Make the Most of Massage

Category: Motivation

  • Grinding It Out in the Business World: The Painful but Proven Path to Growing Your Business

     

    “Nothing in the world can take the place of persistence. Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful individuals with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not; the world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent.” –Ray Kroc

    These words are the essence of grinding it out. But let’s rewind for a moment.

    Years ago, a wellness center opened right where ours is today. The owners went all in on a dream: “If you build it, they will come.” Spoiler alert: The customers didn’t show up, and the center closed within a year.

    Decades earlier, I had friends, Deirdre and Hans, with a similar idea—a bodywork center, spacious, welcoming, and… empty. My friends failed in a time when there was no SEO and social media. It was fliers and newspaper ads and networking that carried the day. But they didn’t know how to drum up business. Instead, they sat there, waiting for the doors to magically swing open with customers. Within a year,  their dream shut its doors too.

    The lesson to me? Grinding it out isn’t about hoping or waiting for your dream to come true. It’s about doggedly inching towards a goal that you can’t always see in the distance.

    Grind, Don’t Just Spin Your Wheels

    Ray Kroc, the brains behind McDonald’s, wrote a book called Grinding It Out. Now, before you roll your eyes, let me be clear—I’m no fan of McDonald’s. Their impact on health, the environment, and animal welfare? Not great. But their business success? You can’t argue with it.

    Kroc emphasized working lean. He also said: “You must perfect every fundamental of your business if you expect it to perform well.”

    Perfecting every fundamental of your business and grinding it out are inextricably linked. If you’re not grinding it out in every fundamental of your business, you’re not learning how to grow your business. And if you don’t learn every fundamental (or hire people who are experts in the fundamentals that you need help with), you’ll go belly up, like my friends.

    By the way, I had my own belly-up experience. Years ago, Lisa and I decided to open up a third location inside a physical therapy office that was farther away from us than our other offices. The massage therapist, who was working for us at the time, was going to be the manager of that location. It wasn’t a good fit from the get-go, but I convinced myself that things would work out.

    Six months in, I was trying to manage the business while doing most of the massage in the business. At one point, I was talking to a physical therapy patient (a corporate marketer, too) who said one thing that has stuck with me. He said: If you’re inside the massage room, you can’t grow your business.

    He was right. After a year running myself to death, Lisa and I closed the office. It hurt, but it was the smartest decision Lisa and I have made so far in our business journey. We cut our losses quickly so that we could live to grind it out somewhere else with more potential.

    Perfect the Fundamentals

    If you think you’re grinding it out but are not seeing success, go back and examine the fundamentals. In retrospect, for me, this was what was happening when I thought I was grinding it out.

    • I did a great massage–but I didn’t know how to market besides doing a great massage.
    • I could schedule people–but I didn’t know how to run efficient operations.
    • I could build trust with clients–but I had no clue how to build business relationships.
    • I could work hard in the business–but I only had rudimentary skills for hiring and managing people.

    It took mentors, coaches, and a lot of bartering to fill those gaps. For example, massages paid for my first website decades ago. And now, SCORE—a government-funded program that connects business owners with mentors for free–has taken me to the next level with our massage and wellness center.

    The fundamentals are your foundation. If you don’t learn them—or hire someone who has the expertise where you’re lacking—you’re not grinding; you’re spinning. And spinning can go on for a long, long painful time. Trust me on that.

    Grinding It Out Takes Time

    Ray Kroc famously said: “I was an overnight success all right, but thirty years is a long, long night.”

    We all want to have a business that is an overnight success story–but that’s not how it works usually. So, when I’m down sometimes I write things like Live in Philly, Philly to lift me up. But nowadays, what keeps me on track more often is looking back after a month of grinding and seeing the progress we made. If you are not experiencing grinding-it-out success, ask yourself this:

    • Am I grinding it out, or am I spinning my wheels?
    • If I’m spinning, do I need a mentor, coach, or accountability partner?
    • Am I perfecting the fundamentals, or avoiding them?

    By no means am I asking you to let go of your dream just because it’s hard. I’m just saying  don’t waste years on a dream thinking you’re grinding it out when you’re actually spinning in place because you haven’t become competent with the fundamentals.

    So: Head down. Glance up. Making progress? Good. Head down. Grind.

     

     

  • How to Talk Yourself into Success

    How to Talk Yourself into Success

    I’m not a motivational speaker, and I don’t aspire to be one. But for a minute, I’m going to sound like one. There’s something that I say to myself that helps me achieve my most pressing massage business goal, and I think it can help you.

