Align with The Massage Business Mama

On this episode of "Align with The Massage Business Mama," we are joined by Christine Walsh — a money mindset strategist, mentor, and speaker who has used her 25+ years of experience in finance and accounting to help visionary businesswomen master their inner money game. Founded in personal growth and practical strategies, Christine brings clients her cutting-edge money wisdom, forward-thinking entrepreneurial mindset, and Wall Street investment experience together so they can breakthrough their money ceiling, reduce financial fear, and increase their income without compromising their lifestyle or busting their a$$ to get there.

Some believe that therapists should never discount. But here at Align with The Massage Business Mama, we believe there are times when it is appropriate! NOT all the time, but certainly at times. And today, we get into our top 4 times when we think it is appropriate to discount your services.

While it may seem funny that we have the power to "fire" our clients, the truth is that if clients aren't honoring the boundaries, policies, and procedures we have set up in our practice, we have every right to put them on the chopping block. And while it might seem scary at first, the idea of conflict and loss of income, sometimes moving forward in this manner is the best approach.

When you start to cut out clients who abuse your time and energy, you make room for those who respect and appreciate all you have to offer. You make room for increased growth and abundance. Your time and energy are no longer drained from negative interactions.

Listen on for our 6 tips for firing a client.

Us massage therapists are not notoriously known for our financial savvy. Having a scarcity mindset or "Starving Healer Syndrome" unfortunately describes an awful lot of us in the healing professions! We operate from the belief (often unconscious) that we don't deserve to become wealthy or even financially comfortable from the work we perform.

But Therapists, that's a lie! We deserve all that and more!

A few months back, inside my membership, we were focused on retirement—a topic I often see neglected by Massage Therapists. In fact, in an informal quiz I conducted on Instagram, 65% of you said that you hadn't started planning for retirement yet.

You might be saying, "Contribute towards retirement? Are you kidding me? There is nothing left over at the end of the month."

And I get it. It's really hard to budget when you don't know how much is coming in. Especially in the beginning stages when income and expenses are unknown. And it's not like we have anyone contributing to a 401k on our behalf...

But Therapists, there is a better way. I want to see you thrive and succeed NOT only during your career but also into your retirement!!! Which is why I invited financial literacy coach Sheri Rozeski to come chat with my membership group. This podcast episode is pieces of that conversation. Sheri has been a 1:1 financial coach for over 11 years and is passionate about helping people create positive relationships with their money.

Getting on track for retirement can and should be a priority! Listen on as we discuss how to kick scarcity mindset to the curb and create abundance. We HAVE resources within our control as self-employed entrepreneurs to change our destiny!

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Listen and Learn:

And, if you choose to tackle your money, what you give up:

What does a sober living group and massage business marketing have in common? You may just be surprised by the answer! 

In this episode of "Align with The Massage Business Mama," we dig into a unique approach to marketing your practice. 

Instead of pushing, pushing, we discuss the idea of drawing in potential clients with magnetic energy. How sharing what we are passionate about in life and massage can attract our ideal clients with a lot less desperation than other methods for promoting our practice. 

In this episode of "Align with The Massage Business Mama," we unpack choosing a legal entity for your massage practice.

One of the big things that trip people up at the beginning of their massage business is figuring out what legal entity to set up. Whether to be a sole proprietor, partnership, corporation, or LLC. C Corp, S corp, it can be overwhelming initially! 

One thing to note is if you take no action, the IRS automatically considers you a sole proprietorship. So, if you are struggling with paralysis analysis for how to structure your business. You have already inadvertently made a decision. By failing to make any official decisions or moves to create a business entity, you are operating as a sole proprietorship.

Listen on to hear more about the pros and cons of each entity.  

Are you familiar with the doshas in Ayurvedic medicine? 

All unique, and all with their own set of considerations when it comes to bodywork. 

On this episode of "Align with The Massage Business Mama," we are joined by Kimberly Kubicke of Indra Holistic to learn a little more about this ancient Indian medicine and why tapotement and other methods might be more appropriate for certain body types. 

Maybe you've noticed some changes with our podcast lately. Beca hasn't been present in as many of the episodes. And no, that isn't because we are fighting or we are breaking up the band...

In the latest episode, we share some of the reasons our format has changed. 

In this episode, we are joined by Joanna Sapir to discuss an innovative approach to business. 

