Recent Book Reviews: Massage MBA: Run Your Practice, Love Your Life

“As someone who has invested lots of time and energy in the online “how to be a better small business owner” sphere, this book has seriously impressed me. In most areas the author gives actionable advice with the understanding that, as an educated reader, I will be able to figure out the details. That being the case, I also appreciated the parts where she gave her specific scripts to deal with various scenarios.”

“Wow! This book was seriously helpful. A lot of great tips that I would have never thought of in a million years. I highly recommend reading this book if you have your own massage practice or are thinking of taking the leap.”

“Great read! Loved it, the author seemed warm and welcoming; easy and encouraging read exactly what I want in a business book!”

“This book is a treasure. Rachel is a unique and authentic voice in our industry. Not gonna lie. I first picked up this book and was like...Here we go, another obnoxious MT tryna' tell me they're so amazing. BUT...joke's on me. This is beautifully written. So much love and consideration for professionals in this field. Rachel, I'm so thankful for sharing your experience. This will help so many who trying to make a breakthrough! Gracias!”

“Wow! I just finished your book! Huge, huge thank you! I've been a therapist for over 10 years now and I quite honestly have had a journey with it! Three years ago I took a huge step and opened a spa inside a hotel. Awesome right? Wrong. Hotel charged an insane rent- I underestimated the hiring process. Made huge boss mistakes that i can now see where my train wreck started, with your book. I did the unheard of average of 45-52 massages a week! Worked over 80-90hrs a week ti attempt all the hats it took to run. Never delegated- never set better boundaries- and after reading this I now realize how i never even tried to problem solve that.
I just ran myself to the point i got sick- shingles at the age of 37 and a heart attack warning before i turn forty! Yikes. What i want to get at, is if there are any therapists out there on the same destructive path- i hope they get the chance to stop and read before its too late. I’m now running a successful private office, for now and preparing for a better growth. Thank you for a great guide book!”

“In a nutshell, this book is everything the author learned from in-depth personal study, experience and interviews with successful massage therapists. Her call to action and improvement is very inspirational and empowering. I was blown away by the value of information generously shared on every page. A very interesting, fun and easy read with most relevant tips, including the current COVID situation. Highly recommend.”

“Rachel Beider's journey is a motivating example for any entrepreneur with an interest in starting from scratch and building a successful practice from the ground up. She shares how she overcame a number of personal and professional obstacles to create a multi-million dollar massage and wellness business in New York City. Her strategies for sales and marketing are top-notch, and she describes in detail how she uses technology to attract and retain customers. I loved how she wrote about getting out of your own way, and being a force for good. I will be recommending this book to all of my friends who are entrepreneurs, business owners, and dreamers. It's worth reading even if you're not in the wellness industry. She's an inspiration!”

“I loved reading this book. Rachel was very authentic and eager to share her journey of opening a business and growing it successfully. She shared do’s and don’ts of running a successful massage practice. She gave step by step advice for accounting, accountability, marketing tips, delegation, getting help, and more. If you are a business of one and want to grow your business or make it more professional, then this is the number one book to read.”

If you’re interested in reading it, it’s available on Amazon Kindle and in Paperback, here.

Rachel Beider is an Entrepreneur in Residence at Harvard

I’m thrilled to be joining Harvard University’s Entrepreneur in Residence Ventures program this Spring! I will be working directly with students on helping them build and scale their startups. It is an absolute honor to work with Harvard, and to be able to contribute my expertise and passion for business.

Massage Therapy: Building Your Career with Boundaries to Avoid Burnout

Here’s a fun interview I did with Kiera Nagle of Pacific College. Check it out in full on Youtube. We talk about how to build longevity in your massage therapy career using life-changing boundaries so that you can avoid burning out. The full interview is here

How I Took Charge of My Career

When I graduated from massage school, I wrote down my five-year plan with the goal that in year one, I’d get my hands on as many people as I could, and see where I fit in. By year three, if I was really busy, I'd start a private practice. Then by year five, maybe I'd think about having a business. This whole five-year thing fell apart when I did all of it in six months. (Why wait five years? Did I ever mention I’m impatient?) I always had these specific goals in mind. As a result, using the techniques and strategies in this book, three months out of school, I had 10 clients. By six months I had 110 clients.

