Up next in 10
In this episode of Small Biz in 15, Deb Baer, owner of Soul Body Healing Arts, shares valuable insights on starting a massage business from scratch. She emphasizes the importance of compassion, care, and building strong relationships with clients, as reputation is everything in this industry. Massage therapy involves hands-on work with soft tissue and caters to various needs, from relaxation to injury recovery and palliative care.
Deb highlights that becoming a massage therapist requires a license in most states, with varying educational requirements. After completing a comprehensive 600-hour program, therapists can specialize further with certifications, such as in Swedish or deep tissue massage. Additionally, therapists need to be licensed, CPR-certified, and undergo continuing education every two years.
The process of starting a massage practice involves obtaining a business license, finding a quiet space, and investing in essential equipment like a massage table or chair, sheets, and oils. Deb recommends networking and considering working with other therapists to maximize business potential and share the workload.
While initially managing her budget tightly, Deb researched costs and learned bookkeeping and marketing. She started by doing free marketing at health fairs and churches, and word-of-mouth referrals have since become her primary source of clients.
With her compassionate approach and dedication to her clients' well-being, Deb has built a successful massage business that thrives on positive recommendations and long-term client relationships.
YouTube Chapters:
0:00 - Introduction
0:35 - Importance of Reputation
1:15 - What is Massage Therapy?
2:12 - Types of Massage Therapy
3:05 - Licensing and Certifications
4:12 - Working for Others vs. Starting Your Practice
5:00 - Equipment and Costs
6:10 - Building a Practice with Other Therapists
7:08 - Essential Business Plan
Show More Show Less View Video Transcript
0:00
reputation is really everything
0:02
um I think when you're compassionate and
0:04
caring and can you know really relate
0:07
and and form a relationship with people
0:09
I've had people who the one woman I have
0:12
seen every two weeks for the past
0:15
um 11 11 years
0:17
um I have regulars who come monthly who
0:20
come weekly who come bi-weekly
0:23
[Music]
0:25
yeah
0:28
I'm Sean hessinger and this is small Biz
0:31
in 15 the show where we bring you small
0:34
business news and tips to make your
0:36
small business better today Deb Baer
0:38
owner of soul body Healing Arts tells us
0:41
how to start a massage business from
0:44
scratch
0:46
let's start out by uh telling everybody
0:48
a little bit about your business uh
0:50
maybe how it got started that sort of
0:52
thing so I actually went through massage
0:54
school in the early in the mid 90s and I
0:58
came back to it after experiencing
1:01
um some Reiki healing which is an energy
1:03
healing and I decided I need to go back
1:05
to massage school so I went back in
1:08
2011. and I haven't looked back I love
1:12
my practice
1:13
um it's just been an amazing experience
1:16
for me to own my own business
1:19
great that's what we like to hear
1:21
um what what is a massage therapist
1:23
exactly
1:30
um it's very Hands-On
1:32
um we work with soft tissue
1:34
um with injuries with people who just
1:37
want to come and relax
1:39
um sports teams
1:41
all kinds of different settings there's
1:44
I've worked with surgeons
1:46
um for people who need Scar Tissue
1:48
revision I work with cancer patients
1:50
I've worked with hospice to help
1:54
um just give some palliative care to uh
1:58
people who are in a lot of pain or you
2:01
know just near end of life so to enhance
2:03
their quality
2:05
well that's that's a good comprehensive
2:07
definition but the other thing that was
2:09
I found fascinating when I looked it up
2:11
is that there's
2:12
um I guess different types of Massage
2:14
Therapy yeah there's a lot of different
2:17
ones there's definitely niches you can
2:19
get into
2:21
um the most common are I would say
2:23
Swedish which it's not like it's from
2:27
sweet it came from Sweden so it's
2:30
basically massage but the founder of
2:33
massage was Swedish so they named it
2:35
Swedish massage uh there's deep muscle
2:37
that's another common one a lot of
2:39
people use hot stone
2:42
um there's
2:44
things that are like very specific like
2:46
reflexology you work with feet hands and
2:48
ears so you hit pinpoints in your body
2:51
there's a lot that came from China
2:53
um like Chinese traditional Chinese
2:55
medicine
2:57
um there's sports massage there's
2:59
myofascial release but I would say the
3:01
most common ones that people are looking
3:03
for are deep tissue and um and and
3:06
Swedish they're the most commonly asked
3:08
for
3:09
um what kind of um
3:11
what kind of certifications do you do
3:14
you need to become a uh yeah massage
3:17
therapist actually need to be licensed
3:19
in the state of Pennsylvania and I would
3:21
say I think that I think I looked it up
3:23
I said there were about 45 States
3:26
um in the U.S that require a licensure
3:29
some of the other states are a little
3:31
behind some don't there's three that
3:33
don't require any education or anything
3:37
um New York requires a thousand hours
3:39
the lowest one I think was like Kentucky
3:41
was 250 hours Pennsylvania is at 600
3:44
hours so it's a pretty good program
3:47
um they're comprehensive but you
3:50
definitely need to go through education
3:51
and then sit for your board licensing
3:54
exam so it is a license a licensed
3:57
