massage therapy journal

keeping you in touch.

  

Before the doors open

Felicia Brown, massage therapist and owner of Spalutions! in Greensboro, North Carolina, knows the business from both sides—as an employee and owner. Working as an independent contractor when she first started in the industry, she’s worked for a variety of people. “My perspective was probably like many other independent massage therapists and students,” she says. “I thought that since I did most of the work in relation to the clients, I deserved most of the money. Fifty percent of the service actually seemed low to me back then.”

This attitude followed Brown when she finally decided to go into business for herself, almost costing her the new company. “Unfortunately, when I started my own business, I had no concept of the costs of owning a business,” she admits. “I kept my independent contractor mindset when I set up the compensation for my staff. I was actually losing money by having a business with other therapists working with me. It took me a long time to understand that I had to make some changes to the pay structure in order to save the business.”

Now, as a consultant to others looking to start their own practice, Brown suggests getting a handle on some of these issues before you think about opening a business. “I see countless owners of massage practices that don’t make any profit and are barely able to pay themselves a salary,” Brown says. “Still, they work 80 hours a week, see a full book of clients, spend all of their free time solving problems and thinking about the business, and have nothing to show for it but an empty bank book and a lot of worry lines.”

To avoid this fate, she encourages people to give serious thought to what the business can support in terms of expenses, including compensation, rent, advertising and debt repayment—all before ever thinking of opening the doors. “Determining a pre-opening budget is vital,” she warns. “This process is tedious, but it is a very important step to take and one that can literally save years of headaches, heartbreak and frustration, to say nothing of cash.”

Continue < 1 2 3 4>