Home practice and change in intention

[poo.]

I am seeking the best way to create a more clinically focused practice, but I am worried about making it it appear too stale and cold I guess. I would like to offer extras such as foot baths and other misc experiences without it turning into a spa atmosphere, as my area is flooded with them. for thosee of you working with a similar goal or an active practice in this vein, what seems to work the best for you in creating this type of environment?

also for those of you who practice at home, what have you found that makes people more at ease with coming to your home office? I find people are rather put off by the idea of coming for a session at my home.

 

[CHRISTINE I]

Home practice and change in intention

I am seeking the best way to create a more clinically focused practice, but I am worried about making it it appear too stale and cold I guess. I would like to offer extras such as foot baths and other misc experiences without it turning into a spa atmosphere, as my area is flooded with them. for thosee of you working with a similar goal or an active practice in this vein, what seems to work the best for you in creating this type of environment?

what has worked best for me is to keep things gender neutral. i bring in lots of 'extras' some might call them but i always make sure that they have benefits beyond cosmetic, beyond just feeling good - although feeling good is an enormous benefit that must not be overlooked. education is key: why it help, what it helps, how it helps. you can do this without it turning into a stale clinical environment. but also without it turning into a steel-magnolias-pepto-bismol-pink facility.

 

[Patrick G]

Hi

We're trying to walk that same fine line in our practice. We're in sort of an uppity area where spas are plentiful. Our area is fast-growing, but unfortunately, this has brought in a mass influx of flakier people. We just do our best to make it clear that we do a combo of pain management and relaxation massage, and we have chosen not to offer any spa services at all, even though they've been included in our massage training. We try to keep things down-to-earth and like makingachange said, "gender neutral". That right there is key. I like working with guys better, so I try to cultivate that environment, both in my studio and in my personality. About the most fru-fru we get is the offering of Prenatal massage or the inclusion of essential oils.

Hugs,
~Jyoti

 

[Tan Boon Hwee k]

The practice

What about a place that says a few soundless words about you and who you are. That may be the impression you might want to put forward?

If you have a sports clientelle? Sports...

If you like green, ask for other opinions about green from your clientelle by slappin' it on the wall.

If you like listening to "Strawberry letter 23" by the Brothers Johnson, play it.

Let your expressions of you say more than any spa in the area ever could about themselves. Stand out, Ryan as someone special and you must succeed, surely.

What do you do, if you don't mind me asking? I was just wondering about what you do special that you can grow on? Is your clientelle sporties or musicians or business people?

And perhaps you could add some fresh odors in the room that speak of you too. Pine for man perhaps? Wood always smells good to me.

Just some thoughts floating around.

Max

 

[Aly]

My girlfriend Kelly is building a home-based business by offering (primarily) clinical work out of a dedicated room. She has really put a lot of thought and effort into providing a caring and friendly environment for the work.

Her web site is http://www.HealthyBeginningsMassage.com, and there is a picture of the room on the site. Part of the room not shown is a book case loaded with professional reference materials which she uses for client (and self) education. There is also a muscle chart on the back of the door. The room has an earthy garden theme in color and decor, and she gets a LOT of compliments on it.

The part that can't be shown is how she communicates with her clients. She does a thorough followup after each session, and contacts every client, especially new ones, the next day to see how they are doing. This has won her some raving fans and most of her business growth is by referral.

 

[TrikKi nikKi]

right on

That is interesting, Jason.

We are essentially a service industry and the follow up contact is very important. It says a lot about how your girlfriend cares for the people she works with and this is paramount for most people. It's not only what we do but who we are that attracts people to us.

Max

 

[Pompal 09.]

Don't mean to hijack the thread, but I wanted to say how impressed I am with Kelly's website -- very nicely worded and laid out! -- however, I wanted to point out that the chair massage picture on the "treatment options" page gave me a bit of a start when I first looked at it. On second glance (or maybe it was third...), I realized that of course she's STANDING behind the client, who's on the massage chair, but at first it looked as if she was straddling him, like riding horseback!!! :yikes: Like I said, I did a double-take, and of course I know what it's supposed to look like, so it might be even more disconcerting for a potential client who knows nothing about massage.


Edited for typos.

 

[Pompal 09.]

Oh, Heidi, I totally agree. t043 She'll definitely want to change that photo!