Archive for Julie Onofrio

Marketing you massage practice

January 17, 2007 Julie Onofrio Start Your Massage Business, The Wealthy Massage Therapist

Marketing a Massage Practice or any other business for that matter is a ongoing learning process. Many massage therapists are always looking for a new marketing tip or new idea when what they really need to be doing is taking action. There are many ways to market your practice, but the key is to find a way that is compatible with who you are and one that reaches out to who your ideal client is.

The best form of marketing is word of mouth. Every client that you do work on can be sending in all of their friends and family. That is why it is important to always be doing the best massage of your life on each and every client. When you are tired or distracted with something or even worrying about whether or not the client will be coming back, you are taking away from the session and giving less than your best. People will feel that is some way or another.

How can you give every client the massage of a lifetime where they get up off the table and say “WOW!! what did you do to me?!”

Some things to think about to get them to come back are:

  • Talking about the benefits of regular treatment
  • Talk about how often you recommend getting a massage (which should be once a week)
  • Talk about how much you get a massage (which should be once a week)
  • Talk to them about what massage can do specifically for them and their life by asking about what they do – what their stress level is, what physical activity they engage in, and find out what they need.
  • Tell them how often most of your clients come. I have 2 clients that come 2x a week and when I tell that to people they are jealous in a way and sometimes more motivated to come more often. It gives them permission to get a massage more regularly when they might think that it is too indulgent
  • When the person is leaving do you ask them when they want to come back? Tell them what times you have available next week and write them down on a card.
  • You can also use your voice mail or website to tell people what appointments you have available each day so when they call they can choose one of those times and plan for it.

Many massage therapists are always looking for a new marketing tip or new idea when what they really need to be doing is taking action. There are as many ideas as there are people in the world. No one idea will work for everyone or be right for everyone. Sharing ideas and looking for ideas may really be more about procrastination- avoiding what you really need to be doing to market your practice.

In order to be able to take the action that is needed requires having confidence and self esteem. It requires you to start becoming aware of the thoughts you have that keep you from taking action and creating fear. They are not true. They are usually unconscious thoughts that we are not even really aware of. You can find out what these thoughts are by noticing what you are feeling. Your feelings will tell you you need to start thinking something different.

I have some marketing information on my websites at

www.massagepracticebuilder.com

www.thebodyworker.com

See also:
massagenerd.com – marketing

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Pathology for Massage Therapists

January 12, 2007 Julie Onofrio News, Pathology

My Pathology Section at www.thebodyworker.com is one of the most popular sections. I get mostly non-massage therapists searching for help for their ailments. It is a great opportunity to provide real information about what massage can do for such diseases and conditions.
I am updating the Pathology Section to include the many online articles as reference for various diseases and conditions.  Ruth Werner in her book “A massage Therapists guide to Pathology” says “Pathology is the study of the nature and causes of diseases as related to the structure and function of the human body.”

There is much controversy over many diseases and conditions and should massage be applied to people with them.  17 years ago when I first started, cancer was a major contraindication.  We were told just stay away from anyone with cancer. I always thought it that massage could do more for someone with cancer because of the stress related to that disease. That has greatly changed through the years with a whole branch of massage that now focuses on cancer mainly because of the work of a few therapists who challenged the status quo and stood up and actually researched and studied cancer and massage.

There is also much controversy over actually having a diagnosis and how it places people in a category or how it is really a subjective thing in many cases – does someone have cancer or do they just have cells that can’t repair themselves due to toxins, poor diet, poor air quality or whatever.  Diagnosing conditions can have a negative affect on people, but it also can help focus the search for the actual cause of each condition or disease and help heal.
Personally, I don’t think any condition that is contraindicated should be studied more to determine if it is really true.

I hope to have a pdf file made after I have completed it all so you can purchase and download the whole thing without the advertisements.

If you have any great references or resources let me know so I can add them to the website. It is a great educational opportunity for our profession.

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Chair Massage

January 11, 2007 Julie Onofrio Start Your Massage Business

A Massage chair can be a tool for building your table massage practice or you can use it to build a full chair massage or seated massage business.

David Palmer was one of the first to create the massage chair itself but Cary Cruea of Seattle was one of the first to really make something of chair massage as far as I know. Her Massage Bar concept is now spreading quickly to airports and others are copying her concept.

