The Best Time to Work with a Mentor with Amanda Cook |
Business and Marketing for Massage and Bodywork Therapists
Episode 16.
AMANDA COOK: Don't expect that you know how to do everything and if there's something that you do need to get to that next level and you need help, there are always people that can help you get there and you just have to find the ones that resonate with you.
MINDY TOTTEN: Welcome to Do It With Intention, the podcast for massage and bodywork therapists. I'm your host, Mindy Totten, a mentor and coach for bodyworkers who want to turn their passion for the work they do into successful businesses that they love -- all without burning out or selling.
For the last 15 plus years, I've created a successful six-figure Craniosacral Therapy practice in a small city in coastal North Carolina. Over those years, I've met so many skilled, big-hearted therapists who are struggling to make their bodywork businesses work for them. Not because they weren't terrific therapists, but because they didn't know how to make the business side of their practices work.
It became my mission to help other massage and bodywork therapists build practices that support not only their soul, but also their bottom line.
On the Do It With Intention podcast, we'll dive deep into what it takes to build and to sustain a profitable massage or bodywork business. We'll have honest conversations about what really works and what doesn't as you create the ideal practice for you.
After all, you do great work in the world and you deserve to make a great living doing it. But you've got to be intentional about it not only in your modality but in your business too. That's how body workers Do It With Intention.
MINDY: Hey, Hey and welcome Amanda Cook to the Do It With Intention podcast!
AMANDA: Thanks Mindy. I'm so happy we get to record for a third time together. This is exciting. It's so much fun.
MINDY: I always enjoy talking with you because I think that you are not only a fantastic therapist, but that your advice and your background is just so down to earth. It's not like floating up in the ether somewhere. You're a really strong person to help other massage and bodywork therapists really get where they want to go in their businesses as well. So I'm so glad you're here.
Why don't you start off by just telling us a little bit about yourself and what's going on for you right now.
AMANDA: Sure. As Mindy said, my name is Amanda and I've been a therapist for coming up to nine years this March. And I've worked in multidisciplinary clinics, and I've been a clinic supervisor at massage therapy college. My husband, Mark and I, in 2016, went full force into continuing education and we opened Con-Ed Institute, which is what I do all the time now.
And we also host our own podcast, which is Two Massage Therapists and a Microphone. And Mindy was one of our first guests before we had any idea what we were doing.
MINDY: Right. Well I, I felt like you had complete idea of what you were doing, but I love, first of all, I love the name Two Massage Therapists and a Microphone. It's very cute, edgy, you gotta take credit for that. And you know, it's so funny because when I named this podcast, so many people advised me not to do it. They said, “No one will know what that is. You have to call it this, this and the other.” But when I told the people, the actual bodywork and massage therapist who I wanted to to reach with this, it was like unanimous because intention is all about what we do.
So I love it. It makes perfect sense to me. Good, good. And I love that you named it exactly what you wanted to name it to. And you said that you are the directors of Con-Ed Institute, and for people who are listening who are not familiar with you, where is that?
AMANDA: Oh, we're in Toronto, Ontario. So we're Canadian, I'll say sorry a lot. And a, just to fit the stereotype. Canadian a.
MINDY: Can folks come from all around and take classes there?
AMANDA: They can. So we've had somebody come in from Tampa. We've had somebody come in from Manhattan, and we've had people from all over Canada, so different provinces.
MINDY: So let's jump in today because what I really want to talk about is how I've been chatting with a lot of massage and bodywork therapists, and a theme that keeps coming up over and over again is — “What I need to do, Mindy, is I need to get more certifications. I need to take more continuing education classes. I need to do this modality and that modality. And once I have those things, then my business will take off.”
And yeah, you and I were chatting before we hit record, so I want to hear what you think about that, and when is a good time to reach out for business help?
AMANDA: Okay, well there's three things that, I don't want to say problems, but three issues I have with that statement of I have to take more modalities and then my business will take off.
To me it sounds very equivalent to people in their personal lives saying, you know, once I have more money, I'll be happy. Once I have a bigger house, I'll be happy. Once I have kids or once I get married or whatever, that once I do this, I will be happy. It's not the right mindset to start with.
If you want to be successful in your business, intention is the right place to start, which is why I love the name of your podcast. You have to have an idea of what type of therapist you want to be, and set very intentional goals of where you're going, and it's not necessarily all about which modalities you have. That's not why your clients come to see you.
You know, as a massage therapist, I always suggest to my students when they're doing their marketing, don't list off your services — that's not what people are looking for. They're looking for somebody that resonates with them, and they want to know who you are, what you do, why do you do what you do and what problems do you solve? So essentially, how can you help me?
And if you can, if you can get that message across, it doesn't matter whether you have reflexology or Craniosacral or you offer Thai massage, it doesn't matter as long as you can help them to solve the concerns they have.
