Hi everyone!

Welcome to my blog! The first 100 copies of the The Magic Touch: How to Make $100,000 per year were released today and I can’t wait to hear from those that purchased it. I put my heart and soul into writing this book. It is my deepest desire that every healer who reads it find something within it’s pages that resonates with them, sparks an idea or two, gives them a giggle and most importantly provides them with advice never-before given about how to earn a great living while working only twenty hours per week. 

Whether you live in a small town, large city, are medical massage or spa treatment oriented, new to this profession, or seasoned but still not getting the results you seek… this book for you.

If 80% of the world’s wealth is in the hands of 20% of the people, shouldn’t it be in the hands of caring individuals like yourself? Individuals who contribute positively to the world? I believe it should. I will continue to communicate everything I have learned in my fourteen year ascent from broke and unhappy, to prosperous and living the life I love in this blog; for those of who don’t prefer the paper version. 

Here’s to a life of healing! Cheers!

~Meagan

The Magic Touch CE COURSES on the way!

Great news! I am spending the next few weeks putting together online CE courses for the entire Magic Touch books series. One course for each book,The Magic Touch: How to Make $100,000 per year as a Massage Therapist, More of The Magic Touch: vol 1 and “More of The Magic Touch: vol. 2″. There will be a deeply discounted course for all three books combined, AND here’s the really fun part… for those of you that prefer audio, the first book will be available in that format, so you can listen and answer the questions for your CE education simultaneously. Even more exciting is the new course I’m designing titled: How to build a thriving practice in any economy (on a shoestring budget) which covers all the info from A to Z on how to attract and turn clients into long term clients with no cost and low cost techniques. If I consider myself a guru at anything it’s  knowing how to build successful massage businesses on a bubble gum and shoestring budget. Now you’ll be able to benefit from my mistakes, my lucky breaks and my frugalness AND get your CE requirements filled at the same time. I know, it’s pretty great, right?

If you want to catch the courses live this spring I’ll be teaching at the San Diego AMTA convention in March 2012 and at the American Massage Conference in San Diego in April 2012. I’m looking forward to seeing you all at both, or either events. Bring your books to American Massage Conference as many of the contributors for “More of The Magic Touch” will be there and you’ll be able to collect a bunch of autographs from some of my favorite Massage Mentors all at once!

The CE courses will be available here at www.hundredthousanddollarmassage.com very soon, I’ll keep you posted.

Cheers!
Meagan Holub

“The Magic Touch: How to Make $100,000 per year” gets a facelift!

I am so excited to finally see the new and improved cover for my book “The Magic Touch: How to Make $100,000 as a Massage Therapist” up on amazon.com. The new cover represents my vision of the book from it’s inception. I hope you like it too!

“The Magic Touch” marketing to Massage schools across the nation begins Monday.  If you would like your school to offer this book, or to have me attend your school for book signings and seminars, please forward your school’s director’s information. (After you have received a heads up from them to pass on their contact info, of course.)

Thanks! ~Meagan

How much money can a Massage Therapist make?

This is a tough question to answer, but one that get’s asked most often by Massage Schools students. I happen to know that Oprah’s LMT makes $250,000 a year just to work with her. The average MT is barely making less than $20,000 according to Wiki Answers (but part timers are included in that estimate). 

The answer is: as much as your willing to work for it and believe it. 

As I go out into the world trying to teach MTs how to make $100,000 per year in less than twenty hours per week, I believe this really is not that hard of a task to undertake with determination, vision and action. But it does require an open mind and asking questions of every successful person in your life, who will answer. Over the years my clients, who are some of the most business savvy people in the world) pushed me into new ideas and ways of being that might never have been possible had they not shared their knowledge with me. I began with a very limited mindset, and a lack of business savvy. As I began to look around and see that the very people who wanted to to help the world and the people in it, were often underpaid, exhausted, and their message wasn’t reaching very far… I decided them and there to not be one of them any longer. That day I began to uncover MANY ways to make good money, and I freely and generously mentored every MT around me, as I believe there is enough for everyone in this world.

I’m not going to lie, having exceptional hands on ability, or being seasoned at this, or having additional training can certainly help you bring in that goal income of $100 per hour or more. But the reality is, none of this is necessary.

