How to Get Out of a Massage Rut

I’m going to get pretty serious on you: Are you happy doing massage? Be honest. No clients are looking.

There’s some grey here, I know. You may like some things about massage, but not other things.

The Range

I’ve found that when I ask MTs if they’re happy doing massage, their answers fall within a range. On one end is “I like doing massage, but…”, and on the other end is “I hate it”.

Just so you know, I’m not trying to get you to love massage.

My goal is to help you identify what it is that you want from massage, and then help you get it.

To do this, we’re gonna look at the like-buts, the hate-its and everything in between.

Almost Happy Doing Massage

Let’s start with the like-buts:

1. I like massage, but I need more money.

Before we get into the strategies about making more money, I need to ask you another question: Do you want to make more money doing more massage?

Make More Money Doing More Massage

If you said yes, and you have a business or clients on the side, read this: How to Grow Your Business with Zero $.

If you said yes, and most if not all your money is made as a massage employee, check out this article: No Leverage = No Power to Change Things.

Now, what if you want to make more money, but you don’t want to make it by actually doing massage?

Enter multiple streams of income.

Make More Money Not Doing Massage

I thrive on having multiple streams of income. For one, it’s like having a diversified portfolio. If one thing goes south, I don’t lose the whole portfolio.

Plus, my brain gets bored with doing the same thing all the time.

Here are some options for making more money without having to rub.

Write

If you have a writing bent, you can make money writing for massage and health magazines. Here’s what you’ll need to know to get started: How to Make Money Writing.

CE Courses

Writing and developing CE courses go hand-in-hand. You can use the articles you sell to create CE courses.

If you’re nervous about actually teaching the course, make your first teaching gig a small (and warm) audience. You can also make the course an e-learning course and that can  take you out of being in front of the classroom.

Personal Training

Personal training is a great dovetail business with massage. It made up a good chunk of my overall income when one of my offices was in a fitness center.

It will cost you some money to get certified, but you can make that up quickly because some of your massage clients will want to be your training clients.

Massage Teacher

Another massage-related income would be to become a teacher at a massage school. There are basically two types of massage schools out there.

One is a school owned by an owner or owners. The other is a school owned by a corporation.

They each have different work cultures. If you haven’t worked for a corporation (like me), then a corporate owned school may not be the best fit for you (like me).

Think Outside the Massage Box

Your additional stream of income doesn’t need to be connected to massage. I was once a new business consultant for a small company that managed corporate fitness centers. I landed the gig through a friend who had owned a fitness center.

When you’re looking for a part-time job outside the massage box, start with the people in your social and work network. A friend or work colleague may no someone who knows someone, and suddenly you have an in.

2. I like massage but I’m burnt out.

I hear ya. Too much of anything will eventually make you turn and walk (run, sprint) the other way. I went through some burnout spells with massage myself.

If you’re suffering from burnout, I think this may help: How to Get the Passion Back.

If it’s not burnout and you’re 100% not happy doing massage, then let’s look at the next category.

3. I hate massage.

First, we have to check to see if the hate is situational. The two biggies for temporarily hating massage are money and pain.

I talked about making more money in the I Like Massage But Need More Money section.

Here’s what you can do about eliminating body pain when doing massage: Minimal Effort Massage: More Massages, Less Pain.

Pretty Sure I Hate Massage

Nope, Mark, I went through the checklist, and I just want out of massage.

Okay, but then the question becomes out of massage into what?

If you know, great. Go for it. I have a MT friend who got of massage to be a PTA. Another became an OT.  A massage client who was a massage therapist has a longstanding career in IT.

If massage turned out to be a mistake for you or was only supposed to be temporary until you could start or create your dream job, my advice would be to find a new, marketable skill while still doing massage.

After you acquire that new, marketable skill, you can then start to transition out of massage without losing income.

This article will help you out with that: How to Follow a Dream: Massage Bridge Business.

Happy Doing Massage Recap

Okay, there’s a lot to think about here. The important thing is to have an honest discussion with yourself. Allow yourself to feel whatever it is you feel. Then get clear on what you want out of massage.

If you’re not happy doing massage or just need to tweak what you’re doing, read my suggested articles for ideas.

One more thing:

Once you’re clear, don’t wait.

Life is short.

P.S. Here’s a way to stay motivated so that you get things done. Join my email group. I’ll let you know when new articles, videos and tutorials are out. It’s free and you can unsubscribe whenever you want:-)

Keep it rollin’:-)

Mark

(Visited 505 times, 2 visits today)

Comments on this entry are closed.

  • Leslie in Sarasota Oct 23, 2022, 12:35 am

    wow lots of great new links i had never seen before in your writing.. & especially loved the articles on leverage, & leverage…
    This article was chock full of amazing links! Thank You!!
    …But i gotta ask: who is Montgomery Burns??????
    🙂 Namaste’

    • Leslie Oct 23, 2022, 12:36 am

      oops i meant leverage …and Writing!!!!

      • mark@makethemostofmassage.com Oct 23, 2022, 9:42 am

        Got it! Thanks!

    • mark@makethemostofmassage.com Oct 23, 2022, 9:42 am

      Hey Leslie! Good to hear from you! I’m glad you found the information helpful. If you wanted to talk about anything in particular, let me know. Montgomery Burns is the rich, old and greedy business character on the Simpsons: https://youtu.be/othBTFk_W1Y Thanks for the commenting!