About the business: Purely Massage Therapy - Springfield News-Leader

[massage]

Kerri Gibson owns Purely Massage Therapy(Photo: Submitted photo)


Name of business: Purely Massage Therapy

Address: Nixa

Phone: 417-839-9068

Website: purelymassagetherapy.com and on Facebook

Hours: By appointment

Owner: Kerri Gibson

About the business: Kerri Gibson says she suspects her love of a natural approach to healing probably stemmed from watching her father, who is a retired chiropractor.

"I’m a total caregiver. I absolutely love helping people. When people come in and you can see there’s pain in their eyes and then they leave with a smile on their face, that’s priceless," Gibson says.

Gibson says she began her career in beauty, working at a salon and spa for about eight years before making an abrupt career change into insurance work. After a few years, Gibson says, "I decided I missed my passion."

"It was not for me," she says of insurance.

She decided at that point to become a licensed massage therapist. When it came time to decide where to hang her shingle, the decision was easy. "When we bought this house 10 years ago, my husband said this would make the perfect massage studio," she says of a room on the lower level of their home.

He was right.

Gibson opened Purely Massage Therapy in 2012. Her practice is focused on what she loves most: massage.

Gibson offers massage and pregnancy massage ranging from a half-hour to two-hour sessions.

"I typically lean toward a therapeutic massage, but I have all kinds of people come in here, so I cater to their needs," Gibson says.

The massage therapist says most frequently, her clients are suffering from stress-related issues.

"What I see the most is upper body — the neck, back and shoulders … people get used to how they feel with all the tension and stress and they don’t realize their shoulders are up in their ears and they finally get tired of feeling all bunched up," she says.

Gibson says during initial consultations with new clients, she emphasizes that massage is no miracle cure. "They didn’t just get that way in a day, so one massage won’t fix it. The thing I try to address the most is being patient and be consistent with the process and it will get better," she says.

Experience: Gibson attended the School of Massage Arts, which she says she loved. "I think when you go into something you desire to do, it’s never work, whether it’s the school part or the work part. I don’t feel like I work any day of the week," she says.

And while this is the first business Gibson has owned, she says she’s enjoyed the learning process involved in that, too.

Challenges: "My challenge was when I started the business in the house … it wasn’t like I was in a chiropractor’s office or a shopping center, it was pretty much a hole in the wall," she says. "My dad said, ‘You have to be patient … you want to build your business on referrals. I didn’t have a Facebook page or website, I just handed out cards and complimentary massages," Gibson recalls.

Sure enough, over time, her clientele built to a healthy level.

"There was some fingernail-biting for about a year and a half thinking, ‘Do I need to work part-time at McDonald’s?’" she says with a laugh. She gives her husband and parents credit for their support. Without it, she says, she never would have made it.

Goals: "My biggest goal is probably to stay physically healthy so I can continue this until I’m 80," she says.

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