100,000$ Massage?

Has anyone read any of the books or web sites promoting the idea that you can make 100,000$ in massage? Are they any good? Did you get new ideas?

I think the authors visit this forum but I would like to hear opinions from any readers.

I've read the book and keep up with pretty much everything on the web sites. The book is very basic and is good for a newbie starting a practice. It tells you how to get started with high dollar hotel work and mentions billing workers comp insurance for good money. It doesn't really get into how to attract workers comp clients. It only has 100 pages. I paid $26 for it but a new edition is coming out at a lower price. It's good to get you started thinking about making big $$ in massage but could use more detail to be a complete resource.

For me the web sites focus too much on feelings. People on the thread about boredom have a good point, the authors are not trained in psychology. I take it with a grain of salt. I believe my large toolbox of techniques is 50% responsible for my success while the web sites downplay the importance of technique. It's useful for many other people so I guess it depends on what you personally need as a therapist.

So I'd say read it all and take from it what you want.

I bought the book. It's very small and according to the author isn't even finished yet. It's beyond me why someone would sell 100 pages of nothing for $26 on Amazon before it's done. I can't recommend spending the money for it. Read this review and you'll know everything the book says anyway.

www.amazon.com/review/RZNR0KHW5DNLX/ref=cm_cr_pr_viewpnt#RZNR0KHW5DNLX

I borrowed Meagan's book, The Magic Touch: How to make $100,000 per year as a Massage Therapist from a friend's library. I noticed the title because of this forum!

Congratulations, Meagan, on your first book! It's so encouraging to see someone who I consider to be a regular (but highly successful) massage practitioner in the state of Washington sharing her experiences with the rest of us. I admire your tenacity through the criticism ;-)

Yes, it IS a good book! If you are a new graduate out there who would like to start off on the right track, BUY THIS BOOK! It's an awesome combination of common sense and beyond. If you have been doing this a while, buy it anyway and focus on the last few chapters. You'll probably find something of interest to you.

For me personally, Meagan's book has inspired me to think outside the box. I probably won't do the same things she's done, but my massage career will definitely be changed by her way of thinking.

So I have already ordered my copy of the book and will add it to my own library. That's my 2 cents, anyway.

I tried to post a link to the book but this forum wouldn't let me! For some reason it thinks it's vulgar or a personal attack. Strange.

So go to amazon.com and search for "The Magic Touch". It's the third result in the list. Buy it!

The thing about that book "Magic Touch" is that it is just the beginning of getting massage therapists to start thinking differently and start believing that they are worth more and can make more. I also recommend reading the book "Making the Switch to Being Rich" by Steve Capellini. The thing is that there are unlimited possibilities in this field. You just have to start thinking outside the box for ideas for yourself or get yourself a good business coach to help you do that. It is helping to create a paradigm shift for the massage profession that is long over due to help take it from one of having to live in "Noble poverty" to having the money that you need to live a good life.

And by the way I don't tell people to do emotional or spiritual work but teach people how to handle emotional and spiritual issues that come up with when working with the body - which you all know that they do. My sites are filled with thousands of pages of just about every topic you can think of from pathology resources to massage techniques and business and marketing.

Julie
www.thebodyworker.com
www.massage-career-guides.com

thebodyworker in Seattle, Washington said: And by the way I don't tell people to do emotional or spiritual work but teach people how to handle emotional and spiritual issues that come up with when working with the body - which you all know that they do. My sites are filled with thousands of pages of just about every topic you can think of from pathology resources to massage techniques and business and marketing.

No, we all don't know that emotional or spiritual issues come up when working with the body. Strange that no one in my clinic of 6 practitioners has ever had this experience in 10 years. Your clients "experience" emotional and spiritual issues during bodywork because you encourage them to. You do in fact tell people to do emotional and spiritual work by the way you elicit those kinds of responses.

You don't have to see them directly on the table to have them happen. I don't encourage them or discourage them. It is very common knowledge that the body holds the emotions and feelings.

Just read the book "Psychology of the Body" by Elliot Green then. Or don't you read books either?

thebodyworker in Seattle, Washington said: You don't have to see them directly on the table to have them happen. I don't encourage them or discourage them. It is very common knowledge that the body holds the emotions and feelings.

Just read the book "Psychology of the Body" by Elliot Green then. Or don't you read books either?

We read books. We just don't go around to discussion forums shoving them down people's throats. We are capable of thinking for ourselves.

