Thrive as an Entrepreneur: Tips for Wellness Industry Professionals

We are so excited that our co-founder, Katherine Parker, was interviewed on Enterprise Podcast Radio by producer Eric Dye! In this interview, Katherine talks about how to succeed as a wellness professional by breaking through the revenue and physical stamina barrier with Yomassage™, and create a revenue stream that allows you to maximize your impact on your students, while preserving more of your own health in the process.

Below, you'll find bits and pieces of the interview.

You can listen to the full episode here.

Massage therapists and wellness industry entrepreneurs can blend their compassion with profitability.  Yomassage entrepreneur and co-founder Katherine Parker shares her insight.

1.  Wellness entrepreneurs such as massage therapists face a dilemma:  they thrive on serving clients individually, but this can take a toll on their physical well-being and their bottom line. Can you explain more to us about this catch-22?

Yes. I struggled with this when I first opened up my yoga studio a couple of years ago. When we first opened, we were getting 1-3 people in each class. So it was easy for me to think “what if I just do private’s – then I can make $60-$75/ person instead of $15/ person.” But if you’re an entrepreneur you have to think about the bigger picture. When you’re starting out, it sounds way more appealing to make $65/hour instead of $15-$45, but the long term, focusing on classes has the potential to make way more than $65/hour. So it makes sense to focus on building classes rather than getting private clients because there are only so many hours in a day and there is a cap on how many private clients you can see.

2.  Your company, Yomassage, offers an approach that, I understand, helps break through this revenue and physical stamina barrier.  How does the Yomassage model work?

Since the beginning of massage therapy, it has been practiced in 1 on 1 sessions. This is the only thing that massage therapists know. But if yoga, for example, were only offered 1 on 1, how many people do you think would practice it? We believe that massage and mindful touch shouldn’t just be reserved for people who have a lot of money. With Yomassage, we offer safe touch in a small group setting of 5-10 people. This allows therapists to offer massage at a more accessible rate AND make more money than they would in a private session. 

 3.  Is massage therapy and the wellness industry a good place for an entrepreneur to launch a business in 2019?

The wellness industry is booming and it’s growing every year. But something that is happening while the industry is growing is that is becoming more and more expensive, and more and more exclusive. People are realizing this and it’s becoming a huge topic of discussion, especially amongst consumers. If you can create products or services like Yomassage that can solve this dilemma in 2019, I think that will be huge. 

4.  What do you see as wellness entrepreneurs strengths and weaknesses in building a business?

I see this a lot in the yoga and massage community. Yoga teachers who love yoga and therapists who love massage try to open up their own businesses, but they end up failing because they don’t love business, they love teaching yoga or they love massage. If you want to build a successful business you have to be committed to learning everything there is to know about your industry, your market, and your customers. You have to connect with other business owners, get advice, read books, and be all in. You can’t just start a business because you love the product – you have to love the business side as well, or partner with someone else who does.

5. What inspired you and your partner to create the Yomassage offering?

My partner, Tiffany, is a massage therapist, and when we met we talked a lot about massage and how essential it is. I love getting massages. But I always thought about massage as something you do once or twice a year, on birthdays or special occasions. After talking to Tiffany, I started to understand how important massage and safe touch is and how it really helps people. We wanted to figure out a way to make massage more accessible. So we figured out how we could combine the gentler aspects of massage and yoga so we could serve more people and offer massage at an affordable rate.

Tip: Wellness industry entrepreneurs:

While the wellness industry is booming – it’s becoming reserved only for those who can afford it. And that’s not okay. Everyone deserves to have the opportunity for health and wellness. If you can find a way to offer wellness products and services to the average consumer and underserved populations, I think you will be very successful.

Want to learn more? Read about us in Yomassage in American Spa.