I am a bus driver for Sarasota County. Massage therapy is my passion, but because of my age, I need insurance and pension benefits.

Teresa Perkins

Sarasota, Florida

I am a senior software test engineer who chose to go into massage after being laid off in 2008. I now work two careers, software testing and massage therapy, and have a balanced right- and left-brain existence. I can do a lot of solitary work that provides health insurance and a decent salary, then leave to go to my totally people-centric world of massage. This is pure relaxation and joy, and a very fulfilling path for me.

Kathleen Jenks

Raleigh/ Durham, North Carolina

For about 15 years, I complemented my massage career with a full-time job at a bank. I never knew that full-time massage was available until I started working at Massage Envy. It’s like a dream come true, because I really didn’t want to go back to corporate America.

Shirley Fields

Plymouth Meeting, Pennsylvania

I complement massage therapy with 5–7 yoga classes each week, as well as holistic health counseling, reiki, and Therapeutic Touch. It seems the people who practice yoga and massage clients are more in tune to healthy living.

Jean Marie Sefcovic

Schenectady, New York

I work two days a week at a rural pain-management clinic as a contractor providing massage therapy to patients. It’s been an interesting (and free) education, and until my practice gets up and running to sustain me, I will continue here.

Julie Creighton

Los Banos, California

I’ve chosen to enroll in a full-time cosmetology program so that I can complement my massage practice with natural, nontoxic hair and nail treatments, body treatments, and, of course, hair cuts. I see a need for a more holistic, natural, and beneficial combination of wellness and beauty services, and I aim to offer that when I graduate.

Anna Gayheart

Mayfield Heights, Ohio

I complement my massage practice with Pilates. As a personal trainer by trade, I fell in love with the human body all over again in massage school. Pilates is sophisticated, as is the craniosacral part of massage that I love to practice. When I can combine the two, my clients float out of my Pilates studio. I also sell a monthly package of unlimited Pilates classes with one massage. This way my clients have a well-rounded wellness program and I have a steady flow of income.

Judith Way

Idyllwild, California

I am a certified nursing assistant (CNA), and I supplement my massage income as a private caregiver for a quadriplegic. I do this because it keeps my CNA certification up-to-date, and my connections within the medical field help grow my business. I have found they complement each other very well.

Denise Burnham

Kuna/Boise, Idaho

I work full time as an instructional developer of curriculum for firefighters, in addition to providing massage therapy on evenings and weekends in order to provide more income and receive health insurance, retirement, paid time off, etc.

Lynn Hughes

Carney, Oklahoma

I have partnered with a health and wellness company that provides nutritional supplements, paraben-free skin care, and weight-management foods. I look at it as providing a service to my clients who are already taking supplements, using skin care products, and trying to lose weight, and it creates residual income for me when I am not working. Because massage therapy is limited in the number of sessions you can physically do in one day, there is a definite maximum you can earn. Then there is also the issue of burnout. I think there are so many good therapists lost to injury and lack of variation. Lastly, as an additional benefit, my business skills are much improved.

Michelle Wald

Austin, Texas

I’m a financial aid refunds officer at a private university for the benefits, which include free tuition for my master’s degree in mental health counseling.

Tracey Wear

Phoenix, Arizona

I have always been frustrated when I could not take my clients all the way to recovery—meaning maybe no more dysfunction. I found a coaching program that gives me some of the best tools I have ever found to get someone “over the hump.” Now, I am a life coach, as well as a massage therapist.

Cassandra

Kirkland, Washington