It is only "common knowledge" that the body holds emotions and feelings in the new age quack movement. I want to make sure new/prospective clients aren't intimidated by this bit of disinformation. I have also never had a client experience spiritual/emotional issues on the table. A few who were in extreme pain after an accident were in too much pain to get massage so I did progressive relaxation exercises instead. After a week their nervous systems were calmed to the point we could start bodywork. I agree with Meatwad, if you don't encourage clients to experience that kind of reaction, they don't.

I don't encourage people to experience any emotions. It just happens. So you don't think repressed and suppressed emotions have anything to do with trauma, tight muscles, pain patterns in the body? There are whole disciplines of massage that deal with it- Hakomi therapy, Hellerwork, Rubenfield synergy, Rosen Method and many more.

Did you have any deep tissue training? That was the first time I learned about how the body holds emotions.
Here's a Google book link to a deep tissue massage book
tinyurl.com/lzjcbk

Actually one of the biggest pieces of research a meta-analysis on massage shows that massage is best for anxiety and depression.
www.anatomyfacts.com/Research/Massage%20Journal%20Club/January07/Moyer.pdf

I am not stuffing books down people's throats. If you don't want to read to learn more then don't. Most people in the career are interested in learning more about how to help their clients more and learn more. This board has a few who seem not to want to do that and that is fine to. It isn't new age anything. It is just a basic fact the people have feelings and emotions and that touch can evoke them.

No it isn't easy being a massage therapist. It will challenge you every step of the way. You also can't touch someone without being touched yourself.

Here's some info I've learned in my counseling studies for those interested in research done on reported emotional or spiritual experiences during bodywork. The overwhelming majority of clients reporting such experiences did so out of a desire to please practitioners who created an expectation for them. Clients who work with practitioners who do not speak about emotional/spiritual aspects rarely experience them.

It's common knowledge that clients desire to appear 'normal'. They gauge their practitioners' verbal and non-verbal cues for their expectations of 'normality'. In other words, be very careful. Clients tend to experience whatever you suggest to them.

Unfortunately indeed will not let me link to the research paper. I'll try another way later.

Sharon in Portland, Oregon said: Here's some info I've learned in my counseling studies for those interested in research done on reported emotional or spiritual experiences during bodywork. The overwhelming majority of clients reporting such experiences did so out of a desire to please practitioners who created an expectation for them. Clients who work with practitioners who do not speak about emotional/spiritual aspects rarely experience them.

It's common knowledge that clients desire to appear 'normal'. They gauge their practitioners' verbal and non-verbal cues for their expectations of 'normality'. In other words, be very careful. Clients tend to experience whatever you suggest to them.

Unfortunately indeed will not let me link to the research paper. I'll try another way later.

Good info. I was afraid of dealing with this in school because the teachers hyped it up. Schools begin the process by creating expectations with students. However, I've been a Rolfer for 11 years and only 5 of my clients out of hundreds have experienced an emotional response. No one has ever reported a spiritual experience. Our brains are either pre-wired for spiritual experiences or they're not. We should let clients feel free to experience - or not experience - whatever comes up and not either encourage or discourage anything. I never talk about emotional or spiritual with clients before sessions, only during or after during those very rare times it's necessary.

I read the book and agree with Lalani. The only meat to it is establish relationships with the concierge at five star hotels, contract to other practitioners, and accept L&I patients. That's all the meat to it. Don't waste your money.

Wow, no emotional body?... I be blessed being in Berkeley (I don't know why I am noted to be in Foster City), a hot bed for out of the box thinking. I really believe Sedona like energy runs through the earthquake faults of this arena having even more of an impact on folk than the vortexes in Sedona.

Stanley Kellerman, a Berkeley person, wrote The Emotional Body an incredible read written before much of the research proved such a thing existed. Ida Rolf mentions it a lot throughout her writings.

If you have not heard of emotional releases by the time you have completed a lengthy massage program, you have not been trained well.

One does not have to facilitate an emotional release. Like s**t happens, emotional releases happen.

My favorite book (the first 3 or 4 chapters anyway) is Dr Michael Gershon's The Second Brain. HA! Somehow I knew there would be lots of info on this remarkable book, by now. Google it, or start here: www.nytimes.com/2005/08/23/health/23gut.html

The Rev

If emotional release just happens then it would happen spontaneously without priming from the practitioner. I've just read several research studies showing it happens the majority of the time when the practitioner creates an expectation for it. Sharon is correct. The practitioner creates an expectation, the client then desires to appear normal and please the practitioner by creating the experience. Unfortunately I can't provide a link because it requires my password.

Of course researchers and practitioners who believe emotional release happens find their clients experience it often. They believe it exists so they create the expectation, which 'primes' clients who will 'experience' it more often.