position well I think I think I think uh
3:59
that answers my my next question but I
4:01
mean it's kind of a I don't know if it's
4:04
maybe the same thing which is
4:06
um there's a certification so so you
4:09
would have to depending on where you're
4:10
going to start your business you would
4:12
have to know what kind of certification
4:13
you would need or if you're going to get
4:15
into this you'd have to know what kind
4:17
of certification you need first right
4:19
yes yes so there's a basic um a basic
4:23
600 hour program that you need to go
4:25
through that's kind of comprehensive it
4:27
covers
4:28
um I think it's almost 200 hours of
4:30
anatomy physiology
4:32
pathology things like that then there's
4:35
250 hours of Hands-On and then the
4:38
additional hours might be like business
4:40
ethics
4:42
um hygiene the law regulations things
4:45
like that
4:46
so
4:48
um what you do is you go through the
4:49
main program you get your diploma you
4:51
sit for your board you also have to have
4:54
CPR child abuse
4:56
um recognition and clearances
5:00
um so there's you know a little bit of a
5:01
background check before you get your you
5:03
know before you get your
5:06
um license
5:07
then you have continuing education to
5:10
take
5:11
uh that's 24 hours every two years so
5:14
the board renews every two years and
5:17
that's where you can get your
5:18
certifications like you might want to go
5:20
for Thai table massage and you get
5:24
certified in Thai table massage or
5:27
certified in myofascial release when you
5:30
go through the main program they might
5:32
have different tracks and they might
5:33
introduce you to some things I was
5:34
introduced to um Lomi Lomi massage which
5:37
is a Hawaiian
5:38
um Hands-On healing it's a beautiful
5:40
type of massage love it uh I had to take
5:44
reflexology I did an aromatherapy class
5:47
so we had a little bit of pick and
5:48
choose but we learned
5:51
um a basic full body routine that would
5:55
take us to wherever we needed to go and
5:58
then we could add in little things so it
6:00
sounds like there's a license and then
6:01
there's additional certifications for
6:04
specials yes yeah so it's not necessary
6:06
it's just called continuing education
6:08
but you can be certified in a specific
6:11
track once you decide that you want to
6:13
open your own business
6:15
um is there some kind of I mean people
6:18
usually use business license that need
6:20
business licenses and things that to
6:21
open a business is there a special
6:23
license you need to do this Beyond just
6:25
more specifically
6:27
now you just want to check your
6:29
regulations and your um in your where
6:32
you live or where you're going to be
6:34
working I just had to buy I think it was
6:36
a 35 business license through Allentown
6:39
um city of Allentown which is where my
6:41
practice is if you're trying to decide
6:44
if this is something for you or
6:45
something that you might want to
6:47
consider what what type of person or
6:50
personality traits or you know uh
6:55
what would indicate that you might want
6:57
to go into that car personally yeah you
6:59
definitely need to uh like people for
7:01
sure
7:03
um you have to have good communication
7:04
skills good listening skills um because
7:07
people are going to be telling you one
7:08
thing but you can kind of peel back the
7:11
layers and see behind what you know what
7:13
they're saying sometimes
7:15
um you want to be empathetic because
7:16
you're going to be working with people
7:18
who are in pain
7:20
um or people who have really stressful
7:22
lives sometimes so you need some empathy
7:25
and consideration for what they're going
7:28
through
7:29
um you need some physical stamina for
7:30
sure so if you don't like getting
7:32
physical and sweaty you don't want to do
7:34
massage
7:35
um it's definitely you're you're lunging
7:38
you're squatting you're using your body
7:40
weight
7:41
um to deliver you know deliver the the
7:44
gliding and kneading and things like
7:46
that so I talk with my hands a lot
7:49
um so if you talk with your hands you
7:50
might want to be a massage therapist
7:53
there's one one thing you might you
7:55
might notice or consider
7:57
um
7:58
let me ask you this uh Deb uh do most
8:03
massage therapists start their own
8:05
practice or or are there uh are there
8:09
are there places you get a job doing
8:12
this
8:13
yeah a lot of people when they first
8:15
come out of school
8:17
um so we get a little experience we have
8:18
to have a clinic and we do work on
8:20
people who um kind of come in off the
8:23
streets and and get massage
8:25
um but when you and we kind of learned
8:26
how to run the clinic as well so most
8:30
people go work for someone
8:33
um they can work for a spa
8:35
um a chiropractor a uh sometimes there's
8:39
just massage places and they might have
8:41
10 massage therapists there
8:44
um so most people go work somewhere or
8:46
multiple places you can also do chair
8:48
massage
8:50
um so corporate a lot of preparations
8:51
will hire someone to come in for an
8:53
event
8:55
um you can volunteer for a while to make
8:57
connections but sometimes it's about
8:59
networking and knowing people yeah well
9:03
I mean as in a lot of as in a lot of
9:05
businesses um well let's get down to the
9:08
nitty-gritty of you you're deciding you
9:10
want to start your practice what kind of
9:12
equipment do you need to do do this yeah
9:14
really basic
9:15
um you need a massage table or a massage
9:18
chair if you're going to be doing uh
9:20
chair massages
9:22
