Mistakes to Avoid as You Grow Your Massage or Bodywork Business

In this blog series, we’ve been focusing on the stages of building your bodywork business, and keying into why it’s important to take the next steps that make sense for the stage you are in.

We’ve looked at The 3 Stages of the Bodyworker Journey and then zeroed in on the important pieces to have in place no matter what stage your business is in.

Now, we’ll talk about 2 big mistakes that bodyworkers make when they try to grow their businesses, so you can make sure you’re clear about avoiding these pitfalls.

Mistake #1: Undercharging.

Far and away, the Number 1 mistake massage and bodywork therapists make is that they don’t charge a fair price for their services.

Let’s face it — you got into this work because you want to help people. You’re a big-hearted person in all that you do, not just your modality, and it can be hard to value yourself and your work.

I was the same way. When I first started my business, I wasn’t sure what to charge, so I just looked around my community, saw what others were charging, and then positioned myself on the lower end of the scale.

That seemed to make sense. But there’s a big problem with this: it doesn’t take into account your unique skills and talents.

And trying to charge less than other therapists so that you can get people in the door is simply a race to the bottom.

If the only reason people come to you is that you have the lowest prices in town, then they’re not fully engaged in their healing. And your business is unstable because you’re not earning enough revenue to make a go of it.

In The Bodywork Project program, we dive deep into the question of pricing, and each student creates a fee that is both fair and resonates for them.

But how do you know if YOU’RE undercharging?

A good way to figure it out is to ask yourself when was the last time you raised your prices. If it’s more than 2 years ago, you are not honoring the inherent value of your skills and your work.

Time to raise your prices…

Mistake #2: Too much marketing, not enough connecting.

You may feel like if you could just find that one elusive marketing tip or trick, that your business would skyrocket, but it’s just not so.

Marketing and spreading the word about your services is a complex, ever-changing process. It’s easy to be pulled into Shiny Object Syndrome, and want to try out the latest and greatest thing — you need to do Facebook ads! No, you need to do Google ads! No, you need to join BNI! No, you need to write blogs every day! It’s exhausting and dizzying trying to keep up…

The truth is that for bodywork practitioners the absolute best way for your business to grow is through word-of-mouth. That’s why it’s so important to be on-point and 100% present for the clients you already have.

Those clients will become Raving Fans and tell everyone they know about you and your services, basically doing your marketing for you.

But you’ve got to make real connections with people from the first time you meet them.

Here’s a quick question to ask yourself to find out whether you are marketing yourself or connecting: When you go to a networking event, are you trying to give out as many business cards as you possibly can, or are you focused on really connecting with one or two people?

True connection takes longer, and that’s why it’s so rare in business.

But connection is what people are starved for. And if you focus on creating connection, being there for your people, present and aware as you work, knowing that you are a facilitator for the work, and the healing is being done by your client, true connection will occur.

And the marketing will come with ease.

As you work in your practice this week, reflect on these two big mistakes that bodyworkers make. I know I made both these mistakes before I got some support around my business. It’s OK if you’ve made them, too. As Oprah says, “Now that you know better, you can do better.”