It does not happen in my practice because I don't speak of it. If it was real, my clients would experience it anyway.

I don't speak of it unless it occurs... Would you consider the shedding of tears an emotional release? What is your longest term client? Trust has an awful lot to do with it.

How many times has a first and only time client said to you they have no pain and you find pain throughout their body, much to even their surprise because of having come to full acceptance of it? A good masseur can feel the reflexors going off but some can't and end up doing more harm than good, never knowing they have done so. Maybe the client was one time only because of having something opened up on ANY level that they did not want to deal with. I have heard such things from those who referred folk to me.

I truly believe the lack of communication between practitioner and client is the downfall of many a therapist as well as the inability of a practitioner to communicate clearly...

The worst table related emotional breakdown I had to deal with was a new client that was told it would be a good thing to get a massage to help relieve the stress due to the death of her father. My touch put her over the edge making for quite the crying jag.

The funniest verbalized acknowledgement that a massage could create an emotional release was at a site set up by my alma mata to provide touch to those suffering great losses because of the Loma Prieta earthquake. One older guy was invited in to receive some work. His response was, "You kidding? You get me to relax and I am going to have a nbd." That's called wired to the gills.

Here's a good site to learn about stress: www.medicinenet.com/stress/article.htm

The Rev

searching4more in Bell, California said: Has anyone read any of the books or web sites promoting the idea that you can make 100,000$ in massage? Are they any good? Did you get new ideas?

I think the authors visit this forum but I would like to hear opinions from any readers.

I have taken my massage practice from 0 to $300,000 a year in five years by steadily growing my business and adding other practitioners one at a time. I've gone from being alone to having a staff of over a dozen and just took over a third suite of offices. I am in economically depressed North Carolina in the county with the 2nd highest unemployment rate in the state, but my business is thriving.

I think people are desperate for non-invasive, non-drug ways to manage pain and stress, and that is where our strength lies. I do mentor a therapist who has cultivated Meagan's kind of practice working at performance venues all over NC & SC. I'm sure that's a viable option in bigger towns where there are more performance venues than there are here in my area. I also file a lot of insurance.

I am the author of One Year to a Successful Massage Therapy Practice (LWW, 2008) that is filled with the no-cost and low-cost ways that I have personally used to bring my business to this level. I'm not finished! I constantly have a goal in mind, a 1-year plan, and a 5-year plan. I believe you have to have concrete goals if you want to be successful. The rest is plain old elbow grease! Please visit my website at www.thera-ssage.com

I also write a monthly business column, Biz Side, for Massage & Bodywork Magazine, and have a monthly Spa Techniques column in Massage Magazine. My blog, Massage Collage, originates on the Massage Magazine website at www.massagemag.com. I am always interested in hearing and sharing how others grow their business.

According to your Yahoo map thingy the Trip distance is: 2651.25 mi Time: 38 hrs 49 mins making it prohibitive to receive work from you. Between that and the company you keep (it's politics) I would be hard pressed by others before coming to you for some hard pressing.

I have perused your book and found it pretty interesting. My bible is still Guerilla Marketing which I just googled for the very first time. I should have known that gem would survive and did it sooner: www.gmarketing.com/

My best year ever was $90,000 from massage only... It's way to much like work and those that achieve such numbers without other lines of income or employees will be short lived or are just outrageously expensive.

Rob

Nina in Portland, Oregon said: I borrowed Meagan's book, The Magic Touch: How to make $100,000 per year as a Massage Therapist from a friend's library. I noticed the title because of this forum!

Congratulations, Meagan, on your first book! It's so encouraging to see someone who I consider to be a regular (but highly successful) massage practitioner in the state of Washington sharing her experiences with the rest of us. I admire your tenacity through the criticism ;-)

Yes, it IS a good book! If you are a new graduate out there who would like to start off on the right track, BUY THIS BOOK! It's an awesome combination of common sense and beyond. If you have been doing this a while, buy it anyway and focus on the last few chapters. You'll probably find something of interest to you.

For me personally, Meagan's book has inspired me to think outside the box. I probably won't do the same things she's done, but my massage career will definitely be changed by her way of thinking.

So I have already ordered my copy of the book and will add it to my own library. That's my 2 cents, anyway.

Hi Nina!

I really appreciate the encouraging feedback. The truth is, I am happy to report that every day I receive emails from the US, UK, AU... saying how much "The Magic Touch" inspired them. That was my goal and I am so happy to hear that you are one of the many readers who loved the book.

Tim Ferriss, a top selling author and business consultant, recently said "The critical minority will always be the LOUDEST!" Sadly, I have found that to be true. So, I really appreciate when anyone "steps out of the box" and shares their positivity with the world.