I know of an MT who graduated with my class at Seattle Massage School in 1995. No one in the class wanted to get a massage from him. He was frankly, unbearable to get a massage from. He just didn’t have “it”. We all felt terrible about not wanting him to touch us, because he was such a great guy. Very kind and positive and friendly. But he hurt us, and simply wouldn’t listen. I remember watching in horror as he swung a students arm rapidly in circles during a test on myofascial unwinding. Halfway through he fainted from anxiety. (Clearly on some level he knew he wasn’t that good… but it meant A LOT to him). The thing about him that everyone use to say was “He may kill someone, but he is so determined to make $60,000 a year when he gets out of here, I bet he’ll be the first to do it”. You know what? He was. Within six months of graduating from massage school the graduate with the worst hands on ability was earning $60,000 per year. No kidding. 

I’ve seen these examples everywhere. I know of a woman who gives the same uninspiring massage over and over. She really doesn’t love being an MT. But because she is focused on making money, she grosses over $125,000 per year, with little repeat clientele. I know of a new graduate who has a nice swedish massage, but really that’s it. With a little business savvy and making the right connections she was averaging $125 per hour plus tips right out of massage school.

When I began this profession, my focus was anti-money. In fact I despised the idea of it, because my lack of it brought me so much pain and stress. I believe that is why I didn’t have enough. 

It took hard work and dedication for me to earn a good living and lots of trial and error, but these days I have it all pretty streamlined. Typical business practices don’t work in this profession because your profit margin and tax write offs need to be high, while expenses need to be low, so people saying that what I am teaching is not possible because they have a business degree… watch out! I spell it all out for you in the Magic Touch. If one “true healer” can make a decent living at this because I shared this information, I’m satisfied. I truly did get bored of seeing MTs without the “gift” being the ones that made a good living at this.

Let’s move this conversation forward to: “Yes we can!” already! ~ Meagan

How to fold a fitted sheet. (Or just have fun trying).

About a month back I posted a video on my face book profile by a man with a very Ben Stein-like-voice who demonstrated how to fold a fitted sheet perfectly. But hey, let’s face it. We Massage Therapists have mountains of sheets to fold… so why not have a little giggle while doing it like this woman HERE.

Or perhaps you could come to an agreement with the sheet to behave like the “dude” in the movie  short: The Fitted Sheet. Either way, you’ve got mountains of sheets to fold and put on the table, so you might as well enjoy it!

Massagealumni.com rocks!

I just wanted to give a shout out to the MTs, authors, healers and visionaries who are holding my hand through this process. Strangers with one thing in common… the forward motion of our profession… offer me guidance and assistance every day. It is truly humbling. 

A super big shout out to Rob West, founder of massagealumni.com, who has graciously linked The Magic Touch as a resource on the site’s home page. In case you don’t know how much Massage Alumni rocks… because you’ve been under one somewhere – it’s the largest networking community for MTs in the world. And from what I’ve seen,  he has your best interests at heart. So become a member.

Yes, really you CAN earn $100,000 per year (or more!) as a Massage Therapist

Apparently I am not the only one saying it. Julie Onofrio, the LMT for The Bodyworker Blog has been in the world singing the same tune for a while, it seems.

She mentioned my book The Magic Touch as one example HERE . While my book entails quite a bit more info than how to obtain this level of income in many more ways than Julie mentioned (perhaps I need to send her a thank you book to read ) her point is an excellent one.

I find that the very people that I wrote this book for, healers trapped in a less prosperous paradigm (like I once was)… are the ones who are doubting my message. It saddens me that those who care the most and often have the “magic touch” are trapped in limiting thought paradigms. I once was too. I was sick, broke and desperately unhappy my first SEVEN years as a practicing LMT. I didn’t have a single mentor that encouraged my healing gift, or shared with me the “secrets” of earning a great living in this profession. In fact, I found that this profession was often filled with negative beliefs about money, success and business-professionalism. Much of the advice that I was given in massage school and by other LMTs was the OPPOSITE of what I should have been doing to live and inspired life. One of dream and goal fulfillment and helping to heal the world while remaining in excellent health, myself.