Cary Cruea’s Multi Million Dollar massage Bar

Massage Magazine Massage Bar Evolves

Chair Massage is a big draw for people because it is easy and convenient, less time consuming and cheaper than regular massages. It allows people a safe environment to try out massage when they may not want to sign up for a full table massage for whatever reasons.

I have used chair massage at various times to promote my table massage business using it for open houses. I have gathered some pointers for using a chair to build your practice at

  1. The goal of this event is to sell gift certificates and get new clients. Set an intention of signing up xx # of new clients or a general intention of converting every recipient into a client.

  2. Plan a month ahead of time to work out all the details and maximize the potential of the event. Each person that comes to the event is a potential client!

  3. Provide snacks, drinks appropriate for each holiday.

  4. Send out flyers announcing event 2 weeks before. Send to current clients, neighbors, businesses of interest.

  5. Post flyers a week before the event.

  6. Call clients or surrounding businesses to personally invite them.

  7. Provide free 15 minute chair massage.

  8. Have client intake form (word .doc) to collect personal

    information (to be used later for following up)

  9. Practice client interactions- How do you talk about what you do? Ask people about themselves – What do they do? What stress do they have? Have they had massages before? Get them to talk about themselves. People are just dying to be asked.

  10. Have a flyer, business cards or newsletter available for people to take with them. Have a sign up list for your newsletter.

  11. Give tours of the office.

  12. Have gift certificates available for sale. You can also just give them gift certificates and devise a system for them to call in or go online and pay to activate the gift certificate.

  13. Have your appointment book right there. Ask them when they want to come in? Book their appointment right there. Get their phone number so you can call to confirm the appointment the day before.

  14. Building a practice using chair massage events will take time. Everyone is a potential client. If you don’t get them to book after the first time seeing them, don’t give up. Offering the event regularly is often necessary. Just because the first one didn’t bring you as many clients as you thought, doesn’t mean that it wasn’t effective. One of the attributes of a successful marketing program is to learn with each event or contact and improve each time.

    15. Could it be a big business for you?

    From what I have seen, working in these chair massage places the pay is low and the work can be grueling in a busy location. I wish there was a way that massage therapists could be paid more…maybe they are. If you are someone who is working for a chair massage place or are a chair massage business owner, please let me know differently.

    Resources on Chair Massage:

    Marketing Chair Massage
    N    Negotiating An Agreement
    by David Palmer

    A Brief History of Chair Massage

    By David Palmer

    Massage for the Masses :David Palmer, Chair Massage, and Zubio By Karrie Osborn Massage and Bodywork Magazine

    Contract Considerations for Seated Massage: Get It In Writing Business Side By Sandra Gill

    Massage Nerd Chair Massage Resources and Information

    Pages from History:
    by Robert Noah Calvert The Massage Chair

    Hands Free Chair Massage

    Seated Massage

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The Millionaire Mind – Mastering the Inner Game of Wealth

January 8, 2007 Julie Onofrio The Wealthy Massage Therapist

A few years ago I read a book by Harv Eker called “The Millionaire Mind – Mastering the Innere Game of Wealth”.

It was one of the first books that really put the essence of wealth together and connected it to what is going on inside of us as well as knowing about the physical aspects of wealth like investing and saving.

In the book he talks about your money blueprint. He says:

“How well your business does is a result of your money blueprint. You will always validate your blueprint.”

He goes one to say:

“How can you tell what your money blueprint is set for? One of the obvious ways is to look at your results.”

Your money blueprint is created at an early age from the way you were raised. It is created by all of the things you were taught that you just accepted as truth because you didn’t really have any other choice at such an early age. Those truths become programmed into your subconscious. It is like the act of driving a car – you don’t have to really think about it – it is subconsious.

Our thoughts are programmed and create our feelings. Our feelings create our actions and are actions create results.

Discovering and changing our money blueprints is a process. I have been working on it in various ways and becoming aware of what the blueprint is for starters. You can’t really change anything until you are aware of it and the funny thing is how can you be aware of something that you are unconscious of -because it is unconscious. It’s a little mind twister if you ask me.

