Podcast

Weekly Roundup

• Mother Land -Leah Franqui 
• Pain Science Microblog Membership  by Paul Ingraham (ebooks & newsletter)
• Why People Who Brush Still Get Cavities

Discussion Topic

• Stop being Scroogy with your networking budget.

Quick Tips

• Body doubling to get things done.
• Practice being more decisive.

Sponsors

• The Original Jojoba Company 
• PocketSuite 
• ABMP 

Transcript:

Sponsor message: 

This episode is sponsored by the Original Jojoba Company. I firmly believe that massage therapists should only be using the highest quality products because our clients deserve it and our own bodies deserve it. I have been using Jojoba for years, and here's why. Jojoba is non-allergenic. I can use it on any client and every client without fear of an allergic reaction. It is also non-comedogenic so it won't clog pores. So if you've got clients prone to acne breakouts, jojoba is a good choice for them. It does not go rancid. There's no triglycerides, so it can sit on your shelf for a year plus and not be a problem. And that's what also makes jojoba a wonderful carrier for your essential oils as well. It won't stain your hundred percent cotton sheets. So your linens are going to last longer. The Original Jojoba Company is the only company in the world that carries 100% pure first press quality jojoba and we are delighted to be their partner. You, my friends can get 20% off the price of the product when you shop through our link massage business blueprint.com/jojoba

Michael Reynolds:

Hey, everyone. Welcome to the massage business blueprint podcast, where we help you attract more clients, make more money and improve your quality of life. I'm Michael Reynolds.

Allissa Haines:

I'm Allissa Haines.

Michael Reynolds:

And everyone. You're welcome. You're not stuck with me anymore. Allissa is back. Welcome back, Allissa.

Allissa Haines:

I'm back, and I will never leave you all for so long again.

Michael Reynolds:

Well, we can't guarantee that. You deserve a break every now and then.

Allissa Haines:

I listened to all of the episodes. The interview episodes with our guests hosts, and I guess they're not interview episodes, our guest host episodes and hands down, Rianne and Marcy and their episode about websites just enchanting. I want them to be a regular feature.

Michael Reynolds:

So good.

Allissa Haines:

I just-

Michael Reynolds:

Yeah. So good.

Allissa Haines:

It was so fun and it was just so nice to hear people like who actually have hands-on massage practices, talking about that different aspect of business from a place of their expertise from web design and marketing. And I just, it was just wonderful. And I think second up was Kim, our accountant. She's wonderful. And I really appreciated the health insurance episode and the negotiating your lease episode and just, it was just great. So thank you for covering my butt for a month.

Michael Reynolds:

Yeah, it was fun, man. I got a lot of good feedback. A lot of people said that those topics really helped them. So I think it was a great idea.

Allissa Haines:

Awesome. And I got to only work one job for a whole month. I was only a massage therapist.

Michael Reynolds:

Like a vacation.

Allissa Haines:

It was. It was a vacation. And Walt took the kids away to his family's house for like 10 days. So I was actually alone in my house for 10 days and I did not do, I think I only did like three tasks that were on my August to do lists and I feel good about that. And I did not paint my bedroom, but I did reorganize under the kitchen sink and the hall pantry closet thing. So I feel good about my accomplishments for the month.

Michael Reynolds:

Well, I feel good about your accomplishments too.

Allissa Haines:

What have you been reading? I'm sorry. I'm just going to jump right into it.

Michael Reynolds:

Yeah, let's jump in. So I... A little off the wall. I read an article recently on why people who brush still get cavities because I was curious and it turns out that, I know lot of people they're like, well, I brushed my teeth. I floss, I do everything I'm supposed to do. And I still get cavities. Why is that? And I'm kind of like that too. I was like, I started getting cavities and I'm like, well I brush, I floss, I do all these things and it turns out it's not your fault. Some people just have different and more or less types of mouth bacteria that causes cavities. And that's basically the gist of it. There's nothing more interesting than that statement, but that's kind of what it is.

Michael Reynolds:

So I've been reading about that and it basically just says that if you are one of these people that unfortunately has the type of mouth bacteria that gives you more cavities than others, all you can really do is brush more and floss more and hope for the best and go to the dentist. And that is kind of what it is. So just kind of satisfied my curiosity about that, but I wanted to share that it is not necessarily your fault. If you're brushing and doing a thing, sometimes your mouth bacteria is just out to get you.

