Healing Arts Business Academy

"The Girl Scouts have a campfire song I remember from my childhood, which includes this phrase: 'Make new friends, but keep the old. One is silver and the other gold.' That wisdom is also solid for building a healthy practice."

https://www.massagemag.com/massage-client-retention-techniques-to-try-now-143560/

"Massage therapists can be very generous. We donate our time and energy. We give of ourselves in the very nature of our work. We even give money away as a tool to grow our business."

https://www.massagemag.com/advantages-of-offering-discounts-if-done-correctly-143804/

If you're going to give money away, do it in a way that brings that money back to you (and then some!).

https://www.massagemag.com/advantages-of-offering-discounts-if-done-correctly-143804/

Oh my gosh, they're talking about me!

https://www.massagemag.com/massage-therapist-jobs-the-employed-practitioner-143970/

"Our work is so personal. It’s never as simple as, 'I know muscles and that’s enough.' It’s not just what we know but who we are and what we bring into the massage room that makes or breaks our success."

https://www.massagemag.com/for-professional-confidence-believe-in-yourself-144663/

When is it worth it to work with a business coach?

How To Grow A Small Business With A Business Coach A business coach can offer personalized guidance, help overcome obstacles, and provide new perspectives, making the investment worthwhile for those ready to advance their business but unsure how to…

If your business were a client, how would you rate its health? Is it hale and hearty? Recovering from a major illness? Injured? Experiencing mystery ailments? Robust? How healthy is your business?

For many of us, if we have a mostly full schedule and can pay our bills, we are happy. It is good to be able to pay our bills, of course, but there is more to it than that. To know how healthy your business truly is, you have to look a little deeper.

- Do you have the resources to do what you want and need to do with your business right now?

- When you peer into the future, will you continue to be able to do what you want and need to do?

- Does your business support itself?

- Does your business generate enough profit to take home the money you need to take care of yourself?

- How many clients do you need to support your business and to support you?

The answers to these kinds of questions tell you the story of your business. Need help evaluating how healthy your business is? Check out my book, The Accidental Business Owner from Handspring Publishing.

https://bit.ly/AccidentalBizOwner

Allissa Haines always has good advice. Here's an article from the ABMP blog on how not to drown in paperwork.

4 Steps to Managing Business Paperwork Follow these four steps to conquer paper and digital paperwork and create some peace (and space) in your business.

One thing you’ll find in my book, Can I Deduct That? 2024, is a list of the Top 10 Deductions You May Be Missing. Here are the top three:

✅ Laundry - When you launder your sheets, towels, or other business-related washables at home, it can be deductible.

✅ Home office - You don’t have to see clients in your home to have a home office and it doesn’t have to be very big.

✅ Converted property - When you own something personally and then put it into use for your business, it can be deducted.

Get your copy of Can I Deduct That? 2024 for more information on how to correctly deduct these items and see what others you may be missing out on!

https://bit.ly/CanIDeductThat2024

When you first opened your practice you probably thought your "ideal client" was anyone who would pay you for a massage. We’ve all been there, but we all also have limited time, energy, and money and we’re not going to reach everyone with our marketing dollars.

A more practical approach is to ask yourself, who is my ideal client? Who fits me best? Who’s most likely to be attracted to me, my mission, and my way of working? Who needs the results I can deliver and will enjoy the experience of working specifically with me?

Focus on reaching people who are the best fit for you. Focus on those who are most likely to need what you have to give. Finding these folks will improve your experience as a massage therapist, as well as improving the odds of being truly effective in your work.

This is at the heart of coaching -- learn from my mistakes! Two new mini-coaching sessions will roll out this month. Learn about them first in my monthly newsletter.