The secrets of success that I have revealed to LMTs in The Magic Touch are secrets that I learned by removing myself from the toxic and destructive beliefs that run rampant in our profession, and by getting in touch with my clients needs and expectations. I did this by building firm boundaries, increasing my level of professionalism (including my attire) and really listening to my clients, rather than practicing within the confining and restrictive guidelines that the massage schools placed on me.

Massage schools are doing their best to teach MTs the basics. They are however, failing miserably at teaching MTs to earn a sustainable living. As is obvious by the average income earned by MTs in this country.

One does not have to be a martyr to be a positive force in this world. Quite the opposite actually. I only wish that mentors like Julie O. and I had been in this profession fourteen years ago. It would have saved me so much pain and poverty.

Open your hearts and minds. It may very well be your belief systems holding you back from being prosperous. I know my beliefs were holding me back those many years ago. I didn’t want to believe it. It made me feel even worse when others suggested it, because I didn’t know how to make the  crazy negative situations that would arise to hold me back from my potential.. stop.

At some point I realized that I was creating, and manifesting much or even all of my life… and I began to understand that if I wasn’t setting a HUGE goal and backing it with positive intentions… I was creating equal amounts of drama in all different directions to fulfill the creator within me.

I am not alone. Every day humans view the world through unique eyes, and this vision changes the way the world responds to each of us. This is not to say that we can sit at home all day and become every thing we desire. It takes action to create in this world. But sometimes the action that creation requires of us is restraint – sometimes we have to know when to stop pushing our meaning on the world, and let it gently guide us where we need to be to execute our plans. We begin to know what is required of us with practice. None of us “get it” all the time. In fact, this is the mystery of being human. But without belief that a thing can be true, or exist… it never will. This is the truth of our universe as I see it.

Here’s to your success! ~Meagan

It’s tax time… know your write offs!

It’s tax time again. Wow. Time flies.

Before I begin, please remember I am a Licensed Massage therapist and a business owner, I am not a CPA. If you have tax questions you’ll have to ask someone else. I merely plan on sharing some of the tidbits I have learned over the years that can potentially increase your lifestyle, even while you are still making the same amount of money. That’s right, you don’t have to make any more money, to have more “toys of the trade” at the end of the year. But you do need to write them off to do so.  

Here are some examples of ways in which I was able to live a better lifestyle while paying less at the end of the year:

My home office. I turned the entire basement into an office and two treatment rooms with a door that lead outside. I did this for only $2500 worth of contracting, a few modern pieces of furniture from West Elm, bamboo floor mats, and ikea curtains. My savvy clientele loved the space, it required no additional rent to maintain, at the end of the year I was able to write off 33% of my rent for the year. Meaning, I was living in a gorgeous five bedroom house with hardwoods, close to the city, and with views of the lake and mountains for well under value (approx. the cost of a one bedroom apartment) because I had turned part of it into a clear and indisputable tax write off. 

However, I went the less luxurious direction with my automobile for my mobile massage company. Because vehicles rapidly depreciate I always buy ones that are used, very reliable and hold their value. After researching the yearly Consumer reports Used Car edition I settled on a Honda Civic EX 2000.  This car had the basics, would never break down, and fit all my massage supplies in the trunk while remaining very fuel friendly. I brought in hundreds of thousands of dollars over the years in that car, and five years later when  I sold it… I sold it for only $1500 less than I bought it for. Meaning, I didn’t spend a dime on that car for the five years I drove it. 

I notice most LMTs who live in the U.S. spend in a less beneficial way. Not understanding write offs, they don’t look for where to effectively spend, and where to save in their every day lives. Rather, they buy more  ”massage stuff” and spend less on marketing, enhancing their professional appearance, their massage space, etc. 

Don’t nickel and dime yourself to the poor house by being to afraid to think big. Think out of the box. Ask questions. Research. You’ll be surprised what you dig up.

Contrary to popular belief, the people at the IRS office are generally overly nice (probably to compensate for their reputation). They have walked me through many different option in the past. From filing extensions, to paying yearly instead of quarterly and even payment plans… they’ll work out a way to make it easy for you if they can. So don’t put off the decision to be self employed because of ungrounded fears such as the “Big bad wolf of the IRS”. The benefits that you reap from being paid what you deserve in this profession will far out way the little bit of discomfort you feel each year while filing.

