The Difference Between an Expense + an Investment in Your Massage or Bodywork Business | Business and Marketing for Massage and Bodywork Therapists

Episode 6.

MINDY TOTTEN: As Ranald and I talked more about the vision that I had from my practice, one that would allow me to serve more people doing the work that I loved to create a better world, we knew that it was time to commit 100% and go all in. That decision to commit has made all the difference in the world for me.

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.

You may have heard this before: The best time to invest in yourself and your business is yesterday and the second best time is today.

But when do you really know when it's time to take the plunge and reach out to get the support that you need for your massage or bodywork business?

It's hard. I remember the first time that I made the big leap. It was scary, but I knew that something had to give. I could no longer figure out everything on my own because I had tried that for ages and it just wasn't working.

I remember being nervous, excited, and to tell you the truth, a little bit nauseous as I wrote the first check to work with a business coach who resonated with me, and who I knew could help me. I was feeling extremely apprehensive. I wrote a check for $800, the first of many monthly payments.

Gulp. At the time my husband had just started his own business and we were barely making ends meet. Barely.

I needed to dramatically ramp up my business to be able to keep the doors open. Investing nearly $5,000 into my business in six months seemed like a huge stretch for us.

As a matter of fact, it was about 30% of our combined income.

But as I talked with Ranald about the vision that I had for my practice, one that would allow me to serve more people doing the work that I loved, to create a better world, we knew that it was time to commit 100% and go all.

That decision to commit made all the difference for me. It instantly shifted my mindset from, “How am I going to afford this” to “How many clients do I need to earn back this investment?”

I figured out that I needed just four new clients to come in twice a month. Just four new people, and if they came in twice a month, I would have already paid for that investment.

Suddenly it didn't seem so darn scary to make the investment. I knew that I could do the work to get those four clients quickly if I had just invested in the support that I needed to get my business to the next level.

I used to be an English teacher and I taught mythology a lot. Joseph Campbell -- one of my all-time favorites – says “Jump and the parachute will open.”

I love that idea. But I'm the kind of person who likes to make sure that my parachute is securely strapped to me. There are no rips or tears or wrinkles or anything like that before I jump, but my life has shown me that I do need to make the leap.

So now when I'm considering a business or a life investment that seems scary or overwhelming, I think about the return on investment.

Let's talk about that term: Return on Investment, or ROI.

An investment is very different from a business expense. An expense is something that you need to allow your business to run. For example, fees for getting your license or your phone or maybe oils that you might use. It's the cost of doing business.

An investment is something that will start paying you back in the future. It allows you to make more money.

If you rent your office space, that's an expense. But if you buy a building or office space and people rent rooms in it and pay you, that's an investment.

So now when I'm thinking about whether or not to make an investment in my business, I think immediately about ROI.

When I wanted to purchase an electric table, for example, I knew it would not only be better for my back, but that I could also earn more income by seeing more clients with chronic conditions.

I calculated how many sessions I would need to pay for this.

When I was ready to uplevel my branding and invest in a graphic designer so that my website and all my materials were much more professional, I calculated how many packages would pay for this new brand.

You might wonder what happens if you just don't have the money to make the investment in yourself and your business.

First, you don't need to run out and try to learn a new modality or get another expensive certification to earn more income.

One of the fastest ways to see your dreams begin to unfold in your business is to raise your prices.

If you haven't raised your rates in two years, then it's time. If you're working your fingers to the bone and are still struggling to pay your bills, then it's time.

Raising your rates is probably the hardest thing that you might do in your business. It’s scary. It makes you feel guilty or sometimes vulnerable.

You don't know how high to raise your rates and worry that you’ll lose all your clients. I used to feel the same way, so I know exactly how that feels.

But it doesn't have to be so hard and you don't have to try to figure it out all on your own.

That's why I created the Raise Your Rates Masterclass -- to teach you how to increase your prices with intention and integrity.

I walk you through my exact system for how I raised my prices consistently and fairly without freaking out my clients, and how I tell my existing client base about the change.

They have plenty of time to work it into their budgets and they get on board with it and prepay me for the coming months so that I get an income bump over the holidays, usually a slow time for bodyworkers.

The Masterclass doesn't just teach high-level theory and then leave you to figure it out on your own. I offer you my entire price increase system, including easy-to-use templates.

I’ll furnish you with the exact words to use to tell clients that prices are going up; offer checklists for every step to take; calculations to help you figure out how much you should be charging; and other tools so that you can raise your prices and get paid what you're worth.

With this piece of the puzzle in place, you'll have a repeatable strategy that you can implement over and over again whenever you're ready to increase your rates for the lifetime of your business.

Here’s the inside scoop. I'm running a Gratitude Flash Sale on the Raise Your Rates Masterclass. Woohoo! I want to honor you for the work that you do to make our world a touch kinder.

I want to express my sincere gratitude to you for having the courage and the conviction to continue putting your work out there. I know how hard that can be.

From now until Saturday, November 30, at midnight Eastern, you can save $100 on the Raise Your Rates Masterclass!

The flash sale officially begins on Thanksgiving, but because you're listening to the podcast, you can check it out early.

If it's something that resonates with you, you can save $100, and you can begin working through the Masterclass over this long weekend -- and easily raise your prices by January 1, 2020!

If you're charging what you're worth and consistently hitting your income goals. Keep rocking it, sister! You do not need this Masterclass.

But if you're struggling, and know you should increase your fees but are scared and don't really know how to do it, then the Raise Your Rates Masterclass is for therapists like you!

You know your stuff, your clients love you, and now you're ready to earn more income so you don't have to work so dag-gone hard.

If this sounds like you, I invite you to check out all the details of the Masterclass at www.mindytotten.com/rates.

If it resonates with you, you can save $100 by entering the coupon code GRATITUDE100 now.

Every time I made a big investment in my business, I still didn't feel ready. Getting to the next level requires pushing outside of your comfort zone. It means big leaps of faith in yourself and committing to making your dreams happen.

This is a perfect opportunity to invest in something that'll quickly give you that return on investment. Once you raise your rates to where they should be, you'll be able to earn back the investment with ease and you can finally stop holding your breath, wondering if you're going to be able to pay your bills and keep your business doors open.

Again, if this is something that resonates for you, you can get all the details at www.mindytotten.com/rates.

You do great work in the world and you deserve to make a great living doing it!

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. 

We've got all the links from today's episode in the show notes that you can find over at MindyTotten.com/podcast.

If you really enjoyed today's conversation, I'd love to send you a special sticker to remind you that Bodywork Therapists Do It With Intention. All you have to do is take a moment to leave a review on Apple podcasts. 

Once you do, just send a quick email with a screenshot of your review to hello@mindytotten.com.

Be sure to include your best mailing address and I'll get this fun sticker out to Pronto.

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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.