Massage Business Experts Inc.

Stress and Massage

DID YOU KNOW?

Prolonged periods of stress can subconsciously affect many systems of the body .

Stress has been shown to aggravate, or even cause, such problems as heart disease, gastrointestinal disorders, memory loss and decreased immune function.

Massage therapy is one of the best antidotes for stress.

Massage boosts the body's immune system, which can become compromised from extended periods of stress. Tension can build up in the muscles, causing a decrease in circulation and nutrient delivery to tissues.

Manipulation of the soft tissue decreases muscular tension, increases removal of metabolic waste and promotes nutrient delivery to healing tissue.

With a therapeutic massage, stress can be significantly reduced. This, in turn, will increase energy, improve your outlook on life, and in the process boost your immune system function.

Most of us set aside our health and wellbeing in order to take care of those things that we consider to be our “priorities.” We let our jobs, families and other obligations take precedence over things such as massage and chiropractic care. After all, our health can wait…. The carpool cannot. We think of massage as a luxury, one that we seldom invest the time and resources to enjoy. What we often forget, though, is that we handle the stresses of daily life best when we are physically and mentally fit. Proper diet, exercise, rest and attitude all help and so does regular massage therapy.

Anyone living in today’s hectic world can benefit from massage. Those who are particularly good candidates are athletes (both weekend and competitive), office workers who spend many hours at a desk or computer, people who stand all day (waiters, for example) as well as those who do a lot of lifting and anyone in highly stressful situations. Muscle pain and nervous tension are two manifestations of everyday stress and strain that most of us experience. Massage helps to alleviate symptoms and restore balance to frenzied lives.

Massage assists our healing in many ways. It melts away tension, relieving pain and discomfort, and this helps us relax physically, mentally and emotionally. Massage improves circulation and lymphatic drainage, thus improving the flow of nutrients to the tissues and the removal of toxins from the body. It improves flexibility and joint range of motion, reduces inflammation, and improves muscle tone. It has a positive effect on the immune system. Massage can help restore emotional balance by releasing the accumulated tension caused by repressed feelings. Regular massage helps us cope with life’s challenges better because we feel both mentally and physically fit.

Make massage therapy an integral component of your total mental and physical wellness program!

You may benefit from massage if you are experiencing the following conditions: [ Stress or Anxiety [ Problems sleeping [ Recurring headaches [ Muscular pain in neck, back, arms and legs [ Numbness or tingling [ Loss of Flexibility and range of motion [ Low energy [ Rounded Shoulders [ Walking with a limp [ Difficulty working at computer [ Pregnancy [ High Blood Pressure [ Carpel Tunnel Syndrome [ Sports Injury

Benefits of Massage Therapy

Benefits of Medical Massage Therapy

*Relaxation –relieve stress and tension

*Reduction of pain – the ability of the muscles to lengthen

*Movement reeducation – refers to reeducation of muscle functioning

*Structural change – refers to the way the body is built, posture, bones

*Improved joint function – movement, stretches opens and releases      

*Pain free range of motion

*Increase flexibility      

*Stimulation of reflexes – nervous system, spinal reflex arch’s

*Improve circulation – lymphatic, venous, arterial, removal of metabolic   wastes, reduction of fatigue factors, stimulates cerebral spinal flow

*Increased sensory awareness – refers to how the body actually feels, the ability to change on a motor level, range of motion

*Organic healing – stimulating the body to heal itself

*Energy organization – refers to how electricity or energy flows through the body, polarity

