Issue link: https://www.massageandbodyworkdigital.com/i/77424
PLEASE EMAIL YOUR LETTERS TO EDITOR@ABMP.COM. CONTENT MAY BE EDITED FOR PUBLISHING PURPOSES. How to Make $100,000 Per Year T 32 massage & bodywork he first seven years of my massage therapy career left me broke and burned out. I often fell short on rent for my tiny studio apartment and suffered terribly from constant fevers and exhaustion. But through perseverance, dedication, and some creative entrepreneurship, I was able to turn my career around, become a successful business owner, and work with some of the most discriminating clients in the world, all while getting back my health and vitality, and more importantly, learning to love being a healer again. Here are 10 tips that helped me along my path. whose marketing is not guaranteed to provide return. (I consider traditional advertising gambling, and I'm not one to gamble in any economy.) According to a CIA agent A Successful MT Shares Her Magic Touch By MeAgAn HoluB Bodyworker Meagan Holub is the author of The Magic Touch: How to Make $100,000 Per Year as a Massage Therapist. november/december 2010 Many massage therapists have seen their incomes soar in the weaker economy, precisely because they accept insurance. One of the massage therapists I interviewed has consistently earned more than $125,000 per year for more than six years. Her business is 85 percent insurance billing and 15 percent hotel massage (at a rate of $75 per hour). Few work harder than she does. But that is how you make your dreams reality. She taught me the value of yes and of gratitude. Yes is key. It is not just a mind-set. It is a mind-set that allows you to take necessary action. Without it, I believe, there is a key underline component missing for ultimate goal fulfi llment. Lastly, while I knew that it might be a controversial topic among massage therapists (while my Forbes 500 clients shake their heads in disbelief for this is just business, nothing more, nothing less), I believed it was important to explain to massage therapists the upside to referral programs. Many professionals will not refer your business without them, such as hotel concierges. Despite many massage therapists saying the contrary, "kickback" laws are not written for massage therapists. They are written for pharmaceutical companies, with medical professionals who write prescriptions being bound to them. Other professionals held under such laws in some states are injury lawyers. Each state code of ethics is different and each massage therapist is, of course, encouraged to research the laws and ethics in their own state. I am chagrined at how often the word kickback is used in a profession for which it does not apply. While we must honor those professional's restrictions and not provide referral fees to them (however, for some reason giving free massages is OK, which I fi nd odd as I believe my massages to be of equal value to cash) at a time where affi liate programs (referral programs online) are rapidly becoming the future of business and marketing relationships, I strongly feel that this misinformation is one more way in which we are held back from moving forward as an industry. If the economy has taught us anything, it's that we must take care of our own. Providing referral fees is, in a sense, much like a global commune. By referring clients, giving the gift of massage, cash or gift certifi cates, we don't have to give our hard-earned money to corporations who I talked with about referral arrangements, one must follow these two requirements to ensure one is behaving ethically, even beyond the written law: 1) prearrange a set referral fee amount with the referrer; 2) only refer to and accept referrals from parties who you know to uphold the highest standards; 3) disclose the fact that you have a referral fee program to your clients. If someone is following the law and code of ethics, and still feels uncomfortable, I would have them ask themselves this question: "Why am I OK with giving away free massages as 'thanks' but not cash; why is cash more important and valuable to me than my hands-on hard work?" I think these questions may get to the root of the issue. I will not pretend that this information is common sense. My clients are some of the savviest businessmen, lawyers, and accountants in the world. I have been fortunate to be able to bounce massage therapy industry myths off of them for years. One by one, their reactions to these myths uncovered, for me, that maybe it was our industry professionals' beliefs that were holding our profession back, not the consumers or the sex industry. I will continue to share what I have learned from them and through diligent research and proven successful business models, however unpopular the message may be with some. I hope this helped to ease your concerns. I truly believe we share a passion for the massage community, and such conversations are powerful and necessary for the success of our entire community of professionals. MEAGAN HOLUB earn CE hours at your convenience: abmp's online education center, www.abmp.com 17