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Why is finding QUALITY massage therapists so hard these days???
I am in the process of expanding my studio into additional locations and have a fantastic business model for any therapist looking to become an independent contractor with the ability to build a clientele in rapid speed. I provide EVERYTHING (equipment, linens, supplies, receptionist, CLIENTS, etc.) yet somehow finding the right therapists to fill the spaces I have (or will have) has proven to be a HUGE challenge! Besides Craigslist, what suggestions do you all have for reaching out the the massage therapist community to find the people? PLEASE HELP!
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Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by elizabeth mount on
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I know my school was pretty dang clear that none of that was acceptable. We had strict dress code for class and student clinic. Clearly something is very wrong with general education on professionalism. What can we do about this?
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Permalink Reply by Kay Warren on
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I'm glad you got into a good school. I wish there were more of them. If I were living in CA, I'd probably be trying to buy the school I got my best bets from. (owner would like to retire) As for this particular applicant, she graduated from a 740 hour program. I went straight to the school, and gave the director of the massage school an ear full. Then I sat in on a class. What I found in this "career college" is a MUCH longer post, and pretty horrifying. I resolved to give students from other schools higher priority in my selection process. Then I went and sat in on classes at every school in town. *shudder* I narrowed it down to 2 schools that got my priority. I still looked at resumes from the others, but so many of them failed the verbal, that physical interviews were rare. If a school isn't owned by one or more of it's instructors, I want nothing to do with them. One of the schools actually teaches that you should get every last dime you can out of massage because in 8-10 years, you're going to need a new profession. I swear, I'm not kidding. The big problem is that you can't legislate for this stuff. The kids coming in to schools don't know the differences, they think a longer program MUST be better. (not always) Besides, 720 hours is the magic # for federal student aid. I would consider an ideal program to be 1000 hours with at least 100 hours of required clinical time, the first 50 of which must be supervised. At least 250 hours of anatomy taught in a palpatory fashion, and geared toward massage. A massage therapist needs to know that the kidneys filter blood to produce urine, but they don't need to have a molecular chemistry based understanding of how that happens.
Unfortunately the public doesn't know any better, and neither do many of the doctors & chiropractors out there. When I moved to AZ & CA, I was pretty shocked at how many wanted to hire me on my resume alone, with NO physical interview. I can write anything on a resume. You can have technical knowledge flying out every orifice in your body, but if you can't deliver that knowledge through your hands to positively assess and treat your clients, you're still gonna suck.
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Permalink Reply by Jennifer Adams on
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Having just come out of school, I will tell you. Of my three choices of schools in the area, I thought I chose the best one. School A is a Christian School and absolutely refuses to offer anything of the Eastern Philosophies $18K for 750 hours School B has a high graduation rate and has graduates that are preferred over the other schools from their programs. $15K for 1050 hours. and School C just got into the MT Biz with a course that is a 2 year ASSOCIATED DEGREE course but only 700 hours at $28K.
I chose school B.
But what I found as I went through the classes, was that the teachers are teaching in the style of no child left behind, not in the style of college or even the high school I went to way back when. I was very upset with the quality of education I received and voiced my opinion on the matter numerous times. When we finally did get teachers who knew the curriculum that they were teaching, the other students complained that it was "TOO HARD".
I graduated with all A's and 1 B. The one B was 1 point shy of an A and in a class where the teacher was clueless as to the subject and could not communicate the topic to the students well.
I already have a partner in the industry who has been mentoring me on technique so I have that advantage, and I have been a body worker with Reiki since the mid 90's so I have that advantage, but natural talent and bonus advantages will only take you so far. There is still a lot that I feel I need to know, a lot that I feel I should have been taught but wasn't, and a lot that I was told I would just have to get when I am out in the real world.
So for those of you looking for good therapists, we are out there, but I am afraid that if what I have seen so far is any indication, we are few and far between, and I consider myself a good therapist, though still rough around the edges. I imagine there is plenty I need practice and guidance on.
Good luck finding your perfect MT. I have faith you will find her/him eventually.
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Permalink Reply by Angela Lind on
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I'm curious to know how much you pay to the therapists you hire that pass all your interview, tests, demos, etc?
