Education key for new massage, skin-care businesses - Portage Daily Register

[massage]

New Portage business owners Monica Bullen and Donna Taylor want their customers to get the right idea about massage and skin-care services.


After all, they said, education goes a long way for your happiness.


“People tell you a lot of different things. They’re scared,” Bullen said of hesitant participants in her line of work. Last month, Bullen’s Seasons of Splendour Massage and Taylor’s Affordable Elegant Skincare opened in the same offices, located at 242 W. Cook St. Bullen operates from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday and Taylor's open by appointment.


“It goes back to the old taboo of massage: that’s something we’re still fighting,” said Bullen.


The Portage-Wisconsin Dells area has no shortage of massage and skin-care services, the business partners agreed, but what separates their new businesses from the rest is education.


“There’s this notion you have to be naked for a massage, and that’s totally untrue,” Bullen said, adding she readily shows prospective clients who stop in exactly what she offers. “I show them how it all works, to get them comfortable.


“People are amazed they don’t have to get undressed.”


Bullen, a licensed massage therapist, offers a variety of massages and therapies, including Swedish, hot-stone, hand-and-foot and chair massages, as well as myofascial therapy for people with connective tissue problems, among other services. Bullen offers massages to everyone, she said, from children to pregnant women to those 70 and older.


Taylor offers three kinds of facials aimed at different skin types, as well as relaxation facials, facial waxing and body waxing.


“We’re very upfront and honest,” said Taylor, a licensed esthetician. “If we don’t know the answer to something, we’ll research it and get back to you.


“People are shocked we actually follow-up, but we do.”


Educating people is especially important in an industry where new clients are “trusting a complete stranger,” Bullen said. When you explain things well, you ease their tension.


“People have told me: ‘I’ve never gotten this much information from somebody,” Bullen said.


Literature available as you walk in the door informs you of the many benefits of massage: it promotes deeper breathing, improves posture, normalizes blood pressure, increases circulation, enhances skin tone and skin health, reduces anxiety, increases self-awareness, promotes quality sleep and improves concentration.


When it comes to skin care, Taylor said, the business partners created a “chemical-free zone.”


“That puts a lot of people at ease,” she said of her plant-based products. “You can look at all the ingredients, because there are no chemicals.”


Another big misconception with massage and skin care, they said, is the cost is always too high.


“This is a farming community. It’s rural,” Bullen said regarding prices fixed to the local market. “People think it’s going to be (high-priced) because of prices in the Dells, that’s $100, $125, $150. Most people think they can’t afford that. Well, yeah, most people can’t.


“But if you get out and do the legwork, you can find out where to go.”


Let's block ads! (Why?)