I didn’t think success would come so fast. My initial plan was to make money and gain experience by working as a massage therapist in a variety of settings and absorb as much about these settings as I could. I took these jobs for research purposes (and financial purposes!), because I wasn’t sure where I would fit in. I quickly learned from each location what I truly loved (and frankly hated) about each place that I worked. I vowed to carefully study what was working and what wasn’t about each place I spent time in. I played detective, studying their training manuals, their protocols, their booking software, and even how they answered the phone and spoke to clients. I paid close attention to what I loved and hated about each.

My first job out of school was working for a yoga studio, then a chiropractor's office, and then a wellness clinic. I worked at a prenatal spa for a while. I did sessions for a surgeon’s patients, doing massage therapy for scar tissue, and working on women who’d recently undergone reconstruction after having mastectomies. What I realized fairly quickly was that there were things about each of those places that I loved, but there were also things that I really hated, or that made me feel downright awful.

The yoga studio was beautiful. I loved the clients, but it was very loud, often disorganized, and at times kind of dirty. For me, those are big, big, NOs. 

At the spa, I liked that it was a calm and serene space, but the pace was brutal. All day long, I worked 50-minute back-to-back sessions with just 10-minute breaks in between.The spa also wasn't paying very much, and I had to sell products just to make a decent wage. I also hated that their products were filled with a lot of harsh chemicals. Trying to be helpful, I suggested some product lines that were higher quality, but management wasn’t at all interested, and I just felt like a bystander in my career. I didn't feel like I was impactful. 

At the chiropractic office, there were bright glaring lights, and cold scratchy paper sheets, and only 10 minutes to quickly go through the session prior to the client’s adjustment. It didn't feel like the kind of relaxing setting that I envisioned. While I seriously enjoyed the site-specific clinical work, I left there feeling exhausted at the end of each shift.

I realized I really wanted to be doing a very clinically focused massage, very precise and curated, but in a very warm and comfortable setting. I couldn't find this kind of practice anywhere, so I decided I wanted to do it myself.

I encourage you to think about what you love and hate about your current place of work as a wellness specialist and make a list. When you are ready to start your own practice, this list will allow you to create the practice and environment that works best for you!

If you want more ideas on how to create and grow your wellness practice, I’d love to support you! Get in touch with me by booking a free 15 min appointment here.

My Recent advice in Forbes: Seemingly Harmless Habits That Hinder Entrepreneurial Success

Coach Rachel Beider at her studio at Wellness Business Consulting in Brooklyn NYC

For any aspiring business owner or entrepreneur, establishing the right practices and habits as part of your normal behaviors can set you on a path toward career success. However, there are a few habits that might actually be hindering your entrepreneurial journey rather than helping it. These habits might be things you consider to be completely harmless in the grand scheme of your total behaviors, and many entrepreneurs might not even see them as significant hurdles to overcome.

Yet, the longer you maintain these bad habits, the less likely you'll be to encounter success as a result. Below, eight members of Young Entrepreneur Council examine some of the seemingly harmless habits they believe can hinder an entrepreneur’s progress and what they should consider doing instead.

1. Being Too Curious

Entrepreneurs are naturally curious. Sometimes, however, that curiosity can lead to endlessly searching for the next big thing instead of hunkering down to build the business at hand. Business is like farming—you have to till the soil, plant seeds and water often before you can harvest. Try to get curious about accounting, legal, sales, marketing and partnerships, as these are the tools of the proverbial farm you are working on. - David Boehl, GoLastMinute