Kay Warren said:
*commiserating laughter* I know exactly what you mean. Ran a clinic in CA, interviewed literally hundreds of therapists in 6 months time... most couldn't pass my verbal interview, and those who did would often utterly fail the physical interview. Some even failed walking in the door. We had 6 schools in the area, you'd think I could find someone with decent skills. Found 2 with good hands and potential, but who weren't ready for the clinical end. I place the blame squarely on schools. They can control who they accept, and who they pass, they just don't bother. Some actually think 200 hours is an acceptable level of training for a therapeutic massage. The students don't get squat for hands on palpation training, there is a lot of rote memorization, and when they graduate, they're told they can list 6 modalities after a 740 hour course. Utter crap. I don't expect a new graduate to have my skillset, but if you walk into my office with a resume claiming that you are a Trigger Point specialist and yet you can't even tell me who Dr. Travell was, you fail. When you do your physical interview with me, you get to document it afterward. If you can't, you fail. If you can't answer a phone, I can't use you. If you wrinkle your nose and tell me you dont' want to work on anyone old, guess what? FAIL! Most of them have no concept of smooth. If I could find one of those, who had a strong interest in the clinical, but wasn't ready for it yet, I could have started them in relaxation, and gradually trained them in the medical end. The one I wanted to hire had really good hands, but was choppy as hell. She got upset when I told her I didn't have the time to train her in that, everyone told her she was good, so what was my problem? I told her to get on the table, and I showed her. She got what I meant really quick, and her attitude changed. I told her she had great hands, and excellent potential (which is a HIGH compliment from me) and that I'd like to hire her, but she wasn't ready enough. I suggested that she work on smooth for 3 months, and come back. She never came back. I would have hired her too. *grumble* Some think I'm being a bitch, but my clients know what level of skills & service to expect from us, and asking them to pay the same rate for someone whose skills are sub-standard is not acceptable.
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I agree 100% with you, I HATE those job ads where they don't say even the name of the business (on craigslist), and worst, they don't put how much is they pay! why I am going to send my resume to this poster? like begging a job to a business that I don't know anything about and don't even know the pay? ridiculous!
elizabeth mount said:
give some type of info about your bussiness please. I really hate bare bones craigslist ads. It has to have something to it. I would really like to be able to look up the bussiness before sending my resume to anywhere. Is that really too much to ask? seriously I can't see your website, like the ones the clients see and you want my resume? !! sorry very off topic there.
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I agree completely!
Daniel Cohen said:
Ask yourself why a good Therapist would be interested in sharing with you rather than continuing Outcall or working from their home.
Good luck!
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Permalink Reply by Robert Chute on
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I think it's hard to find great massage therapists because we're full up.I have a hard time squeezing new people into my schedule. When I try to get in to see my favorite therapists, I have to plan far in advance to book the appointment. A busy therapist working full-time still can only see so many people. I sympathize.
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Hm...so perhaps to develop more great therapists faster, we need to help them develop in their expertise and manner. I'm thinking of the apprenticeship model because, though I was confident in my training, after I graduated I still felt a bit at sea in the real world.
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Someone asked what we paid. Ok, understand that this is 8 years ago in CA. Normal rate for the area at that time was $50/hr. We had 4 rooms, every table there was a scissor lift table, we had a linen service, we covered all supplies, and did fairly extensive advertising in the medical community. We kept all the records. Most of our relaxation clients started out as patients, and chose to stay with us when they completed their care plan. Rate for a relaxation therapist without additional specialized training was a 50/50 split. Depending on your additional training, you could go as high as 65%. We let therapists know what trainings made you eligible for higher pay rates. I hate prima donnas who don't want to share, so we were all about making sure the client got to the right person. If the client wanted *Linda, they got Linda, we didn't try to force a client to switch off therapists if they didn't want to. The only time that happened was if the therapist refused to treat them, and in that case, they didn't remain a client for long. I wouldn't tolerate an abusive client. We also made sure everybody knew that even on maintenance, if you tweaked something while moving, you might get more therapeutic work for a session or 2 to resolve the issue, then go back to your favorite therapist. You might choose to try someone new. If a therapist took something different for fun, like Thai table massage, we sent out a flyer saying so, and invited clients to try it. We sent out birthday cards, re-call cards, etc. Worked really well. I ran the clinic, but didn't own it, so there are a few things I'd do differently in my own place, but the general premise would be the same.