    Here’s what I say: What can’t get done, must get done.

    So, what were you thinking after you read that?

    Was it “Sounds interesting. How does that work, Mark?” or was it “Go peddle that nonsense somewhere else, Mark”.

    There’s no judgment here. I’m just trying to make a point that both responses have an emotional component to them.

    “Sounds interesting…” is hopeful, right?

    “Go peddle…” not so much.

    Your emotional response will probably dictate whether or not you try my advice.

    The same is true with finishing projects. Emotions can stop you or start you.

    Ever have a 1 day project that took 10 days or 100 days…or a 1000 days to complete?

    When a Massage Business Goal Takes Too Long

    Time for me to fess up. It took me almost a year to put up our outdoor office sign.

    Here’s my brain then: I can’t order the lettering for the sign until I measure the size of the existing sign…but I can’t measure the existing sign because I need a ladder and I don’t have a ladder, so I’d have to borrow my dad’s ladder, but I can’t borrow my dad’s ladder because I don’t think it will fit into my car and I can’t borrow someone else’s car because I’m so busy with work and work projects…so I can’t put the sign up until I get more time so that I can borrow a car to haul my dad’s ladder…

    How to Change the Conversation

    But what if I had said to myself: “Listen here, buddy, this is how we’re approaching this massage business goal today: What can’t get done (the sign), must get done.”

    The conversation in my head may have went this way:

    So you can’t find the time to borrow a car to get your dad’s ladder?

    Right.

    Did you see if the ladder would fit into your car?

    Well…no…

    So, you don’t know if that ladder will actually fit into your car?

    No.

    Guess what’s the first thing you’re going to be doing today?

    Seeing if the ladder fits into my car.

    Uh-huh.

    The real barrier wasn’t that the ladder wouldn’t fit into my car. (By the way it did.) The real barrier was that I was nervous that I was going to mess up the job because I had never made a sign before, and I didn’t want to waste money.

    In other words, the real barrier for completing the sign project wasn’t something beyond my control. It was an emotional barrier.

    Scale Emotional Barrier to Complete Massage Business Goal

    Here’s an example of how my new thinking has helped me.

    Recently, I was having SEO nightmares with one of my websites. Basically, I had changed the business name a few years back and hadn’t updated the information with the search engines.

    When I started to move on this project there were complications with the update, like verification. For example, Bing sends you physical mail with a verification code.

    The problem with that was our name and address had worn off our office mailbox, and I was way too busy with clients, articles, new classes, marketing and life in general to find time to fix the mailbox situation…

    But then I pulled out the “what can’t get done (website SEO), must get done.”

    Guess what?

    It got done.

    To be honest, I’m not even sure what the emotional barrier was. I just knew that “being too busy” was not a legitimate show stopper. And I was now on automatic pilot to getting things done.

    In fact, over the past few weeks, my check marks for jobs completed has increased dramatically.

    With every check mark I get an endorphin reward and my desire to continue with this way of thinking gets stronger.

    How I Accomplish a Massage Business Goal

    Want to give it a try? Here’s what I do:

    1. Pick one project to focus on for the week that you haven’t been able to finish.

    If you pick to many, you’ll get overwhelmed.

    2. Buy into “what can’t get done, must get done” for the week.

    So, if you start to have mission creep, remember that you’re only going to do this for a week. if it doesn’t work after a week, you can opt out forever.

    As you continue on, you’ll start to figure out the steps needed to get the job done. At that point you’ll be able to tease apart the emotional barriers from things beyond your control.

    3. Work through the emotional barriers.

    The emotional barriers can be overcome. They MUST be overcome for you to move forward. Get just one itty-bitty win, a small massage business goal accomplished, and that will give you enough fuel to get the next win.

    4. Bask in the emotional rewards after you finish the project.

    This is an important step because it reinforces the desire to repeat the process.

    Gloat, dance, high 5 yourself, think about all the great things that happened because you completed the project—and the thought “what can’t get done, must get done” will be connected to success.

    Can you say productivity machine!

    Source: Ajale.com

    If you try this experiment, let me know how it goes.

    P.S. By the way, you can get my updates, links, videos and articles immediately when you join my email group. It’s free and you can unsubscribe anytime:-)

     

     

  • How to Succeed When You’re Afraid

    How to Succeed When You’re Afraid

    Welcome to massage talk therapy. Got a problem?

