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Owning a massage therapy business can be highly profitable, where you can earn $70 to $100 for an hour massage therapy session. But it is not possible for everyone to afford a personal spa, which requires a huge investment. Therefore, the majority of the massage therapists are employed in spas or beauty salons of others. In some of the cases these employed therapists have a number of private clients outside of their job. They too have to work in a few different venues. This forces massage therapists to manage their own supplies, taxes, transportation, and various other associated factors. Though these individuals seem to do well in the beginning, they last only few years on the job. The major mistakes these therapists commit are that they overlook treating themselves as a business and fail to plan their business properly. Here are the few steps that a massage therapist can follow in order to succeed:

Consider yourself as a business:

You need to have a balance between your income and expenses. This requires a proper business planning that will enable you to earn a profit even after paying off all your bills. You expenditures may include a number of factors such as supplies, the rent of a facility, mileage, uniforms as well as the as the expense you need for the various other resources for the future. In order to sustain your business, it is very essential that your income matches all your expenditures in the initial business stages.

Prepare a business plan:

You business plan needs to include the amount of massage session that you can carry out each day and create a time table accordingly. Due to its sheer physical and emotional challenges you can actually perform only a certain number of sessions each day. A proper business plan will help you to anticipate you service charge, to smoothly carry out your daily sessions as well as help you to sustain yourself through the work.

Massage therapy is one of the most comfortable ways to get relieved from you physical as well as psychological pains. You can even beat your tension and stress quite easily with a tender stroking of hands. With its escalating popularity, Massage therapy is becoming a very lucrative career option. These Massage therapists can work in several different places including studios, nursing homes, private offices, hospitals, fitness centers, airports, shopping malls, and sports medicine facilities etc. You can also work as a self employed upon successful completion of your massage therapy program. Moreover, some of the massage therapist provides at home service. The service charge in that case depends on several factors such as, the client, schedule and location.

The American Massage Therapy Association has made a survey to point the increasing popularity of massage therapy. According to their report approximately 47 million Americans are habituated with regular massage and it is more popular among people aged 65 and above. The number has almost tripled since 1997.

Income of a Massage therapist

The salary of a massage therapist varies and usually depends on his/ her total industry experience, business proprietorship or practice location. There are certain practitioners making approximately $180,000 per year. However, the average salary scale of a Massage therapist ranges approximately from $41,000 to $58,000. According to the Bureau of Labor and Statistics, the expected growth will be around 26 percent in 2014, whereas it was only 18 percent in 2004. Most of them work only for 15 to 30 hours per week. Generally the service charge of a massage therapist goes as follow:

• Approximately $58 service charge for giving one hour of massage
• The average annual income of $29,250 including tips for working 15 hours per week
• The average earnings per hour for every massage related work is $39

However, the income of a private practitioner as well as those who run their own business greatly varies from the salaried individuals. Their income is usually high but you also need to consider the associated costs with owning a business.

There are several regular as well as online colleges that offer a number of massage therapy education programs. Considering the popularity of these programs, the massage therapy schools are one of the fastest growing elements in healthcare training industry. Apart from these massage therapy schools there are several other technical schools, community, universities and colleges that are now offering a number of such education programs.

School of Orthopedic Massage and Bodywork: This massage therapy school is located in Ann Arbor , Michigan and offers flexible class timing all over the day and evening. They prepare their students career in the associated health profession and provides a concrete foundation, which is based on various popular scientific massage therapy formulas. The School of Orthopedic Massage and Bodywork has an 850 hours Massage Therapy Diploma Program that will eventually help you to take the National Certification Examination. The program includes certain specific advance massage techniques that will enhance your professional skills. The course content of the 850 hours Massage Therapy Diploma Program incorporates Myofascial Therapy, Reiki, Swedish massage, Neuromuscular Therapy, Orthopedic Massage, Shiatsu, and Sports Massage. This massage therapy school further offers several online distance learning programs.

