Money, Marketing and Soul for Massagepreneurs
Archive for January, 2009
Market Yourself with Free Articles
Jan 29th
So you think you can’t write huh? Well, I can sympathize. I get nervous everytime I write an article or a post. What if nobody likes it? What if I make a huge gramatical error?
Fortunately, you don’t need a huge vocabulary (actually the simpler the better — make it so everyone can understand). You don’t need to know how to use colons, or semicolons or write 4-6 paragraph essays in order to market yourself with your writing.
People care more about the information you’re offering than whether you are writing with eloquence. You will need to be able to convey your ideas in a clear, concise manner. Your sentences shouldn’t trip people up. You want your readers focusing on the ideas rather than getting hung up on your sentence structure.
All you need is to be able to put together as few as a couple hundred words on your topic – half a page or less. You can do that, can’t you? Of course you can!
Need help getting started? Look for articles you can use in what you already have written. Do you have a handout for a class or speech? How about a recording of a speech you can have transcribed? A speech will probably yield several articles. Have you made lengthy postings explaining something to a forum or discussion list? Or written a great e-mail in response to a question? Do you have a book that could be broken into article “chunks”? How about that column you wrote for your professional association’s newsletter? You have probably written many things that can be used “as is” or adapted to article format.
As for new articles, it shouldn’t take long to write a few. Choose a topic you know a lot about and start spilling your brains onto the page. If typing is difficult for you, use voice recognition software (such as Dragon Naturally Speaking) to “talk” your articles onto the page. Dictate your thoughts into a recorder, then have a transcription service create a Word file for you. Of course, once you have a draft of an article, edit and polish until it is clear and free of errors.
Start by writing a short article (200 – 800 words) and publishing it at your website. Remember that the article should not be an advertisement. Give good, solid information. Your article will show your expertise, and encourage people to look to you as an expert. The author bio or resource box (a short paragraph at the end) is where you promote. Start with one article or whatever you have, then write others from time to time.
Time
Jan 26th
Welcome to Motivation Mondays. Here is your quote for the week.
“We spend, I am very certain, the half of our time among people that we do not particularly like and on things that do not particularly amuse us, and consequently have no time for the people and things that do really matter to us.”
–Alex Waugh, On Doing What One Likes
What are your time wasters? How can you eliminate the distractions?
Nutrition
Jan 22nd
Nutrition is the intake of nutrients and their subsequent absorption and assimilation. The first thought response to the word nutrition is FOOD and indeed food is important; however, nutrition comes to us through all of our senses. The body is fed food. The mind is fed information. The spirit is fed tranquility. All work together in harmony to maintain the balance of a healthy three-part body. When the PSE (physical, sensory or emotional) environment is fed, it either absorbs needed nutrients or eliminates what is not required. Each part is of equal importance.
The PSE environment is continuously responding to stimulation provided second-by-second through breathing in oxygen and releasing carbon dioxide through exhalation; processing food into nourishment and eliminating the unusable; or through the skin which both absorbs and eliminates everything from air to physical contact. This continuous bombardment by stimulation (sounds, sights, smells, tastes, sensations) is filtered through our experiences as well as the body systems to determine what is necessary or interesting enough to be retained and incorporated while the remainder is released and eliminated.
When the PSE environment is overwhelmed by unnatural or unwholesome substances, it severely overtaxes the complete system, creating opportunity for discomfort, disease or total breakdowns.
Everything we assimilate into ourselves affects our day-to-day energy. This includes the hurried meal, the quick soda or coffee instead of water, the angry motorist, or the late client.
Only you can ensure that the nutrition you eat, read, dream restores rather than depletes your balance. Remember you often have to CHANGE habits and thought patterns to establish balance. While change can be an unwanted guest, remember that your own healing ability must first be directed to yourself before it can be utilized to help others. Change is worth the reward.
In order to maintain our inner healing force, the right input is needed for the body to function at its fullest potential.
Some guidelines:
· Stay within 10 pounds of your best weight at any given age.
