Massage Therapy Business Tips
November 16, 2023
If you’re debating branching out on your own, you’re probably wondering how to start a massage therapy business? Working for someone else can be challenging for massage therapists. You don’t have control over your schedule. You’re not building your own clientele, and you have to do it all someone else’s way. That’s why so many massage therapists go solo and start their own business. But there’s a lot to figure out before opening your own practice. This guide will give you a framework for starting a massage therapy business, so you know where to start and how to grow.
With increasing recognition of massage's therapeutic benefits, the demand is rising. People are seeking massage therapy for stress relief, pain relief, and to improve their overall health. Massage therapists who want autonomy, flexible hours, and control over their work environment can serve their community by opening their own practice.
More healthcare professionals are acknowledging the therapeutic advantages of massage for treating conditions ranging from back pain and high blood pressure to osteoarthritis and headaches. As research continues to point to positive outcomes, at least 54% of medical providers say they recommend massage therapy to patients.
That means the demand for massage therapists continues to climb. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the job outlook for massage therapists is expected to grow 18% 2022-2032 — that rate is “much faster than average.”
But starting a career in massage therapy isn’t just promising. The field opens up opportunities to work as your own boss, enjoying flexibility over your working environment, schedule and more. In fact, the American Massage Therapy Association (AMTA) says that a vast majority of massage therapists — at least 78 percent — launched their own practice.
To start a massage therapy business, first obtain the necessary licensing and certifications. Then, choose an ideal location, secure initial financing, and develop a marketing strategy. It's essential to build strong client relationships and stay updated with the latest trends in the wellness industry.
Starting a massage therapy business requires a lot more than just being a good massage therapist - though that’s important too! If you plan to be the sole practitioner in your private practice, continually up your skills through continuing education. If you plan to hire a massage therapist, you’ll need to find the right candidate and train them how you want them to interact with clients and operate inside your practice.
Beyond that, this guide will review:
Getting a massage therapy license is a matter of completing a massage therapy program (required course hours vary by state/province) and passing a licensing or certification exam. In the U.S. and Canada, most states and provinces regulate the massage therapy profession through licensing. Requirements vary based on where you intend to work.
You can’t open a massage therapy business without a licensed massage therapist. You need certified practitioners working in your practice.
In U.S. states these requirements can include:
In many cases, a state will accept board certification from the National Certification Board for Therapeutic Massage and Bodywork (NCBTMB) in place of the MBLEx. This nationally recognized accreditation is voluntary. But in addition to meeting some states’ licensing requirements, it can offer massage therapists benefits like greater professional recognition and visibility, job and networking opportunities and exclusive access to online marketplaces.
In most cases, practitioners must enew their license every two years with their state massage therapy board. This process usually requires the license-holder to complete a set number of continuing education hours ahead of their renewal date.
Check out this guide from the Associated Bodywork & Massage Professionals to see what licensing and renewal requirements exist for your state. Note that currently, Kansas, Minnesota, and Wyoming do not have regulations in place. But if you live in these states, make sure to contact your City Clerk’s office to see if there are any requirements at the local level you need to comply with.
In Canadian provinces these requirements can include:
Active massage therapists will need to complete continuing education credits every two to three years to maintain their license if working in: British Columbia, Manitoba, New Brunswick, Newfoundland, Labrador, Nova Scotia and Saskatchewan
Once you understand the regulations in your state or province, choose a training program that adequately prepares you for successful licensure. If there are multiple schools in your area, research student success rate and differences in curriculum.
Choose a school that answers “yes” to all of these questions.
Aspiring massage therapy business owners will need a business license and massage liability insurance before launching their business. Many states require proof of these credentials as prerequisites for receiving a license as well.
You should contact your County Clerk’s office or the local department handling general business licensing to learn more about what you need to apply. Requirements often include:
Liability insurance is essential to protect your business against the unexpected, like a client injury or property damage. To get the best value for your business, compare details like premiums, policy limits, coverage specifics, and what kind of deductible you’ll have to pay.
What do you envision when it comes to your day-to-day role as a massage therapist? Some prefer the predictability of working as a team member at an established business, while others are after the potential gains that come with running a private practice. The path to starting your own massage therapy business may involve several steps. Let’s look at your options.
It’s wise to build expertise by working in someone else’s business, before starting your own. Resorts, day spas, integrative health clinics, chiropractor or physical therapy offices, and massage clinics are great places to learn how to run a massage business and improve your massage skills. Some of these businesses hire employees, while others bring on independent contractors.
What’s the difference between employees and independent contractors? Employees work for an employer, and employers make the rules, pay benefits, and withhold taxes from employee paychecks. Independent contractors work inside someone else’s business but are technically self-employed. Independent contractors benefit from the structure and clientele of the business they work for and have a lot more flexibility than employees. However, as a contractor, you’re responsible for paying your own taxes and get no employee benefits.
Think of working as an independent contractor as a hybrid between opening your own practice and being an employee. This is how many massage therapists build their clientele before starting their own massage business.
Working at a corporate-style massage therapy job also means having a regular schedule and a steady income stream. Your employer may also cover or subsidize costs like oils, lotions and laundry.
However, these benefits come with certain sacrifices. Employees have less control over aspects like pay rate, schedule and clientele. You may also be restricted to working with certain types of massage or spa services — without much opportunity to branch out into new specialties.
If you’d rather do your own thing, starting your own practice might be the way to go. It’s best to have some experience before opening your own massage therapy business. Then, take what you learned working in other settings and apply/adapt it to your own practice.
Working for yourself offers far more flexibility — which for many, equates to greater job satisfaction. With your own massage therapy practice, you can set your prices, control your schedule, choose your clients, and decide how and where you deliver your services.