Someone else asked "why pay a percentage when you keep all of it doing outcall?" Dude, hauling a table around gets OLD really fast. I don't know anyone who hauls a power lift table either. Why do I hate doing outcall? Umm, what if I need something I don't typically bring? What if there is no room? Many clients have no clue how much room you need to work, the only thing they think about is the footprint of the table. Then, there are the twin issues of traffic & parking, I've had to park a block or 2 away, then haul gear. Not my idea of fun. Now, lets talk about curious critters & noisy kids. I love animals, but every now and then, one doesn't love me, and doesn't understand what I'm doing to Mommy or Daddy. Some clients also think the rules should change when you come to their house. No way, Jose. They don't like paying more for outcall, (yes I charge more, especially with gas what it is) Will I do outcall? for an existing client who is in horrible pain, and would not be safe to drive? yes, no question. For anyone else? Unlikely. For a client I've never seen or heard of? Not a chance in hell. I have office hours until 7. For a known client, I will come in early, or stay late. I've had a known client call me in awful pain, but they've got someone available who can get them to the office. I go in. I find that in doing outcall, clients tend to disrespect your time more often. They aren't ready when you get there. I like being in my office, with all the tools handy, I like being able to have the DC check out something odd right then & there, which he will usually do free. I have had a few great outcall clients, would I do outcall for them? In a heartbeat. They had good parking, and a shady spot in a fenced yard, they got their massage outdoors, away from the house distractions. I had an easy access gate, they were on time, I worked on them both once a month, they booked well in advance, and paid in cash. YAY!!!!
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I won't work from my house, it is my space, and I'm a bit greedy about it. Besides, there are a few crazy people out there, and I don't want them knowing where I live.
Angela Lind said:
I agree completely!
Daniel Cohen said:
Ask yourself why a good Therapist would be interested in sharing with you rather than continuing Outcall or working from their home.
Good luck!
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When I finally get myself back to CA, that's exactly what I plan to do. It's how I got much of my initital additional training. I worked for an honest-to-god adjusting Osteopath, and and Orthopedic Surgeon. We had full, in-house, Radiology and PT. They really increased my skillset by teaching me more than basic X-ray & MRI reading, improving significantly on what I was taught about gait analysis etc. Some things you can't really teach without it being right in front of you. So when an odd case came in, I (or the PT, or whoever the docs thought would benefit from the knowledge) got called in for the assessment & analysis process. I saw things that you typically only see once or twice in your professional lifetime, but the knowledge was invaluable, and I've been able to suggest avenues of treatment to my clients that their docs hadn't considered. I've been right more often than not, and I've kept a few people out of unnecessary surgery. I refer out all the time, and I make it my business to know the best surgeons in town, because even though I'm not a huge fan of surgery, when you're bone on bone, and in constant pain, you get the knee replaced. If I had a clinic, and I got an already base trained (and licensed) therapist with a solid grounding in anatomy, and an interest in the medical end, but not a lot of training, I'd work with them in a heartbeat. Now, that being said, if you want to get into the medical/orthopedic end, you'd better not hate anatomy. Everything you do depends on your understanding how it all works together, and your analysis of strengths/deficiencies in the kinetic chain, and how anomalies can affect it all. If you've got that interest, find a local college/university that has a cadaver anatomy program, and take it. Our knowledge of physiology is also changing at a rapid rate. A university level physiology and or biochem course wouldn't hurt. My anatomy is solid, but my physiology/chemistry is out of date. Once I'm settled back in CA, I'll be doing those courses as well. My posts tend to be wordy, but I love what I do, and I can talk about it for days on end. I know people for whom massage is just a job, and I just don't get it.
Robert Chute said:Hm...so perhaps to develop more great therapists faster, we need to help them develop in their expertise and manner. I'm thinking of the apprenticeship model because, though I was confident in my training, after I graduated I still felt a bit at sea in the real world.