I would love to send you a free copy of "The Magic Touch: How to Make $100,000 per year as a Massage Therapist" as a thank your for being one of the people of the world who stand up to the critical minority. It takes guts and ambition to do so. But it also reaps the benefits in the end.

Lalani Parker in San Diego, California said: I bought the book. It's very small and according to the author isn't even finished yet. It's beyond me why someone would sell 100 pages of nothing for $26 on Amazon before it's done. I can't recommend spending the money for it. Read this review and you'll know everything the book says anyway.

www.amazon.com/review/RZNR0KHW5DNLX/ref=cm_cr_pr_viewpnt#RZNR0KHW5DNLX

Lalani,

Hi again! The short-run you are referring to is long gone. It has been replaced with a 276 page version that is extended and edited. (Amazon is just taking it's sweet time to change the price and cover photo). But sadly, It no longer has a money-back guarantee or free shipping included in the price. (Which was how I felt I could sell a clearly marked 100 page book for a clearly marked price of $26 and still sleep at night).

The MONEY-BACK guarantee still applies to you, as I stated in your last post. Also, you should know that the review you have linked to does little to describe the book. It focuses on it's most basic qualities (and even states blatant untruths) about the 100 page version, so I'm sure you can imagine how silly that review looks now that the book is 276 pages.

(Though that review is already silliness to anyone who knows that the reviewer rewrote it 5 TIMES under 3 NAMES and still chases the book around and barks at it- can you imagine?!! I mean, for goodness sakes, get your refund already, whatever-your-name-is...there is a life after of my book! Perhaps I should write a book called "Life after The Magic Touch: Learning To Live Again")

Funnier still, Not a SINGLE copy of the "Magic Touch" has been returned for the offered refund. I'm serious Lalani, not ONE copy. Seems a few unrelenting people paid $26 to bark and bite, and they don't want anything (like a pesky money-back return) to mess that up.

Off to wag my tail now! Cheers!

Meagan Holub LMT in Seattle, Washington said: Lalani,

Hi again! The short-run you are referring to is long gone. It has been replaced with a 276 page version that is extended and edited. (Amazon is just taking it's sweet time to change the price and cover photo). But sadly, It no longer has a money-back guarantee or free shipping included in the price. (Which was how I felt I could sell a clearly marked 100 page book for a clearly marked price of $26 and still sleep at night).

The MONEY-BACK guarantee still applies to you, as I stated in your last post. Also, you should know that the review you have linked to does little to describe the book. It focuses on it's most basic qualities (and even states blatant untruths) about the 100 page version, so I'm sure you can imagine how silly that review looks now that the book is 276 pages.

(Though that review is already silliness to anyone who knows that the reviewer rewrote it 5 TIMES under 3 NAMES and still chases the book around and barks at it- can you imagine?!! I mean, for goodness sakes, get your refund already, whatever-your-name-is...there is a life after of my book! Perhaps I should write a book called "Life after The Magic Touch: Learning To Live Again")

Funnier still, Not a SINGLE copy of the "Magic Touch" has been returned for the offered refund. I'm serious Lalani, not ONE copy. Seems a few unrelenting people paid $26 to bark and bite, and they don't want anything (like a pesky money-back return) to mess that up.

Off to wag my tail now! Cheers!

Ummm...wow...OK...I don't exactly know what to say about this...except you might want to reconsider how to respond to people who give their opinion. You sound more than a little bitter, and it's not very appealing for people considering your book.

Wagging is fine...please don't bite me...it's just something to consider...

I didn't think she was being bitter at all- just being very gracious in giving people a refund if they want it. It is the others who are complaining about her book (biting!)

As the bumper sticker says "wag more, bark less"

Meagan, I just read the review. What are the "blatant untruths" you refer to? Just curious, as I am considering buying the book.

abodyworker in Las Vegas, Nevada said: Meagan, I just read the review. What are the "blatant untruths" you refer to? Just curious, as I am considering buying the book.

Hi abodyworker,

Thanks for asking. I hardly know where to begin. For starters, my business model isn't as represented. Saying the majority of the book is about bathing is false- I have one chapter on dressing for success, which has nothing to do with bathing. Summing up my chapter about giving a great massage with "don't use too much pressure" is extremely misleading. Saying that I am over billing PIP and L&I is slanderous, as I bill within the same price range for every massage that I give. And it may be nitpicking, but the book isn't double-spaced, and when it was reformatted into an average- size book layout, the page count doubled. There is so much more to the book then was stated there. I think you'll agree.

