Here are 12 ways to succeed as a licensed massage therapist. Whether for health reasons or to relax people, the massage therapy business is a great choice for success. This type of service has become increasingly popular. Therefore, if you wish to know how to get more customers and succeed as a licensed massage therapist, these tips will help:

#1 Master the Soft Skills to Succeed as a Massage Therapist

As with all professions, soft skills characterize an excellent massage therapist. We summarize some of them below:

• Empathy: A professional massage therapist should be able to make their clients feel relaxed. Empathy is the key to support clients emotionally. It is a must-have personality if you wish to become a successful therapist.

• Be a good listener: Good practitioners listen well. Clients who attend your place have not only physical but also emotional needs. To understand them well, you have to be a good listener. Listen to what they need, find the problems, and make a priority of which muscle problem you want to solve first.

• Great Commitment: Don’t be satisfied with what you already have right now. Instead, keep learning new techniques and approaches to serve your clients better.

• Professionalism: A massage therapist should convey professionalism at all times. In this case, never be late for appointments, don’t be nervous while doing therapy, etc.

• Marketing Skills: This one is an essential skill to grow market your business. We will discuss this later on.

#2 Offer Some Popular Types of Massages for Success

In addition, let’s talk about a brief list of the famous and most requested massage services.

Swedish Massage

This massage is the most popular one around the world. It is based on some relaxation massage moves. It consists of effleurage, tapotement, friction, petrissage, and vibration. These moves will help your customers relax and eliminate unnecessary muscle tension.

Deep Tissue Massage

With the deep tissue type of massage, the therapist will focus on painful fibrous knots in the muscles to relieve pain. The moves performed even in the areas other than the back. Of course, the moves can be somewhat painful to a client. That’s the reason why this massage is usually combined with different types of massages.

Sport Massage

Before and after sports, professional athletes used to have this massage. In other words, the purpose is to loosen the muscle and improve flexibility. Furthermore, it increases the athlete’s performance.

Prenatal Massage

This massage serves to relieve the discomfort felt in pregnancy. If you receive massage during pregnancy, the childbirth process generally becomes easier. In addition, even after birth, massages help to balance the mother’s body.

Aromatherapy Massage

If you combine the massage with aromatherapy, it can further relieve the emotional stress of your clients. In this case, you are also going to need some essential oils to facilitate the relaxing feel.

Foot Reflexology

Reflexology theory said that each part of your body has a connection with a particular area on your feet. Therefore, if the therapist performs a certain pressure on the foot, the relaxing effect will also occur in the internal organs.

Hot Stone Massage

Sometimes, the therapist uses hot basalts to perform a massage. This method has a significant relaxing effect for those who have insomnia and emotional stress.

#3 Complete the Legal Business Formation Successfully

Before starting to set up a massage center, it is vital to choose what legal structure you will have. Deciding on what is the best company will depend on your corporation or LLC business formation preference.

Furthermore, while choosing your legal formation, you must take into account these factors:

• Type of activities to develop.
• Number of partners.
• The responsibility you will carry.
• Initial Capital.
• Financial obligations.

Above all, there are different types of companies, and you must value the various options before opting for one (sole proprietorship, limited liability company (LLC), Corporation (Inc.), etc.).

#4 Fulfill the Administrative Tasks for Success as a Massage Therapist

First of all, to create a licensed company, you must follow the following procedures:

• Request the license of your activities and facilities.
• Get the official name of the company.
• Obtain a Tax Identification Number.
• Settle the Tax on Property Transfers and Documented Legal Acts.
• Perform Registration in the Commercial Registry.

#5 Succeed by Hiring Assistance and Personnel

If your massage center is growing, you will more likely need a team to work with you. Here is the ideal composition if you utilize a physical location:

• Director (you): He is in charge of planning, ordering, and controlling the development of the activity.
• Therapist: It can be you or other people you want to work with. They must meet the conditions required to perform different massages to clients.
• Administrative Officer: He is in charge of bureaucratic and accounting functions.
• Receptionist: This is the person who is responsible for receiving customers.
• Cleaning: It is the staff that is dedicated to cleaning the massage center.

The work day usually begins from Monday to Friday. For the massage therapist, the day can be 35 hours per week, while the day for non-masseuse staff can be 40 hours per week.

#6 Financing as a Licensed Massage Therapist

The initial investment can be scary at first, but there are many ways to get financing for massage therapist school and your practice.

The primary source of financing to which entrepreneurs go to set up a massage center is usually from family and friends. You can ask them to contribute capital to your business. Also, they can help you later promote your business with word of mouth.

On the other hand, the different sources of financing most used by small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) are:

• Loans
• Credit account
• Leasing
• Renting

#7 Find a Strategic Location for Success

When choosing the location of the massage center, it is best to separate yourself from the competition. In big cities, there are already many massage centers, and you can find price wars and services. What you need to do is look for locations where there are almost no massage centers and little competition.

To set up a massage center and have many clients, you must try to locate it in a street where there is a lot of movement. The massage rooms must be located in an area of the premises where the sound of the street is not heard. This condition is to avoid disturbing the tranquility of the clients.

