Issue link: https://www.massageandbodyworkdigital.com/i/885423
P A B M P m e m b e r s e a r n F R E E C E a t w w w. a b m p . c o m / c e b y r e a d i n g M a s s a g e & B o d y w o r k m a g a z i n e 81 Part of the appeal of a career in massage therapy is the flexibility of being able to choose your own schedule and determine your own availability. The catch is that you are then responsible for finding and retaining your own clients. For consumers, part of the hurdle in receiving a massage for the first time is finding a quality, vetted therapist they can trust and whose availability matches their own. Enter the rise of on-demand massage. Billed as "Uber for massage," on-demand massage companies match qualified therapists with consumers seeking a great massage. Through an app, a website, or a phone call, consumers can find exactly the service they want, when they want it, and receive the work in the comfort of their own home. We talked to three on-demand massage companies—Rubzy, Soothe, and Zeel—to learn more about what a massage therapist might expect from working with them. Like other partnerships an independent massage therapist might enter, there's likely to be a trade-off between gaining access to potential new clients and paying a fee for gaining that access. Other than that, it's difficult to think of a major drawback to working with an on-demand massage company. MTs gain access to a much wider client pool than they could ever find on their own and can fill holes in their schedule with vetted and qualified clients. They pay a fee to the company for the increased business, but it's business they wouldn't have found otherwise. Most MTs are happy with the trade-off, as evidenced by the rapid growth in popularity of these services. Soothe's Director of Marketplace Operations Jeff Bishop says, "Therapists can create their own availability for the times and days that work for them, and they earn 2–3 times more than they would working at a traditional day spa or even a private practice because of the accessibility to new (and returning) clientele." Let's take a closer look at what sort of therapist might benefit from working with an on-demand massage company and what to expect from the partnership. PRELIMINARY CONSIDERATIONS What sort of massage therapist would most benefit from working with an on-demand massage company? Newer therapists who are still working on building their client list will find the increased pool of available clients highly valuable. Mobile massage therapists who already have the equipment needed for in-home or in-office massages can easily make the switch to working with an on-demand massage company. However, if they already have a robust client list, they'll need to consider whether the increased number of sessions are worth the cost of commission. Soothe's Bishop says it also helps to know the area in which you live or work, so you're comfortable getting to appointments, and so you'll better know how to gauge your last-minute availability for pop-up sessions. Eva Carey, national community director for Zeel, says, "Zeel is the perfect solution for a massage therapist looking for extra appointments and also for a massage therapist interested in designing their own schedule. Because of the volume and diversity of available appointments, therapists are better able to balance their work and lives using the Zeel platform." Speaking about Rubzy's status as a brand-new company still building its therapist and client list, owner Chris Raschko says, "Since Rubzy is such a new and unique revolution in the massage industry, the ideal therapist is absolutely anyone with