You don't already receive my monthly newsletter? You can sign up here:
https://lp.constantcontactpages.com/su/h1A2ZKl/joinmailinglist

customer service (and some bad examples)
online scheduling
coaching opportunities
an invitation to tell me your story
and more

All here in my April 2024 newsletter

https://conta.cc/3w3HMqt

I am developing some new mini-coaching sessions (2-4 sessions, as opposed to 2 years of sessions!). If you had access to a business coach for 2-4 dedicated hours, what would you like help with? Where could we make a difference?

I already plan to offer mini-coaching sessions on:

* bookkeeping
* building a sensible marketing plan

What else would help you?

Send a message to learn more

An encouraging piece of news about business.

Send a message to learn more

"Successful business practices include give and take...However, being a giver can be bad for business if you are giving away time, money and mental energy."

https://www.massagemag.com/give-and-take-how-to-build-a-business-when-you-are-a-giver-140916/?

Yes, yes, yes!

Send a message to learn more

You may be nervous but don't let fear stop you.

"What I mean is to pace your tasks in way you can complete them. You are then setting yourself up to experience success, thereby creating motivation to complete more tasks and experience more success.

I have learned to schedule out my tasks by month, week and day in a way that allows me to experience constant, small successes that feed motivation and business momentum. I find that when I overschedule myself and I can’t meet my deadlines, the simple act of failing to meet those deadlines causes me to avoid trying—and the downward spiral begins."

https://www.massagemag.com/advanced-business-strategies-business-momentum-141568/?

How one practice in Wisconsin is getting affordable massage out in the community.

MTs Provide Massage for Low-Income Chronic Pain Clients At Be Well Madison, massage therapy is being used as a tool to change the lives of low-income older adults with chronic pain.

Ok, true confession time: I love office supply stores! Just had to pop in to replace the eraser for my white board and I love wandering the aisles to see if there's anything else I can justify buying.

Don't even get me started on the pen aisle!

What's your secret special place?

(ps: the mileage is deductible)

I was just in a small tourist town in England and two of the shops had very polite signs encouraging customers to pay with cash. I'm sharing them with you as an example of how you might handle this subject in your practice.

You could have this on a website, in your waiting area or massage room, or in a reminder email.

I wrote The Accidental Business Owner for licensed massage therapists because we need this book. I wanted to create a practical guide to our business in language that we understand and connect with. Starting a business from the ground up is HARD and you may not have gotten the business education you need in school. That’s what I’m here for! Check out my book and you can always schedule a Cuppa with Kelly to let me know how I can help.

https://healingartsbizacademy.com/my-books/

You might be done with your 2023 taxes, but bookkeeping is a year round task! Get the 2024 edition of Can I Deduct That? so you can keep up with your deductions throughout the year. Your future self will thank you!

https://bit.ly/CanIDeductThat2024

Had a wonderful meeting with my editors at Jessica Kingsley Publishers this morning. They are a delight! And they have a wonderful rooftop garden on the Thames.

Frances Reed : I encouraged them to add your book to their booth at the AMTA conference in September.

Time for a little R&R! I’ll be out of the office May 1-14 because I’m going to get a proper cup of tea…in England! I’m excited to be traveling across the pond and while I’m there, I’ll get to visit my publisher. So fun! Stay tuned for highlights from my trip!

Have you ever had a contract (as an independent contractor or employee) include a "non-compete clause"? I never though they made an ounce of sense in our industry and have always advised avoiding them. Now, apparently, the FTC agrees with me!

Note: this isn't law yet and the business community are absolutely talking about taking it to court but it gives us even more reason to refuse to sign a contract with them in it.

Here's the details from The Washington Post: https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2024/04/23/ftc-noncompete-agreements/

If you want some clarity on non-competes and non-solicitation agreements in contracts, here's a 5-minute video I did explaining them: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N0VeqkCdUhw&list=PLNx_SVkj07X_wYdwUKumhVcuTziVxDJhx&index=3

Non-compete vs. non-solicitation Know the difference between a non-compete (run away!) and non-solicitation (respect!) clauses in a contract.

If you accept credit cards in your practice, what percentage of your clients pay that way?

Send a message to learn more