Starting a new massage practice is an exciting time in a massage therapist’s career. The ability to be a self-employed massage and wellness entrepreneur is one of the attractions that draws people to a career in massage therapy. While building a new massage practice is not overly complicated, it does take time, effort and determination in order for the massage business to succeed. But there are a few pitfalls that you must avoid. Long-term success of a massage therapy practice, like startups in any industry, depends on making it through the first couple of years.
The statistics about new business success and failure rates reported online on websites like Forbes, Bloomberg, Entrepreneur, and Inc. can be a little discouraging:
- “Nine out of 10 startups fail.” (Forbes)
- “Eight out of 10 entrepreneurs who start businesses fail within the first 18 month.” (Bloomberg)
- “96% of businesses fail within 10 years.” (Inc.)
However, according to the US Small Business Association, an average of 78% of small businesses survived their first year in business over the past decade. And about half of new businesses survived 5 years or longer, and one third made it to their 10-year anniversary. Regardless of which statistic is the most accurate and relative to a massage therapy business, the vital information that a new massage business owner needs to know is:
“Why do other massage businesses fail and how can I ensure that mine succeeds?”
The reason that new massage therapy businesses fail isn’t because they didn’t write a 20-page business plan with income projections for the next 5 years. That may help the bank decide whether or not to issue a business loan, but it has little impact on actual business success. This article explains 6 main reasons why many new massage practices and similar small businesses fail, and what you can do to make sure that your new massage business will succeed!
1. The massage business never really launches in the first place
I think that the previously mentioned statistics are a little misleading. In fact, many of these startup businesses never truly launched. They never gained enough traction or momentum to establish themselves in the first place. This was likely due to a lack of planning and an overestimation of demand for their product or service. But there are several things that could have prevented their business from ever getting off the ground. These reasons include:
- Lack of a sense of urgency
- Tendency to procrastinate
- Lack of a compelling vision
- Fear of uncertainty or risk
Sometimes entrepreneurs wait for everything to be perfect before they launch. But circumstances will never be perfect. There will always be some problem to deal with. It will always feel like resources are scarce, like there’s not enough money or time. Tip: It’s better to start small sooner, than to wait another 6 months or longer to launch when everything is “perfect”. For example, a massage therapist would do better to start with a small leased or shared treatment room or with a mobile massage practice than wait until you find the perfect office space for a long-term lease. In the beginning, most of your work will be marketing anyway. Then as your client base grows, you will spend less time marketing and more time working with clients.
People fear making mistakes so they don’t venture outside of their comfort zone and see what they’re capable of. So expect to make some mistakes along the way. But make them early, on a small scale. This will give you a chance to learn valuable lessons while limiting your losses.
As your practice grows and matures, never stop experimenting. Continue trying new things on a small scale. This will inspire new opportunities and keep your clients interested in the services that you offer. It will also keep you excited about what you do. Learn a new massage technique to offer to your clients, offer a new product, or team up with another local business owner who offers a complementary service. Be creative.
Don’t be too timid or squeamish about your actions. All life is an experiment. The more experiments you make the better.
Ralph Waldo Emerson
2. Failure to market their massage practice
There is a common assumption among startup businesses, massage therapy practices included, that new customers will flood in and the phone will ring off the hook as soon as the sign says, “Open for business”. The problem is that at first no one knows who you are, where you are, or what you’re all about. Marketing is what helps new massage clients learn about what you offer and how to find you.
Massage therapists must create a useable marketing plan…and then use it. Make sure your plan includes having an online presence. I strongly recommend having your own website. Using social media is also useful, but only use platforms that your potential clients also use. Setting up profiles on platforms that your prospective clients do not use is a waste of time. Tip: One important thing to consider is that if you create your own website, it is yours (you own it). When you create a business channel, page, profile or other presence on Facebook, MassageBook, MassageTherapy.com, or some other platform, you don’t own that content because it is on someone else’s platform. Marketing a massage therapy business online is effective and affordable, and will produce results for a long time.
To get new massage clients, you must ask your prospects for their business. There’s really no way around this. Many people say that they hate the idea of selling. But to generate revenue, small business owners must be able to sell their products or services. Helpful hint: the more you believe in the value of what you offer, the easier this will be. Also, the more effective your marketing strategy is, the less selling you will have to do. Another way to reduce the amount of selling and marketing that you must do is to focus on creating an amazing massage experience to increase client retention and massage client referrals.
