Getting Re-Established in Another State

[Petals B]

Has anyone relocated and tried to start all over again? How did it go for you, and what were your most difficult challenges?

 

[KBT]

I think Sadie Dawn did this.

I don't have time to find her profile - maybe someone else will add it here so you can PM her if she doesn't reply directly.

 

[KandyGirl16]

Where are you moving to? Hopefully, you won't have too many problems besides the usual rigamorole that goes with change.

Almost two years ago, I went through the process of moving. I had a thriving business and great clientele and then got married and moved to the other side of the country.

One of my biggest challenges was finding work. Not because of massage saturation or no one was hiring. But the past work experience on my resume looked suspect. All three previous spas where I worked in the former state had all closed due to life changes of the owners or bad business practices. Then my office was closed because I had moved. The massage school where I graduated in 1999 had since closed b/c the owner had gambling problems. (A shame, it was a great school!)

Fortunately, I could use previous clients as references and also had several letters of recommendations from clients and previous work places. I also had my school records which I previously had gotten from the state board of education in the state where the school was.

A small inconvenience was that I was also moving from a regulated state into an unregulated. So, I had to run around and get fingerprints, photos and that kind of crap.

Also, therapists are generally paid much less here than in the East coast and that was hard to deal. Another challenge was working at someone else's office after running my own show for almost three years. One of my newer clients here had a great space and now I've been with her for over a year and she's wonderful and pays me a great % that you just don't find here.

Other than those small issues, there really weren't many difficulties. Not many therapists do the type of work I practice so although there are a LOT of therapists here, gaining a clientele wasn't difficult.

 

[Fairytale]

Moved from IL to AZ

Moved from IL to AZ two years ago. I had a full clientele back in IL and hated to leave.

I had a hard time finding a job in AZ that would pay me anything close to what I was making in IL (actually working for the company, not a contractor), now I'm renting space to make more then what employers are offering. The clients here in AZ are just not like the ones I had back home. My clients back in IL were great, they cared about their massage care and were always on schedule and always showed up for their appt. My clients here don't want to make massage part of their trianing, or maintance and even after a reminder call, they don't show up or cancel last min. I find I have to give discounts just to get people in the door (because of the massage franchises who offer massages dirt cheap). Just very frustrated.

 

[LabGrrl .com]

Sadiedawn (You can click on here name here in blue and see more of her posts.)

Here's one thread that has to do with her moving. ---> http://www.massageplanet.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=1144

The best part of saying goodbye, is saying hello again!
Just an update. I have been asked to teach classes at my massage school back home and will see clients while I'm there. In fact, I'll be making more trips home so I can keep up with clients. I'm getting a practice (more coaching oriented) going in Arizona and have a massage practice back home. It's great to have two places to jump between. When I send out the notice that I'm headed home, I get an amazing number of responses from past clients. They are also begging to get their friends in. I LOVE IT!