Tiny tips to make filing time easier:

1) Keep every receipt. Each day empty them in a basket. At weeks end file them in file folders. At the years end put all the files in file storage with easy access to last filing year and start with all fresh files. Have a separate filing system for all other info.  

2) H&R Block saved my sanity. Accountants were charging too much. Tax pro was stressing me out. H&R Block’s prices were on the low end, but I didn’t have to suffer any crying bouts like I did trying too get my tech-un-savvy self to  file with tax pro software.

3) Pick the brains of LMTs who are currently self employed and appear to be unaffected by tax season, they may have a lot of secrets to share with you.

4) Once you think you have a good idea of possible tax write offs in your space, with your vehicle, education, etc. trade a with a CPA before you proceed. Give them a great massage and have them look over your business plan and verify that all your tax write offs are legal, and your designated business space is indisputable.

5)Don’t be scared. Once you understand taxes and are making choices around your acceptable write offs, it often feels like you are being REWARDED to have your own business. Shhhhhhh! Don’t tell them I told you!

How I tripled my business by GIVING AWAY massage clients to other LMTs.

Yep, it’s true. The first successful marketing technique I employed was to give away clients to other LMTs. As a result, my schedule was PACKED! How can this be you ask? Let me explain…

I began developing my reputation as a Seattle’s “Celebrity Massage Therapist” because of contracting at our local 4 star hotel. At the time there were no other hotels in town that catered to celebrities and VIPs. And while there was a system of hierarchy in place, and I was the new LMT on the block, occasionally one of the senior LMTs would be unavailable and I would work with big name celebs. And the result was that they would RAVE about me to the hotel, see me every day, write letters, and request me every time they came through. After awhile the Spa director decided it was silly to send their “most important” (his words, not mine) clients to LMTs who weren’t getting the raves and requests. While I always kept my client list mum (until I got permission from the clients to do otherwise), people have a way of talking in any service industry. So unbeknownst to me, word was traveling through the hotels and in the world of VIPs.

Other gossip was traveling about me too. Rumors of how I had walked out on a “VIP” who was verbally abusive and asked for sexual favors. And had “brazenly” asked security to retrieve my  massage equipment. At the time of this happening, I was afraid I would lose my job. It was my well-paying position and I had mounting money problems… I was underrstandably distressed. I had to repeat the entire horrifying conversation to the President of the hotel, and it was put in my file. All this, only two weeks after I was first hired. I never could have predicted that this difficult situation would entwine with my reputation as being a favorite LMT of the stars and be a very good thing, in the long run.

Fast forward to two years  later: I was fed up with the system at this particular hotel. I find the idea of hierarchy in any system unattractive. I am an idealist and believe that rewards should be based on performance. 

One day, while sitting in the hotel director’s office, providing him with consulting information he had requested of me, that I would not be compensated for… I decided that it was time to take my knowledge elsewhere and to REALLy truly be self employed. Contracting at this hotel was only allowing me to experience the sacrifice of being self employed, and none of the freedoms. So I walked, and I took my reputation with me.

I was lucky, as my reputation allowed me to hop to the top five of the call list in all of the top hotels. And as that reputation was proven to be true, and not merely gossip, I rose to the top. However, I wanted my services to be even better.

I noticed that the independent LMTs were very disjointed and uncooperative in how they provided service in the rooms. I felt this was undesirable for the client. So slowly, I began to take charge in how we synchronized the entering and exiting of the in room massages. I began to insist that LMTs accept credit cards as a courtesy to the guests. During this time I observed who provided the highest quality massage, maintained excellent ethics, and was respectful to other LMTs. These are the LMTs I began sending free business to. 

There were a couple of reasons why I did this. 1) I wanted to see the LMTs who were healers and professionals get the business rather than LMTs who employed unprofessional tactics to get it 2) I wanted to work with LMTs who enhanced my reputation, not detracted from it 3) I wanted my reputation to include excellent availability, and by combining schedules with others I was able to do just that 4) I have resistance to  inauthentic networking (kissing butt is just not my style) and needed to find another way to maintain my relationships with referrals. I did this by observing a service that was missing and providing it. Additional convenience for the referring concierge. By dispatching out massages to trusted LMTs rather than busy concierge having to do it, I killed two birds with one stone. I got to work with talented LMTs and was happy to see their incomes increase, I provided a service for my referrals that no one else was providing (while other LMTs were using unethical tactics to secure referrals), and as a result I was offered any business first, providing me with a packed schedule.

