www.thebodyworker.com

There is such a double edged sword with billing insurance companies…

On one hand we need to make a living and for the most part, mva insurance pays reasonably well. It is not the case for HMO’s and PPO’s in which massage therapists here in WA state are able to be providers…

They pay less than my going rate and take a long time to pay. They are constantly lowering the amount they pay and constantly lowering benefits.

The thing is do we really even want to be a part of the medical system that is only out to make money for themselves and not care for clients????

I wrote a guest editorial last year on just that topic that you can read online at my website- www.thebodyworker.com

I am starting to think that wanting to be part of such networks that don’t respect and value our work will continue to devalue the profession as a whole. We really need to become more active and stand up for ourselves, but we really don’t have a unified and strong enough profession having 3 different main professional associations with differences of opinions…

What do you think about billing insurance companies?

Why do you think you need to do that for your clients rather than working on clients who already value your work and are willing to pay cash for your services?

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I would wager that our profession offers their work in trade more than any other profession. We trade our work for other services such as health care, car repairs, and for massage itself.

When we trade away our services, I think we are actually in a way devaluing ourselves. It becomes an easy way out of not taking responsibility for ourselves and doing what work we need to do to get the money to pay for what ever services we need.
If you need a massage, why don’t you go and pay someone for a massage. After all that is what you want others to do with you - pay you that is. When we don’t pay for services they in a way seem to have less value. What we value we pay for and while we do pay for it in our time, isn’t our time worth alot more than that???

Also when we start trading it is a dual relationship which is always the cause of trouble. One person values the time more and may take advantage of the other - not showing up on time, calling to cancel at the last minute thinking they will understand or whatever- that’s a whole other issue - the dual relationships we create for ourselves.

Dual relationships are sticky - if you know what I mean. There is always a hidden agenda of some sort or something that comes up to create stress within that relationship.

I am sure this will get alot of reactions from people. I have traded for many services in the past and know how it feels. I am sometimes tired when I work on the other person and may not give my best session. I wonder how many times that has happened with the person who was working on me.

How do you feel when trading your work for other services especially for massage?

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Starting a Massage Business that will be able to withstand the challenges and pressures of todays economy needs a solid framework to sit on. This is created by setting clear boundaries to work within and to allow space for the client to heal.

Things like setting your hours has a big influence on how much people will actually respect you. If you come in when ever they want you to, you will end up catering to people who are trying to manipulate you. If you start giving up time with your family and social circles, your practice will suffer in the long run - even though you may think you are doing it because you need the money now.

Other factors such as setting your fees and asking for the amount that you need to make a living are important too. If you start out asking too little, it will be hard to raise them to something more acceptable. If you think you need to start low because you are just starting out and you need to attract clients that way, you are also creating an image that you aren’t worth more. While you can change it later- it is harder to get out of it. I think everyone should be setting their fees according to what they need to make.

For more on setting boundaries…

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And I thought I was the massage information Junkie….

www.massagenerd.com has got me beat!!!

He has everything from massage pictures, chart notes, all kind of forms, muscle charts,

Ebooks and Videos on every topic you can think of…

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I just read about a new browser that Dr Mercola of www.mercola.com is promoting. He says he has stopped using Google and is using this new software that he created.

It is called Search Helper…

To me it looks like the same thing you can get from www.nichebrowser.com for free - you just have to deal with their sales efforts after the free download…but it is easy to get stop their efforts by opting out.
I emailed them both to see what is up with this new browser.

I already downloaded the nichebrowser and haven’t started using it but may because after I had it explained by mercola it made more sense to use…

Anyway…interesting stuff here on the web…everyone is just trying to make a buck!!

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