When it comes to getting new massage clients, it is important to know what is working and what isn’t. So be sure to track, measure and test all your marketing efforts. This is the only way to know what marketing strategies are producing a good return on your investment of time, money and effort. You can accomplish this with simple techniques such as incorporating tracking codes in your coupons, using analytic tools on your website, or simply asking clients how they found you. Recording this in a spreadsheet and then create charts or other visuals to help you to see what marketing campaigns are bringing in the most clients.
You must find a way to build rapport with your clients and make your massage business stand out within your community. Figure out how to be different and better. Develop a strong brand identity to help differentiate your massage practice. Give people a reason to chose you and let your brand remind them of this reason. If your clients don’t have a strong reason to stick with you, then they may jump ship to a different therapist for the smallest reason. The best way to stand out is to be outstanding! Also make sure that your business name reflects your brand identity, the services that you offer, and the clientele you intend to serve.
Give your massage clients an easy way to endorse you. New prospects will trust what your clients say about you more than what you say about yourself. Include testimonials in your marketing strategy. You can post testimonials on your website, in print marketing materials such as brochures, or on social media pages.
3. They fail to listen to their clients or consider the actual demand for services
Small business owners tend to overestimate demand for their products and services. Or, it may just be that your town already has an over-abundance of established massage therapists (over supply, or saturated market). This usually results in driving down the price for services. Unless your brand is unique or different (niche) enough to stand out in this noisy environment, it is unlikely to succeed.
Try not to let a little competition scare you away though. Having some pre-existing massage competition validates that there is a market (demand) for these services in your community. It also means that other therapists have been working for years to increase the locals’ awareness about massage therapy. *This can make your marketing efforts easier because it is easier to convince a person who already appreciates and receives massage to try your service than it is to convince a person who has never had a massage and does not recognize the the value or benefits of it!
Listen carefully to the clients in your target market. They could be telling you how to better meet their needs. For example, you may hear several clients in your target market report that they are glad you have evening appointment times available because of their schedule. If you hear this, you should definitely make sure you have plenty of evening appointment times available to meet their needs.
Over time the demands of your target market may change. You must stay tuned in to their needs and adapt your business model accordingly. In addition to listening for clues from your clients, be sure to do your own market research. Ask your clients directly in conversation or using a survey form what you can do to provide a better service to them. Your clients will appreciate that you are striving to create an amazing experience for them, and it will make you stand out among your competitors. It is also a good idea to do some local market research before setting your prices. Find out what other massage therapists in your community are charging and what services they offer. In doing this you may also find an unmet opportunity for a niche massage service.
4. Massage entrepreneurs often try to do everything on their own
New business owners often think that being an entrepreneur means that you have to do everything independently. They spend too much time trying to complete tasks that should be outsourced to a specialist or automated by a massage app or software tool. The truth is that you can’t be an expert in everything. Although an entrepreneur often wears many hats, it is best to focus on the key skills that you bring to the table (no pun intended), and outsource other tasks that are too time consuming or have a steep learning curve. Since a massage therapy practice is a fairly simple business model, there are only a few potentially time-consuming tasks that come to mind which a therapist may want to consider outsourcing:
- Bookkeeping or accounting
- Insurance billing
- Building a website
- Creating marketing materials
For example, a practice owner with no tech skills could spend $1000 to hire a website designer/developer to build a beautiful website for them in one week. But instead they often chose to struggle for two months trying to learn how to build a professional looking website. The result is a lot of time wasted and a website that doesn’t look or function as well as it would if a pro built it. These days it’s getting easier to build a website with all the templates available, but this is just one example to show demonstrate the point. Tip: Spend your time doing what you’re best at and what produces the best results. For a professional massage therapist, that means getting your hands on as many people as possible.
