Starting your first massage therapy practice is a big deal, and there’s never been a better time. According to a recent survey, 38% of consumers got a massage in their massage therapist’s own office in 2020. That number continues to trend upward. While your hands are your most important tools, you'll need a few more things to set up shop. That’s why we created this massage therapy equipment list, to make sure you have everything you need for success.

Massage therapy equipment checklist

• Massage Table:  Your massage therapy table will likely be the most expensive and most important piece of equipment on your list. Your table needs to be comfortable for your clients to lay on and adjustable to the shape and height you need for proper body mechanics. 

Massage tables come in two basic varieties: portable and hydraulic. Portable tables are lightweight and sturdy, with a manual height adjustment. Plus they

How to get clients as a massage therapist is always the first order of business for any practice. Attracting clients is especially important for a new practice but don’t limit it to that. You’ll need these skills when expanding or reinvigorating an existing practice. The ability to successfully market your business comes in handy when you have to deal with competition (especially when going up against franchises like Massage Envy).

There are numerous approaches to getting clients as a massage therapist:

• Networking and community engagement
• Cross promotion
• Directory listings
• Advertising 
• Client referrals
• Consistency

None of these is a silver bullet, however. You’ll need to work hard and use a combination of some or all of them.

No one decides to start a massage therapy business because of their love of bookkeeping. Recording and reconciling your income and expenses can seem tedious and you’d rather be spending time with clients. But that doesn’t mean you should avoid regularly monitoring your finances. 

Keeping track of your income and expenses is critical to the well-being of your business. Reviewing your finances monthly and quarterly allows you to detect cash flow problems before they become cash flow disasters. Plus, it is much easier to prepare your annual taxes and make accurate estimated payments if you track your income and expenses as you go. 

Understanding where you stand financially also helps you plan for growth. You probably started your business with a budget that included estimates for your monthly income and expenses. Is reality matching up to your projections? By monitoring each month’s income and expenditures, you’ll be able to tell how close you are to meeting your revenue expectations. 

Are you looking for a way to increase your cash flow and gain new customers? Check out gift certificates. Your massage business can increase sales and provide your clients with added value by offering gift certificates redeemable for your business’s products or services. 

Adding gift certificates to your product mix is a great way to:

• Increase your business revenue

Gift certificates are a form of advanced sales. You receive payment right away for products or services that you won’t have to deliver until later. Because you get the cash when the gift certificate is sold, these items can be a handy device for smoothing or boosting your cash flow. 

Increase demand for your gift certificates by offering them at a small discount to supplement your revenue during slumps. Or take advantage of periods of high demand by suggesting a gift certificate as an upsell. 

Operating a small business sometimes means that you don’t have the resources to do everything. For example, you want to grow your business. But you don’t want to spend all your spare cash on marketing. You could save money by doing personal outreach. But then, you’d have less time to serve the new customers you hope to gain. If only there were a way to gain new clients that didn’t take a lot of time or money.

You know what’s coming next, right? There is a way! 

Referrals. 

Referrals are a type of word-of-mouth (WOM) marketing. A referral can be as simple as one friend telling another, 

“Hey, I had an awesome time at this new park last week.” 

A request from a friend can also prompt a referral,

“I need a new hairdresser. Do you know anyone good?”

These types of referrals are called “organic” because they occur naturally. You don’t have to rely on organic referrals alone to grow your business, though. Give nature a little boost by encouraging your clients to refer their friends and family. 

Over the past several years, Massage Envy has expanded across North America, bringing a recognizable name and a fixed menu of treatment options. When a Massage Envy franchised location moves into your neighborhood, your first thoughts may be of dread. If everyone is hearing and talking about the new Massage Envy in town, will they stop coming to see you? 

Before you panic, though, take a closer look at what happens when Massage Envy comes to town. Massage Envy’s growth is built on bringing massage to the masses. To do that, they advertise. Individual franchisees invest in local marketing, and the national brand supplements their effort with its own ad spend, research and creative support. 