    I do. I hate cutting my toenails. Don’t know why. Maybe I was an unhappy podiatrist in another life. Anyway, I avoid cutting them at cost. They get way too long, and when I finally cut them I announce to my wife, Lisa: Hey, I cut ’em!

    Omg, pink champagne or white?! The question is, what was the big deal? There was no blood when I cut them…but there could have been blood, right? So, I better not cut my toenails. Or I better not call the client who I worked on 2 days ago in case her condition got worse. You see where I’m going here in this massage talk therapy session.

    Could Be Bad Thinking

    “Could be bad” thinking stops you from completing tasks and accomplishing goals. It’s like a faulty brain wire that slowly drains your energy reserve. You probably got a case of “could be bad” thinking if you constantly ask yourself questions like: Why don’t I have more clients?

    Mark Versus Joe

    I was the poster child for “could be bad” thinking when I first started massage. Back then I worked in a chiropractor’s office with other MTs. Joe, a colleague and friend, had a kick-butt following. My following was mediocre.

    Was Joe that much better than me?

    I don’t think so. But he was willing to put himself out there by letting people know he did massage. I, on the other hand, wasn’t. If I talked about my massage it could be bad because… …people might start thinking that I’m simply a self-promoter…or I might not live up to their expectations…or they just may hate me and tell everyone that I stink as a therapist.

    The Change

    Fast forward to today. I still don’t like promoting myself. And I still have a “could be bad” mindset. But my practice is everything I want it to be. What’s up? There’s one major difference between me then and now. Now, when I start thinking it “could be bad” when making a business decision, I take a moment to look at what’s going on.

    Falling Through the Display Window

    A while back, I had agreed to be a sponsor at an event my favorite business partner was putting on. Even though I had done massage at tons of events over my career, I still had anxiety about doing this event. After all, it could be bad because… ….I could fall through the display window where I’d be doing the massage…I could have a client come in and complain about a massage…I could look like an idiot because no one gets in my massage line…I could be so awkward that I make all the other vendors uncomfortable and my favorite business never invites me back…

    What was going on to make me feel this way?

    To be honest, I’m not sure, and I didn’t do a deep dive into my psyche to find out. Instead I simply listened to the chatter, and when I did I realized that it wasn’t all that rational.

    Was I going to fall through the display window? Unlikely. However, if I bailed at the last minute would I disappoint the running store manager? Possibly. And that might jeopardize my business relationship with the manager going forward.

    So, I did the event. It was great AND I didn’t fall through the display window.

    Are You Worse Than Me?

    But it’s all relative, right? Your case of “could be bad” could be worse than my case of “could be bad”. What then?

    Simple, says Dr. Mark (haha), you need to experience a win. Then you need another win… …and another win until your brain says: Hey, I’m doing this.

    But here’s the tricky part, you may not get a win tomorrow or the day after that or next week or next month. Take me for example, I’m entering a whole new game. I’m trying to promote my new book due out in June.

    Wait, Mark, isn’t this therapy supposed to be about me?

    Me, you, us, them, let’s not get hung up on pronouns. I’m going through some really no-win days here. Query email after query email shot out into a cyberspace, editorial, black hole. It reminds me of the 50 query letters I sent out before I sold my first article or the many promising email and phone interactions I had with an employee of that local running store with the display window that ultimately went nowhere. Finally I went to the store in person to introduce myself to the manager and the rest is happy history.

    Yes, that first win may take a while, but that’s okay as long as you’re getting a win in an area that matters.

    The business relationship I was establishing with the running store manager—very important.

    A chair massage gig at a one-and-done event—not so important.

    Knowing the business areas to focus on is not straightforward. Before I started my blog, I read and listened to a lot of blog experts. One, Pat Flynn, once talked about being everywhere as the key to getting his name out there. When I applied that principle to my massage business I was out of control—I was running in a million directions and wasting a lot of time. It was in complete contrast to what I did before—one thing at a time forever without evaluating the return. Eventually, I realized a lot of wins or just one win in areas that ultimately weren’t important to my massage business success were a waste of my time, period.

    So, I set my sights on figuring out where I should be focusing my attention for wins. And here’s what yielded me the best ROI: building quality referral sources and getting competent with free, online advertising.

    If you’re just starting out with a massage business and want some wins in the areas that I just mentioned, go here: Jumpstart.

