Need Advice from Recent Grads

[juliaa(:]

I was just wondering if any recent grads can tell me how much advice they received in school regarding best practices for setting up a business, marketing help, or simply employment seeking advice? I'm working on blog for MT students and I don't want to be too redundant. I want to give them advice they can use that they're not getting in school.

Thanks in advance for any help!

 

[mrs. holden caulfield.]

Need Advice from Recent Grads

I received close to nothing. At least nothing that has helped me so far.

My business class was a joke. He had a powerpoint and it was basically reiterating what the Business Mastery book said. We can all read, but we needed more real life experience. The teacher was a CPA, all and good except he knew nothing about us as MTs and so couldn't give us any real advice or suggestions for how to get started! And don't even get me started on a our "law" class!!!

I'd love to check out your website!

 

[Randell]

Need Advice from Recent Grads

We can all read, but we needed more real life experience.

Sometimes, this is just the only way to learn. Also sometimes, repetition is the only way to remember things. The only marketing/business things that I remember from school are things that were redundant and said over... and over... and over again.

 

[cadij]

Need Advice from Recent Grads

I would agree with you, except I know I need business cards! I know its a good idea to have a website!

What I needed to know was the different types of places I could work and their pros/cons. Or other than a business plan, what else do I need to work on my own? Whats the retail side of things? Can I sell stuff just any old way, or do I need to label everything? Do I need to be an aromatherapist to sell aromatherapy items? Vendor's License vs Business License vs neither? How to rate your services or figure out how much to charge so you cover taxes. How to save for taxes. When to file taxes, where to file them, what papers do I need? How to network efficiently. Massage software, whats it for and why do I need it? Having a business cell phone, pros/cons. Supplementing your income with spa treatments or retail. How to dress for successful. How to have a good interview. How to do invoices and billing, insurance billing, worker's comp, etc. Marketing ideas, big and small, cheap and expensive. LLC and is this something I should do first, or can I wait until I have money/clients? Tax IDs and forms, what are they and where do I get them. When to seek a lawyer/attorney's help.

And thats just from the list of things that I personally am trying to do to set up my own business. I just feel that the class was not beneficial. I really wish they had an LMT who owned her own business come in. Or a Spa Owner come in for a few days. That would have been truly useful knowledge. How is your business run, so when I graduate, I have a better idea of what a good fit might be.

 

[fmko ( ??????????????)]

Need Advice from Recent Grads

I'm not a recent grad but our instructor was **great** in this area. She's been an MT for 15 years, and she was way more knowledgeable about working in our field than the 'business guy' from the school's office who did a few hours here and there with us. She also brought her partner in, unofficially, to give us more info. They went over everything they could think of, to give us ideas for how to market ourselves, tips on working events, how to wrangle a possible interview with radio stations, handing out cards, the reality of setting up in practice. One of our assignments was to price what we would need to open up, being graded on thinking of everything from file folders and a print, or paying for copies of intake forms, the printer paper, decor, sheets, supplies, table, rent, utilities, cleaning supplies, licensing and insurance fees, advertising, etc. We actually had to go online, call newspapers and Yellow Pages or to stores and get prices for everything. We also had to draw up a one year plan, where we saw our business in 3 months (number of clients, what kind of advertising we'd be doing, cost of it etc), 6 months and 1 year. Most weren't very realistic and they let those know what kind of numbers they'd be looking at in reality. They told us what we'd need as far as licensing (state and local), how to register a business name and where to go for that, and about filing taxes and quarterly assessments, saving receipts for deductions, what can and can't be used, etc.

I'd say they did a really good job in preparing us for the reality of being an MT.

 

[cjw08]

Need Advice from Recent Grads

I'd say they did a really good job in preparing us for the reality of being an MT.

:!: JEALOUS! :!:

 

[Alexandria]

Need Advice from Recent Grads

I'm not a recent grad, but I can say that I remember getting fair/OK business advice. They taught us about business cards, zoning laws, business plans (ha!), advertising laws, and different formats of business (sole proprietorship, partnership--never!, S-corp, etc). They didn't talk much about LLC, but I see more of those than S-corps. We went through a few phone scripts, some situations on handling pervs and setting boundaries. I'd say I went to a really good school.

They did NOT, however, talk about how to reschedule clients, market yourself (aside from the laws governing what you could and couldn't do), getting on Google, etc. We learned that on our own. Experience really is the best teacher, but this forum is a VERY. CLOSE. Second. I learned a TON by devoting chilly weekends in early '05 to combing through ancient archived threads and noting some clinical pearls and marketing gems. Sure, it's not a substitute for real life experience, but I felt I was able to gain at least a couple years of experience just by spending a few months living through the experiences of other intelligent seasoned practitioners who had gone before me.

