I was glad to see so many therapists in recent CEU classes talking about how busy they are these days. I often ask what situations the participants work in and follow up with a question like – “Are you staying busy?” And a majority of the therapists say they are definitely staying busy. To be sure, some say they’re still looking for a better work situation, but some say they’ve got more business than they can handle! How could this be if we’ve been in a so-called ‘down economy’ for the past few years?
My own bodywork practice has thrived for many years now without any advertising. And I’ve seen a definite increase in the last few years – more consistency – less peaks and valleys. Mostly just one peak after another. And I know it’s not just me, because so many other therapists tell me they’ve experienced the same thing. Yet it’s hard to listen to the media or talk to certain people without hearing about how bad the economy is. Is it just luck? Location? Freebies? Or what?!
My view is that there are two main ingredients to maintaining a good, steady clientele in these times. The first is that – People are stressed out! And they’re stretched to the max – with the wrong kind of stretching! The fight, flight, or freeze mechanism is common and chronic these days, and lots of people are in crisis mode.
Of course, the media loves a crisis, especially TV. If you watch it long enough, you may start believing what they say. Then there are those people that love to talk about ‘how bad things are’ – all the time. It’s almost part of their persona, their identity. Like the cab driver that took me from the hotel to the airport in San Francisco recently. I could tell he was from Eastern Europe by his accent. I tried to start a conversation, so I asked him how he was doing. He said, “No good.” I repeated, “No good?” He said, “No good – Every day no good.” That ended that conversation.
Yes, it’s true that the real estate boom went south, investors lost a lot on Wall Street, and lots of folks lost their jobs. There’s no denying that. At the same time, many business are thriving – even new businesses! People are doing well in lots of enterprises. And one of them is massage. When people are stressed, we’ve got the ‘cure’! We know how to deal with stress…(at least in other people 🙂 And as you know, stress can show up in the body in any number of ways – low back pain, headaches, upper back soreness, headaches, neck stiffness, headaches, anxiety-tension-stress, and…did I mention headaches?
We know how to help these people feel better – at least for awhile. And that’s a wonderful thing! That’s a gift! That’s promoting peace on earth – one massage at a time! One ‘take a nice deep breath’ at a time. How good is that?!
The second ingredient to thriving in a ‘down economy’ is to not buy into the ‘down economy’. Yes, there are the realities that we see and hear on the news. But it doesn’t have to be my reality. And it doesn’t have to be yours either. We can choose to watch or listen to the news. We can choose to talk to people who prefer to see themselves as a victim – or not. We can choose to buy into what all the ‘experts’ are saying. OR…
We can choose to look around us and see the beauty in our lives, the long list of things we have to be grateful for, the good friends, the awesome prosperity we have relative to most of the people on the planet, the flowers on the side of the road, the clients that are willing to take the time and energy to come to our offices, to trust us enough to get on our tables, and pay us to loosen and lengthen those tense muscles and fascia.
We give to our clients and others in extraordinarily generous and nurturing ways – every day. And we receive so many gifts back – every day. And the more we contemplate about how fortunate we are with what we have…and dive into that feeling of gratitude…the more clients and fulfilling experiences come our way. Sure, it seems simplistic. But it works! Is that good or good?! It’s good enough for me.
What do you think? Leave a comment.