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Kay Warren,
So you are VERY demanding for the therapists you interview, with experience, with lot of knowledge among other qualities they should have and you charge $50/hr and the split is 50/50? so is $25/hr you are paying in commission to your therapists? or this is a salary rate? I thought you were paying much better due to your demands.
I have worked for the last 8 years in Mobile Massage therapy and what you judge about it is completely ridiculous. Hauling a table around gets old really fast? that's not true, and of course a power lift table is not a table for mobile massage therapy, it has to be portable table. "What if there is no room?" you always tell the client how much room you need to set up the table and move around the table, and the client would confirm this before you go to the appointment. This is common sense, if someone doesn't have enough space, wouldn't be calling a therapist to bring a table, don't you think? if someone has children that cries and run in the house all the time, then is common sense that person won't be calling a therapist because its obvious that would not relax and they have to go to a spa or an office. I only go to homes and hotels, and I make sure I won't have any problem with parking, all hotels have valet parking or plenty of guest parking close to the entrance. I use a table cart and I don't have to carry it, just pull it. Very easy. The most of the condos I go have elevators. The most of my clients are people that are wealthy, live in mansions, in penthouses, in luxury condos (with elevators and valet parking), high end hotels, they pay always for valet parking or guest parking and of course they pay for the traveling expenses. They prefer in paying this rather in going to a spa or a medical office for getting a massage, because they want to RELAX and don't want to drive after getting a massage, all the relaxation would be gone because you have to be alert for driving. I don't get that much in traffic because I go to their places after business hours, between 6pm and 10pm, or before rush hour (between 11am and 3pm), saturdays and sundays. I set up the appointments for the best hours so I don't get stuck in traffic. If I'm going to make $105 for giving 3 massages at a spa, I prefer making the same money in giving just ONE massage.
If I will be working for someone else, is because I will be getting at least $35/hr SALARY (not commission) and able to receive tips. If its a commission, would be at least $45/hr plus tips (independent contractor). I used to work at a spa that paid me like this ($45/hr) and I used to work at other spa that I was getting commission from $30/hr plus tips, but they have a guaranteed minimum salary, that is, if it was a slow season and I didn't make the minimum wage in commissions, they pay me the minimum and they have a restaurant only for employees and the buffet was $5 for employee.
In conclusion, I prefer working on my own in a mobile massage therapy, I give less massages and get more money, having more free time for myself.
And I won't feel comfortable working at my home where people see where I live, but there are lots of therapists that they do it and they save money this way instead of paying to someone else or having an overhead renting a space, so that's a good option for other therapists.
Kay Warren said:Someone asked what we paid. Ok, understand that this is 8 years ago in CA. Normal rate for the area at that time was $50/hr. Rate for a relaxation therapist without additional specialized training was a 50/50 split.
Someone else asked "why pay a percentage when you keep all of it doing outcall?" Dude, hauling a table around gets OLD really fast. I don't know anyone who hauls a power lift table either. Why do I hate doing outcall? Umm, what if I need something I don't typically bring? What if there is no room? Many clients have no clue how much room you need to work, the only thing they think about is the footprint of the table. Then, there are the twin issues of traffic & parking, I've had to park a block or 2 away, then haul gear. Not my idea of fun. Now, lets talk about curious critters & noisy kids. I love animals, but every now and then, one doesn't love me, and doesn't understand what I'm doing to Mommy or Daddy. Some clients also think the rules should change when you come to their house. No way, Jose. They don't like paying more for outcall, (yes I charge more, especially with gas what it is) Will I do outcall? for an existing client who is in horrible pain, and would not be safe to drive? yes, no question. For anyone else? Unlikely. For a client I've never seen or heard of? Not a chance in hell. I have office hours until 7. For a known client, I will come in early, or stay late. I've had a known client call me in awful pain, but they've got someone available who can get them to the office. I go in. I find that in doing outcall, clients tend to disrespect your time more often. They aren't ready when you get there. I like being in my office, with all the tools handy, I like being able to have the DC check out something odd right then & there, which he will usually do free. I have had a few great outcall clients, would I do outcall for them? In a heartbeat. They had good parking, and a shady spot in a fenced yard, they got their massage outdoors, away from the house distractions. I had an easy access gate, they were on time, I worked on them both once a month, they booked well in advance, and paid in cash. YAY!!!!
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