Entrepreneurship: the Minimalist Guide to Becoming a Massage Therapist

Thursday, June 14, 2018

While many people think busy schedules only apply to those in corporate jobs because they have to punch in a time clock, this is not quite true. Entrepreneurs can be just as busy, and many would argue, even busier.

While entrepreneurs may not have to account for how they spend their time, they still experience crunch times, those times when the pressure to finish a project keeps them up at night or the pressure to maintain cash flow means that they have to work longer hours each day.

If you're thinking of becoming an entrepreneur who can make their own schedule and get more time off this summer to spend some quality alone time, then you should choose a field where you're well-paid and can set your own pace.

A perfect example of this type of work is in a field like massage therapy. You don't even need to rent your own office space if you don't want to but can work on clients in their home and office if you invest in a portable and stationary massage table.

There are basically two steps to becoming a massage therapist: getting skilled up and building your own business.

Training, Certification, and Licensure

First, you will need to choose a program that your state’s licensing board recognizes. Depending on the state you live in, you will, on average, need to do about 500 hours of both academic and clinical work. You’ll learn about professional ethics, pathology, kinesiology, physiology, and anatomy. Since you’re planning on starting your own business after graduation, you should also take classes in management, marketing, and business finance. Many massage schools include these classes in their curriculum. And, of course, you’ll need plenty of hands-on training, which you'll get at the school’s clinical labs.

Next, after you’ve completed your approved massage therapy training program, you’ll need to take an examination for state licensure. These could be either from the Massage and Bodywork Licensing Examination (MBLEx), the Board Certification Exam in Therapeutic Massage and Bodywork (BCETMB), or the National Certification Board for Therapeutic Massage & Bodywork (NCBTMB).

Finally, after passing the national examination, you’re now eligible to apply for licensure. You may be required to get liability insurance before you can get licensure. Additionally, your state will require you to continue to submit evidence of your continuing education to maintain your licensure. The requirements for recertification vary from one state to another.

Building Your Own Business

After you’ve got your licensure, you have many options available to you. You can work for a spa, a gym, an alternative health practitioner, a hotel, a resort, or a cruise ship. You can, of course, also branch out on your own immediately. But, if you don’t feel fully confident in your ability to go solo, then, by all means, work for someone to gain experience. Besides learning how to be a better touch therapist, you’ll also learn how a business operates.

When you start your own business, you can work out of your home, or office, or visit clients in their home or office.

The main thing to keep in mind when you’re building your business is that you must go beyond the technical skills of learning how to provide a healing massage. You’ll need to get good at marketing, at selling, and at managing your business affairs. You don’t have to do everything on your own, of course, as you can always hire others to help you with running the business, in particular, managing the bookkeeping and accounting.

The most important thing from a business perspective may be marketing. Once you get good at this, then the money will begin to flow. At that point, you can hire people to help you with the other aspects of your business.

Ideally, you should market online and offline. Online marketing may include setting up a website, running a blog, and developing relationships on social media. Offline marketing will mainly consist of networking, going to events where you can share with other people what you do for a living.

Becoming a massage therapist is highly rewarding. Besides helping people get healthy, you also have the opportunity to build a successful business.