You can't always wait for something to happen before you move forward with your goals. Secondly, is it's not all about the tools. And the third thing is you, you can't be a Jack-of-all-trades.
I really do believe that Jack-of-all-trades, Master-of-none, which is why at Con-Ed, our philosophy is actually expanding on the knowledge that therapists already have. A lot of our courses are things that we have already learned in school, but we're doing it in such a way that we're helping to perfect the skills that you should already have.
So for example, we have a joint mobilization course and we just dive deeper into the arthrokinematics of the joint and different ways to help mobilize that joint and different reasons you would want to do it, and the goals of that, and just helping therapists to be more confident using the skills that they actually already have.
MINDY: I think that is so great, Amanda. Because what I talk about a lot is going deep rather than going wide. And that's exactly what you're saying.
Usually people really resonate with something, they're really drawn to a certain type of work. So rather than just learning that work, and then learning a whole bunch of other things that you're not even really all that interested in, but you've heard is going to make you a gazillion dollars or that's what's going to fill your practice… Rather than doing all those other things, do exactly what you're saying and go deep rather than going broad.
AMANDA: Yeah, I love that. Right.
MINDY: So when is a good time to work with a mentor? I wanted to ask you this question because I think again that you have really practical and sound advice. When should people reach out for the help on the business side of their practices?
AMANDA: So I think that most massage therapists don't have a very strong business education. Now that's generalizing there. I'm sure certain therapists who took additional business courses, maybe a college and university level, but if they're solely relying on the business information that they learned in massage school, I don't think it's enough.
If your intent is to go out and start your own practice, I actually believe getting a mentor right away is actually the best thing. And it's something that I can say I wish I had done when I came out of school. I've always had this personality of I'll figure it out, I'll do it on my own, I'll figure everything out. I don't need help.
And I think had I reached out to someone to ask these simple questions, you know, where to start when starting a business, what are the things I need to consider? And just, you know, talking to somebody who's had the real life experience is never a bad idea.
If you're looking to start your own business. Getting a mentor right away is not a bad idea.
And really at any time, because I think that we can do a lot of things on our own, but we have a huge community and it shouldn't be a competitive one.
So if there is another therapist that you think, wow, they're doing great and you really admire what they're doing well yeah, to reach out and get some help and see how you can get to that level.
MINDY: Yeah, I agree completely because I make the same mistake as you do. First of all, I am Miss Pull Myself Up By the Bootstraps. I can figure this out. I don't need any help. You know, I’m really stubborn like that. And then I, I realized, why am I reinventing the wheel? Why am I trying to figure this out on my own when someone else has already done it, someone else can guide me along.
AMANDA: It's exactly that. It's crazy, the mindset that I have sometimes.
MINDY: I really like what you said too about how you can reach out to a mentor and get the help that you need to sort of get started. And then you might realize a year or two or three years down the road, you know, I've created this thing, but I want to go to a different level now.
Because in the beginning it's kind of like me with CranioSacral Therapy classes. In the beginning when I first took, you know, Cranio 1 or Cranio 2, I was like, Oh, I'm going to take this class, I'm going to learn everything there is to know about CranioSacral Therapy. And then I would take it and I'd recognize, Oh, this is a teeny tiny window into everything else.
I don't know, there's so much more out there, you know, there's just level after level after level. And I've done that in my own career. You know, I've helped gotten help from a business coach or business mentor and gotten to where, you know, I felt really good, for example, consistent baseline income. And then a couple of years later I recognize, you know what, I'm ready to go to the next place, but I don't know how to get there on my own. So reaching out again.
AMANDA: Yeah. And there are a lot of continuing education courses that you can take depending on what it is you need to do. And you know, don't expect that you know everything, right? We're bodyworkers. That's what we're good at. I always say to my clients, actually, when you know, I find a certain place on their body and they're like, how did you immediately know how to get to go there?
How did you know that's where I was feeling pain? And I always say to them, it's the only thing I have to be good at. Everything else, you know, I can figure it out or hire somebody to figure it out, right? That’s the thing I have to be good at.
So don't expect that you know how to do everything and if there’s something that you do need to get to that next level and you need help, there are always people that can help you get there and you just have to find the ones that resonate with you.
Not every business coach is going to be for you. As you said, I'm a little more practical, less than the clouds. Maybe you want someone who's, you know, got the yoga voice, and that's great. Then you find that person.
MINDY: I'm thinking of group support. There's also one-on-one work. There are classes, there are courses, and so everyone who's listening, if you're feeling a little shy about reaching out — remember that of course we don't all have it together, you know, that's what we're here for.
This part of the journey is figuring it out, and growing and learning. So what would be your biggest piece of advice for massage and bodywork therapists who are either considering going out on their own and creating their own practice or they have done that and they're not quite seeing the results that they want to get?
