Starting your own Massage Therapy practice. Part 2. (School)

Starting your own Massage Therapy practice. Part 2 (School)

Whether you're a startup Entrepreneur, a Massage Therapist, Computer Programmer, or a CEO in a Fortune 500, knowledge is power, the power to excel at your job. The more you know and the better your understanding of your field the quicker you will find yourself rising to the top of your competition.

JaimeChandra used her massage school to effectively prepare her for business in three ways. She actively engaged in her classroom activities, she worked hard on her business materials assignments, and she used her required practice clients to start her client base.

No matter what field they're in many people treat school, workshops, and training as a necessary evil, something that they just need to slide through so they can start on the 'real stuff'. This attitude is self-sabotaging and turns your educational experience into an actual waste of time.

School is the time where you get to build a strong foundation for the 'real stuff'. It's a place where you can ask those questions you won't have time for later on, where you can practice those skills that need to be second nature so that you can develop the advanced skills effectively in the workplace.

Professors are invaluable resources that you won't find easily in the 'real' world, especially if you're in business for yourself, where you have to figure things out for yourself. Take advantage of them while you can. Be curious, ask them questions until your curiosity is satisfied, or they kick you out of their office.

If you understand the assignments, don't just veg out for the rest of your time there, go further. Use the required topics as a foundation for further exploration. Ask your professors how this applied to their experience, or what's next to learn.

JaimeChandra applied this philosophy to her education and came out of it at the top of her class and in a good position to get her first job.

When the assignment to create a business plan was first given, she complained about how boring it was to me. Once she got into it, however, she realized that while boring it was necessary for her business to succeed. She treated the assignment as if she was starting her business today. It wasn't perfect and she modified it significantly later, once she started her practice, but all she had to do was refine it after she got useful feedback from her professors and peer. She wasn't starting from scratch, she had a good base.

The next assignment was a mission statement, then a business card, and finally a brochure. She spent good time on these and 6 months later when it was time to talk to the printers she already had her first drafts out of the way. She used those practice materials as a stepping-stone for her professional materials.

Another complaint I heard from her at the beginning was the fact that she had to give 3 hour-long massages a week, FOR FREE. This was a sore spot for the first few weeks because that was on top of the class time and other homework she had. Then she realized how great an opportunity it was for her. Not only could she start building relationships and get her name out in the community by offering FREE massages, but she also used this opportunity to build her mailing list.

This mailing list, and grassroots marketing will be the topic of our next segment. Until then, keep your entrepreneurial dreams alive and do what you can today to further their progress.

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