Allissa Haines:

Your mouth bacteria is out to get you-

Michael Reynolds:

Told you it was off the wall.

Allissa Haines:

As someone who has had a very hard time with dental health stuff, I really appreciate that because I've always been made to feel like it was my fault when I'm, actually flossing and brushing as I should. So thank you.

Michael Reynolds:

Yeah. Not your fault. It's also a hereditary. So, if you have this issue, then chances are, it may be passed down to kids as well. So yeah. Like I said, not your fault, that's what I'm reading.

Allissa Haines:

Good to know. I have been reading. I've got two things to tell you about. I did a lot of like reading fiction and stuff when I had my downtime in August and a book that I read called Mother Land by Leah Franqui, I'm probably saying that all wrong, I'm sorry, was a standout best. It was a beautiful novel about an American woman who marries an Indian man and moves to Mumbai. And what happens when her mother-in-law comes to stay with her, having been inspired by the main character is independence versus what it is to be a traditional Indian wife. And it was just a delightful book. It was a little painful. It was really interesting. It's always interesting to read about the inside of a marriage, even when it's fictional. There's a lot of reality there. And it was a beautiful and thoughtful book that was very real in its expression of feelings about families and relationships.

Allissa Haines:

So anyhow, I loved it. Mother Land, there's a link in our show notes and you should totally check it out. Yeah. So the second thing is actually massage business related. I have been a big fan and reader of painscience.com, all stuff written by Paul Ingraham, who is a former... I think it's Canada, so I think it's called like a register massage therapist, something like that.

Michael Reynolds:

Yeah, RT.

Allissa Haines:

Yeah, but like a science writer as well. I don't think he's practiced hands-on in a little while, but he helps interpret massage related pain. Well, not just massage, it's not just massage therapist, but pain-related, science-based advice about aches, pains and injuries. Finally, I'm just reading from the website instead of trying to paraphrase. My bad, but I've been this reading and stuff for awhile. I have purchased his whole set of eBooks about various issues that are super helpful to manual therapists, but also just for humans and bodies. The plantar fasciitis book is a standout for me.

Allissa Haines:

It really helped me better understand what my client was dealing with and also better help a client do self care. So I'm mentioning painscience.com today because he's got a new kind of subscription option. You can become a premium subscriber to his email newsletter and it's fantastic. It's so good. It's not like a set amount of emails per week or anything. It is when things come up and he's got an interesting take on them. And some of them are very specific and clinical oriented and there was another one late last week that was more about interpreting pain and the concept of blaming a victim for their body, not doing the right thing and being in pain. And I just so appreciate his point of view and everyone should go to painscience.com and check out the free stuff. And if you are so inclined, consider subscribing the monthly subscription to the premium newsletter, I think that you will enjoy it and not regret it at all.

Michael Reynolds:

I like it already because the logo is a little lizard.

Allissa Haines:

I know, it's been that for a while. There's a whole story behind that, that I can not remember. I think Paul's, the previous iteration of the site was like help yourself, but it was because it was all like, here's how to help yourself through some low back pain issues and all just a very science-based approach, but with a lovely sense of humor and a beautiful flow of writing that I really appreciate because I can't read text. I can't read super science-y things. I can't read super [inaudible 00:08:39] things. I need things to be laid out for me in a relatable and fun manner. And that's how they stick in my brain. And Paul really does that and I've had various interactions with him over the years and I've always been delighted by it. And I really appreciate the work he puts out. Anyhow, enough gushing. And I'm so out of practice that I forgot to bring up our sponsor notes. So Michael kill a little time by telling us who the next sponsor is.

Michael Reynolds:

Happy to. So we are thrilled to have a new-ish partnership with our friends at PocketSuite, which is a great online, I shouldn't say online scheduling, it's a whole suite of tools for a massage therapist, that does include online scheduling. So tell us more about PocketSuite.