    If you want to take your massage business to the next level, go here: Accelerator. Okay, that’s where you go to get wins. Now, this is how you’re going to get your first win:

    5 Steps to Success When You’re Afraid

    1. Pick a task.

    Pick something that you’ve been avoiding but need to do to move forward with your business.

    2. Don’t panic.

    When all the “could be bad” thoughts pour into your mind, don’t panic. Look at them. Are they legit concerns or are they unrealistic concerns? Fall through the display window—unrealistic concern. No one in my massage line—unrealistic concern. Worst vendor ever award—unrealistic concern. Client tells me I suck in front of everybody—unrealistic concern. If your concerns are mainly unrealistic then say:

    3. F*ck it!

    Sorry. But doesn’t this stuff get you a little jacked? How many times have you NOT followed through on something because of unrealistic concerns and regretted it. The reality is, you can’t get the win if you don’t go for the win. And the memory of the first win will be the incentive for the next win and on and on… Eventually, you’ll create a habit of pushing forward when your brain says “could be bad” and offers only unrealistic concerns. The first win is the hardest. If you find yourself wavering…

    4. Get support.

    Talk to a colleague, friend or spouse. Let them know what you’re doing and how they can help you. By the way, my office door is open. Email me and I’ll be happy to be your Judge Judy or Oprah, whichever you think you need to finish the job. But before you do, there’s one more thing you need to know. Success is not a straight line. When you have a setback (you will), like actually falling through the picture window or having a disgruntled customer, you’re fear is going to escalate. And you will want to stay down to avoid getting knocked down again. When that happens…

    5. Get up.

    Like now, get up.

    Seriously.

    Why?

    Because this is what hapens if you don’t. You waste time. In 2007  I wrote and Op-Ed for the Philadelphia Inquirer about the high cost of pet care. I got letters and emails from people telling me their stories about dealing with the high costs of pet care. I was feeling great! But then I got a letter from someone in the veterinary industry who attacked my piece. I was devastated.

    My wife, Lisa, was a bit surprised by my reaction. She said: Did you expect everyone to agree with you? Actually, yes…yes, I did. In fact, I so hated the feeling of being hated that I stopped writing Op-Eds and articles. It took me a few years before I picked up my pen again.

    When I look back I realize that my fear of being criticized cost me big time. I didn’t work on honing my writer skills. I didn’t bring in extra money. And I didn’t grow as a business person. Trust me; you will make mistakes in your massage business. It may be a missed appointment or a massage that the client didn’t like or a month of being in the red. It will be a punch that will take you to the canvass. Don’t let fear keep you down–like fear kept me down with writing. Because the longer you stay down, the harder it’s going to be to get up.

    Get up now.

    Assess what went wrong.

    Make an adjustment if you need to and look for that next win. But remember to make sure that you’re looking for wins in the right places. This article is another resource that will help you out.

    Oh my, how time flies!

    We need to wrap up today’s massage talk therapy session. But before we do, one parting thought: Don’t expect the “could be bad” mindset to go away. (Well, it didn’t for me.) Don’t worry; it doesn’t need to vanish for you to move forward. You just need to manage your “could be bad” thinking. And you can:-)

    Hey, here’s another way you can get support, join my email group. I’ll send you the latest everything I’ve got going on. It’s free and you can unsubscribe anytime. Sign up below:-)

     

     

  • Massage Practice 101: How to “Just Do It”

    Massage Practice 101: How to “Just Do It”

    What do you really need to do to build a massage business?

    Before you invest in branding and more advanced massage certifications, invest in understanding what: 1. motivates you, 2. keeps you focused, 3. scares you to death and, 4. compels you to finish a task.

    The Problem With Not Knowing Yourself

    Here’s a question that I still ask myself: Why did it take me so long to build a cranking massage business?

    The answer?

    I didn’t understand me.

    More specifically, I didn’t understand what prevented me from accomplishing my goals.

    For example, once when my wife, Lisa, and I opened up a new office, it took me a year to get the sign up. We lost hundreds if not thousands of dollars because I had moved so slowly.

    It was failures to act, like my sign fiasco, that added up and netted me a massage business that was so-so.

    Time to Build a Massage Business

    The story of change started about 5 years ago.

    At the time, I was on the verge of quitting my so-so massage business because in addition to making just okay money, my elbow ached, my hand was numb and my shoulder felt like it was going to snap off.

