Stop Networking, Start Connecting, with Amber Cook from HealingWaze.com | Business and Marketing for Massage and Bodywork Therapists

Episode 7.

AMBER COOK:   What is more important? My fear of putting myself out there or making this business succeed?

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.

Welcome Amber Cook to the Do It With Intention podcast! Before we begin, I wanted to ask you to share something about yourself that very few people know, and then I'll do the same.

AMBER: This is actually challenging for me because I am such an open book and I talk a lot. I feel like there's not a lot that people don't know about me. I grew up on a really small Island in Alaska and we only had 50 miles of paved road. It wasn't until I was 23 years old before I drove on a freeway or drove over 50mph.

MINDY: That’s a really good one. I didn't know that you grew up on a tiny Island wilderness. That’s really interesting. The one that I'm going to share today is a bit embarrassing, and it shouldn't be.  When I was 11 years old, I was a national champion baton twirler!

Amber and I are going to talk today about a couple of things. One of the things that I have been hearing a lot lately from therapists who are working on their businesses is when do I know that it's time to work with a mentor or a coach? A lot of people feel like they’re not ready. I'd love to hear what you think, Amber. When's a good time?

AMBER: I hear that a lot too. I think a lot of times people assume that it's going to be a bigger financial commitment than it usually is. People tend to put up a wall. They just think it's going to cost more and there are no guarantees.

Looking back 15 years ago when I started my business, I looked for help almost immediately. I just started seeking out people that had successful practices. Any time I met a bodyworker or even just a business owner, I'd try to glean as much information from them as possible, asking about their experience, and any pointers they could give to a newbie like me. And having a mentor right out of the gate was huge for me. It really gave me confidence.

MINDY: I had that same experience. I wasn't as smart as you are, so I didn't seek out somebody right away because I thought I could do it myself. Like I ought to be able to figure this out.

I wasted so much time and money doing stupid stuff that didn't work – money that I could have put towards hiring somebody to help me do it, someone who had already done it.

I feel like when I finally made the step, when I finally took that leap of faith and invested in myself and my business, I experienced personal growth work as well. When you have your own practice, you're putting yourself out there and you’re going to grow whether you want to or not. But when I made that commitment to invest in my business, my whole mindset shifted. I was going to get every single thing I could out of it.

AMBER: I'm the same. If I'm putting money down for something, I'm going to take it a lot more seriously because I'm not about wasting money. It's always going to be too expensive or not the right time or if only my kids do this first and then I'll do that. It’s never quite the right time.

I think if you're in that limbo state where you're trying to wait and find the perfect time, it actually might be the perfect time. Because your mentor is going to help you get clearer on all that stuff. I think it took me longer to figure it out on my own and possibly cost me more money than if I would've just gotten somebody to help me from the beginning.

MINDY: Are you familiar with Cal Newport? He's a computer science professor at Georgetown University, and does a lot of writing about what he calls “deep work”, like really focused work. He avoids social media. He likes to focus and do really strong, great work, and he focuses on mentoring and coaching.

On his blog he had a musician ask for his help on the business side of his work, and Cal said, “I'm not the person to help you. You need to find somebody who has done what you want to do to help you do what you want to do.”

And I made the same mistake. I was looking at all these business gurus, thinking they could help me do that. And then I realized I need somebody who has created a successful, in my case, Craniosacral Therapy business, to help me think about how to do it instead of looking all over the place for that. What do you think of that?

AMBER: My thoughts exactly. Our industry is different than a lot of the other professional industries out there. And it really does take somebody who’s done it to give you the best value, the best help, the best coaching, the best mentoring. There are a lot of coaches out there who are making all these claims -- work only 10 hours a week! -- sometimes those people have never worked in our industry, or never built a practice on their own.

MINDY: For folks who are unfamiliar with you, can you give us a quick background?

AMBER: I started my massage business 15 years ago and just hit the ground running right out of school. I had about a week of business training in massage school out of an entire year. The instructor told me to get business cards and to make sure I got an office with a lot of foot traffic. That's really about it.

I was a single parent at the time and I had made a commitment to myself and to my son that I was going to work for myself and I was going to make this work no matter what and I had to feed us.

I got a mentor and just kept trying everything that I was told to do. I eventually grew a really successful massage practice, even through the 2008 recession. In 2015 I realized everyone wanted me to mentor them, and it clicked that my time is worth money.

I was happy to help, and at the same time, I was a business owner and needed to make money.

I started a networking group in Portland, Oregon, where I was living and realized that I really wanted to help practitioners on a larger scale -- and more than just the networking. We need help with business advice and resources and a directory system that does more for us than what's out there currently.

You can't search Craniosacral Therapy on most of the big directories out there. So I created HealingWaze, and now have retired from massage as of two weeks ago. I do HealingWaze.com, and I'm also a business coach and mentor to holistic practitioners. And I still practice Reiki.

MINDY: I want to come back to HealingWaze in a second. But one of the things that I admire about you is that you're so skilled at networking.

The way that I think about it is less networking, more connecting.

Instead of going to the Chamber of Commerce mixer and giving out 100 business cards, it’s more effective to find one person that you have some authentic, real connection with. Does that sound goofy?

AMBER: No, those are exactly my thoughts. In fact, at the in-person networking groups that I still facilitate we call them “holistic connections.”

Traditional Networking works for some types of businesses, for sure. For example, a restaurant owner might tout this amazing Italian restaurant, hype the address, and offer 10% off your first meal. That's going to get people into your restaurant. Is he looking for referral partnerships? Probably not, but in our business referral partnerships are huge. A lot of my clients came from other people in the industry.

MINDY: And that's partly what I mean when I talk about niching down. You become the premier Reiki person in town or you become the go-to deep tissue person in town or whatever it is that you really, really love doing.

