People ask me about business stuff a lot, but… I stink at business stuff. I don’t promote myself often, or answer phones, or leave my house. I basically maintain a Facebook blog, advertise, and let clients come to me. This works for me and my social nopeness, but there are ways of tapping into your local client base quicker, finding the right people for your business, and getting the ball rolling in months rather than years. I can’t help you there, but I’ve got friends who can.
Allissa Haines and Michael Reynolds run the Massage Business Blueprint, which I’ve been an advocate for since it began. I’ve even helped with a podcast and an article (they were about working with the gluteal region, so we got to say the word “butt” a lot). In fact, they bring in experts in different fields regularly, so it’s a good way of hearing a lot of viewpoints about massage and business.
You may want to start with their free stuff, which is truly useful: Weekly blog posts and podcasts, and a monthly content bomb full of sample posts and images for you to use in your newsletter or blog. Just signing up for that can provide a lot of inspiration and substance for your online and in-person marketing game.
The premium service is 9 bucks a month, and it’s pretty amazing. There are articles and webcasts on dealing with an accountant, advanced Facebook and Google marketing (Michael is a wiz with that stuff), starting your corporate chair massage business, and a ton of other topics. As each week passes, their archive gets more and more impressive. They even have sample forms and contracts—lease agreements, business proposals, membership programs, and more. It’s bananas.
If you think this is something that might be useful for you, check them out here: www.massagebusinessblueprint.com.
That’s an affiliate link, but I’m choosing to feature them because I’ve been more and more impressed by the service with each passing month, and I know it’s worth your time. And they’re my friends, but ignore that part.
I know a lot of you are existing members: What do you think about MBB? Has it been useful in growing your business? Has any feature been particularly useful for you?
Ian, Would you be so kind as to make a video or two about working with clients who are clothed and ones who are obese?
I provide massage at a domestic abuse shelter and many of the women I work with leave on camisoles and leggings. I haven’t found a video yet that really is helpful for a full body clothed massage that isn’t sports massage, which is not what these women want.
Also, quite a few of these clients are obese and I haven’t found any videos or instruction about techniques that are specific to this population.