Allissa Haines:

I am ready to do so. PocketSuite is in fact, an all-in-one app that makes it easier to run your massage business. You can schedule, you can get booked online by clients. The whole process for booking is super easy. It's like two clicks and they're done and they immediately get a text confirmation. It's awesome. You can also customize and manage forms and notes and contracts for memberships and payments can happen just seamlessly, appointment reminders and it's all HIPAA compliant. It is all built into this one app and it is HIPAA compliant. You can even have a phone number ported into the app and do all your texting and phone calling through the app with that business number on your phone so that you can still use your phone with a personal number for the rest of your outside the business life. It's just super slick and super convenient. You can be up and running in PocketSuite in 15 minutes or so. And our massage business blueprint listeners get 25% off your annual premium subscription for your first year with PocketSuite. So you can visit massage business blueprint.com/pocketsuite to check that all out.

Michael Reynolds:

Awesome. I didn't realize the texting thing was a feature as well. That's really cool.

Allissa Haines:

Yeah and it's all happens in apps. So it's all secured, protected, HIPAA compliant, and you've got this very easy record of your client communications all within that app. It's brilliant. I know we've we had one of the founders on a guest episode a while back because I couldn't think of the first name, I can only think of the last name. And that's where I'm at right now people. My first day back at work is a little rough. Okay. So yeah, it's great. It's like, and I'm really delighted that they have partnered with us. So I'm going to take a sip of water while Michael's tells us what our topic is.

Michael Reynolds:

Yeah. Go check out PocketSuite. All right. So today Allissa is singing my heart's on. I will probably not be able to contain myself. I'll probably have plenty of things to say as well, but we're talking about networking and the price of networking. And I think the official title of our episode today is the price of networking is not ridiculous. So I told her, I was slacking Allissa last night on our slack channel. I was like, I'm in love with our topic.

Allissa Haines:

Right? I know you would be. So I just have a few notes and then my plan is to just set Michael wild on this one. So yay. So yeah. Okay. The price of networking is not that ridiculous. First of all, let me just preface this by, networking can totally stink if you're not into it. I historically, we all know, have not been super into structured networking groups. It has not been my bag. I did try it and it went okay. I had a scheduling change and quit the group just before the pandemic hit. So that would have been annihilated for a while anyway. And it can take a while if you decide you want to do a structured networking group like BNI or something structured through our chamber of commerce or some other organized and by organized and structured, I mean there are scheduled meetings, a minimum of twice a month and each meeting has a similar agenda and flow and activities.

Allissa Haines:

And it is expected that you will attend. It's not just a fly by the seat of your pants. There are members who show up regularly and encourage structured interactions and cross-referrals and stuff. So it can take a while to find the right group, right? So you definitely need to test out a few different groups and organizations before you slap down money for a membership. But the good news is most of these groups, if they don't already have a massage therapist, or if they're happy to have more than one, are delighted to have guests. So it's pretty rare that you would have a group saying, no, you cannot come. You cannot come and check us out. We do not want you to join.

Allissa Haines:

So it's pretty easy to go and test drive a few different groups and get a vibe for each community before you actually join. And yes, this kind of networking is a little work and a little time. You need to invest your time and whatever amount of cash into attending the regular meetings. And then also to go one step further in that and make sure that you are reaching out to other people in the group one-to-one, so you can really make meaningful connections that will result in better cross referrals.

Allissa Haines:

So outside side of the, it's just scary to go start something new or do networking if you haven't done it before, the biggest excuse that I hear from people is that it is too expensive. Some of these networking groups can be three to $400 a year for membership. Sometimes a hint more depending on your area and the group. And that feels overwhelming and just way too large for a lot of people. And especially for massage therapists, running these micro-businesses where we really do have pretty low overhead as compared with a lot of other service industries. I think about just what it takes to set up an aesthetics office with all kinds of different product. And you need lots of different pieces of equipment, and that's a lot more overhead than a bottle of oil, three sets of sheets and a massage table.

Allissa Haines:

So I think that we're used to being pretty cheap in a good way because we want to be mindful with our business money, especially as we're starting up. But I am getting really tired of hearing people complain that three to $400 is too much to invest in a networking group. It's for massages. If you're in a place where you get about a hundred bucks a massage, I know that's kind of a weird average nationally. I know that some places get less than that, but that's not insane. If you pay $400 a year for a group and you throw yourself into it, you only need to get four appointments out of that to match, to meet your cost. That's one client who comes back quarterly or two clients who come twice a year, and you're going to get way more than that.