2. Overthinking

Overthinking can be the reason you never do something or take that next step. I think we all naturally think about things and weigh the pros and cons, but some people just overthink everything. They keep saying "what if." Part of being an entrepreneur is making hard decisions. If we overthought everything, we would never make a move. You have to think about it and move forward. Sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't, and that's just part of it. For me, I started my business while I worked full time. I was so scared to quit my job and take on my business full time instead. It took me four years! That's four years I could have built my business faster, made more money and expanded my team, but I kept overthinking the risk. Think about it, analyze it and make a move. - Lisa Collum, Top Score Writing

3. Being A Perfectionist

Striving for perfection is a major form of resistance that can hold an entrepreneur back. Contrary to what most people think, perfection can be a covert form of procrastination. When you reach for perfection, you may well be trying for something that doesn't exist or a goal that will only change its shape once you get close to it. Try to do your best, but remember that any product, service and business will always be a work-in-progress. There's never an end date for improvements. Whatever you do, try to do it well, but avoid demanding perfection because it will use up your time and put your goals on hold for longer than necessary. - Syed Balkhi, WPBeginner

4. Being Timid

You can’t be timid in your approach to knock down doors. In order to make something happen, you have to be relentless in your quest to create opportunities for yourself. Impatience can actually be a good attribute in this case, as you may not be afforded the time to wait around for responses or be gifted opportunities. If 999 people slam the door in your face, you may find success behind number 1000. Passion and persistence are recognized and rewarded in business, and you can’t be afraid to show it. - Justin Lefkovitch, Mirrored Media

5. Not Asking For Help

Not asking for help or not developing a support system can hinder an entrepreneur's success. When I first started in business more than a decade ago, I didn't have any support from experienced entrepreneurs in my industry, so I learned by trial and error. This made the learning curve so much longer than it needed to be. If I had a mentor or a network to ask questions to, my early days as an entrepreneur would have been a lot easier. But I didn't—it was just me. So, my advice is to get a mentor so you don't have to go through your journey alone. - Kristin Kimberly Marquet, Marquet Media, LLC

6. Jumping From Idea To Idea

Jumping from idea to idea or from one strategy to another one means that you're constantly switching tracks. You're not pursuing any single approach long enough to see results. Instead of trying to go with the next marketing or leadership trend, try one idea and then follow through with it for a few months or even a year. There are times when a method of leading or communicating just doesn't work for you. But most of the time, you need to develop a strategy and simply work on it until it becomes more natural. You'll see better results and will have the time to work out the kinks in any program if you stick with it long enough. - Blair Williams, MemberPress

7. Checking In Too Regularly

Checking in too regularly can hold your team back. As an entrepreneur, I realized that I was getting into the habit of micromanaging certain projects and checking in too much in an effort to control things. It is vital to learn how to delegate and to empower your employees to make decisions. While it can sometimes feel like taking your hands off the steering wheel, that discomfort will help you and your team grow. - Rachel Beider, PRESS Modern Massage

8. Always Answering Emails

On the surface, answering emails in a quick, timely manner is a positive trait. You are giving your team and your customers instant feedback when you respond to their emails right away. This can be taken too far though. Leaving your email open all day can lead to distractions. Every time an email pops up in your notifications and you choose to answer it, you are torn away from the current task at hand. If this happens all day, you will have a hard time focusing on what actually needs to get done. I find the best way to answer emails is in time slots. Schedule your day so you have designated times to answer emails. This type of schedule helps me focus on my daily goals and stay productive throughout the day without being constantly torn from one thing to the next. - Shaun Conrad, Guitar Repair Bench

To see the original Expert Panel in Forbes, click HERE

I wrote an article about Tools To Help You Choose Your Next Brick-And-Mortar Location, and it was Published in Forbes!

Smart Tools To Help You Choose Your Next Brick-And-Mortar Location

By: Rachel Beider, for Forbes

Find your target location with online search tools before launching a brick-and-mortar: the data is there if you know where to look.

Some businesses have the ability to pivot and move online, but for many brick-and-mortar service-based businesses, storefronts are still king. Expanding to new locations can help a business grow, bring in much-needed revenue and serve a larger audience.

As an entrepreneur with a self-funded brick-and-mortar business, I'm always mindful of how I spend each dollar when expanding to different neighborhoods. Location matters. Narrow it down to the perfect spot before you commit.

