The author, Isabelle Allende, once said that “The end doesn’t justify the means; the end is decided by the means. If we’re petty and greedy and shallow and put our need to win ahead of our humanity, then nothing good will come of our careers.”
We need to support each other.
As bodyworkers, we need to stop thinking of other practitioners as competition; instead, to see ourselves as part of a community working to improve the health of our friends and neighbors. Only healthy minds and bodies can build strong, healthy communities. And, as the saying goes, “It takes a village.”
We’re all in this together, so let’s start working together. Let’s focus first on helping to improve the quality of our clients’ health, not our client base. Ultimately, that will build our clientele.
When I first graduated from the Florida School of Massage in 1989, many naysayers predicted that it was impossible to build a practice in Gainesville – there were just too many licensed therapists in a town that boasted one of the top two massage schools in the country.
I thought about that. There were a lot of therapists in the city, and, I thought, that meant the community was likely more educated about massage and bodywork than one that didn’t have many people practicing in it. Therefore, I decided that having a lot of therapists around could be an advantage – I wouldn’t be starting from scratch to explain the benefits of my work – I just had to demonstrate that I was the best person to turn to. It was up to me to rise to the top, to STAND OUT IN THE CROWD.
There were thousands of people living in Gainesville back then. They all had bodies and therefore, they all needed bodywork to stay healthy. That meant there was a very large pool of clients to share with other professionals. That was – and still is – my perspective. I have my specialty; others have different approaches, skills and trainings that might be better suited in certain situations. We are a citywide team.
When I started out in 1989 in Florida, I brought a specialty to my practice – my training and six-year expertise as a reflexologist. That allowed me to stand out. And allows me to continue to stand out. When people talk about reflexology, my name is the first one people think of.
Have you found your niche? What interests you enough to stay engaged, to keep delving deeper into understanding the body, to stand out as the ‘go-to’ person in your community?
If you think reflexology might be your pathway to success, please check out the information regarding next year’s certification program. Feel free to contact me for a personal consultation on whether reflexology and the Academy’s program are a good fit for you.
Others have helped me over the years, and I’d consider it a real privilege to help you.
100% love this message! That’s absolutely how I see other reflexologists in my community: as colleagues, not competitors. Here in Lincoln (UK) we have one of the leading reflexology schools in the country and there are quite a lot of us but I find it is a city and surrounding area where people are very open to and actively looking for such services (even despite a lower than average income level). We have a new wellness networking
group where reflexologists, accupuncturists NLP masters, hypnotherapists, reiki practitioners, shaken, masseuses etc are all coming together to see how we can work together. It’s really very lovely to be part of such an inclusive group and has absolutely helped my business to grow. 😍😍👏👏👣👣
How wonderful, Amy, to have a collaborative wellness center where all are working together to improve the health of the community. You are blessed.