Allissa Haines:

It would be crazy shocking to put $400 and a year of meeting attendance into our networking group and only get one client from it. That's bonkers. So of course we want to be smart with our money and we don't want to be building our business on credit or spending more than we actually have. But on the flip side, a poverty mentality is a really bad idea. If you are covering your costs, you can squirrel away 10 to $20 a week and save up. Take some time, visit the different groups in your area, save 10 or 20 bucks a week until you have the bulk of your membership fee. Sell some extra junk in your office or your house, come up with the money and stop acting like three to 400 bucks is an insane amount of cash. It's three to 400 bucks. It is cash you need to plan for, but it's less than the cost of your massage table.

Allissa Haines:

It is less probably than the cost of your monthly office rent. It is not an insane amount of money. It just feels that way because there aren't a lot of situations where we're asked to spend that much. And also because it feels very intangible. You spend 500 bucks on your massage table, you know what you're getting, you see it every day, you touch it. Networking isn't quite so tangible, so it becomes like this enormous ridiculous cost, but it's really not for what you can get back if you do it and do it halfway decent, you're going to cover your costs in a couple of months. So stop nickel and diming your future from a place of scarcity people. And that is literally all of my notes on this topic. So, Michael, what do you have to add?

Michael Reynolds:

Well, I'm not sure I have a whole lot more to add logistically. You really encapsulated perfectly. So a couple of things that I would share, one is I like what you did as compared to the cost of other things like a massage table. Compare it to the cost of a website. I know massage therapists that willingly pay over a thousand dollars or more for a website and rightly so, because that's a valuable thing and I would venture to, and by the way, I'm shocked I'm going to say this, but I would venture to say that in at least in your first year of practice, networking will probably bring you more business than a website. So this is coming from someone who builds websites and is all about digital marketing and a website is super important and you should absolutely have one. But if you have, let's say you have a $500 to spend on a website or networking, and you're just opening up, maybe try networking.

Michael Reynolds:

It really works. And Allissa is in meetings with me in office hours. And it's very predictable because often we'll talk to people in our community who are like, Hey, I'm having trouble growing. And maybe I'm kind of newer in my practice. I'm not sure what to do. And Allissa just kind of lovingly rolls her eyes because she knows exactly what I'm going to say, because I'm always like, Hey, are you doing any networking? And the chances are, they usually say no. And we talk through, okay, here's how networking can really accelerate your growth, especially in that first kind of startup phase because every week or every couple of weeks, you're getting in front of people, you are meeting people that get to know you individually. You're in a group that is purposely set up to refer to each other, it's a much more rapid way of getting referrals and getting clients than posting on social media and hoping for the best and all that stuff takes time and is great and will absolutely benefit you as you work on it.

Michael Reynolds:

But the fastest way to immediately start getting clients and start getting referrals is networking. When I look at, I've actually got a whole either a blog post or episode, I'm thinking through on this as well, but I've kind of been looking back at all of the successes I've had in business. And I've had five businesses up to this point so far, and networking has been this undercurrent of foundational kind of strength and success under all those businesses. Networking has always been kind of a central component that has led to the success. Networking opens up opportunities helps you meet clients, helps you meet people who can then refer clients to you. It's just, it really works. And so I guess I'm on the soapbox now that I need to kind of step off of. That's what I have to add.

Allissa Haines:

And that's everything. I think we've covered it. I did a little poll of premium members and they told us how long they like our podcast episodes to be. And the consensus is between 15 to 25 minutes. So I'm going to keep it that way.

Michael Reynolds:

Okay. I'll shut up and move on then.

Allissa Haines:

I've said all I need to say.

Michael Reynolds:

All right.

Allissa Haines:

Who's our next sponsor, Michael?

Michael Reynolds:

Oh, our friends at ABMP, who we love.

Allissa Haines:

Yay. ABMP is proud to sponsor the massage business blueprint podcast. And I got to say, we're super proud to have them here. One of the many, many benefits of ABMP membership that I'm going to tell you about today are their apps. They have a five minute muscle app and a, pardon me. I can not say these things and a pocket pathology app. And I'm talking about these specifically today because in the last month or so of trolling massage groups, I see people ask a lot of times, what's a quick reference guide for X, Y, Z? And I'm always delighted to see someone has already commented that ABMP has such resources, but I want to make sure everyone knows. You can go to ABMP.com/apps. A-P-P-S, like an app. They are quick reference apps designed to make you, they're to help you very quickly find information that you need to make a decision for session planning or to use outside of a session to refresh muscle and pathology knowledge.

