Takeaway: If you start to think of your business as an asset you manage, and not an inseparable part of your identity, you will focus on ways to make it more valuable.

Massage therapy business owners are predictable. We tend to grow our businesses slowly, gathering clients through personal networks and word-of-mouth referrals. Some of us integrate formal networking, a great website, and maybe some online advertising. We tend to learn as we go, hacking ideas together that work for our individual style.

Massage therapy is also an art. It’s caregiving. Massage therapy is a service that requires personal touch and thoughtful attention to a client and their needs. Clients will be attracted to us not just for the specific hands-on techniques we perform, but also for our personality, our professionalism, and our approach to client care. 

Our businesses are a reflection of ourselves in so many ways that it’s easy to become enmeshed and think of ourselves and business as a merged identity. This balance of business sense, caregiving skills, and boundaries can be tricky to maintain in a massage practice. For many of us, our personal life and identity are interwoven with our business. A sustainable business also requires good boundaries. Boundaries ensure financial security, protect our nonwork time, and keep us happy about walking into the office and seeing clients each day. There are signs that some separation from your business may be helpful.

Taking Client Feedback or Success Personally 

We cannot be the best massage therapist for every client. We can be good. We can be helpful. But we cannot be perfectly suited to every client. When a new client doesn’t reschedule or a longtime client fades away, it can be easy to take it personally. When we hear that a client didn’t love our massage or music or the lighting in the office, it can feel like a punch to our identity (see “When a Client Leaves a Bad Review Online,” page 91). Because we are our massage, right? 

If you feel like a failure when every client doesn’t become a longtime client or you can’t help with that swollen knee, that’s a sign your identity and self-worth are too wrapped up in your business. 

Invasion of Your Downtime

When you’re not working, are you forced to acknowledge work tasks? Even if you choose to not act on those calls or emails, they stick in the back of your mind and pull attention away from your personal life. 

Many of us use our business email address as a primary email, a personal cell phone as a business phone, and a business calendar as a primary calendar. Our identities become so intertwined with our business that it’s hard to see where work ends and personal life begins. 

This overlap can be seen in our schedule too. If you have a hard time sticking to your preferred work schedule because clients “need” a certain time or you cancel personal plans to treat a client in pain on a Saturday night, that’s a red flag. This invasion of your personal time takes a huge emotional toll and is a clear path to burnout. But there is hope! There are clear, tangible steps to creating some separation from your business. 

Your Business Should Serve You

Rather than being an extension of your soul, your business is an entity you control to bring you financial stability doing a rewarding job you enjoy.

Building a strong referral network can be key to improving client care. Knowing you can refer a client to a practitioner you trust can help you avoid feeling like all their healing or improvement is your responsibility. Having colleagues with varying skills and schedules you feel comfortable referring to will allow you to maintain your times and specialty boundaries.

Using a separate personal email and not responding to business emails during your personal time is a great start. The same principle applies to your phone number. Have a personal number on your cell phone and use a service to have a different business phone number via an app like Google Voice or Sideline. 

These adjustments take time. You won’t immediately experience a Zen-like state of perfect objectivity and serenity about client care. The process of creating new systems and putting new boundaries in place is always a little uncomfortable. It’s worth the time and effort to keep your business sustainable. 

Creating separation can also increase the value of your business. When you start thinking of your business as its own entity, you can consider its value as an asset (much like you would view property or investments).

If you start to think of your business as an asset you manage, you will focus on ways to make it more valuable. Your financial decisions will be more informed and objective. Organizing your client information and communications will have a little more meaning. Even bookkeeping serves a greater purpose (and is less tedious) when you think about your business as an asset.

Most importantly, the purpose of this asset is to produce an income for you. This doesn’t mean you should treat your business like a spreadsheet. A massage business can be simultaneously heart-centered, sustainable, and valuable. You will always inject warmth and personality into your business. But you own the business—it won’t own you. 

And if you are ever ready to step away from massage, that business will be more valuable. With structure and systems in place, it’s easier to hand off care of your clients to a handpicked successor who can buy the business from you. A business that serves you and your needs along with your clients is a true success.