· Eat a high percentage of fresh foods. I recommend keeping your diet at about 75-85% organic.
· Consume adequate roughage.
· Drink water (not soda, beer, coffee or tea) in sufficient quantities for you.
· Take a day off every week and sleep without the alarm.
· Read articles or books that stimulated your mind.
· Help the lymphatic system through exercise and deep breathing.
· Get regular massages.
· Remember you are a 3-part person and need to nourish all 3 parts.
How can you let go of old patterns and find a kinder way to treat yourself? Three books I have found particularly helpful in changing my eating habits are “The Seven Pillars of Health” by Don Colbert, M.D.; “YOU: The Owner’s Manual” and “YOU on a Diet” both by Michael Roizen, M.D. and Mehment Oz, M.D. These books gave me a better understanding of my inner body needs and have made a direct impact on my energy levels. I was also surprised to find it easier to change thoughts and attitudes when my body was receiving what it needed. It is well worth the effort.
Do you have a book you would like to recommend? Do you have any other information on nutrition you would like to pass along to others?
Earn What You Deserve
Jan 19th
Welcome to Motivation Mondays. Here is your quote for the week.
“I bargained with Life for a penny, and Life would pay no more. However, I begged at evening when I county my scanty store.
For Life is a just employer, he gives you what you ask. But one you have set the wages, why you must bear the task.
I worked for a menial’s hire, only to learn, dismayed, that any way I had asked of Life, Life would have willingly paid.”
–Jessie Belle Rittenhouse
Are you earning what your deserve? Or are you settling for what you think life is suppose to give you?
What is Success?
Jan 15th
Dictionary.com defines “success” as follows:
1. the favorable or prosperous termination of attempts or endeavors.
2. the attainment of wealth, position, honors, or the like
3. a successful performance or achievement: The play was an instant success.
4. a person or thing that is successful. She was a great success on the talk show.
I think that something is missing from this definition. Let’s just say it is a good starting point. I don’t think that it doesn’t clearly defines what success is. And who can do that? I think that each of us has to define what “success” is for us. One person might think that s/he is only successful when s/he achieves a six figure salary, a huge house by the ocean and a Lexus in the driveway. Another person might think that they are successful if they live comfortably and are debt-free, but have lots of time for family, friends and to do the things they love to do.
What is your definition of success? Go ahead take a few minutes to think about what has to happen for you to be successful. Take a moment and post is below.
(Just a note, you can always change your definition of success in the future. As we evolve as a person our values and beliefs change, therefore, our definition of “success” may also change.)
Establish Big Boundaries
Jan 12th
Welcome to Motivation Mondays. Here is your quote for the week.
“The way in which a person loses their true goodness is just like the way that trees are destroyed by the ax. Cut down day after day, how can the mind, anymore than the tree, retain its beauty or continue to live.”
–Mencius, Fourth Century B.C.
What are you doing to establish your boundaries?
Valentine’s Day Promotions
Jan 7th
Valentine’s Days is about five weeks away. Valentine’s Day is the second highest gift certificate purchasing occasion behind Christmas. Are you ready? Do you have your Valentine’s promotions in place yet? Have you reminded your clients you have Valentine’s gift certificates available?
If not, here are some ideas to get you thinking:
- Offer a special on couples massage. Make it extra special by adding a box of chocolates and/or Champagne. This was always a big money maker for me at MassageWorks. We usually had the special for about 4 days. This year Valentine’s Day falls on a Saturday so you could start the special on Friday and have it run through Sunday or Monday.
- Create Valentine’s Day Packages and sell Gift Certificates for the various packages. You can do this by taking one of the packages you already have and adding something to the package. For example, if you do a package with a body scrub and a massage change it by adding chocolate and peppermint and it becomes Be Mine Valentine consists of a Chocolate Decadence Body Scrub followed by our Aromatherapy massage with Peppermint oil. You can also create totally new packages. The sky is the limit. Let your imagination run wile when creating these packages.
- Another idea is to sell Gift Certificates that include Gift Baskets that way the Gift Certificate purchaser has something besides a piece of paper to give to the recipient. Gift Baskets can be large or small. They can include lotions, Music CDs, books, body brushes, etc.
