Hi, I’m Milan.
I’ve been a Clinical Massage Therapist since 2006. And let me tell you something interesting: I never planned to be a business owner.
It seemed entirely too hard and too scary and too unpredictable. Even if I did want to start one I didn’t know the first thing about what to do, having gone to college for Communications Studies and not… you know… business.
But after being certified after graduating from the SOMA Institute of Clinical Massage Therapy I learned a humbling economic truth—it’s hard to earn a good living as a massage therapist. After working on a cruise ship for a few years and then moving to Boston where I got a job in a well-known Massage Franchise, I was determined to move on from working 10-hour days only to find myself barely scraping by. The way I saw it, there were only two options: Go back to school and enroll in a program for a higher-paying field, or start my own massage therapy practice. And like I said, I wasn’t even seriously considering Option B.
My stamina for studying for a line of work that I had zero interest in ran its course in less than two years, and I started the process of opening my own practice the same day that I dropped out of the program.
After a rough, unprofitable start and plenty of time spent crying myself to sleep, I was able to turn things around after discovering that business coaching—specifically massage therapy business coaching—was a thing that existed. Why had no one ever told me this before?! Coaching would have been nice to have before I spend an embarrassing amount of money trying to get clients by selling T-shirts (hey, it seemed like a good idea at the time).
Since then, my solo practice has not only survived through the pandemic, it has earned $80k-$95k annually with each year doing better than the last. And while proper credit must be given to my coaches for starting me on the right path, I found their advice for the most crucial part of any successful business—finding clients—just did not work for an introvert like me. I ultimately had to develop my own methods, methods I found exponentially more effective and easier for me to execute. Methods that I’m going to pass on to you.
My Approach
It all begins with an idea. Maybe you want to launch a business. Maybe you want to turn a hobby into something more. Or maybe you have a creative project to share with the world. Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference.
Dream it
Don’t worry about sounding professional. Sound like you. There are over 1.5 billion websites out there, but your story is what’s going to separate this one from the rest.
Build it
Be clear, be confident and don’t overthink it. The beauty of your story is that it’s going to continue to evolve and your site can evolve with it. Your goal should be to make it feel right for right now. Later will take care of itself. It always does.