um if you have a table practice you want
9:24
somewhere quiet you know you need a
9:25
quiet space you can work out of your
9:27
home but you have to check with
9:30
um check with your local ordinances like
9:33
sometimes they don't allow you to work
9:34
out of your home unless it's there's a
9:36
separate entrance massage table a
9:38
massage chair you need some sheets oil
9:41
quiet space some nice mellow music soft
9:44
lighting
9:46
um and that's what you basically need to
9:48
do the massage some people get you know
9:50
when the more you go on with it I now
9:53
have a hydraulic table which helps my
9:55
back I have multiple massage therapists
9:58
who work out of my office so it's nice
10:02
to be able to adjust the table Heights
10:04
we have a short girl and a taller guy
10:08
um so you know it's nice to be able to
10:10
adjust it hydraulically some people use
10:12
hot Jones some people use hot packs or
10:15
ice packs or massage tools some people
10:19
so there's a modality called ashiatsu
10:23
which you work with your feet so you
10:25
need bars above you
10:28
um to hang on to and you actually
10:31
massage people with your feet
10:33
so that I mean that that's really the
10:36
basics you can start I would say for
10:38
probably around two thousand dollars you
10:41
can kind of Supply your massage room
10:44
um you know you've got to think about
10:45
you're going to be doing laundry so you
10:47
need access to a washer and dryer you
10:50
know Deb you mentioned something else
10:51
just now which I thought was interesting
10:53
which is that other therapists work out
10:55
of your office
10:56
um in terms of building a business even
10:58
an individual business are there ways
11:00
that you can work with other uh
11:02
therapists kind of uh uh build a
11:05
practice because one of the hardest
11:07
things about building a business
11:08
oftentimes is if you're the only one
11:11
yeah so there's um
11:13
there's only so many hours in a day that
11:15
I can work I typically at the these days
11:18
I'm doing about I work on about four
11:21
people a day
11:22
so I'm not I'm I'm not considered
11:25
full-time
11:26
um there's a lot of therapists when they
11:28
work um out of a spa they may be working
11:30
on six to seven people per day
11:33
so all those hours it's nice to be able
11:35
to either share a space with one two or
11:38
three massage therapists I think I have
11:39
four right now that work out of my
11:41
office some only work and do about four
11:44
people a week some are working on about
11:46
seven so we just kind of split up the
11:49
time spaces and time slots
11:52
um so that we can all all have something
11:54
going on it's really nice too like if
11:57
you have an injury or a surgery
12:00
um that you have to be out for that you
12:01
can refer people directly into your same
12:03
office group what kind of business plan
12:06
do you have to have when you start out
12:08
to do something like this and figure out
12:10
I mean you just rattled off the cost so
12:12
I'm assuming that you had some idea
12:15
going in what you were gonna yeah I
12:19
did how I did have an idea going in I
12:22
worked for someone else for about four
12:25
years before I went out on my own I mean
12:27
I still kind of had my own business a
12:30
lot of massage therapists are
12:31
independent contractors
12:33
so you know if you need to go and do
12:37
chair massage you get paid the full
12:39
amount and you end up paying your taxes
12:41
so technically I started out having my
12:44
own business but didn't really treat it
12:46
like that because I was always working
12:48
for someone else
12:49
so when I decided to kind of go out on
12:52
my own I
12:54
um definitely
12:55
researched you know costs um that meant
12:58
me having to do the bookkeeping for a
13:01
while I was kind of on a shoestring
13:03
budget
13:05
um so I did my I actually I still do my
13:08
own bookkeeping I haven't been able to
13:09
find a good accountant
13:11
so
13:12
um yeah so it was accounting I did my
13:14
own marketing I did a lot of um 3D
13:17
things I would go to health fairs at
13:20
churches and just network with people
13:22
and meet people
13:24
um and now I'm at the point where I
13:25
don't do any marketing at all I have I
13:28
actually took my website down because I
13:31
we couldn't accommodate everybody that
13:32
was going on so I put I actually got a
13:34
free website from my insurance
13:37
um company so that's another thing you
13:39
have to remember to get you have to be
13:41
insured
13:42
um
13:43
so I took down my website and I'm just
13:48
going word of mouth right now and I am
13:50
at no loss for referrals from people so
13:53
reputation is really everything
13:55
um I think when you're compassionate and
13:57
caring and can you know really relate
14:00
and and form a relationship with people
14:02
I've had people who the one woman I have
14:05
seen every two weeks for the past
14:08
um 11 11 years
14:11
um I have regulars who come monthly who
14:14
come weekly who come bi-weekly and then
14:17
people come you know come and go
14:18
sometimes for various reasons well
14:21
that's it for another episode of small
14:23
business 15. thanks again to Deb Baer
14:26
owner of soul body Healing Arts for
14:28
making this program possible please like
14:31
And subscribe if you enjoyed the show
14:33
and please leave a comment and let us
14:35
know what topics you'd like to see
14:36
covered in future programs more small
14:39
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14:41
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