Question for the entrepreneurs

[Mark1234]

I just reached 25 percent completion at Massage Therapy school. I have started working in the student clinic and giving massage on the general public.

I've got at least 2 people that plan on rebooking with me and they really enjoyed their treatment. My hope is they tell their friends and word of mouth gets me more people in the clinic.

The school helps get clients into the clinic and I haven't HAD to get my own clients yet, although they do encourage trying as early as possible to build up a client base.

I have made and passed out biz cards to people I know (very professional/nice looking cards), have created an event on Facebook, and have brought it up in daily convos with people at the gym/church.

I know as a male therapist it's going to be difficult to build up clientele but I'm pretty sure my professionalism and quality of work will help a lot.

My question is, what else can I do to help promote myself?

 

[AAAgent]

Friendly and professional voicemail. A website if you can build one and maintain one. If the website has a built in calendar schedule for seeing your availability that would be great. Offer your clients referral bonus. Such as 50% off your second hour of massage if you refer somebody. You will need your own client base by the time you start which you will build through the clinic.

I really highly doubt you will build a large enough client base to stop you from soliciting clients so i would recommend a second gym at multiple gyms, doing what you did at the clinic. Get recommended there and continue to build clientele and referrals. I would start working at a gym before you graduate so you at least have steady income coming in and a new place to get clients.

I've learned to never penny pinch clients for the minutes. extra 1 or 2 minutes will always go a long way. Professionalism also always goes a long way. I'd steer away from dating clients.

 

[scrouds]

Offer happy endings

 

[backbreaker]

create a website. you can get you a very basic informational site for a few hundred bucks **** i woudl even do it for you if need be, and use a PPC engine like google adwords for marketing. beucase of your niche market, i.e selling massasge thearpy in an extremely specific area it won't cost you too mudh maybe 50-100 dollars a month for the clicks, so when people are looking for massage thearpy in yorur area you will bat the top of google

 

[Mark1234]

Thanks for the suggestions. I love the website idea and will certainly pursue it once I'm at least 1/2 or 3/4 through school. I'm trying to promote myself as cheaply as possible right now with biz cards and daily conversations.

One of our teachers said only around 5-10 percent of a community will seek out massage therapy for treatment, so I know it's going to be difficult to get clients but I'm excited for the challenge.

 

[SoSuave666]

Are your business cards as nice as Paul Allen's?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qoIvd3zzu4Y

 

[grayclif]

I have had great success with running ads on facebook. It allows me to target very specific demographics in my area. I have also found email blasts sent to folks in my specific locale work well too.

Also, once I get an email address I add them to constant contact and send out a newsletter monthly. This newsletter usually covers tips, new programs or events I'm planning and whats going on in my industry locally. Constant Contact is great because you can tell which of your clients (or prospective clients) have actually opened your email or if you have been blocked. I've been building this list for over 5 years. I cull it monthly so my read percentage is very very high. One of the nice things I find is that they forward these emails to friends and family. I get a lot of responses from folks that aren't on the list.

I spend less that $100 a month on all three of these combined. Good Luck!

 

[backbreaker]

i go to the masseuse once a week, for the last 7 years i have been clean off drugs, it helps relax me a lot. i get acupuncture done as well. for the most part i have been using the same woman. she's not anything to look at but she can work magic with her hands. lol that came out wrong lol.

the thing about the massage niche is that, alot of people think it's very expensive and it's not, etc.

if i were a massauce, i would spend my first year living at home with my parents and give out coupons giving 1 free 30 minute massage. the best form of advertising you have is your abilty to make your clients happy. and FREE is the only way you are going to get 80% of the people in the door.

in other words, people who get massages are loyal to their masseuse. if my woman is not there i will go home i won't sue anyone else unless i'm really sore and going to the gym every day i do get sore. so what i am getting at is, you are in essense fighting other pepole for their clients. i would focus on getting new people interested in getting massages, and the only way you can really do that is to give them one

 

[sodbuster]

I'd make sure you know the rules and regulations concerning massage therapy. You may not be able to work/advertise outside of the school until you have the little piece of paper called the license. You don't want to give them a reason to dislike you before you even get started. State Boards[or their secretaries who actually RUN things all day while the board is working professionally] can be B!TCHES

 

[metoo]

Check out a book, TRIGGERPOINT MESSAGE THERAPY, by Clair Davies. A different, painful type of massage, a different clientele. Probably have to train under Davies, or under one of his students, but you'll be helping people much more than simple "feel good" massage could ever do.