Remington College: The Remington College offers Massage Therapy Diploma Program at their Honolulu and San Diego campus. This particular massage therapy education program provides you professional knowledge and skills, which help you to begin your career as a massage therapist. After completing this course you will be able to treat the stiff and overworked muscles and several other diseases. This will also help you to learn the various techniques to reduce stress and rehabilitate sports and muscle injuries and thus improve general health condition of your clients. The college also offers courses on several types of specialized massages such as deep tissue massage, sports massage, Swedish massage, acupressure, reflexology, and neuromuscular massage etc. The program includes eight learning modules. After completing the first seven modules, you can start with your internship at the on campus Massage Therapy Clinic in order to gain practical experience.

A Continuing Education Unit is the nationally acknowledged unit of course time that you spent while studying in order to improve your professional development. Generally, ten hours of training equivalents to one continuing education unit. These continuing education units offer an enduring record of continuing education and training for working professionals. These are also idle for those professionals who need to appear the state licensing boards.

The massage therapy continuing education classes are extremely essentials for professional therapist in order to sustain as well as upgrade their professional skills. These continuing education classes also aid in retaining the credibility of the massage therapist in the industry. However, pursuing these massage therapy continuing education classes are no way equivalent to the other kind of functioning academic credits such as degrees and diplomas. They only help the massage therapist to keep up to the recent developments in the field as well as introduce them with the new technical skills.

Advantages of the massage therapy continuing education classes:

• These massage therapy continuing education classes provide essential business training apart from the practical applications of the several massage techniques. These business trainings include a number important of subjects, such as marketing and advertising, accounting, business development and client analysis etc. Thorough knowledge on these subjects helps you to run your massage therapy business successfully.

• Both online and school environment classes are available for the massage therapy continuing education programs. Course materials are provided by the respective institute. In case of online or distance courses the study materials are either posted or emailed. These institutes provide a wide range of assistance through online forums and even by telephone.

• The study materials include instructional DVDs or downloadable streaming videos that enable you to learn the various massage techniques practically. These courses generally include basic and advanced anatomy as well as recognizing and taking care of various health complaints.

• There are several massage therapy continuing education classes that cover a wide range of disciplines and qualifications. There are also various types of specialized courses such as dry spa treatments, pre-natal and post-natal massage, massage for treating HIV-positive patients and Fibromyalgia etc.

Massage therapist helps to improve your blood circulation while bringing oxygen and other required other nutrients to your body tissues. They also help to relieve you stress, muscle pains, injuries and tensions and increases body flexibility and mobility. Generally a massage therapist removes the lactic acid and other waste from your body with the help of various tender stroking of hands.

You can become a massage therapist after completing your formal training in any certified massage therapy program. The tenure of these kinds of trainings is usually 6 to 12 months, where students are taught the theory and practice of various massage styles as well as public health, human anatomy, pathology, physiology, hygiene and professional laws and ethics.

The Procedure:

The massage therapist applies suitable lubricants, alcohol, and other substances to your body, before giving a massage. After that they start the massage by rubbing and kneading your body as well as by stroking your flesh. This various strokes and styles stimulate your blood circulation and relax your tight muscles. The massage therapist uses both their hands and various mechanical vibrating equipments to give you a relaxing feeling.

Some of the massage therapist also gives ultraviolet and infrared light treatments, steam and dry heat treatments as well as several water based therapy. They provide these treatments either as per physician’s instruction or even at client’s request. The therapist also instructs their clients, wherever required, several body conditioning programs, and methods and exercises for weight reduction.

Major Job Responsibilities:

• The massage therapist uses several manual styles and strokes to mobilize the soft tissues and body muscles.

• They have a very sound knowledge of human anatomy as well as about different diseases and body conditions. Thereby, they can provide instruction to the clients as well as prescribe various massage treatment as required by the client.

• They are able to work with all types of clients and also heal various kinds of muscle injuries.

• An efficient massage therapist also has the ability to work during evenings as well as during weekends.