I learned priceless info covering several important topics, but since you asked primarily about setting up a business/marketing, I'll keep my discussions focused on those points...

I set up my own practice fresh out of school. It's SLOW going. But, I also did not pay for any advertising at all, nor did I know about any networking groups, nor did I join my city's Chamber of Commerce...you get the idea. I was shy and cheap LOL. After a few months, I finally caved into about the 3rd or 4th attempt by the owner of my school to recruit me as a licensed independent contractor for the massage school's clinic, to keep client flow steady between graduating classes of interns. The money wasn't stellar, but it was a lot better than many places I've seen. So, I worked there about 2-3 days a week and spent the rest of my time working on my own practice.

It grew slowly. Some people who came to the school's clinic actually preferred seeing me at my home studio, something the school did not discourage or look down upon in any way. They referred others. Slowly. Then, I discovered a few free advertising websites for massage therapists - Massage Anywhere and Nationwide Massage. Back in the day, I got my best clients from those sites. Meanwhile, I had started a website for my own practice (home-built, by my husband, with the text written by me), and was slowly making some significant improvements and really fleshing it out in terms of information and refining it in terms of layout, color scheme, and branding. The two free MT websites started to turn weird and semi-pervy (moreso than before) but luckily I had a client who built websites for a living and had seen mine, complimented it, and offered some free advice on getting noticed by Google and whatnot. He taught me how to get on Google's Local Results, back before EVERYONE started doing it. It was my practice and 2 others and that was it. We optimized the website further and started showing up #1 in the organic results.

This went a LOOOONG way in building my practice - referrals and the web. This was before Facebook and Twitter and all that. I thought about having decals made for my truck, but decided against it.

Now we have a different kind of clinic - it's multi-disciplinary and no longer home-based. Since overhead is higher, so were the stakes. We found ourselves in a city in which we knew NO ONE. Buying groceries and paying rent (on both an apartment AND an office suite - and for a while, a house payment until the house sold in the former city - talk about STRESS!) depended largely on being able to get our name out to the community - FAST.

My husband (who practices with me) joined a BNI group. These are hit-and-miss. Find one that strikes a balance - you want a group disciplined and serious enough to get things done and not be too lax, but you also want one that's not too stiff to laugh and have fun. The meetings are a weekly commitment, and there are yearly and weekly costs. I thought about joining BNI but due to the nature of my work, I never did.

My success has been all about a few things - first and foremost, an informative, well-developed, and easily-navigable website. That is key. Make sure that your website does not have any word-for-word passages in common with other websites or Google may kick yours out for redundancy. Make sure your headings and titles are properly designated and that your photos and graphics are properly labeled. Sign up for the Google Local Results if you like.

Take it to the next level. Make a Facebook page. Create a Twitter account. Talk about drinking water, stretching, and the benefits of regular massage. Post your openings for the week. Post your internet-exclusive specials, if you run them. Don't put TOO much stock in Facebook, because it's often not the wonderful marketing engine people think it is. Start a blog - write op-ed pieces about various topics in massage. Host a Q&A. (Q&A groups are pretty successful on FB.)

One thing people do is focus on conditions (many times, that's how people find you - they stumble on your website while Googling "back pain" or "fibromyalgia"). If you're into these things, make sure your website offers some unique info that stands out to clients. If you're more medical/clinical massage-minded, or you have a certain desired population in mind that you'd really like to work on or cater to, or that you seem to be good at, advertise that! Set yourself apart from the competition and tell people why they should come to YOU. Don't try to be all things to all people. Don't offer a commodity so that people can price-shop - offer something that is truly unique to YOU and that people can't get anywhere else. By setting yourself apart, you don't need to worry about competing. Developing your own techniques and skillset will take time and experience, but use honest friends and family members as guinea pigs to gain that experience. Then you can approach the general public with more confidence.

Some people have discussed the idea of offering consultations before setting a massage appointment. This could be cool, especially if you do something wildly different from any other massage therapist, something that a would-be client wouldn't be familiar with - it gives you a chance to explain it to them and sell them on it (not in the sleazy way that sounds LOL). I would, however, not give away the entire consult for free.

One thing to remember is that we teach people how to treat us, so insist on timeliness, reliability, and respect as an authority in your field. Even if they don't think of you that way yet, it's time to establish that fact anyway. This often means studying up in your spare time.

