How to Make Pressure Work For You

I’m 100% on my own when it comes to making money in my massage practice or any other business that I have.

That means I have to sell, produce and deliver to eat.

No one gives me sick days or vacation days.

No one pays for my insurance.

Without me it all falls down.

And, yes, I wear Depends.

Okay, so I don’t where Depends, but the pressure of working for myself sometimes makes me feel like I need them.

But there’s a good side to pressure, too.

Pressure forces me to figure things out.

Here’s what I mean.

Pressure and Having a Massage Practice

Say you take the leap and go out on your own.

Okay, now you have the cost of rent, equipment and supplies.

Someone (you) just lit a Bunsen burner under your butt.

And there’s a good side here to pressure, Mark?

Maybe not at first, but as you start to figure things out, the bad pressure stops feeling bad.

“Figuring things out” is not a metaphor.

It’s the constructive things you do to help you accomplish a goal or succeed.

“Figuring things out” is not magic.

It’s accomplished through trial and error.

And I’ve done my share of error.

The business my wife, Lisa, and I started a few years ago, PressurePerfect, had a rough start.

I had completely miscalculated how I was going to bring in new clients. And we weren’t making enough money.

You could say my butt was getting well-done and I was about to turn off the gas to the Bunsen burner (close shop) until I finally threw myself into something I hated—marketing.

Eventually, I discovered a way to market that was cheap and fit my personality.

The Bunsen burner was not on high anymore.

And the pressure was good (manageable).

Pressure = Massage Practice Success

Was the stress from the pressure of a failing business worth it?

Yep.

Here’s why. That pressure drove me to grow PressurePerfect at that one location.

Now, the pressure of having to do all the administrative, facilities and marketing jobs myself is now driving me to grow PressurePerfect in a different way where Mark has less to do.

Bad and Good Pressure Come Together

I wish I could just kick bad pressure to the curb.

But it doesn’t work like that for me.

Let’s say I want something.

Like more money.

So, then I do something to get more money, like demo massages.

Demo massages trash my schedule and create bad pressure.

I run around like crazy for a few months—and fight with our cats.

But I know how to use demo massage as a marketing tool and in a few months, my weekly income bumps up.

And the pressure feels less sucky.

But being over-committed is still excessive pressure. So then I figure out how to put my demo massages on maintenance mode without losing any referrals.

Bad pressure is now good.

So to me, getting to good is a process.

Without the sucky pressure part, I wouldn’t be motivated to figure things out.

Make Pressure Work for Starting Your Massage Practice

If you’re thinking about starting a massage practice and have done your homework (like you have a plan to get clients), don’t let pressure scare you away.

Let the Bunsen burner do it’s job and embrace the bad feeling of pressure.

But know it will turn to good pressure once you make adjustments to lessen the intensity of the pressure as you achieve or after you achieve your goal.

Need help with paying that rent? Here’s how I bring in more clients: Massage Marketing Tips: How to Pick the Winners.

P.S. I have an email group.

It’s free and I send you my latest info about making more money, building a massage practice and staying out of pain.

Sign up below:-)

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