Alright, let’s talk about how to set yourself up for success as a small business owner of a massage biz in 2023.

First off, let’s acknowledge that we’re all works in progress, that we all have room for improvement, and that change takes self-discipline and a high level of commitment. No one is going to create the change we want for us. This is solely up to us.

When I look at the difference between those massage practices that are thriving, and the ones that are struggling a bit, or “just hanging on” either emotionally or financially, it typically comes down to how people are approaching problem solving within their practices.

What do I mean?

A quote from Jerzy Gregorek will help illustrate my point:

“Hard choices, easy life. Easy choices, hard life.”

Sounds good, but what does it mean in practical terms that you can apply to what you’re doing in your massage practice?

My interpretation of Jerzy’s simple wisdom is that if you want an easy life in the future, then do the things that you know will benefit you in the long term but may require extra effort and focus in the short term.

Where to begin this journey toward an easier life as a massage therapist and business owner, then?

You start by making a list of the things that consistently annoy, frustrate, make you anxious, and sap your energy. This list may look something like this:

  • No shows
  • Not having any income whenever I take days off
  • Those 2 clients who always take 15 minutes to get out of the room post session
  • Only being booked in the afternoons when I’d rather work in the morning
  • Consistently writing proper SOAP notes
  • Burning 10 minutes of session time for new clients completing intake forms
  • Filing and organizing client records

Now you’ve heard the term “Business Plan” tossed around casually - because EVERYBODY knows you need to have one, right? So that’s probably what you should try to do.

Or should you?

I say “baloney” to the traditional business plan. In my experience, they’re a waste of time, and honestly, it’s pretty intimidating to try to sit down and write out a comprehensive plan for the foreseeable future that covers every part of your business and every eventuality.

Over the past 30 years, I grew my massage practice and two large massage-related businesses without ever having had a “Business Plan.” So there.

I would respectfully propose a simpler, more direct, and (in my experience) more effective approach.

Sit down, and after you have extreme clarity on the things you want to change and improve, think SMART: Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound. This will help you stay on track and provide the acute focus needed to actually make lasting changes.

To understand what this looks like, let’s use the example where your goal is to be less reliant on new customers by increasing the number of repeat clients you see.

  1. Specific: Increase the number of repeat customers by 15% over the next 6 months.

  2. Measurable: Track customer visits and repeat visits using a customer database and measure the percentage increase over the 6-month period.

  3. Achievable: Offer incentives, email, text or call clients more often, or create a monthly membership program to encourage more repeat customers and actively promote the offers through advertising and word-of-mouth referrals.

  4. Relevant: Repeat customers are an important source of revenue for a massage business, so increasing the number of repeat customers is directly relevant to the business’s success.

  5. Time-bound: The goal is to increase repeat customers by 15% over the next 6 months. This creates a sense of urgency and allows for regular progress checks.

Warning: most people tend to get excited early at the start of an improvement push (such as diets or going to the gym), so don’t fall into the trap of trying to do too many things all at once.

Pick one thing to improve - and focus.

If there’s any magic to consistent improvement over time - that’s it.

Focus your energy on “the most important thing.” Write it down on a notecard. Put it where you see it often. Then, when you wake up in the morning, start by asking yourself what “the most important thing” is today. (It should be the same thing every day - at least mostly and for a while.)

Now, as for the tools you can use to help you reach your SMART goals…

That’s where having a massage therapy software tool can be an amazing advantage.

No, I’m not just saying that because I’m trying to convince you to use MassageBook. Odds are, if you’re reading this, then you’re probably already using MassageBook anyway.

What I am saying is - use what we’ve already designed MassageBook to do.

Use MassageBook to track your progress and improve on your SMART goals:

We’ve built an incredibly powerful platform to help you and your massage practice succeed and stay well-organized. Yet, we see many only using a fraction of what MassageBook offers.

It’s kind of like when you bend over backward to help a client feel and get better in session and provide them with instructions on what they should be doing at home between sessions to continue improving…

…and they keep coming back, not having done any work on their own.

No one is going to be able to get you all the way to reaching your goals. Some things only you can do and own.

Commit yourself to do the hard work necessary to address the areas you want to improve on this year - and then use the SMART structure to get better each and every week this year.

I’ll leave you with this to ponder:

“People underestimate what they can do in a year and overestimate what they can do in a day.”

Be focused, be diligent, do the right things, and you’ll be amazed at the results.

As always, we stand by your side like a great friend - just waiting for opportunities to jump in and help you where we can. So don’t be shy to reach out to us - we’re all in this together, and that’s why we’re here.

All the best for a year of steady improvement and success,

Mark and your friends at MassageBook