WELCOME TO THE MASSAGE BUSINESS WORLD
The time has come, you have begun exploring the idea of starting your own massage business. It sounds so exciting, I bet you are looking forward to being your own boss, living by your own terms and having the life you deserve. If these assumptions are correct, heartbreak is in your future. Building a business around the fragile blocks of your ego is a recipe for disaster.
So, you want to be your own boss? Everyone serves someone. When you are on top you serve everybody. A business should be designed to make money, it does not exist to elevate your ego and self-worth. If your massage therapy business is the instrument you expect to ground you, give you a sense of purpose and launch you into the stratosphere of peace, you need to look elsewhere. If you want to create and maintain a successful business you must have a healthy mind, body, and spirit. This is accomplished before starting your business, not during.
Many people believe the boss can kick back with their feet up and just sail smoothly. Boy wouldn’t that be the life? If you believe this, a rude awakening is just around the corner. Be expected to work 85 hours a week for the first few years of running your company. Say good-bye to days off and be ready to cover everyone’s shifts when they can’t or won’t work.
IT WILL BE DIFFERENT IN MY BUSINESS
“I can avoid these hardships if I organize my company carefully!” Alright, perhaps you are right. Maybe there is a perfect structure for your team. Let’s run through some possible arrangements.
“I could be a self-employed sole proprietor.” Sure, this is the easiest route to avoid all sorts of heartache and stress, but it comes at a cost. Though you won’t have to lead anyone, cover anyone’s else’s shifts or be subjected to the backlash of the failure of others, you can’t grow. You will forever run the restaurant from the kitchen. Retirement is out of the question and having someone available to cover your clientele when you cannot be there will be impossible.
“I could hire a team of independent contractors!” Yes you could. The problem is holding onto this team with any degree of success, and you will never be able to establish true brand recognition. Your team is a hydra with several heads arguing with each other. They will hold you to the letter of the contract and never work an ounce harder. Why should they? They aren’t invested in your cause, the brand, or the future of your company.
“I will build a brand of wellness professionals dedicated to the cause of helping people!” This is easier said than done. Few healthcare professionals want to be led under the banner of a massage therapist. Simply put most of them do not respect your professional license. Finding people who can work together is challenging, even more so if the pay isn’t right. Who is their boss, who runs this coalition, what rules should be followed and what is the pricing scale? When a business has multiple heads, especially a small business, nothing will get done, the branding will never be set in stone and your company will look unprofessional and disorganized.
NOW THAT I AM MY OWN BOSS I WILL LIVE BY MY OWN TERMS!
You want to live by your own terms? Yeah, this isn’t going to happen. Consider your social life dead, kiss days-off goodbye, and say hello to unrelenting anxiety and fear. Keep some mouthwash or a toothbrush nearby to help with any stress induced nausea you may experience.
Your life will be lived according to the terms of the market, world events, your service providers and unknown-unknowns. This new lifestyle you are about to embark on will change you. Within a year you will no longer be the person you are today. For the most part this is a good thing, but there will be parts of your personality that will be lost. Make sure you are ready to accept the person you will become before you start your business, otherwise you will bite off more than you can chew, and you will choke on your own sacrifice.
AS A BUSINESS OWNER I WILL LIVE THE LIFE I DESERVE!
You want to finally live the life you deserve? You only deserve the rewards you have earned. Sometimes the rewards you are supposed to enjoy will be out of reach. It might feel like someone is stealing from you and they probably are. Being a business owner is not ideal, it isn’t all sunshine and lollipops. It is not for the faint of heart, the journey is hard, hellacious, and filled with horror.
For a deeper dive into the business world of massage please visit this link.