AMANDA: I knew you were gonna ask me this question so you think I'd be better prepared, but I do like to wing things actually it's the heart then. Yes, it's the exact opposite of winging it, actually.
If you are planning to go out on your own, you have to do a couple of things. The first thing is you have to know exactly what type of therapist you are because before you can start creating something, you have to know who you are because it needs to be a reflection of you, right?
If you want to attract a certain type of clientele, you want to attract a certain type of associates to work with you. If you want to build something that's reflective of you, as hokey as it sounds, you need to know who you are. Right? So you know as you were saying is you know, go deep versus going wide.
Know what you are really good at, know what your strengths are and start building around what your strengths and your opportunities are. And the second thing you need to do is have a goal. What is it that you're looking to build? Is it a small practice with just you? Are you looking to have a big multidisciplinary clinic? Do you want to bring on a partner?
There's a lot of planning that goes into first starting and it's a lot of asking yourself questions. Who am I? What type of therapist am I? What type of clients hell do I want to attract? What type of clinic or spa or wellness center do I want to run or work in whatever it is. And once you've got that, then you just start planning, set some goals and put down small steps going towards each goal and just follow this plan and you will get there.
And there's going to be points along the way that everything goes wrong and that's okay. And you'd go back to planning yet those are the, those are the points where you need to reach out for help, right? Because there's going to be certain things you can't do. I never claim to be good at a social media marketing and online marketing. In fact, I'm the worst at that and I am so thankful that I have a partner who is really good at that. So we divide our roles based on, he's really strong in social media and I'm strong in other areas and you know, we figure it out that way.
MINDY: Yeah, I was going to piggyback on what you said there and you just brought it up again. When you're a therapist starting out and you're figuring out your business, or even if you know you've been doing it a couple of years, but it just doesn't seem to be jelling, go back to “What is my Zone of Genius?”
What comes naturally to me? What can I just do all day long? That's not even hard for me. Other people might find it really difficult, but for me it's just easy. I don't even think, you know, there's a problem that's genius. That's where you need to focus and grow. So, as you said, whether it's in certain types of marketing or certain modalities or certain audiences, what kind of clientele do you really want to work with?
So being really honest and not being afraid of what other people are gonna think of you really going back to that Zone of Genius, I think is, is so important. That's exactly what you're saying.
AMANDA: Not being afraid is a big thing too because doing anything on your own, whether as you said, whether you're starting your own business or you're in business for yourself and you want to make some changes, there's going to be some fear, right? Stepping outside of your comfort zone, there's always some fear, but you just have to do it. If you let fear stop you every time, then you're going to stay exactly where you are in your little bubble, in your comfort zone and nothing is going to grow.
I mean, I had a horrible fear of public speaking when I was younger, horrible. I teach classes now. I host a podcast. All I do is public speaking. I would be lying if I said that I feel 100% comfortable every time I step in front of a room of people, but I just do it because I honestly do love it.
MINDY: I've read about two types of fear, that kind of fear, that is like warning danger and then the kind of fear where you're really kind of excited, fear, but you don't know how it's going to turn out. That's when you need to just keep going. Just keep taking those little baby steps.
And like you said, there are going to be days that totally bomb, Amanda, you've had him, you know, we all do. But if you just have your eyes on the prize, and just keep going in the direction that feels good, that resonates with you, even if there's fear, you'll get through it just like you do. Because you're now an internationally renowned public speaker and podcaster!
AMANDA: Now, I don't know if I'd go that far, but like, yes, we are an international thing. I was going to say as well as you had mentioned something about not worrying about what other people think, and that's where the fear comes from, right? You're worrying about being judged and what if I don't do this right?
Well, why are you scared of that? You're scared of that because of what are other people going to think? And truthfully, the most successful people in the world, they've got the most haters in the world, right? You're going to have people who don't like what you do. You're going to have people that disagree with what you're saying and it's good to weed those people out. It's not a bad thing because then you're going to attract the people that really want to work with you. They want you to be their massage therapists.
So the ones that think that everything you say is nonsense. Good. Get rid of them. You don't want them in your clinic anyway.
MINDY: That's right. Well, that is a great piece of advice to end with. So yes, I love it.
Amanda, thank you so, so much. I always enjoy talking with you and one of these days I would love to get ourselves together in Canada or coastal North Carolina or somewhere in the middle and meet, what do they say in social media IRL in real life? Thank you so much for being on the show.
MINDY: Thanks for coming on this journey with me today. I know what it takes to make time for something like this in your busy day and I so appreciate that you tuned in and listened all the way to the end.
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Okay, that's it for today. It's my pleasure and my privilege to be with you on this journey. I'll see you next week, same place, same time. Until then, get out there and Do It With Intention.