    I didn’t quit because my dad had driven home how important it was to work efficiently and effectively both physically and mentally.

    Maybe there was a way I could do massage with less effort and less pain to my body.

    So, I started to experiment and over the course of a year, I was good.

    How good?

    Damn good.

    In fact, I could do more massages without being in pain at 49 than I could do at 29.

    Talk about a shot in the arm. My body was ready to go. Now I just needed more clients.

    So, I really started to think about why I had accomplished some goals while I completely struck out with others.

    And I found 4 things that were holding me back from building a massage business that exceeded my expectations.

    Going After a Goal Must Do(s)

    1. Find the right motivation to get started.

    Not all motivation is equal. For me, effective motivation has a sense of urgency, like: If I don’t bring in more clients, I won’t be able to pay for _______ or do _______.

    Urgency doesn’t have to come out of a dire situation. It can come from the realization that everything has a shelf life.

    At 54 I’m less likely to stop everything and travel the world than I was at 24. If you don’t start your massage practice now, chances are that you won’t start it later.

    Feel the adrenaline kicking in?

    2. Focus on the goal, not the details.

    Once you’re motivated (got the adrenaline going), it’s time to fight off everything that’s going to derail you. Your punch list could be one of them.

    For example, if you want to open a massage practice, but your To-Do list to open your practice is the length of your arm—you’re set up for failure.

    Instead of trying to get every detail done, just pick the key ones that are essential to opening your practice.

    3. Acknowledge Fears

    There will be times when you find yourself dragging your feet about a key task you need to do to accomplish a goal. These are the times when you need to ask yourself some serious questions, like “Why am I dragging my feet?”

    Look closely. Nine times out of ten, I’m dragging my feet because of fear.

    Remember the sign that took me a year to put up? Here’s why. The person that I hired to do our signs was a disaster. It took him 3 months to get our banner sign done.

    He was supposed to do our marquee signs, but after the banner debacle I couldn’t trust him. The other sign companies that gave us proposals for our marquee signs were too expensive. So I decided to make the signs myself.

    But I was so nervous that I was going to mess them up and have to redo them (costing us money) that I kept putting the job off.

    Eventually, I made the signs and got them right the first time. However, at the end of the day, my feet dragging probably cost us more money (lost revenue because the signs weren’t up) than if I had paid a sign company who would have gotten the job done in a timely manner.

    pressureperfect-sign-pic

    The project that took me a year, ugh.

    Here’s a common fear for MTs striking out on their own: fear of being exposed as a fraud. I can’t tell you how many times in the beginning of my career that I waited for the client to get off my table and say, “Well, that really sucked.”

    When you’re in this fear-based mindset you may find yourself not following through with advertising. That way your name doesn’t get out there (just in case you really do suck).

    This should help you with some of that pesky fear: How to Succeed When You’re Afraid.

    4. Stay connected to what compels you to accomplish a goal.

    To resolve the feet dragging, reconnect with what is compelling for you to complete your goal. It could be a stick or a carrot.

    A stick would be: if I don’t accomplish this goal, I will never have a house. A carrot would be: if I accomplish this goal, then I will have my dream job.

    One more thing about the compelling part, it is the emotional fodder that will get you through the tough times. This is where knowing what moves you is important.

    When I started this website, I had no idea of the challenges that I would face, like learning WordPress. And when my due date for my website revamp was rapidly approaching, I balked at the thought of only getting a few hours of sleep for the next couple of nights to get the job done.

    But I had trained my brain to go back to the most emotionally compelling reason for me to do the website.

    Here’s my compelling reason: I had written for magazines and developed CE courses for quite a few years. And I loved having my work out there through these businesses and professional organizations. However, the final product was always filtered through their screens.

    I wanted the freedom to say what I thought needed to be said without their filters. Hence, the website. This was waaaay compelling to me.

    Build a Massage Business Recap

    Okay, are you ready to get this party started?

    Let’s build a massage business.

    First, grab that goal by its ears. Look it in the eye and find the strongest, biggest and baddest motivation for getting the job done. The motivation could be a dream or it could be a negative consequence that results from not following through. Lock it in your brain.

    Then don’t get bogged down in the details. Focus on what is essential.

    You’ll have to face your fears. And if you find yourself in mission creep, latch onto the motivation that is so compelling you have to stay on track.

    Need more help?

    Email (mark@makethemostofmassage.com) me or sign up for my email group.

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