Between my hard earned reputation and my offering a simple 2 minutes of additional “work” in the form of a few phone calls… I cornered the market.

This is how “Sp Umi” first began. $0 marketing budget and free massages provided to excellent Massage Therapists.

As a healer I was often told that being a business person is wrong. Making money is evil. And being successful is only for the ego. I challenge that.

If you are one of the healers that is driven to constantly be better than yourself… this is who you are. Do not deny yourself of yourself. Only surround yourself with people who believe in you and support you. Life is too short to be hung up on such fearful belief systems. And if you are already someone who sees “outside the box”… Congradulations! Your ascent to success will be a swift one, if you encourage it.

Here’s to redistributing the world’s wealth into the hands of healers! ~Meagan

Lotion vs. Oil: Which does my billionaire client prefer?

Hi again everyone!

In the past seven years I have worked with the most seasoned “massage receivers” in the world. Just as Bob Hope was known as the man who got a massage every morning for fifty years, so does a favorite client of mine. He lived next door to Bob years ago. Apparently Bob had a way of convincing his neighbors and friends that getting a massage every day was the key to a long healthy prosperous life. THANKS BOB! 

This client pays $300 per massage. He buys them for loved ones and celebrity friends too. He gets about 25 a month on average. He is any LMTs dream client. He pays this high level of pay so that he may retain the loyalty of the LMTs that he deems “the best”. It surely keeps me around.

Over the years I have been fortunate to not only work closely with many such clients, but be graced with a list of do’s and don’t supplied by them. Stories, disillusionments, and unfulfilled needs have been detailed by these clients one by one. Typically one of these omissions is spurred by the client noticing that I approach massage differently from many other LMTs, and they like it. They will first compliment my choice of equipment, music, “uniform”, or style of massage. Then they will generally lead into a story detailing their usual experience with previous LMTs. After a while my clients will wait for months to get a massage rather than risk being disappointed by yet another LMT who applies the same old “in the box” practices that every other LMT is applying.

The details that I put in place that attract the most affluent clients in the world are very small. I don’t do anything mind blowing, or unusual. I simply increase the quality in everything I do just a tad bit. And I analyze how my services and products will be perceived by the CLIENT, not other LMTs, massage instructors, etc.

At the top of this list of details is this: never use oils for your massage. And never use scented products without first approval. I know you’ve heard differently. But have you heard differently from someone who has interviewed the clients in the world who will be your most lucrative? Because that’s who I have interviewed to bring this information to you.

Let me explain. Many oils are pore clogging. Many people have oil allergens. Most importantly, oils stain clothes, sheets, and require a body soaping and shampooing to remove entirely. Many of your best clients don’t have time or desire to shower after the massage. You don’t have the money to be replacing sheets every three months that are stained and rancid smelling. Oil is time consuming, expensive, and the least favorite product of a savvy clientele. Use it, and your dream client may never call you for a second appointment. Oh, and as for scent: something that smells heavenly to you can conjure up a gag reflex or horrible memory for your client. Remember Pavlov’s dogs theory? Few clients will complain, they just won’t reschedule with you. You can’t afford to lose them because of small details that could have been prevented.

I have used Biotone’s Advanced Therapy Massage Lotion-Unscented for ten years. My clients rave about it. It’s hypoallergenic, all natural, and easy to use. It’s true that discriminating clientele notice every detail, and prefer products that are simple and effective. I also add a touch of Washout in with the lotion to ensure that any trace amounts of oil uplift from fabric in the wash. It really is a miracle in a bottle. I swear by the stuff. Use it and you can wear clothes and use linens that are of the highest quality without, worrying about stains. And that is good for business.

I have filled an entire chapter full of the “Do’s and Don’ts as described by the most affluent clients in the world in my book The Magic Touch: How to make $100,000 per year as a Massage Therapist. These simple choices could potentially skyrocket your earning potential.

~Meagan

Sand castle kickers and other strange ways of being in the world.

Remember the sand castle kickers of our youth? Sigh. They sometimes seem to be every where. The general nature of blogging and discussion boards often brings out the ego/critic that would normally bite it’s tongue because it hides behind a fake name and photo.