*Increased self awareness – learning about how the body affects self image

*Intimacy/Communication – self awareness and verbalization

*Emotional release – positive or negative release may occur

*Recovery of traumatic memories – may occur

*Breathing – learning the importance of breath and its affects

*Loosen scar tissue – most of the time

*Assist specifically in venous flow – circulation of blood

*Reduction of edema – swelling- pitting & non-pitting

Systems Mainly Influenced by Massage Therapy

Muscular – Skeletal – Nervous – Circulatory – Bioelectric – Endocrine

Intake Forms

Intake Forms are an essential part of a succesful massage practice.  If you ask the right questions on your intake form you can get a lot of information.  Name and address and telephone numbers are common this way you can mail out things directly to your clients and call them to remind about appointments.  You can get an e-mail address which is the newest way of contacting clients.  Sending an e-newsletter to keep clients informed about what is happening in your business and different techniques that can help their aches and pains.  You can ask how they found out about you so you can send the person who refered them a thank you card or you can track what advertising is working.  You can also ask for a medical history on the intake form.  Getting information about their medical history is important so you can see what is contraindicated for each client.  You can ask them what hurts today? YOu may want to ask what their pain level is today?  Initially you get a general idea of medical problems but it is important that the massage therapists inquires as to their health each time they come in based on what they filled out on there first visit.  You can also include a disclaimer such as "This is not a sexual establishment..." or "appointments must be cancelled within 24 hours or payment is expected..." then have the client intial or sign that they have read this information.  Intake forms can give you a variety of information based on what you need to know for your business.  Having the massage therapist do their soap notes on the back of them is also a good idea so then you have everything together for each client.  This is an example of a general intake form

Name____________________________Date__________

Address_____________City__________State_____Zip________

Phone day _____________eve. ____________Birth date _______

Occupation__________________ E-mail Address (for newsletter)_________________________________________________________

How did you find out about us? ____________________________________

Please indicate on the diagram areas of pain, discomfort or concern.

Explain.

                                                            Front         Back       R-side       L-side

Do you experience any difficulty lying either on your front or back? _______________________________________________

Are you under medical care, supervision, or taking any medications? ________________________________________

Explain.

Is there any past history we need to know about? ___________Please Explain.

I understand I must give Clear and Immediate VERBAL FEEDBACK if I am physically or mentally uncomfortable with any bodywork technique applied.  Otherwise, it will be assumed I am comfortable.  Your initials ________

I accept full responsibility for any physical, mental, or emotional reactions to the bodywork I receive. By signing this consent and release form, I release and save harmless the massage therapists I work with from all liability or claims that may result from my participation in my treatments.

This is strictly a non-sexual establishment. If this is your intent – leave now!

This time is reserved exclusively for you. At least a 24 hour notice is required if you are unable to keep your appointment, otherwise you will be charge for the full session.

It is important that you have read, understand and sign this consent and release of liability due to the current state of our medical system. 

ALL INFORMATION PROVIDED BY CLIENT IS CONFIDENTIAL.

Signature _______________________________________Date_________

Thank you for choosing us!

Business Management Policies

Another job for the manager of a massage center is setting policies and procedures.  These policies and procedures are subject to change as things move forward.  What worked in the beginning may not work after you get more established and have more therapists.  Some of the policies would be duties of the massage therapist.  Such as opening and closing duties and how the rooms should be reset for next group of therapist to come to work, where they should put their belongings and how they will receive clients.  Setting policies for out call requirements of the therapists such as they must only be during work hours and they must pay the center 30% if the client was given to them by the business.  Having procedures in order to accept work bids when something needs to be taken care of like shelving being built or some painting being done by an outside person.  You will want to have a form to be filled out and be agreed to by both parties before beginning any work.  This way you wont be surprised by a big bill at the end of the construction.  You will also need a set of policies for the front desk people.  This would also be a list of opening and closing duties like get the money in the cash register and set the lights and make sure the bathroom is clean.  Everybody who works in your business should know what their duties are.  Sometimes the morning people have different duties than the night people but everybody should be made aware of what their duties are right up front.  As the manager you have established policies and each individual who works in your establishment gets a list of what they are responsible for as a massage therapist or front desk person in your business.  This makes it easy for everyone and there are no questions about what to do.  Besides having duties for jobs inside of the business you may also want policies on trades and meetings and cleaning.  Trade policies could read trade with all the massage therapist on staff as to better your knowledge of massage technique and help yourself learn and 2 times per month trade with a local professional in order to increase your business.  Requiring a monthly meeting is a good policy because it brings everybody together at least once  a month to check in and go over any problems they may be having or any problem clients this way everybody is informed.  Massage business mangers are the ones who set the policy but the workers are the ones who have to live with them thats why I say what worked originally may not always work so you must keep evolving your policies and make sure they fit with the way you do business.