I would love to get your opinion. If you send your address to meaganh@hundredthousanddollarmassage.com, I'll send you a copy and you can provide unbiased feedback in this forum, if you like. Either way, the book is yours for free.

Sabeena in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma said: Ummm...wow...OK...I don't exactly know what to say about this...except you might want to reconsider how to respond to people who give their opinion. You sound more than a little bitter, and it's not very appealing for people considering your book.

Wagging is fine...please don't bite me...it's just something to consider...

Thanks Sabeena,

Sorry you were offended. I'm a very honest person. It's one of the reasons why the people who love "The Magic Touch" love it. I don't hold anything back in the book, or in life. And I truly was wagging my tail. No biting here. Who has the energy to be bitter about a person hollering over the price of a book that has a money-back guarantee? Not me. I was just joining in on the fun!

Cheers!

The book's content are detailed here:

amapedia.amazon.com/view/The+Magic+Touch:+How+to+make+$100,000+per+year+as+a+Massage+Therapist

Hmmm... that didn't work. Sorry.

If you are unhappy with the book, it's more constructive to contact Meagan directly. She has proven her willingness to make her customers happy. First she responded to the critiques and quickly came out with a new version that she believes more closely meets the needs of the reading audience. She has also offered to send a free copy of the new version to me, as well, to replace my original version.

I haven't read it yet, but the new cover and self-review more closely reflect what the book was really about to begin with, and appeals more to the fundamental desires of all working massage practitioners to make a good living at it.

Such fuss over an insignificant review. My intent was to share my opinion, not cause so much pain. My heart goes out to Meagan. She has been hurt from brutal attacks just for sharing her heart and experiences with the world.

There is some truth to Meagan's claims about my review. I did change my first initial to my full first name after being criticized for "hiding my identity", although many other reviewers did the same without criticism, e.g. L. Parker, S. Flagg. Then I deleted the review in response to Meagan's distress and hateful comments left by others (Meagan was NOT hateful). Unfortunately a peer convinced me with an inspiring speech about freedom of expression and combating censorship to repost.

I won't even comment about "chasing the book around", as my life is too rich and full to participate in such nonsense. But I understand how a wounded soul would draw that conclusion. I can empathize as I also have been attacked just for sharing my honest opinion with the world, although I remain undisturbed since the accusations are largely untrue.

Meagan will learn how to take criticism in stride as she gains experience as a published author. Almost every book on Amazon has a full spectrum of reviews, from overwhelmingly positive to neutral to negative. Since the review represents my opinion and what I personally got from the book, it cannot be full of untruths or slander. Maybe I'm just not as bright and don't "get it" like other people do? (lame attempt at humor)

Since a new edition is out and my opinion is no longer relevant to prospective customers, it's fair for me to remove the old review and check out the new edition. However, I will always be honest about my opinion, just like Meagan, and will never again bow to pressure just because my opinion is unpopular.

I applaud Meagan for her bravery and success at her first venture into publishing and wish her the best.

I think if you want to increase your clientele, you should go list a profile on www.LastMinuteMassage.com for FREE and list your unused and open appointment times.

thanks!

Realistically, I dont see how anyone can make $100,000 working as a massage therapist. It is a very rewarding career but it is very physical. I've heard of MT's making half of that but $100,000 seems almost impossible

Realistically, Sharon....

mt in Houston - When someone says, "I make $100K" we think in terms of employee salary. Employees don't pay their own expenses or perform every function in the company like independent therapists do. To compare apples & apples you have to deduct expenses from gross receipts.

To make $100K they say simply charge $100/hr for 20 massages a week, 50 weeks a year. Therapists in cities with clientele that will pay $100/hr for massage incur average annual operating expenses of $30K, or $24K on the lower end. That doesn't include the initial business startup costs.

Real figures that I've seen show they don't actually achieve those numbers because: 1. Higher priced therapists are more vulnerable to seasonal drops and economic downturns, 2. Average insurance reimbursements are much lower and are being limited more every year. In Florida the average insurance reimbursement is $62/hr.

So you're right, the higher earning therapists actually bring home somewhere around half that amount. Some therapists who claim to earn $100K don't just massage. They also own high end spas and write. Writing is a low overhead business so you keep much more of the money you earn.

I've had a client start crying while I was working her arm and she didn't know why. I never mentioned emotional release or talked about or encouraged anything from her. I had only been a therapist for about 5 months at that time and I didn't know much about it. In school one of the other students had an emotional release and we hadn't learned about that yet. I do believe people have them. It makes sense more than your theory on it that people only have one when someone tells them about it or tells them to. That just sounds silly