Issue link: https://www.massageandbodyworkdigital.com/i/68016
With Dad's blessing and assistance, Ephraim went to massage school. Since then, father and son have taken neurosomatic massage training together, and enjoy attending seminars and continuing education classes as partners. Today, both men have built their own clientele base, with Ephraim specializing in hospice massage, as well. But they acknowledge that it was Ephraim Oliver and his father, Derek Oliver, enjoy a dual practice in East Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania. work, then we have time for our hobbies and our families. It works out perfectly." Eileen, E6, had her first child at age 19. She's found that massage therapy is an ideal career for a young mom. "When I was a little girl, anytime I was sick, the first thing mom would do is grab her bottle of oil and massage my feet and scalp," she says. "I decided to go into it to help me work my way through college, but now I love massage therapy so much I never felt the need to go to school after that. It's such a comfort to know I can work, make a decent amount, and be with my family." Pat says being the only male in a family with eight women has made him realize what a fortunate man he is. "I am so proud of my daughters and the way they've taken on the challenges of being involved in the business," he says. "I'm old school; I'm meat-and- potatoes massage therapy. The new things that the business needs to be exposed to ... the girls work on—not just for us, but for their own business as well. It's their business. They're involved in the challenges of marketing, in new challenges, new therapies. The more they do, the more Mom and Dad back off a little. And they've proved themselves over and over." DEREK AND EPHRAIM OLIVER Derek Oliver, 57, had been doing massage therapy since 1992, and in all that time he'd only had one business partner. The arrangement didn't work out. But when his youngest son approached him about the possibility of joining him in the massage business, he thought, "Why not?" "He just wanted to follow in Dad's footsteps," Derek says. "We've been working together for two years now, and it's been great." Ephraim Oliver, 22, is the only one of his siblings to follow his father into massage therapy in East Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania. He thinks that's because he's seven years younger than his next- oldest sibling. "Most of the others were out or leaving the house by the time he started doing massage," he says. "But when I was growing up, that was the main job I remember him doing." The younger Oliver went to trade school to study heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC), but soured on the hours HVAC technicians keep. difficult working together at first. "For the longest time, Ephraim was frustrated because he was having to live on my reputation," Derek says. "He was known as 'Derek's son,' instead of him in his own right. But he soon started picking up more and more clients on his own, and doing more hospice massage. Now he's got his own reputation." Ephraim now feels like he's his father's equal in technique, and he's delighted that they can see each other's clients, if necessary. Derek says he and his son have found that they have different strengths, which complement each other. "Learning how to run a business while being a good technician is a challenge," he says. "We spend so much time learning our trade, and I'm good at that. But I'm a very poor businessperson. I'm poor at computers, poor at organizing a business. Ephraim is good at those things, but has a harder time communicating with people." For all of that, they're both clear who the boss is. "That would be my mom, Margaret Oliver," Ephraim says. "Technically, dad is the president, but she really handles everything." LARRY AND STEPHANIE TRAGER It was 1998 when Larry Trager walked into the chiropractor's office where he rented space for his massage therapy practice and noticed his landlord chatting with a young woman. The chiropractor introduced him to Stephanie, also a massage therapist, who would be sharing the massage room. connect with your colleagues on massageprofessionals.com 83