That’s good for them, of course. But, it’s also good for you. 

No, I’m not kidding. 

You know that saying, a rising tide lifts all ships? Well, when Massage Envy’s advertising raises awareness about massage and spa treatments, it raises awareness about the treatments you offer, too. 

Loyal customers are a powerful growth engine for any business. But in today’s competitive market, it takes more than just doing a good job to nurture customer loyalty. Modern customers view brands holistically, examining every aspect of their relationship with a business when deciding which ones have earned their loyalty. They seek businesses that deliver top-notch services and with which they feel personally connected. Lose that connection, and you may lose your client to a competing massage business. 

But don’t worry, maintaining your customer relationships isn’t difficult. 

In this article, we’ll explain how you can engage with your clients between appointments to ensure that when they think about booking a massage, it's you that they call.

Customer engagement builds lasting value 

Does engaging with your clients between appointments really pay off? Yes! 

Maintaining your client relationships increases your customer retention rates (reducing churn) and your revenue. Your most engaged clients are also the ones most likely to...

It may seem too good to be true, but adding one simple request to your appointment reminders can reduce your no-show rates. What’s that request and why does it work? That’s what we’re going to share in this article. But first, let’s talk about why you should care about your no-show rate. 

No-shows are a drag (on your time and resources)

The main reason to avoid no-shows or last minute cancellations is that when your client leaves you standing in the treatment room empty-handed, you lose money. Aside from that, it’s just plain frustrating. You’ve planned for that appointment, maybe even brought in staff for coverage, and now that time and cost is wasted. Plus, you’ll now have to expend more time following-up with your absent client to reschedule and may throw your client’s treatment plan off track.  

To help you combat no-shows, we developed the No-Show Prevention Playbook. This free resource details how to create and enforce a bullet-proof cancellation policy. It also includes tips for how to avoid having to enforce your cancellation policy. Because no one wants to have to scold their clients. Everyone is much better off if clients keep their appointments and no-shows never happen. 

One of the strategies we recommend in the playbook is to...

When you first opened your massage business, customer acquisition was probably a top priority. Getting your name out there and convincing clients to give you a try is critical to any business’s early success. But if you’re still focusing all of your attention on gaining new massage therapy clients, you may be missing out on one of your business’s greatest assets--its existing clients. 

Loyal clients are the solid foundation on which your business will grow and thrive. 

When you invest in nurturing long-term customer relationships, you gain:

• Higher customer lifetime values (CLTV). Each time the client books an appointment, the total value of your earnings from that client increases. A client who books monthly sessions each month for 5 years has an average CLTV of $4000. Compare this to a customer who books just one or two sessions in total. 
• Free word-of-mouth marketing. Your loyal clients are more likely to recommend you to their friends. Plus, consumers consider reviews and recommendations from existing clients as among the most credible sources of information about a business. 
• Less client management stress. Established clients are familiar with your business, and you are familiar with them. You’ve made it past the onboarding stage. This means there’s less risk of misunderstandings and small mistakes are more likely to be forgiven.
• Increased sales. Research indicates that established clients tend to spend more per visit than new clients. They are also more likely to try new products and services. 

Now, let’s take a look at how you can execute a customer retention plan and reap these benefits for your massage therapy business.

It may seem like big corporations are taking over the massage therapy marketplace, but you have something no franchised massage businesses can replicate. Beat the competition by demonstrating your professional knowledge and experience. 

Whenever independent businesses in a particular industry are profitable, it is only a matter of time before a large corporation decides it wants in. Then, they begin building multiple corporate-owned or franchised locations, all using the same business model, style and branding. The massage industry is one of the latest businesses to face this corporate invasion, with Massage Envy leading the pack. 

Using a franchise model, Massage Envy has expanded rapidly. There are now more than 1,150 Massage Envy locations in the US. Franchise owners benefit from Massage Envy’s business guidance, advertising support and highly-recognizable brand name. 

How can you compete with all that? 

By being what Massage Envy isn’t.