I am relatively new to the blogging world (as you can see… because this is my second post). But recently I stumbled into a discussion board that SHOCKED ME to the core with what was going on inside it’s cyber walls. That discussion board was merely Facebook’s scrabble application. 

I know, it’s SCRABBLE, right? “What could possibly be so shocking about a scrabble discussion board?!!” is the thought probably crossing your mind right now. And a month ago I would have agreed. Since then I have discovered that blogs represent a microcosm of the world.

Within them you find egos battling for their claim to fame, and rationalizing their unethical behaviors with trickery, you witness innocent people being kicked around the moment they walk onto the scene with their naivete flag waving, and you find groups of people validating  their beliefs together through verbal jabs and who then divide and conquer.  FB Scrabble is just one of these microcosms.

In fact, there is a world of metaphor on the FB scrabble board; “The Wizard of Oz”, “Lord of the Flies”, and even “A brave New World” come to mind while you are immersed in it, as was I for about 48 hours. (Some say I am a glutton for punishment, I say I am curious and I seek answers until I am satisfied).

Personality tests call me and inspirer and a spontaneous- idealist. I believe that is me at my best, but these traits can only manifest themselves by me first upturning every stone, and that often upsets fundamentalists too (and I don’t just mean religious ones). Nor does it thrill those who only want to “evolve” only the way they see fit, and criticize every one who thinks differently. Which really, has nothing to do with evolution, and more to do with fascism, control, and fear; I believe.

So, back to FB Scrabble… There is a war going on between two “teams of thought” the “Purists” and the “Generators”. The “Purists” are those players who like to play with the rules of the game agreed upon, and prefer that both players restrain from using outside help or computer generated programs to spell out and/or place words for them. The “Generators” are those players that feel that use of generators is not only fine, but that insinuating someone is cheating by doing so deserves that person to be verbally flogged by the latter community. 

While it may be a bit over the top to call out a cheater on FB scrabble, the truly horrible thing is that the players who are using generators to climb their way to the top of the rankings are defending one another with every tactic they can find. They claim to be moral, creative, non judgemental, they say “it’s only a game after all”, and purists need to grow up and get with times or play on a board in the privacy of their own homes, while at the same time they usually don’t admit to using a generator in the first place. 

Meanwhile, mocking, name calling and shunning those that express upset for entering into a game with with a generated component, unbeknownst to them. Which is understandable. I mean, every one knows that entering a game with one set of rules only to have an opponent use help outside of those rules is by the very definition “cheating”. The point that I find here is people will do anything for their 15 minutes of unearned fame. Including debasing other people.

I had a wonderful group of FB scrabble players rescue me from the onslaught I received after standing up to the FBS bullies. Now I play every day with people that are kind, intelligent, hard working and believe that scrabble is not only a game, but represents the game of life. Which is all I wanted to do from the beginning; play, learn, and grow… win or lose. And what I’ve discovered is that groups of a feather flock together… these players took a while to find me fighting the good fight… to invite me into their circle… because they were busy PLAYING, LAUGHING, LOVING, AND CREATING in their day to day lives. They were too busy and fulfilled to hang around discussion boards full of negativity and destruction.

Those of us humans who refuse to create, but instead condemn those that do, are contributing to the de-evolution of our species. Hard work, discipline, curiosity, and creation while nurturing our communities are important keys to growth. Many times this means challenging the status quo. It’s overused, but it IS true that people were once mocked for believing the world to be round.

I urge you to support positive change, and to be apart of conversations in a contributive way. We mirror one another. Whenever I see someone attacking someone else… I listen. And I always hear them speaking to themselves. They are not truly criticizing the person of whom they know nothing about.

We are all mere humans. This means that the majority of us will look back at a time when we thought we were right, and we realize were mistaken. Because there is no “right” other than what is inside you. And it will eternally change as you do. So remaining humble in expressing your opinions of others will only serve you.

There are sandcastle kickers and dream stompers every where you look. But standing right next to them are countless healers and visionaries ready to support you and hold your hand in your journey as a contributive force in this world.

Walk right past the critics. Into the arms of the creators, risk takers and heretics. The benefits will be immense. I’ll be waiting there for you with open arms.

Cheers~ Meagan