Thanks for your time and attention.  Betsy and Jody

Massage Business Management

Another part of the business managers job is the people.  The front desk people have to be given lists so the jobs get done.  They are better off if they have something to go by instead of you just saying do this or that.  Some set things are needed like check the bathroom and make sure the paper is full and that it is clean and do the newsletter.  Giving them a set of things for opening and closing and then some blanks so you can fill in what needs to be taken care of today.  This is one of the things that will save the manager a lot of time.  There is also your massage therapists, they need to be on time and stay on time in their massages, they need to make sure the linens are changed and that the dirty linens are put away.  Massage therapists are as different as their massages.  Some will be on time every time some just can't do it no matter what you do.  In this case you will have to work with your front desk people to make sure therapists are booked accordingly.  If the MT cannot stay on time you better give them 15 to 30 minutes in between appointments so the next client does not have to wait.  Having clients waiting because a therapist is running late is one of my biggest pet peeves.  The front desk person has to deal with clients who don't have time to wait and are upset because they had an appointment and it is not fair to them.  When you are the person in the front of the business you take all of the blame even though it is not your fault.  Just like the waitress in a restaurant who takes the blame when the cook gets behind.  It is not fair to the front desk person who has to take the blame and be the scape goat.  As the manger you have to keep the moral up and inspire all of  your people to do what they have agreed to in their contracts.  You have to be the one to help settle disputes when somebody does not do their job and it has effected someone else.   All of the employees and contractors are important to your massage center so problems have to be dealt with immediately so as to not drag down the morale for the whole center.  As the owner slash manager of a massage center dealing with all of the people was very difficult and exhausting because you cannot please everybody.  If you are going to open or manage a massage center get your people skills up to speed.

 

Each sunrise is a new day so lets follow our bliss today and everyday.

Massage Business advertising

Advertising and trying to bring new clients into the massage center is one of the most important jobs of the manager.  As I spoke about yesterday advertising is a daunting experience but there are a number of things that you can do for free.  One of them is writing press releases.  A press release can inform about different classes you have taken or your massage therapists.   This can be to let potential customers know that you know can specialize in say pregnancy massage or another technique.  You cannot write press releases for advertisement purposes such as a sale you are having.  That would be advertising you need to pay for.  Press releases are just announcements.  You can make announcements about opening your business, different classes you have taken, national conventions you are attending, being apart of a board or some other charity event you are doing, all of these things can be announced for free and the newspaper has to print it.  You can do some searching on the internet and find out how each of your newspapers handles press releases.  When I was running my massage center we found somebody who was already doing this and got a list of fax numbers for each of the newspapers in our area. We used these numbers to get our press releases out to all the newspapers in our area.  All massage business managers should know about press releases.  Good luck with all your press releases.