Allissa Haines:

If you've got a client walk in and they fill out their intake form because they forgot to do it online ahead of time. And all of a sudden you find out that they have rheumatoid arthritis, and you're not sure exactly what to do with that, you can open the pocket pathology app and find out what you need to know very quickly. The ABMP five minute muscle includes muscle specific technique and palpation videos for the 83 muscles most often addressed by us. They use progressive web app technology to take up less space on your phone and device. And they are included with ABMP membership. So you can learn more at ABMP.com/apps and see sample demos. And if you're not an ABMP member, you can become one right there. That is what I have to say about ABMP.

Michael Reynolds:

Nice. Thanks AMBP.

Allissa Haines:

Yay. Quick tips. You go first, Michael.

Michael Reynolds:

Okay. My quick tip is simple. Practice being more decisive. That's that's kind of it.

Allissa Haines:

How does one do that?

Michael Reynolds:

Well, that's a great question. I don't really have any great tips on how to do that. It's more of just a challenge. So I think I've really been reading articles about this. Maybe I'll dig one up and bring it back, but being more decisive tends to be a factor in success in business for a lot of people statistically. So I guess my challenge is, try to be more decisive. Try to, if you have decisions in front of you, even if you're not sure what to do, I've always found that when I pick something and I move forward on something, things happen. And so even if it's the wrong decision, it at least moves you forward and you can always learn from that failure and go back and fix it. So that's my challenge. Practice being more decisive,

Allissa Haines:

I'll take it. So my quick tip is body doubling and specifically body doubling in relationship to productivity. And this is specifically something that's come out of the ADHD community, this concept of body doubling where a body double is someone who will sit with or hang with the person with ADHD as they tackle a task that might be difficult to complete alone. And that doesn't mean that they need help with the task itself, but simply someone there to help them stay focused on the task that needs to be done or help them stay entertained while they do the task that needs to be done. So it could be, and when I read about this, it really jumped out at me because I realized I have unconsciously done this through my whole life. Tried to get a body double with me. I used to have my nieces come over to my apartment and sit on my bed and talk to me while I put laundry away or hang out and talk to me while I cleaned my apartment.

Allissa Haines:

I needed something else stimulating my brain in order to complete a task that I found tedious and non dopamine releasing. Also it can help just to stay on a particular task that you actually need to focus on, if you have someone else around. And I realized that Michael and I, when we actually saw each other in person, did this a lot. It's co-working. It is sharing a table and each doing your individual tasks, but also being present with each other, which again also helps the dopamine release, which helps one stay on task. So this concept of body doubling, you can totally just Google body double ADHD and come up with a handful of articles about it.

Allissa Haines:

I got more informed, TikTok. I love TikTok. I found it really informative for things like ADHD and women's health. And I love the little TikTok communities that I found, but there, once I Googled it, there's a much bigger world of resources on it as well. So, if you have trouble with productivity, body doubling could be a solution, an idea that helps you get through certain tasks and it can actually be pretty easy to get a kid to hang out and talk to you or tell you a ridiculous story while you clean your room. What else? That's my tip. That's all I got.

Michael Reynolds:

Very cool. Love it. All right. Well, thanks everyone for joining us. And again, welcome back, Allissa.

Allissa Haines:

Thanks.

Michael Reynolds:

You can find us as always. We haven't gone anywhere. We're at @massagebusinessblueprint.com just like old times. So if you want to reach out, you can find us there. You can send a message through our contact form or email us @podcastatmassagebusinessblueprint.com and our premium member community is growing as always. We have had some really great discussions in there. So if you're not a member yet, we really encourage you to check it out. Go to massagebusinessblueprint.com. Click on the community button on the homepage and read all about it. And you can join free for 30 days. So it's zero risk. Check it out for 30 days. See if you like it, stick around if you want to. All right with that. Thanks so much for joining us today. Have a great day. We'll see you next time.

Allissa Haines:

Bye.