If you’re trained as a massage therapist and want to go into business for yourself, you’re already over the first hurdle. Establishing yourself as a massage therapist all starts with the right training.
If you have a background in other holistic therapies and want to get started in the massage business, you first need to complete the right training. This will show you how to safely and effectively massage all people, including those with specific conditions.
From there, you can begin to think about how to grow your business into something that can sustain your lifestyle. If you’re thinking about starting a massage business, here is everything you need to know to get started.
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You can’t run a successful business if you don’t know the landscape. You need to know who you are competing against, who your customers are, and how much you can expect to make.
If you live in an area that has low demand for massages, you will either need to expand your search area, or educate the local residents to help increase demand for your services. And if you live in an area that is already well-served by massage therapists, you’ll need to work out how you will make your business stand out from the competition.
Failure to think about these obstacles could lead to your business failing before you’ve had a chance to establish yourself.
By identifying growing trends, you’ll be able to tap into parts of the market that establish massage therapists might not yet have explored. This is an incredible opportunity to establish your business by simply hopping aboard a fast-growing trend.
Look at social media and message boards to learn more about the services individuals are looking for. You can also look at what is trending in other parts of the world, as these trends will often move around.
No one should start a business without a business plan. This is your opportunity to focus your attention and make sure you have clearly defined what you are trying to achieve. Your business plan should include:
If you plan to seek financing for your business, there is a good chance that any lender or investor will want to see your business plan. You can also revisit your business plan in the future if you feel you are losing focus of what you originally hoped to achieve.
Your brand is about more than just your name and logo. It’s how you talk about yourself. It’s about your ideal target customer. And it’s about how you present yourself on social media.
You can certainly become a successful massage therapist without a distinct brand, but having a brand will make it easier to market your business and connect with your ideal target customer.
If you need to invest in equipment or premises, you might need funding to make this step happen. Business banks will often offer startup loans to promising business ideas, or you could explore if there are any grants available in your area.
If you plan to run your business as a social enterprise, you may be able to access business support and funding through local schemes. Being flexible in your approach to how you structure your business could make you eligible for a wider range of funding opportunities.
There are a few popular ways to structure a massage business, and they all have varying degrees of commitment and investment. These are:
It’s certainly possible to choose one route and then change this in the future. For example, you might start your business as a mobile massage therapist and then move to your own premises once you have built a solid reputation.
You need to generate some initial buzz so that people know you’re here and you’re offering services that they are looking for. A launch event is a great way to bring people together and help them to learn more about what you do.
As massage is a one-on-one service, you might plan a launch event with free express massages and free fizz. If you’re feeling more holistic and healthy, you might partner with a local smoothie company to offer cold press juices or similar.
Think about how you can involve the local community and other businesses in your launch event and generate a little buzz for your new venture.
There is always room for another massage therapist if you can offer something unique. The key to a successful business is doing your research and making sure that you have a clearly defined offering.
From there, you can seek funding and decide on your business structure. You could choose the complete freedom of operating your own premises, or keep costs down by starting a mobile business.
And once you have everything in order, it’s time to start planning your launch event. By including other local businesses, you can lean on them for support and also take advantage of their established customer base.