The present complex work schedules and the stressful lifestyle of an individual have yielded a number of health problems. These factors have also augmented the popularity of various advanced and customized massage therapy programs. These advance massage therapy programs successfully cater several complicated heath related problems. Hence, training on these advance massage therapies are also in high demand. These entail:

• Acupressure/ Shiatsu Massage
• Joint Mobilization
• Special massage for people with injuries
• Professional Draping Procedures
• Foot Reflexology
• Thai massage
• Aromatherapy
• Swedish massage
• Deep Tissue Massage
• Rocking and Shaking Massage
• Hot Stone

Deep Tissue Massage

This particular massage training is most beneficial for those who are interested in massage training for medical purpose. It enables one to help others to get relief from injury pains and discomfort. The deep tissue massage therapy training program will enable you to understand as well as locate the elicit points and pain patterns of your clients. You will also be able to locate the various places, where you need to apply pressure. The training will further enable you to release tension from the tissues and will also teach you specific and effective hand strokes.

Shiatsu Massage

This advance massage training program gives you an introduction to the various principles and ethics of Meridians, Yin Yang Theory, Shiatsu, Points at different places in the body, as well as the different signs of imbalance. This technique allows you to apply medium as well as strong pressure on your client’s body with the help of your fingers, elbows, plums, and thumbs. The Shiatsu Massage training is an amalgamation of the various principles of Chinese medicines and the art of acupuncture. After completing this massage therapy training, you will learn to apply step by step pressure on the various pressure points that stimulate the tissues and the nerves.

Swedish Massage:

This advance massage therapy training is specially designed to enable you to make your client’s muscles feel relaxed. It will help you to learn to apply pressure on the bones along with the muscles, which will boost the oxygen flow in the blood and thus remove toxins from the muscles. The training will also teach you various ways to wash out uric acid, lactic, and other types of toxins from the tissues.

In these days, massage therapy is a very promising and rewarding career option. More and more people now want to heal their injuries as well as relax their tensed muscles through various natural and non invasive methods. This is one of the factors that encourage a number of students to pursue massage therapy education. This particular academic path helps you to achieve a lucrative as well as a holistic healthcare profession. These types of education also have several other benefits, such as:

• The various massage therapy educations encompass several different types of explicit bodywork therapies as well as various massage therapy instructions. These massage therapies and instructions, as a whole help the students to learn and tell apart different types of touch techniques. They also learn the various practical implementations of these techniques.

• These massage therapy educations are must as most of the states use The National Certification Board for Therapeutic Massage and Bodywork in order to grant licenses to the massage therapists.

• A large number of these massage therapy education programs are designed to meet the National certification requirements. These type of courses generally include minimum 500 hours training, whereas there are also courses that offers 1000 training hours.

• There are a number of advance massage therapy education programs, which offer a large variety of body work methods such as Eastern therapies and specialized training in infant/ prenatal massage, craniosacral therapy, lymphatic drainage, myofascial release, Indian head massage, therapeutic touch, and chair massage etc.

• These massage therapy education programs are the best method to earn your professional eminence in this diverse healthcare industry. Like the other healthcare professions, the massage therapist are also licensed and certified professional. This factor has given them an equal importance as they also require to maintain their records and licensure by pursuing advance annual continuing massage therapy courses.

• A positive and rewarding career outlook awaits for the students who have successfully completed their massage therapy educational programs as they also have optional training electives such as hydro-therapy, aromatherapy, energy healing therapy and raindrop therapy etc.

Spa treatments, in these days, are very popular and are in high demand. Usually, a massage therapist gives several types of spa treatments. Most of the treatments are wet and requires a separate wet room. This increases the cost of the salon considerably. However, adding the dry room spa treatment option to basic massages that you are already providing will surely increase your spa’s income. In fact, this will also help you to withhold your clients and in most of the cases the clients tend to increase the rescheduling for either weekly or at least bi monthly treatments in order to maintain their skin care routine.

