The last step in establishing my business was contacting Santa Clara Weekly, sending them a copy of my "Fictitious Business Name Statement", and paying a fee for them to run an ad in the paper for 4 weeks. On the outset, I found all of this very intimidating, but now that it's over, I'm not too daunted by the task of promoting myself.
As stated in a previous entry, I had no interest in running my own business. Not for lack of ambition, but rather, lack of experience. While I'm generally of a competitive nature, I couldn't see what I'd have to offer as an independent MT vs joining a team. I enjoy having a team. Weighing all the positives and negatives, I even loved having roommates! Working independently held no appeal for me.
Then the job hunt began.
One of the reasons I decided to study massage therapy was because of the job market. The roommates and I had given up cable, so I wasn't seeing any of the commercials that promised big money in the profession. I just knew that it was something that I would enjoy, and I could support my oft-mentioned programmer husband during the perceivable starving-artist phase of his career. After an extra year in formal education, thanks to a lovely overlap, I could support the both of us while he built his code and resumé and whatever else he needed to do. I was going to work for a local hospital and single-handedly revamp their dwindling massage department!
Tell God your plans, sit back and listen for the giggles.
My husband was recognized for his talent and contacted by one of Silicon Valley's many start-ups. Neither of us were finished with school when these interviews started, but it was pretty clear that we'd be moving. My in-laws were a reasonable distance from Rasmussen, so I resided with them for a few months while I finished school. They're pretty awesome, like that.
I took a few months off of life when I arrived in California. After twenty years in the education machine, it felt warranted. I searched job listings on-and-off until I found a clinic that seemed to best fit me. I interviewed, I got the job, enjoyed it, worked there a month, and was laid off. Remember that job market complaint? I was assured that my work was stellar, but they couldn't afford to keep me.
I took a few more months off, during which time I obtained my certification from the California Massage Therapy Council. Now I can work anywhere! If I can find the right atmosphere. I was set for an orientation with one company before I realized the chemistry wouldn't work. My dad gave me plenty of grief for this because "it's a job!" As MTs, we know how important it is to have the right chemistry between ourselves and clients, as well as with colleagues. If I needed to be the primary bread-winner, I might have "sucked it up", but it was better, this way.
Knowing not what else to do, having been spun in circles by hospitals, having no direction whatsoever, I applied at Massage Envy. I know people who've worked there for years, but I walked away after a month. What a spotty resumé I was building. At least this neat little used bookstore was hiring, and they liked me!
I think everyone needs to work retail, at some point. I've always known to be kind to baristas and cashiers, but being on that side of the register opened my eyes. After years of writing lofty essays for a "four year" university, my intelligence was insulted, time and again, because my math skills have waned.
"You mean you can't do it in your head?"
"Where would we be without computers?"
So much for that lofty BA. But here's a word to the courteous: Don't shove more coinage at your cashier as they're handing your change back to you. When we ask, "Out of $5?" we're confirming that you don't want to pay with anything else.
Aside from learning to deal with cranky people under pressure, I've also learned a lot from my boss and manager about owning an independent, small business. I'm still very young in the business world, and I'm doing my best to learn as much as quickly as possible. I don't feel so overwhelmed now as I did in the beginning, despite seeing no end to this growing mound of work, but I feel an equal to the task. With resources such as Massage Book, Massamio, and Massage Therapy World at my disposal, I'm feeling a little more equal to the task.
