lot of courage to fulfill my business dream. Although I would like mainly tantra massage, something like this. I’d love to do that.