What are some of the other ideas you have for Valentine’s Day promotions? If you would like to share, please post a comment.
Revisions to NCBTMB Code of Ethics
Jan 4th
Just in case you hadn’t received these these revisions to the Code of Ethics, I thought I would publish them here….
Revisions to NCBTMB Code of Ethics and Standards of Practice
In keeping with the changing demands and expectations of the massage and bodywork profession, NCBTMB has made several substantive changes to its Code of Ethics and Standards of Practice.
Section XIV of the Code of Ethics was amended to create an exception for pre-existing relationships to clarify legitimate exceptions for applicants or certificants who provide massage and bodywork to their spouse, partner or significant other. It is important to note that the pre-existing relationship must exist prior to an applicant or practitioner becoming nationally certified. Standard VI (a) of the Standards of Practice was amended to include the same exception for pre-existing relationships.
A change was also made to Standard VI (h), which now states that a certificant or applicant for certification can only provide therapeutic breast massage as indicated in the plan of care and after receiving informed voluntary written consent (instead of verbal consent) from the client. In addition, a definition for therapeutic breast massage has been added to the Standards’ Glossary of Terms. Please note that applicants and certificants should check to make sure they are in compliance with local ordinances and regulations that may address breast massage.
If you have any questions, contact Lauren Dziuban, Ethics & Discipline Manager, at 630-652-0469.
Who Can Help You with Your Business?
Jan 1st
You have 15 minutes to sit down face-to-face with a business guru to ask questions that could aid you in your business development or marketing effort, who would you choose? Would you pick Sergey Brin and Larry Page, founders of Google? Donald Trump? Oprah? Or maybe you want to write a book this year, can Amazon’s Jeff Bezos help you?
Having been V.P. of Sales and Marketing for a financial data company in a previous career, I found that people who are in charge can rarely help you, because they are rarely in charge. It was I who was in charge of our marketing and public relations efforts, not the founders of the company.
In fact, the person who can help you the most is almost always someone who doesn’t appear that powerful on the surface. For these people, it’s not just that they can help you. It’s that they want to help you.
So, who are are these people? Need a hint? No it’s not any of the other movers and shakers of Wall Street. It’s not someone who is famous at all – well maybe to their mom they are – but someone who cares and can makes things happen. Think hard…think about your friends, customers and colleagues and everyone they know. These people are accessible and generous.
Instead of trying to reach the masses, focus on those most likely to become your cheerleaders and spreading the word about your business. These are the people who already believe in you and want to help you. You will likely not know how important a person could be in your life until after you have met them and gotten to know them. Treat everyone with kindness and respect and never underestimate the people you meet.
Got it? Great! Now go connect with them.
Happy New Year
Jan 1st
I’d like to wish you the most successful and happy New Year ever. May all of your dreams come true and may the reality of their realization outshine your wildest imagination.
Here is a New Year’s Recipe I found on the internet by Nina Larsen. It is beautiful so I would like to share it with you.
Take twelve whole months.
Clean them thoroughly of all bitterness,
hate, and jealousy.
Make them just as fresh and clean as possible.
Now cut each month into twenty-eight, thirty, or
thirty-one different parts,
but don’t make up the whole batch at once.
Prepare it one day at a time out of these ingredients.
Mix well into each day
- one part of faith,
- one part of patience,
- one part of courage,
- one part of work.
Add to each day
- one part of hope,
- faithfulness,
- generosity,
- kindness.
Blend with
- one part prayer,
- one part meditation,
- one good deed.
Season the whole with a dash of good spirits,
a sprinkle of fun, a pinch of play,
and a cupful of good humor.
Pour all this into a vessel of love.
Cook thoroughly over radiant joy,
garnish with a smile,
and serve with quietness,
unselfishness, and cheerfulness.
You’re bound to have a happy new year!
A heartfelt thanks for all the richness and beauty of the soul you all possess and that you share everyday.
–Nina Larsen