Joanna, a business coach for holistic practitioners, thinks she has cracked the code to help providers create a better product while having more security and profitability in their businesses. 

Her mission is to help practitioners streamline so they can focus on doing what they love: helping clients live happier, healthier, more fulfilling lives.

Tune in to hear how she suggests transforming your business from a session-by-session approach to creating a more programmed model. 

Subject lines are an important piece of the email marketing strategy. In this episode, we are joined by Susan Finn of "Rise Above Noise" to continue the discussion on email marketing.

Susan is the "go-to" expert in the email marketing field. She helps service-based professionals scale their businesses. Find joy, flow, and ease in marketing to increase profits, save time, and protect energy.

Email marketing is one of the quickest and easiest ways to grow your massage business, which is why we have chosen to spend not one but two whole episodes centered around this subject!

This is Part One of that two-part series dedicated to email marketing that was originally recorded as part of my membership. Excerpts have been taken for this podcast episode.

In this episode, we are sans Beca and joined by Nicole Keane. Nicole recently published a book, "The Tao of The Polyvagal Theory." Inside the book, she teaches and explores the connection between polyvagal theory and five element theory as a means to heal the spirit and balance the autonomic nervous system. 

We talk about how our interpretation of traditional eastern medicine might be flawed and why the method she has developed (while contradictory to much of the general knowledge around five element theory) has so many benefits! 

Pregnancy is an exciting and scary time! There are so many unknowns! It is only natural to ponder questions related to the health and well-being of the baby, logistics of setting up a nursery, and how your relationship with your job will change. In the latest episode of "Align with The Massage Business Mama," we are joined by guest Emily Van Dyke @blookingfromthemuckbodywork to discuss this very topic. 

Tune in to hear our top tips and tools for navigating this journey with a little more ease. 

This episode was prompted by a "Massage In The Real World" student.

Do you struggle with communication? Do loved ones often tell you, "I don't feel like you are listening to me? Like you're hearing me?" If so, this could be creeping into your professional life as well!  

It is hard to hear criticism from a client. Hard to feel like your work didn't resonate with someone. But the truth is, unless we check our own agendas at the door, we may be failing to meet our clients where they want and expect!

Listen to this episode with a humble heart and think about if there are ways you can be giving a more client-centered massage.  

Remember, it is our client's time to relax, reconnect, and rejuvenate, not our own. If we have needs that aren't being met, we should schedule a massage, psychotherapy session, or date with a friend. Not use our client's time for our own purposes.

Scrutinize your intentions, evaluate your thoughts, and be honest with yourself. Do what you need to make sure that you are coming from the most grounded, centered, authentic, and caring place. This is your job! And it might be the most important part of your work as a massage therapist. So therapist, get your hands dirty. Cry. Laugh. Heal.

In this episode, we are joined by Crystal Bantel of "Your Tech Fairy" to discuss all things website. 

Originally this presentation was recorded as part of Ali's membership program, "Massage Momentum Membership." In this episode, you hear excerpts from that interactive experience. 

We chat about things like diversifying your business, best practices when building a website, and what to look for in a designer. 

As a certified online business coach and mentor, Crystal has a unique approach to website design. She helps seasoned professionals to plan out and start online businesses based on the things they love most about their career or trade. We are honored to have her on the show! 

For some Massage Therapists, there is nothing more enticing and exciting than the idea of working with professional athletes! The prestige, honor, and challenges that come with this type of work are out of this world. 

Kelly Stauffiger is one such therapist. In this episode, she talks about her journey from starting in a casino spa to working as the Massage Therapist for the Buffalo Bills. 

She shares about the ebbs and flows of this type of work, compensation, and safety considerations. 

With all the news about Deshaun Watson and allegations of sexual misconduct from Massage Therapists, it is timely that we chat with Kelly about the safety precautions therapists can take to avoid such confrontations in this particular niche. 

As perpetual learners, Beca and Ali wanted to share some of their favorite book recommendations for massage entrepreneurs. 

Some of these books are finance-related, some business, and some personal. And they all pack some punch! 

Check out our list to kick off some massive growth in your massage businesses this year!!!

Taking tests are a scary thing! Taking a test as important as the MBLEx, even scarier. Now, let's talk about taking the MBLEx when you have been out of school for 13+years. Because that is exactly the situation Beca recently found herself in...

And y'all, she's got some tips! Her favorite study guides, apps, and suggestions for acing the exam!

