The first time I ever experienced a massage was horrible. The second time, I had a chair massage on a beach and the therapist was asking me if I liked my day job. I said no and he suggested I go to massage therapy school. For some strange reason I did.
When I was in school, I got sick. I had an extreme vitamin deficiency and was unaware. My doctors couldn’t figure out what was going on. Finally a guy in my class told me his dad was a Chiropractor and to go see him. He was the one who suggested I wasn’t absorbing vitamins and told me to go back and talk to my doctors, where it was detected as truth. This was the first time I really started to believe in a more holistic approach. I grew to believe in it so much that I eventually quit my job, started my practice, and I’m still here twelve years later.
When I did this though, my family thought I had lost my mind. I have a Cell Biology degree. I worked for one of the top pharmaceutical companies in the entire world. I was giving up a stable, secure job with great benefits to bet on myself in an industry where most aren’t successful. It was risky but I worked hard and it worked. Here I am now.
...my family thought I had lost my mind.
Fear was my biggest challenge when I first started. I had no experience running a business and I wasn’t convinced I was great at massage. I was scared to leave my corporate job which was secure. It left me up at night pondering if I could really do this. Eventually I was forced to leave when I didn’t believe in something my day job did. It rubbed me the wrong way, so I put in my notice and promised myself I’d make this work and I did.
I had no experience running a business and I wasn’t convinced I was great at massage.
I recently overcame the obstacle of expanding my business by building a Contrast Therapy Room. However, I didn’t know that the contractors I hired would take my money and not do their job. I lost tons of money and was left with a half demolished room that was unusable. The city got involved and more money was needed. I thought I was going to have to give up but something told me to keep going. So I worked for the money, communicated with the city, and hired new contractors. I was finally issued the permit to do the work a whole year later which wasn't expected but now we start renovating this week and I’m excited!
Building a business is hard. Especially one in an industry where statistics show that most don’t even make 30K a year. I wanted to give up in the beginning because it was moving slow. It was hard to provide for myself and I had to pay so much out just to have my doors open. I also was dating someone at one point who didn’t believe I could make money doing massage. He would tell me to my face that I wasn’t going to make it and he could take care of me. It angered me so I dropped him like a hot potato and dug even deeper to keep going. I used his demeaning attitude to drive me to success. When people tell me I can’t, I most certainly will.
He would tell me to my face that I wasn’t going to make it and he could take care of me.
In addition to those challenges, I had been injured terribly one day and couldn’t work for months. I also had some ongoing medical issues so I needed help. At that time, I had to learn how to expand and get employees. It was so overwhelming because you never know how much comes with growth. I was worried I couldn’t afford it, couldn’t pay them, or even get them clients. Again, something inside me kept driving me so I did it anyway and now I have happy employees that are some do the best paid massage therapists in town. Sometimes you just have to jump and I’m so glad I did.
With all those challenges, I didn’t give up because I knew there was a reason I was drawn to this path. Even though it was hard, it always felt right. So I kept at it and eventually was able to fully sustain myself and build a multi six figure business and employ others. It feels good to be a staple in my community. I truly care about helping others. I’ve always carried myself in a manner where I am willing to share or help people grow without expecting much in return. I thoroughly enjoy seeing others win and when people are around me, they see that very clearly. My actions follow that path.
My next goal is to start coaching others in my business and teach them how to grow a six figure business. I want to change the stats in this industry and make them more positive. If I did it, I want to show others that they can to. Our profession is necessary and we deserve to be here.
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