Create a list of all possible locations that you have considered. Are there specific criteria that each one must meet in order to be considered viable? So much real estate is opening up on the market, and it may be tempting to jump into a new neighborhood while growing your business, but don't make the costly mistake of opening your next location without doing your research.

Google Trends

Your first stop should be to look at Google Trends, a free online tool that allows you to see which areas are accruing more searches for the products or services you offer. Google Trends allows you to compare search terms by geographic location over time.

For example, I noticed that “massage in neighborhood x” was getting a lot more traffic from searches when compared with “massage in neighborhood y” but that “neighborhood y” was growing busier each month, when looking at the last year's worth of data.

I have often cross-referenced these results with a map to see where there might be an underserved market. We don’t necessarily want to open where there are already a ton of other businesses just like ours right next door.

Website Check

After searching on Trends, another thing I’ve done when deciding between two neighborhoods is to actually create and publish a website for each, as though we already exist there. When clients call the Google Voice number I’ve set up, they hear a message: “We aren’t open yet, but please leave your name, phone number and email to receive $20 off your first session and get notified of when we’re opening!” I use the same language in a pop-up email collector when someone clicks the “book now” button.

I might let these two sites go live for two to three months and then use Google Analytics to see in real time how many potential clients clicked the “call now” or “book now” button. It helps me clearly see if the location I’m considering is worth the effort, or if I’m deciding between two spots, which is busier.

Google Ads

Another way to MVP a future location is to create A/B tests with Google Ads for the neighborhoods you're considering opening up in. See which ads get more clicks over time, and compare them against each other. Using Google Ads can be a fast way to get feedback straight away if you're under a time constraint and need to make a quick decision on a space. Running ads in several neighborhoods can also help you narrow down your search if you're deciding on a few different spaces.

While this is one of the faster ways to complete this research, advertisements aren't always as effective or as accurate as putting up a website and checking Google Trends. My personal preference is to do all three if time isn't as pressing.

Don't limit yourself. Look for an up-and-coming neighborhood with a strong sense of community or a dynamic neighborhood that will grow with you. Think about what is important to you, and make sure the location you're considering meets those qualifications.

Read the article in Forbes HERE

My Latest Advice in Forbes: Determining Your Niche And What Makes Your Brand Stand Out

As an entrepreneur, it’s important to keep an eye on your competition and find ways to set yourself apart from others in your industry. Especially in a saturated market, it's vital to stand out with a strong personal brand.

To achieve this, you’ll want to define what makes you and your brand unique. If you’re looking to do this right, follow this advice from the members of Young Entrepreneur Council who shared eight key steps to take when trying to hone in on your niche.

1. Develop Your 'Internet Voice'

Create an "internet voice" that reflects your brand. Some brands have honed in on having a witty internet presence, others have found success being slightly snarky and some are known for unending positivity. Whatever you choose, be consistent with it across all online platforms—your social media presence, website verbiage, digital ads, etc. Find a unique way to convey your message and run with it. - Leila Lewis, Be Inspired PR

2. Get Direct Feedback From Followers

It’s essential to have one-on-one conversations in a low-pressure environment that allows consumers to voice their opinions. Direct feedback from your customer base is a unique perspective and is something that can’t be replicated through a large-scale data collection process. It allows you to tailor solutions to these real-life testimonials. You may have a different view of who your market is, so by examining it from an external perspective, you can get a true picture of where you fit within the marketplace. - Justin Lefkovitch, Mirrored Media

3. Be Authentically You

I would say look to leverage your story, background or personal characteristics. As corny as it sounds, ultimately you are the only that is you in the world. That is an asset. People today are looking for authentic and relatable brands that they connect to. So being yourself in your content will help to attract the niche audience that resonates to that. - Rishi Sharma, Mallama