So if you are preparing to take the MBLEx and want to be as prepared as possible, take a listen to our episode for some great pointers!

Having a scarcity mindset or “Starving Healer Syndrome” unfortunately describes an awful lot of us in the healing professions. But if we want to align with abundance, we must kick these toxic thought patterns to the curb!

We operate from the belief (often unconscious) that we don’t deserve to become wealthy or even financially comfortable from the work we perform. Or that it isn’t even possible to achieve financial independence as holistic practitioners.

We struggle to pay the bills, find time for self-care, and nurture our families, all while telling ourselves that we got into this work to help others, not to get rich.

We tell ourselves that there are better practitioners than us who deserve more. That we don’t want to take work away from others… That we don’t deserve as much of what others expect from life.

But the thing is, we work hard. We work from our hearts. We give of ourselves each and every day in ways that other professions simply cannot fathom. And over time, our hearts will start to break if we don’t take care of them and ourselves. We also must remember that by neglecting ourselves, we neglect those we love as well.

Our work is important. It helps improve lives. It is powerful, and so are we.

And…we deserve to be compensated fairly. We deserve to have money set away for retirement, our children’s college, and vacations. We deserve to be financially stable!

It’s called self-care. It prevents burnout. Breaking free from these limiting beliefs is a vital step to master if we want to have any type of longevity in a field we love so dearly!

The truth is, unless we take action to ensure a financially sound future for ourselves, we will constantly be scraping by, living paycheck to paycheck. Wondering if we will have enough for the electric, groceries, or necessary car repairs.

No one can make these changes to our mindset for us but ourselves. We have to do the hard work ourselves to achieve a more comfortable, sustainable lifestyle.

Often, these limiting beliefs are deeply engrained in us. We received messages as children, while in school, from the media or church. Taking steps to uproot these messages takes courage.

You deserve to have a thriving, rewarding, supportive practice. A practice which not only provides you with the basics but also allows you to travel, save, and play.

Aligning with abundance is a process, one that takes a lot of baby steps, day after day, to start building the life that you always imagined for yourself. One that feeds you not only financially but also spiritually, emotionally, and physically. So get out there and start taking steps.

All therapists are going to receive criticism at some point in their career - that's just the nature of the beast, we can't be everything to everyone - yet that doesn't make it any easier to receive negative comments about us or our work. 

This episode was inspired by a struggle that one of Ali's Massage In The Real World students had. They, unfortunately, received some criticism, and it was adversely affecting them! They were taking it very personally!!! In this episode, we dive into how to handle receiving criticism. 

Dual relationships are tricky! While some believe these types of relationships have no place in the massage world, others think they can be a healthy part of business. 

In this episode, Beca and Ali dig into dual relationships. Whether they are good or bad and how to navigate them when they do occur. 

Listen on to hear their thoughts. 

There are times in life when we simply cannot juggle all the balls we have flying in the air. Times when a few things have to slide off our plate, or we won't be able to function, at least not at the level our families, clients, and friends require/want. 

January-June was one of those times for us. We were busy with all the things that come with life: some entrepreneurial ventures, a few personal goals, and some much-needed breaks for integration. 

In this episode, we dig into the nitty-gritty of what this season presented for us, what we learned, and some key takeaways we hope can help you on your massagepreneur journey as well!  

One of the most annoying things in our massage world is when client’s no-show! We have prepared ourselves mentally, physically, and energetically to give an awesome treatment, and then our client fails to show.

Your client may think, no big deal, I’ll reschedule for next week. But the truth is, that’s an appointment that could have been booked by someone else. That is time you could have been doing something else! And lost revenue. Or is it? This is what we are going to explore in today’s podcast episode.

In this episode of "Align with The Massage Business Mama," we are joined by branding, marketing, and Canva genius Emily Conners of "The Creative Bodega." 

Emily first got started in the world of marketing when she set out to brand and market her own brick and mortar business, a gym. She found that not only did she really like marketing her gym, but she was actually pretty good at it too! 

From nailing your colors, fonts, and logos to showing your face, Emily's got something to say about it all and we are so excited to have her on-air and hope that you love her just as much as we do!!!

Please take a listen and let us know what you think! 

Naming your massage business is something we often see slow therapists down. They get stuck in the creative cul-de-sac of trying to come up with the perfect name and, in so doing, stale out on making progress in other areas of their business. It makes sense. It's hard to purchase a domain or make business cards when you are still unsure of your name! 