I would love to hear you really drill down to the basics because I know that so many therapists need this information. They're terrified to go out and talk to other people because they feel like they're a fake or a phony or they feel like they're being pushy. How'd you do it, Amber?

AMBER: I’m actually really happy that we didn't have cell phones back then to record every moment! That would have been embarrassing. I was extremely shy and thought there is no way I can sell myself. I also knew that sitting in my little massage office and maybe putting ads out on -- City Search was the place then -- or in the local newspaper, I knew that wasn't going to work. And even getting an office with high traffic – like I was told -- I just knew that wasn't going to work.

MINDY: Right, because they're not walking by and saying, “Oh I think I'll go get a massage!”

AMBER: This type of thing takes some foresight. And it comes back to the connections. I hated doing sales stuff and definitely lacked self-esteem. I was a lot younger than I am now. And age and experience have definitely made me more confident.

What’s more important? My fear of putting myself out there or making this business succeed?

I had coupons that I printed out on my home computer, and this was way before fun graphic creating things existed. I literally knocked on office doors in my complex and met other business owners, tried to chat them up very casually. They would start asking me questions. I would usually freak out. I'd probably sweat, be shaky.

They’d ask something basic like what type of massage I did and if I could help me with this or that? I was always so nervous and I'm a blusher to boot, so it was extremely difficult.

But I just did it, I worked through the sweat, I worked through the blushing and just handed out business cards over and over and over. And I also followed up with people that I met if I was able to get their business card. I went back to basic customer service and etiquette.

MINDY: Okay. So stop right there. Because I know people listening are saying “Holy crap. Not only do I have to reach out, I've also got a follow up.” So what did that mean to you?

AMBER: I usually sent an email because it existed then and was usually on people's business cards. If I could actually get anybody on my table, I asked them for referrals shamelessly.

MINDY: Can you share a really basic script that you used in your emails?

AMBER: Well, even now I use roughly the same one: “Hey, I'm Amber. I'm the new massage therapist in your building. We met the other day. It was really great to meet you. I'd love to know more about your business.”

You're reaching out, making a connection and not being salesy. And I did want to know more about their business to see how we could help each other. It's not about regurgitating an elevator pitch, but asking questions to get to know them. Maybe ask them to meet for coffee.

These days, I might ask to have a Zoom chat if you don't want to meet in person.

MINDY: And when the person did come in the first time, you had no problem asking them for a referral, which I generally don't have problem with either, but a lot of people do. So what do you say?

AMBER: Fear is going to limit you and it shouldn't stop you from having a successful practice. So no matter how nervous, how uncomfortable it is, I will always go back to that. What is my intention here? I want to get this person back on my table. I want them to refer people so I can grow my practice. And I'm scared to say it and I might be a little embarrassed even, but I have to say it.

Especially when I was new, I would just say, “I'm trying to grow my practice. You're one of my first clients and I will give you X amount off of your next massage if you refer a friend.” And then this has always been like my secret weapon and it's not that secret; we just forget about it. A handwritten Thank You card.

MINDY: But if you’re true to your heart, you’ll ask for referrals from people you genuinely enjoy working with. So when I first started, I wasn't asking for referrals from everybody because some people just weren’t good fits — I don't want all their friends and family come in because we don't resonate with one another.

If I really enjoyed working with someone, I would say at the end of the session: “I really enjoyed meeting you and I feel that Craniosacral Therapy could really be helpful for you with what you're going through right now.

I have some openings in my schedule and I would love if you know anyone who you think could be helped by this work. Because now you know what it's like. If you know of anyone, I would love to be of service to them.”

What’s my intention? To be of service to more people, to help more people feel better.

So I love that advice you gave. It's just good to actually hear what is it that I'm supposed to say.

AMBER: And sometimes in the follow-up, it's not necessarily the time to say anything about your business. For example, I wouldn't say, “Hey Mindy, it was great to meet you. If you send a whole bunch of people my way, I'll give you referral credit.” And so many people do that.

Instead, ask them more information about their business. How can I help you?

As we wrap up here, tell us a little bit more about HealingWaze. You described it as a directory for healthcare practitioners or wellness practitioners or holistic healing professionals. How is this different from Yelp?

AMBER: Some people have been extremely successful with Yelp or  or other free listings. Yelp is a data mining site; they're going to use your information to market to you. I don't know if any of you listening have encountered this, but it can get real ugly.

I don't do that. People can leave reviews on Healing Ways. I don't do anything with them except make sure that they're done. It’s not a spam thing. I don't doctor the reviews, I don't hide them. Yelp hides reviews for all kinds of unknown reasons. And most of our modalities on HealingWaze can't be found in Yelp.

Right now we're nationwide and that's going to change a little bit in the next month. Follow us on Facebook and find out all the new changes. There's a membership that includes business support, networking activities, business resources.

MINDY: It’s so interesting to hear about Yelp and I don't mean to call them out. I've never listed on these big nationwide or international directories because the reviews – fairly or not – can be devastating. I don't want any part of that. I just want to do my thing.

And like you said, professional and personal referrals are by far the best way to get people coming back to you. I love the idea of HealingWaze because it’s not only a directory that you can trust, but you also get the business support. How can folks get in touch with you if they want to learn more about you and about HealingWaze?

AMBER: Go to healingwaze.com, and there's an about section. There's a contact area and I'm just going to give out my email too. Amber@Healingwaze.com.

MINDY: Thank you so much for joining us today on the Doing It With Intention podcast. I always really enjoy talking with you because I think that you are such a light in this industry.

 AMBER: Thanks 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. 

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.

If you're loving the show, make sure you subscribe so that you can download each episode as soon as it comes out.

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.