Massage Business advertising

When you are the one who is managing a massage center it takes a lot of time to keep track of the details.  Advertising is one of the major concerns of the business manager.  As sales people come in to talk to you about advertising you need to have some standard questions to ask about How many they print? What are the rates? Where and how are they distributed? After you find out these things you can make informed decisions about if they are going to be distributed to your target market and what the potential is for bringing in new clients.  You can also go to networking meetings, put signs out in front of your business to advertise specials of the day and you can use flyer's on the cars around your area.  Word of mouth is the best form of advertising and its is FREE.  Giving the best quality of service possible so every customer wants to come back to your establishment is the best form of advertisng and it is also FREE.  Massage business experts is able to help you find good and resourceful ways to advertise.  If you use print advertising you will want to do something to make sure you can see what kind of response you are getting such as a coupon that they need to bring in for a discount on your service.  It is also a good idea to track you advertising by asking your customers how they found out about you on the intake form and take note of where your customers say they found you.  This is an easy way to track your advertising dollars.  If the customer does not answer on the intake form have the front desk person just ask them.  Most people if asked a direct question they will let you know or at least give it a good guess.  A majority of new clients will try your establishment because a friend has told them about you.  There are a lot of ways to spend your advertising dollars but at my massage center we found a scroll on the weather channel was really worth the money but we could not really track that people were seeing us there.  We knew however that a majority of the tourists who came to town would be looking on the weather channel for an idea of what the weather would be while they are in town.  If they would see our ad then after there out door adventure they may need to come and get a massage.  I also think we got a lot of credibility from being on TV for what ever reason all you have to do is pay and you can be on TV.  After we put the weather scroll on people would walk in and say "I am not sure why I am here but I am hurting and I was wondering if you could help me".  Advertising is what you have to do for business to come in the door but it is a game that it is hard to see results and track.  Try to get feedback from your regular clients and try new things that are not to expensive.  A wise person told me once every person you meet should get your business card this is the best form of advertising you can do it also is free except for the cost of printing the cards.  In massage business it is very important to use marketing to get new clients.  It is the managers job to keep up with how you are marketing and what is working and hopefully you will be working with a major advertising campaign for your franchise of massage centers.  Visit massagebusinessexperts.com for more advertising information and quick tips and tricks.

Massage Business Management

Massage business management is a big category.  The most important thing a massage therapist who is running a group practice must do is track the money.  While I was running my massage center I spent the mornings going over yesterday's numbers.  I had to make sure the massages were rang up under the right person and that all of the massage had been rung up and that gift certificates were recorded properly.  After checking against the appointment book I would enter our daily record into the quickbooks file.  As the business manager everything has to be checked.  If there was something that was not right with the money and I couldn't figure it out I would have to call the front desk person who was there the night before and get them to help me get it straight.  Keeping track of the money on a daily basis keeps your records straight for payroll.   In my group practice we did commission checks every week.  The weekly paychecks seemed to keep everybody happy.  Business management is the key to keeping everything straight.  You have to be on top of the money to see where the company is going.  You can use daily sales to see if  you are making your goals.  We would plan for each year by adding two massages a day to the previous years sales and set this as the goal for this year.  Each month I would evaluate to see if we were making our goals.  Some months we would reach our gaols and some we would not but overall each month we gained more business and before we sold it we had made the most money in the history of our company.  Business management is the only way to keep track of where you are going and how you are getting there.  Cheers to all the mangers making their business grow.

Massage Business Management

Business Management is the most important part of a massage business.  The management takes care of all the advertising, all of the business of buying and selling of retail,  all of the accounting, hiring and firing, fill in when people are sick, call on business and doctors to recruit business, and such things asattending networking meetings to promote the business.  Business management monitors income versus expenses and keeps the massage center running without debt.  While I was the manager of my massage business I was the Jack of all trades.  I had to take care of all the details.  I made sure the linen guy showed up and was paid.  I made sure the accountant got his backup copies by the 5th of each month. I had to spend time around the 15th of each month going over the paperwork and making any adjustments that need to be made or questioned with the bank accounts.  I also spent time every week dealing with advertising.  I had many sales people walk in and try to sell me advertising for this magazine or that newspaper.  I would have to spend time  going through their ad rates and ?, how many are you printing?  I have to be honest we did not find print advertising helpful at all.  We could not get people from print even if we printed a coupon.  Massage business management also must go out in the community and recruit business for the center.  This could be volunteer chair massage for a charity event, or going to a professionals office to sell your services or ask for referrals of their clients.  We were a part of the chamber of commerce so they had networking meetings once a month so as the manager was the one who attended.  If you have some good massage therapists you could take them with you so that you have more than one person to cover the room.  Some of the massage therapists will be happy to help recruit business and some won't, just be sure to take the ones that will benefit your business. One of my biggest responsibilities as a massage business manager was making sure the money from the day before was put in the right place.  I would take the daily sheet and make sure each person did the massages that were rung up under their key and make sure gift certificates and tips were reported accurately.  Each day brings new duties to the jack of all trades -the business manager.  MORE TOMORROW......