In this episode of "Align with The Massage Business Mama," we challenge you to PICK A NAME! We want you to commit to nailing down your name so that you can MOVE ON!!! Sound like a plan? 

Uncovering your competitive advantage is critical to your success as a small business owner. It's what sets you apart in the marketplace and helps customers choose you over the spa down the street. But, sometimes, it's hard to identify what it is that sets us apart! We are simply too close to ourselves to see the unique gifts we offer. 

In this episode, we chat with Amie Kraft of Kraft Massage and Bodywork in Phoenixville, Pennsylvania, about precisely this. Amie, a recent grad of Ali's program "Massage In The Real World," has had an unusual massage career. One, that definitely sets her apart from her competitors, yet, she has struggled to share this in her marketing and promotional efforts. 

Today, we uncover the mindset behind why Amie has held back on owning her competitive advantage - how she intends to change this moving forward - and tools you can use to uncover your own competitive advantage. 

Learn about Ali's upcoming course, which is about to launch, "Massage In The Real World: The Complete Guide for Bridging the Gap from School to Thriving Practice." 

She is so excited to help massage therapists actualize their entrepreneurial dreams! 

Massage In The Real World is a step-by-step guide that helps therapists cut through the overwhelm and give you the courage, confidence, and know-how to build a massage business from scratch while becoming the Massage Boss you were meant to be!

SEO is such an intimidating topic for most massage therapists! In this episode we break down some easy ways to rank a little higher on a Google search. 

In this episode, we interview Joyce Gauthier of the Respect Massage Movement. A movement aimed at helping protect massage therapists from sexual solicitors. This important topic is one that often gets glossed over in massage school, and Joyce is working tirelessly to combat that problem. 

Wouldn't it be nice to approach taxes with less stress and more ease? Our hope is that some of the advice we provide in this episode can do just this, reduce the stress associated with taxes for you moving forward. 

In this episode, we chat about finding an office space to work out of for your massage practice. Some common things to look for, negotiating with landlords, and post COVID considerations.

Listen to hear our number one priority when finding a space!

In this episode we discuss a question we received from a listener. "Is yoga appropriate to recommend as a form of self-care for massage clients?" We get into this, our favorite forms of self-care, and the ever annoying "askhole" we often encounter in our field. 

In this episode, we tackle a question we received from a listener, is spirituality a part of massage? There are certainly a lot of Massage Therapist who identify as spiritual, so we understand why this might be asked! 

This meditation is intended to help you identify opportunities that have presented themselves because of the COVID-19 Crisis. As uncomfortable and challenging as this whole experience has been, there are opportunities for growth if we seek them out. Please get comfortable and explore deep within your psyche to see what hidden gems are waiting to be revealed. 

In this episode, we wanted to get a baseline for how the COVID situation has landed in the massage industry from a variety of voices. We have our own personal experiences and views of how things will roll out moving forward. But we wanted to collect perspectives from others in the industry, educators, practitioners in private practice, spa owners, therapists who stopped working and those who did not. 

The global pandemic that has rocked the world has all of us on a little edge. Massage Therapists are having to make tough decisions about the future of their practices. We all could use a little more deep breathing during this time, so we created this meditation. We hope that you walk away from this video feeling lighter, more refreshed, and more optimistic about your future as a massage therapist.

To learn more about Align with The Massage Business Mama, please visit our website www.alignwiththemassagebusinessmama.com

Enjoy the meditation! 

The nasty virus, COVID-19 that is circling the world has affected the massage therapy industry in some profound ways! Join Beca and Ali as they discuss ways to have some financial immunity to this situation, their predictions for the future of our industry, and the things they are doing to stay healthy through this all. 

To learn more about this podcast visit: www.alignwiththemassagebusinessmama.com

Networking can be a scary and intimidating thing! Learn the tips and tools we have implemented over the years to help us feel more comfortable in a variety of networking settings. 

Visit www.alignwiththemassagebusinessmama.com for show notes.

Beca and Ali discuss their tips and tool for working as massage therapists with kids. From upping your rates to limiting your commitments to technological support they share what has worked for them on their work/life journey. 

Beca and Ali are honored that you chose to take a listen! With a combined 22 + years experience in the massage industry, we are excited to share tips and tricks we have learned along the way. 

To learn more about us, go to www.alignwiththemassagebusinessmama.com