The tricky part is that new massage practice owners typically do not have much money set aside to hire a specialist to assist them. When first starting out, you will have more time than money. This situation reverses as your practice grows, and your income and the demands on your time increase. One option for a new massage business owner is to offer to trade or barter your massage services for assistance from a specialist. You may have to approach several business owners to find one to agree. But this could turn into a long-term client too. Consider bartering your services for accounting services, or to a local sign maker, a local print shop to print your brochures, or a local website developer. Be creative. So instead of striving for independence, focus on interdependence. Work on establishing a mutual reliance with an awesome network of local entrepreneurs.
If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.
African Proverb
5. Business owners fail to manage their finances and resources well
Some therapists starting a massage business do not effectively manage their finances and other resources. The main resources for a massage practice startup are money (capital) and time. Startup companies often do not accurately estimate their income and expenses. Many entrepreneurs tend to be unrealistic in their income expectations. One way to overcome this is to establish a solid financial plan and budget to control the business cash flow. Try to keep cash reserves on hand because there will always be some unexpected expense that pops up. Like small businesses in many industries, massage therapy practices seems to be “feast or famine” much of the time. Tip: There are ways around this inconsistent income, such as maintaining ongoing marketing campaigns. But it helps to have a cash cushion to keep your bills paid.
Massage therapists who work with clients should always have massage liability insurance that includes professional liability coverage, general liability, and product liability. Accidents and injuries can happen, even to the most skilled and careful therapists. And a single lawsuit without liability insurance could easily result in a huge financial setback as well as take a heavy emotional toll.
Many new businesses try to start their business without sufficient funds (undercapitalized). It is ideal to have enough capital to cover 6 months of operating expenses. You can get by with only 3 months of operating expenses saved IF you have an alternative income source in place, or if you already have large network of potential clients.
Another important strategy is to start lean. I am a big fan of starting with mobile massage, especially onsite chair massage, because you don’t even need office space to get started. Mobile massage also lets you connect with many prospects is a great way to build a clientele. Mobile massage therapy could include offering table massage at your client homes, chair massage as part of a corporate wellness program, or other chair massage events.
It is ideal to start building your client base before deciding on where to lease your massage office space. This way you can try to find an office space that is convenient to what part of town that you think the majority of your clients will come from. Plus you will have some income to help afford the massage office space. The physical location of a massage practice can have a huge impact on its success or failure. Mobile massage lets you get started sooner while allowing time to scout the best location and find a good deal on a massage office space.
Time is the one resource that you can never get back. Not dealing with issues like client no-shows can end up costing a therapist a lot of time an money. Many small businesses fail because the owner wastes time on things that do not contribute to the success of the business. You can avoid falling into this trap by setting some outcome-driven goals. Prioritize your daily tasks based on what activities most effectively move you towards your massage business goals. Focus on what “moves the needle” the most.
6. Massage startups fail due to lack of belief and a poor mindset
An entrepreneur’s mindset plays a huge role in the success or failure of their business. To successfully start a massage business, you must believe in yourself and the value of the service that you provide to your clients. In addition, you will only find fulfillment in your work if you believe that it is meaningful. Your enthusiasm about your work will also positively impact your client interactions. Excitement is contagious, and clients can tell if you love what you do or if it is just a job for a paycheck. Trust in your plan and your abilities, and find ways to maintain your optimism.
Here is a list of tips that you may find helpful when you are ready to start building your massage practice and marketing your business:
- Be willing to change your tactics if they aren’t working.
- Avoid burnout by being adaptable and going with the flow.
- Keep learning. This will keep work interesting.
- Be easy to work with (don’t be a diva).
- Do whatever you need to stay in peak physical, mental and emotional state.
- Practice self-care. Eat healthy food, exercise, and of course receive massages.
- Be honest with yourself about your failures so that you can learn from them and grow.
- Don’t play the blame game. Admit to your failures, but also acknowledge and reward yourself when you succeed!
- Learn from the mistakes of others.
- Dream big, but be realistic with your expectations.
- Learn to be ok with stepping outside of your comfort zone.
- Never be afraid to fail.
- Enjoy the journey!
One final thought on how to increase the chance of success in starting a new massage therapy business. Determine if you are starting your business for the right reasons. If your primary motivation is that you have a passion for some aspect of massage therapy, then success is much more likely. Other powerful motivators include: increasing the quality of life for other people, creating financial security for yourself and your family, promoting a healthy lifestyle, helping others cope in a stressed world, and interest in learning about the body, natural health and wellness.