You also have different options on how to start a massage therapy business, including models like:
Each method comes with its own set of considerations you should evaluate. Starting a home-based massage business could mean lower monthly expenses for your massage business. However, a home office setting might not be ideal if you live in a noisy neighborhood or don’t have a private space to dedicate to it. Mobile massage businesses often have lower startup costs, and can be quick to get strarted. Keep in mind that running a mobile massage practice may require additional overhead expenses like commuting costs, insurance and vehicle upkeep.
A business plan is a crucial component to launching your own massage therapy practice. This document forces entrepreneurs to set realistic expectations about things like their budget and projected profits. It also helps to identify potential problems, organize resources, and guide decision-making toward longer-term targets and milestones.
A business plan is also necessary if you plan to raise funds, whether by approaching investors or applying for a loan backed by the Small Business Association (SBA).
It takes time and research to build this road map — but it’s essential to gain the best understanding of your business’s landscape, reducing possible risks. While there are many templates you can adapt to meet your business planning needs, in general, a massage therapy business plan will include:
An executive summary: a brief and concise explanation about your business’s mission and goals, what services you will provide, where you intend to operate and who you plan to serve.
Company information: including a comprehensive list of products and services you plan to sell, your qualifications, massage modalities and experience, as well as that of any other people who will be working with you.
A market analysis: this section should detail what demand exists in your area for your services, describe your ideal clientele and identify who you’ll be competing with for their business. Make sure to address how you will differentiate your business model from these competitors.
Marketing plans: once you identify and understand your target customer persona, it’s important that you can explain how you’ll acquire — and convert — them to clients. This could include details on your plans for advertising, promotion, digital marketing and public relations strategies, as well as how you’ll set pricing.
Operating plan: to budget appropriately, it’s important to identify all expenses you may incur to keep your business running. Consider your expected overhead costs like rent, utilities and transportation — as well as budgetary items like your self-employment tax, accounting services, laundry, supplies and even garbage pick-up.
Financial plan: with your operating expenses in mind, this part of your business plan demonstrates your business’s profitability potential. You’ll want to illustrate your prospective cash flow, liabilities, assets and expenses forecasting at least the next three years — and it’s usually wise to underestimate revenue and overestimate expenses. Return to this plan regularly to keep your massage business’s financial health in check.
Check out our full article on how to write a massage therapy business plan here.
One of the biggest challenges to starting your own massage therapy business is bringing in high-value clientele. Your business plan serves as the first step in this process by clearly identifying your competition — and ensuring that there is sufficient demand in the local market for your business to thrive.
Marketing efforts are essential to creating brand awareness, establishing consumer trust in your expertise, and maintaining relationships that keep clients coming back.
There are many ways to market your skills as a massage therapist — and the right approaches depend on your target clientele. In general, your plan should prioritize the following:
People search online for professional services in their area, including massage therapists. If you don’t have a digital presence for your business, you won’t pop up on a potential client’s radar. That means they’ll turn to your competitors.
But your massage website can be more than your digital calling card. It can serve as a tool for both attracting and converting leads into paying clients through:
Your customers’ praise shouldn’t only live on your website. More than 90 percent of consumers search for online reviews before choosing a business, including sites like Yelp and Google My Business.
Make sure to build your business a profile on these platforms and encourage your clients to post about their experiences. You can also register your services with local directories, like your area’s Chamber of Commerce and Better Business Bureau.
The average massage therapy business gets up to 90 percent of its new clients based on word-of-mouth recommendations. Peer referrals are so powerful because people inherently trust the opinions of those in their network. If a service meets the needs and expectations of their friends and family, they trust it’ll serve them as well.
A referral program is a great way to encourage this highly scalable cycle. By offering your current clients an incentive like a gift card or discount, you can motivate their efforts to effectively market your business on your behalf.
Effective marketing isn’t just about reaching potential leads. To stay competitive and sustainable, a business needs to keep building relationships with its current clients. Regular, personalized engagement works to build trust — the fuel of any successful sales strategy — while keeping your business top of mind among your customers.
With an average return on investment of 3,800 percent, email marketing is the gold standard for maintaining this audience awareness. By signing up to receive your emails, your customers have already indicated an interest in what you have to say. This means you have a unique opportunity to seize — and retain — their attention with messaging like:
According to one report, the average small business owner spends about 20 percent of their time on financial tasks alone.
Administrative burdens don’t just reduce the amount of time you spend with your clients. Without support, this organizational bloat can limit your business’s ability to scale — while risking the chance you’ll burn out as your business grows.
While there’s no way to completely eliminate administrative needs as a business owner, today’s technology can help you get out from under an ever-growing mountain of paperwork. The right set of digital tools can serve as the best assistant manager you’ve ever had, streamlining — and oftentimes, automating — tasks like:
A digital system not only tracks and manages these tedious tasks for you — it generates reports that keep you ahead of the administrative curve. Everything from revenue growth to sales tax collected and client retention figures are available when you need it, helping to ease administrative needs while informing the strategies that drive your business’s growth.
Learning how to start a massage therapy business involves a lot of moving parts at play. But done right, launching your own practice can be one of the most rewarding and lucrative career paths in this rapidly-growing industry.
But that doesn’t mean you have to go at it alone. At ClinicSense, we specialize in resources that aim to grow your massage therapy practice, from our expert-curated guides like The Loyal Customer Generator to a full suite of management tools for massage therapists.
You’ve got the vision and the skillset — we’re here to streamline burdensome administrative and marketing tasks, so you’re spending less time on paperwork and more time with patients. Get in touch with our team for a free trial to see how the ClinicSense platform can help your massage therapy business launch, thrive and grow.
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