A good idea is to locate the massage center in an area where there are people who work all day. In this way, receiving a massage when leaving work will be a perfect opportunity for them.

#8 Prepare the Insurance

Most important, we are going to talk to you about insurance that you may need in your business.

Liability insurance

In centers where skin treatment and touching client’s bodies is performed, professional and General Liability (Malpractice) Insurance is critical. Hence, although it is not usual, there is a risk that the practitioner may cause damage to the client. Many companies offer policy coverage for at least $2,000,000 limit per occurrence for less than $300 per year.  

Besides, a massage center must have a Commercial Insurance with Civil Liability coverage to obtain the licenses.

The most common coverage is the Civil Liability of Exploitation. This is responsible for the business activities. It also covers the damages that employees may cause when carrying out their work.

The Employer’s Civil Liability covers the business owner if workers suffer injuries or death due to an accident at work.

Multi-Risk Insurance

This insurance covers the damages that can be caused by a fire or a flood in the assets of the premises that are insured. It also includes glass breaks, moons, mirrors, etc. It is the insurance company that is responsible for the expenses that may involve the repair of the affected goods.

The theft coverage is also essential because in a massage center may have material quality and quite expensive.

#9 Get Licensed

Before starting to develop the activity, you must process the opening and operating license of your message center. The Activity License can take between 3 and 12 months, depending on the City Council. This license guarantees that the message center and practitioners meets all the requirements according to the law.

By Opening and Operating License, you authorize the use of buildings, premises, or facilities that comply with the Activity License and that are properly completed. Here are some legal requirements you must comply:

Endowment Requirements

If you want to set up a massage center, it must have:

• Storage area for cosmetic products and cleaning products.
• First aid kit closet.
• Changing rooms or Lockers for staff or clients.
• Laundry area.

Requirements of the building:

• Smooth Walls and floors with waterproof materials, easy to clean and disinfect.
• Washable furniture material.

Toilet requirements:

• It is necessary to have a toilet for the public and another for the staff.
• If the message center is located inside a shopping center, it can use its hygienic services.

Garbage room requirement:

• You need proper containers to store garbage and waste.

#10 Be Ahead of Competition

It is important to define the area in which the business is going. This will give you a clear sight of how many competitors you might have. Here, let us help you identify the area of the massage business.

Your customers

The clients of a massage center are those who seek relaxation, peace, and tranquility. They are adults who are willing to pay for services for this purpose.

Usually, clients of a massage center are generally in the age range between 25 and 60 years. They can be office workers, athletes, housewives, etc.

Marketing

Once you have established who your customers are, you should think about how you will attract them, and what marketing tools you will use.

How to Stand Out

The main challenge of setting up a massage center is to make a difference. It seems that going to a massage therapist is an activity only for those willing to pay a lot of money, but there are also people with few financial resources who need a massage.

To make a difference, you have to investigate and see what the competition offers. Today there are many health-focused massages, whether to combat stress, eliminate muscle contractures, or improve blood circulation. The people who need them most now is the middle class. Therefore, it is better to keep prices consistent with this purchasing level.

However, the prices cannot be too low as not to lose money. To achieve balance, you can establish price bands by making agreements with work and study places, or offering promotions or discounts to people who work in sectors such as education, production, and cleaning.

#11 Perform Online Marketing for Success

A massage center or freelance massage therapist must have a web page, web presence, and an appointment booking system to be competitive. With a Google search, you can find professional web designers to help you with this task.

When a person searches for a massage center, the most common thing is to ask family and friends or to search on Google. From there, they will go to the first website that appears in the search engine. That is why your website should convey confidence and offer a lot of information and advice.

It is also convenient that you have a continuing profile open on Google Maps and different social networks.

Here are some marketing strategies you can use to attract more customers:

• Inbound Marketing: It’s about creating a lead capture system. Having a website with forms to attract potential clients in exchange for advice can give your business many opportunities. If you want to set up a good Inbound Marketing system, you must work on your content marketing and email marketing. The best thing is that you hire search engine optimization (SEO) professionals to help you out.
• Social networks: They are a free way to attract customers. Facebook, Twitter, and WhatsApp can provide you with great opportunities to contact customers. You may need a social media manager to manage them.
• Ads: It is essential to have ad campaigns on Google and even on Facebook. These ads will make your website target the desired customers online faster.

#12 Never Forget Offline Marketing to Succeed as a Licensed Massage Therapist

This is just as necessary as online marketing. Moreover, the same content you generate online can be used in brochures or advertising. You should find graphic designers to help you with the brochures.

You can carry out mailbox campaigns or collaborate with nearby shops to advertise your massage center. You can also collaborate on local radio programs or in newspaper sections.

A recommendation from us is to advertise your services in offices nearby. Mostly, these are the target audience you wish to reach.

Most noteworthy, find a professional massage program for licensing and continuing education and a mentor who can help you succeed as a massage therapist. Many are willing to give you professional advice, as well as, first-hand knowledge of running a profitable massage practice.