But one of the ways I have been learning about it is I have been following a system of writing down my weekly priorities and intentions and tracking the results. I also have been participating in peer supervision groups which really helps in the area of creating awareness because it really helps me to see myself differently through the mirroring from the group. I also have been reading everything I can on the topic and participating in “The Science of Getting Rich- Practical Geniuses class which is a 30 day program of short little but life changing exercises to help you become more aware and start making the changes you desire. They do have the Ebook called the “Science of Getting Rich” written in 1920 or so by a guy named Wallace Wattles. He was on to this long before Harv Eker or anyone else for that matter. While the ebook is insightful, it is much more powerful to participate in the exercises and group discussion.
As a massage therpist, one of the things I hear so often in the profession is that doing massage is not about the money. Harv Eker says that we are trying to justify the situation of not making any money by saying things like that. It puts people in the role of victim – which is another way of just needing attention. When you are a victim, he says you end up being a people pleaser which is a common trait of massage therapists. (OK I am generalizing here)

The good news is that there is a way out of all of this that requires stepping up and taking responsibility for your thoughts and actions. It is a process of changing your thoughts and programming and building a different blueprint.

The book goes on to list various ways we sabatoge ourselves and helps create a new awareness so we can begin to think and act differently. The Science of Getting Rich calls it “Acting in a certain way”.

When our inner world becomes more congruent with our outer world, we have the chance to reach our full potential and participate fully in the present moment and create the life we desire.

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Independent Contractor vs Employee

January 7, 2007 Julie Onofrio Find a Massage Job, News

One of the most difficult business decisions you may be faced with is whether or not you are an employee or a subcontractor/independent contractor for someone you are working for.

The IRS website states that:

“The general rule is that an individual is an independent contractor if (the person for whom the services are performed) has the right to control or direct only the result of the work, and not what will be done and how it will be done or method of accomplishing the result.
People such as lawyers, contractors, subcontractors, public stenographers, and auctioneers who follow an independent trade, business, or profession in which they offer their services to the public, are generally not employees. However, whether such people are employees or independent contractors depends on the facts in each case.”

I find that there are many businesses hiring massage therapists as independent contractors to try to save money when they really should be classified as an employee.
It is the person who is hiring that is responsible for knowing what is the correct status because they are responsible for paying taxes if they are an employer and may be required to pay back taxes if they are found to be negligent.

Some of the things to consider when going to work for someone are:

  • who pays the taxes
  • what are the duties and responsiblities of each part
  • Who pays for advertising, massage supplies etc.
  • Do you pay a flat rate per massage to the business owner or pay a percentage? It may be illegal to charge a percentage and may be seen as a kickback (for example the law in WA State RCW 51.48.280
    Kickbacks, bribes, and rebates — Representation fees — Criminal liability — Exceptions.    .)
  • Who collects the money from the client? If the business owner collects it and pays the person doing the massage does it mean they are an employee?
  • Do you still get paid when a client doesn’t show up for an appointment?
  • Do you have to be there at a certain time and day, wear certain clothes and do certain things? You may be an employee.
    This is from the Washington State Guide to doing business:

    “Business owners frequently get confused about
    who is an employee and who may be considered to be
    an independent contractor.
    An employee is generally subject to your control.
    Control exists when the employer determines the start
    and end times each day, which days the employee
    reports to work, what the worker will do on the job and
    how they will do it.
    Independent contractors are customarily engaged
    in their own independent occupation or business, and
    are registered or licensed with the appropriate state and
    federal agencies. They usually advertise their services,
    are in a position to realize profi t or loss as a result of
    their services, and usually have a signifi cant investment
    in their business. They also keep business records,
    report to the IRS as a business and usually have a
    place of business from which they operate. You can
    expect an independent contractor to provide everything
    necessary to complete their job.”

    I am not a lawyer and don’t know the legal aspects of all of this, but each case is different and needs to be analyzed by an attorney and a contract drawn up to eliminate any confusion. I recommend having a contract whether you are an employee or a sub-contractor just so you know what the rules are.

    From what I have read on the IRS site and the Washington State website, anyone who is told what times to work and what to do is an employee.
    This is one of the reasons I think it is just easier to rent office space from someone and run your own business!

    I would like to actually hear more about others experiences with this issue and see if we can get a clearer answer and some more definite guidelines to follow when considering going to work for someone.
    Resources:

    Peick and Conniff - Am I an independent contractor or an employee? (Two attorneys hired by the WA State AMTA to help us figure this out.

    Independent Contractor, Employee, Booth Renter: Which Piece Am I? By Ken Cassidy Originally published in Massage & Bodywork magazine, December/January 2002.

    Success by the IRSÂ By Dixie Wall, Contributing Editor Massage Today

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