There is a real difference in being a massage therapist who works for someone else and one who owns their own practice. And what separates those who are successful in their private practice is they start with a clear business mindset.

Do You Have the Right Mindset for Business?

Letʼs start by examining your personal business mindset.

What does the term “business” mean to you? What are your biases and stereotypes of a business? Do you think that businesses will do anything for a profit? Does business conjure up the image of car sales?

You might have had these ideas in the past, but the truth of the matter is a business is really any endeavor where you provide a service or a product for a fee that hopefully creates profit – that is the goal anyway.

So if we take away the stereotypes of business, we can see that a business exists to provide a service for a fee. Simple, right?

As massage therapists, we need to start thinking about ourselves as a business people, valuing what we do so that we can make a profit and donʼt give away our expertise. Of course, we want to balance the idea of profit with compassion, care and flexibility so we can help those in need.

Massage is a part of health care. And health care is a business. BIG Business, in fact. I heard that the day after the health care reform bill passed the stocks of insurance companies and hospitals went up. Why? Because people are betting they will be profitable.

As a massage therapist you are part of the business of health care, whether you like it or not. I offer that we need to become business minded. This awareness will empower us to develop sound businesses that allow us to do the work that we love, support people in need and feel in control of our future in these times of change.

Take some time this week to discover what “business” means to you and if you need to change your mindset. I would love to hear your thoughts so please share in the comments.