Things I would NOT do:
Do NOT give away your work. You may get a lot of calls from various organizations or what-have-you, wanting you to come do chair massage for their event, for FREE. They'll act like they're doing YOU a favor by allowing you to pass out promotional materials and "gain exposure for your practice". Do NOT fall for this. It's cr@p. Freebie massages hardly EVER translate into paid appointments. You studied hard, you learned, you tested, you passed, you're licensed, you earned it - GET PAID. You're not a bad person for requiring compensation for your hard work. It doesn't make you materialistic.

I would NOT be as shy as I allowed myself to be for so many years. Get out there and get involved in the community. Sponsor something small at a walk-a-thon or quit-smoking initiative. Don't go overboard here. Set a budget and stick to it. If you're shy, join Toastmasters or a group that gets you good at speaking. Join a BNI (visit several to get a feel for each group, as they're all a bit different - and decide which one's right for you). Some of my friends lucked out and joined a BNI group, only for a few members to say, "you know what? Let's start our own FREE group" and they DID and it worked. Highly depends on the area.

Don't neglect your website. Google likes to see periodic activity. Not only that, make sure it's up-to-date and semi-sophisticated. Organize it well and don't let it languish.

Don't give in to sob stories seeking a freebie. Sure, that sounds harsh. But what I mean here is, don't give away your work even if they come to you with a hard-luck case. Everyone can afford to pay SOMETHING. Maybe it's not money, but a service. If you barter/trade, get it in writing and think it through thoroughly. Bartering and trading can be very beneficial or disastrous. Do it carefully and always write it down, make a copy for each of you, and sign it. Don't just give away your work because someone says they're down on their luck. We've been burned with that too many times ourselves.

Don't come at it from a place of desperation. Clients pick up on that and wonder why you lack confidence. They can screw up your schedule, too, when they reschedule to make you feel good but then cancel at the last minute or don't show up.

Don't compromise your boundaries or your principles. If you haven't sat down to outline those yet, do so quickly. The Universe will throw all kinds of situations at you - that's its way of alerting you to possible scenarios you may soon find yourself having to work through. There are many directions to take this particular piece of advice, but keeping within the business/marketing realm, do things like decide your services (what you will and won't do), your pricing (your price floor that you keep to yourself - this is the absolute lowest amount you'll accept for your services, no matter what the situation), bartering arrangements (what kinds of terms you'd accept and what kinds of services YOU need - don't just barter just to barter - make sure you get something just as important to you in return), and things like that. Once you've established them, write them down, and don't waiver. Stick to your guns. The worst someone can do is say no. It's OK to lose a client or would-be client. You don't want to cave and then have to deal with growing resentment later. Never underestimate one person's ability to affect your entire practice. It has happened to us many times!

Don't be an island. Don't be afraid to form connections with other LMTs (remember, we're all VERY different - in terms of personality, techniques, specialties, natural gifts, niches, etc - 100 different LMTs practice 100 different ways - don't be afraid of each other!) Sit down for a lunch meeting or whatever with the LMTs in your area and you all ask each other which patients THEY'D like to see. Who do THEY like to work on? How are THEY different and what do THEY bring to the community and the profession? Make sure they understand the same info from you. Maybe you love working with autistic kids and you seem to have a knack for it but you're clueless as to how to handle a fibromyalgia case. Maybe one of you is awesome at a psoas release for back pain. Maybe one of you received some pointers from a chiropractic doctor while another one took a kick-butt TMJ class and worked with dentists. One of you worked at a spa and did some fantastically luxurious relaxation work with hot stones and another seems to have a gift for alleviating gastrointestinal discomfort with reflexology points. Then there's lymphatic. Craniosacral. You get the idea There are so many different types of LMTs and there are other types of practitioners itching to KNOW some good LMTs - MDs, DOs, PTs, DCs, NDs, acupuncturists, nutritionists, holistic health counselors, colon hydrotherapists, midwives, doulas, nurses, dentists, surgeons, psychologists/counselors, social workers, schools, daycare centers, intuitives, chakra healers, reflexologists, music/color therapists, yoga instructors, martial arts instructors, personal trainers, athletic coaches, and MORE would ALL love to have a good relationship with an LMT they know and trust. Co-managing clients with other practitioners, or even each other (with other LMTs) can be very powerful - not to mention an excellent referral source. With so many people in your network, you see more of the clients YOU want.

So... hehe LOTS of options, and lot of pitfalls. The world is yours, and the sky is the limit. Go get it

 

[Amy Rose]

Need Advice from Recent Grads

Thank you all so much. You've given me so many great topics to write about. I appreciate your candor and thoroughness and I'm sure you'll help more than one reader who doesn't even know what they don't know! I'll make sure you have a chance to read and comment on my next post! You guys are awesome.

 

[Feshe]

Need Advice from Recent Grads

Great post from Jyoti.