There are several types of dry room spa treatments, such as:

• Body Glow Salt Scrub Treatments: This treatment require a reasonable assortment of Epsom salt, sea salt and baking soda soaked in an oil like apricot kernel, sweet almond, or a therapeutic-quality oil blend. This is a cost effective way to do a skin exfoliating spa treatment in any massage set-up. A good therapist may also add a customized essential oil to the mixture depending on the client’s skin type in order to increase the benefits of the therapy. You can even suggest this particular body glow treatment as an add on to a regular massage session.

• Body Butter Hand and Foot Treatments: This hand and foot deep moisturizing treatment is one of the easiest dry room spa treatment add-ons. You can use any butter based product you pamper your clients. You can either offer it as a separate treatment or even as an add on to a regular hand and foot massage session.

Dry room spa treatments do not require any kind of high end spa equipments or even wet room showers. Thereby, they increase the income as well as the profitability of a massage therapist. Moreover, the clients after such body treatments also tend to buy those spa products for home use. This is another way to increase your salon’s income.

Life in present time is becoming very hectic and people are getting more inclined to various specialized ways of relaxation in order to rejuvenate themselves. This has made massage therapy lucrative career and more people are now pursuing a career in this particular field. Generally, the average annual massage therapy salary is approximately $50,000 or even more. In fact, these massage therapist are even earning a very high income in comparison to other health care professionals. However, there are several factors that affect the salary and other additional income of a massage therapist.

Geographic Location:

The location of your massage clinic is an important factor that may either has a favorable or an adverse effect on your income. The income of a massage therapist functioning in a proper city will obviously be much higher than one functioning in the outskirts of the city. The other factors related with your location include the type of competition you face, the salary guide lines in your state as well as the total number of people in your area who are able to afford massage therapies.

Expertise:

The salary of a massage therapist largely depends on his/ her expertise. You can easily earn a reasonable income but if your clients are extremely satisfied with your works and tell other about you, it will surely help you to increase your income. As an expert massage therapist your number of clients will also increase and you can easily charge higher for the service.

Pricing Strategy:

The duration of the massage therapies often depends on the preferences of the clients. Thereby you can make a pricing plan observing the various preferences of your clients. A good pricing plan can help you to increase your massage therapy income. For an example, if you have clients who prefer 30 minute massages, then fix your hourly rate in a way that would be a higher amount. However, you must also be open to bargain that separate fraction of an hour massage therapy sessions.

After completing the various massage therapy degree or certificate programs, most of the licensed message therapist looks for a job in a professional setting such as salon, spa, fitness center, or hospitals etc. However, some plans to set up their career as self employed individuals and open their personal massage therapy business. It is always advisable to get hold of a steady employment while building your independent business. You also need to consider the costs associated with owing a personal business, including:

• Aromatherapy supplies
• Association dues and fees
• Costs for infrastructure
• Space rental
• Advertising/ marketing
• Costs for various insurance

However, you can always establish your business and get more clients if you can follow certain simple and helpful tips. These include:

• Be in contact with your clients: Since your business is dependent on your clients keep in touch with them and make them come back to you. You can make reminder calls every month to your clients to remind them that it is time for the next session. You may have clients with severe pain and injury, call them to know about their condition, if necessary prescribe another session. You can also send e-cards and offer discounts to your clients on their birthdays, anniversaries or even during any special occasions.

• Advertise for your business: There are several modes of advertising, both in media and print. Choose one that is most suitable for you. Advertise in such publications whose readership you think is appropriate for your business. You can also create a massage website and add a number of helpful massage related www. Create massage newsletter as well as contact form to reach to more potential customers.

• Get a Business Card: It is the most cost effective type of advertising. Always carry your business card as you never know where and when your service might be required.

• Take care of yourself: Physical appearance plays a very important role in a massage therapy business. Make sure that you look graceful, and breathe fresh before talking to your clients. You must also get your finger and toe nails manicured.