Business Planning for Massage Therapists

This next series of episodes is going to talk about realistic, achievable business strategies that, when all put together, allow you to keep working as a massage therapist (or related profession) for many years to come.

Over this set of five episodes, we’re going to talk about financial factors, business planning, setting boundaries within your business, tools, and technology you can use to make your life easier, and the importance of taking time for your own self-care.

For this episode, we are talking about setting business goals.

I’m going to talk about this from my perspective as a business owner of 16 years (through my massage days up to now) as well as share some of the things I’ve learned from online classes I’ve taken and formal education as well.

Now, I know any sort of talk of ‘business building’ can be boring to many of you. A lot of massage therapists I’ve met are not interested in taking a lot of business courses or thinking about their business in a more… shall we say, corporate way? They are more interested in working with clients and taking courses to improve their direct, hands-on skills.

This is not to say the business parts are ignored. They just aren’t something they want to spend any more time on than absolutely necessary, and it often gets put at the very very end of the to-do list.

I get that! Hell, I put off doing some business tasks too, so I’m not immune to that thinking.

But you have to admit that it is IMPORTANT to think about business goals and how to achieve what you want to as a business owner.

I will do my best to make this relatable and interesting to you, rather than sounding like I’m reading out of a business textbook. Cool?

In this episode we are discussing:

• What are business goals, exactly?
• The concept of SMART goals
• Figuring out what your Enough number is in terms of income
• The importance of setting realistic goals that fit both your career and life.

This is the first episode in my short series on How to Stay a Massage Therapist for the Long Haul. Ready to dive in? Just hit play! Or, search for Life Beyond The Massage Table on your fave podcast app. More episodes can be found right over here.

Resources for this episode:

• The Concept of Enough (from Wandering Aimfully)
• SMART goals (from Hubspot)