4. Share Your Story

To define what's unique about your personal brand, tell its story. Marketers use storytelling to build an emotional connection with readers and encourage them to return. It humanizes your brand and makes users feel like they know the company for more than just selling products and services. In your brand story, incorporate your values and beliefs to show users what your company is all about and what it stands for. That'll help them decide if it's a company they want to invest in. - Stephanie Wells, Formidable Forms

5. Nail Down Your Value Proposition

One key step to take when trying to hone your niche and define what is unique about your personal brand in a saturated market is to focus heavily on your value proposition. A value proposition is a promise of value to be delivered from the brand to the customer. It boils down to why a customer would choose you over another company that offers the same service or product. You have established your company for a reason—to either offer the service or product at a better price, with better performance or offer more value in general. Even though you will be selling the same product or service, focusing on your value proposition will aim to differentiate you from the competition in a positive way. Be proud and showcase what makes your company unique and let that shine through in your branding. - Peter Boyd, PaperStreet Web Design

6. Ask Yourself What People Would Miss About You If You Weren't There

To get to the heart of what makes you stand out from the competition, ask yourself this question: "If I stopped offering my services or products tomorrow, what would customers miss the most about working with me?" This question gets to the root of what makes your company unique. Make sure that your answers are reflected on your website, branding, social media and in the voice you use when connecting with your audience. Don't hold back. Really let that part shine. - Rachel Beider, PRESS Modern Massage

7. Decide What You Stand For And Share Your Values

The most prominent brands know that it's important to stand for something. That is, you have to have strong values and not be afraid to share them. It's true that you will lose a portion of the audience to other brands, but when your values resonate with a group, you'll find loyal customers for a lifetime. It's much harder to get new customers than to keep loyal ones happy. Do an assessment of your own values as well as what values matter to your audience. Build your marketing content around this and push it forward to differentiate your brand. People will identify with your brand and, as a result, connect with it and become customers for the long run.  - Blair Williams, MemberPress

8. Check How You Compare To Your Competitors

Sometimes the best way to find what makes you stand out is to look at your competitors. When reviewing your competitors' products and services, try to figure out what they are missing that your brand has. Use this to your advantage and make it a major selling point in your marketing material and throughout your website. - John Brackett, Smash Balloon LLC

Article originally seen HERE in Forbes

My Podcast interview with "2 Massage Therapists and a Microphone"

I loved my interview with "2 Massage Therapists and a Microphone", a Canadian powerhouse couple with a phenomenal podcast about our industry. They write:

“Welcome to Season 4!!!

We kick it off with Rachel who is a LMT in New York and has an incredible story about turning a 5 year plan into a 6 month journey to becoming a business owner. Though 2020 was tough for most of us, Rachel took every WTF moment, made decisions, found solutions, and managed to have success and prosperity during a very challenging time. Rachel is the definition of entrepreneur and is now working to help other Massage Therapists who want to level up their businesses. Aside from coaching therapists, Rachel has written a book which will be available soon called Massage MBA. Listen to this episode to learn from a therapist who saw opportunities and continues to crush her goals even when she’s met with obstacles.”

Check out the full podcast Here

New Book Available for Pre-Order

I’m so thrilled to announce that my newest book, “Massage MBA: Run Your Practice, Love Your Life” is available NOW for pre-order on Kindle!

“I became a massage therapist to help people, and that same urge is what led me to write this book. I left school feeling so ready to give phenomenal massages, but totally terrified and unprepared for the business of starting a private practice. I see so many amazing therapists struggle with their businesses, and I myself certainly struggled with my own practice while growing through the years. I read so many business books that were not massage related, which helped a bit, but I never found an updated business guide that took into account all of the current technology and challenges that we now have. This book is a step-by-step, easy to follow guide on how to start or grow your practice, perfect for wellness professionals who want to give their business the best chance for survival in our current world.” Rachel Beider

I Need YOUR Help!

Hey all! I'm working on a new product to help wellness and beauty practitioners get more clients for their businesses. I’d love to get your feedback on a couple of things!

If you’ve got 5 minutes it would mean a lot to me to fill out this quick survey: THANK YOU In advance!!

Survey Here: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/5WNRLNM