The Deep Philosophy of Massage

Big bodies,
Small bodies
White bodies,
Tall bodies,

Fit bodies,
Fat bodies,
Tanned bodies,
Black bodies,

Quiet bodies,
Shy bodies,
Tattooed bodies,
Dry bodies,

Thin bodies,
Peeling bodies,
Smooth bodies,
Healing bodies,

Young bodies,
Police bodies,
Warm bodies,
Mommies bodies,

Amish bodies,
Old bodies,
Abused bodies,
Bold bodies,

Cold bodies,
Fragile bodies,
Hairy ones, it's true,
Agile bodies.
Perfumed bodies and smelly bodies too.

Clean the Dirt!

Cleaning your massage table is a good idea and it's simple.  You want to make sure it's clean for everyone.  Everyone has body oils, germy breath, oily makeup, etc.  I always use massage table linens and launder them after one use - I hope that's what everyone does.  Not that it will kill anyone to use the same sheets as someone else, but most Americans will agree it's pleasanter and safer not to.

"I majored in Massage Therapy and minored in Laundry."

 

So after a massage and you remove the sheets for washing, it's time to clean the table itself.  

Probably the main thing to disinfect would be the face rest because the face is oily and your client was breathing right there for 30-60 minutes or so.  SO, get rid of the germs. 

I just use a misting bottle, from the hair-care area of the supermarket.   I fill it with about 1 part isopropyl alcohol and two parts water.  I just mist a little of this over my table focusing on the spots I think need it most.  Then I use a paper towel to wipe it and my bolster (which is just vinyl without a fabric cover) and my lotion dispenser, bottle, holster thing.  

Think about where the germs are.  If you press your lotion pump, touch a person, and then press your lotion pump again, there will be germs on there and you'll pass them to the next person.  Just a thought.

I Love Vistaprint!

I love Vistaprint!  I also love Polyvore!  Check out both! vistaprint.com polyvore.com

On Polyvore you can create collages for free and express your style or create a wish.  On Vistaprint you can buy awesome products for your business.  Pick a design you like and they can make almost any product with that design if you just give them a call.  Create an account and you can save all your designs and get all the great discounts.  If you're a member of the AMTA you get more dicounts on Vistaprint.

Paperworkpaperworkpaperwork

Have you ever had a chunk of cash one day and then the next, it's gone? Did you ask yourself "Where the heck did it go?!" Did you ever find you and someone else wondering if you paid them something you owed them or if they paid you something they owed you?

 Ugh, it can be frustrating... I am lazy. I hate writing down things when they happen, I'd rather just live my life, BUT in the long-run (poor, abused Long-Run) it WILL make my life much better.

Sooo, July was the one year anniversary of my business and I think it is high time I straighten out my paperwork. I have been working on it for weeks.


Creating Charts on:
#1. What I'm paid for being receptionist in the Chiropractor's office.
#2. What I earn outside of the office when I make therapy out-calls.
#3. Business purchases I make - and that includes rent of my space.
#4. All the clients I receive IN the office and what they pay me.
#5. Then my personal preference: my business statistics, which covers how my business has progressed in amount of clients and income over each month - it's very interesting.

I'm weird. I love all the quantitative stuff and figuring out why, how, when etc. I need to make myself notes more when something out of the ordinary happens in my finances because I WILL NOT remember next month! Sometimes I don't even understand my own notes though! Argghh.

Google Docs @ docs.google.com is my friend!! It immortalizes my documents online FOR FREE and is easy to use. And tidy. I highly recommend using that. I make a table with like 5 columns across and like 30 rows down and just fill in the Date, Amount, Check #'s if applicable, and End Totals for the month.

Example:

Date	Earned the Week Before	To Dr. 30%	To Taxes 15%
08/17/15	$45.00	$15.00	$06.75

I know all of this and maybe even more can be documented and managed best on something like QuickBooks, but that costs money and to me this is simple.  I have fun with it, too - except when the numbers don't match up!

So DON'T BE LAZY!  You won't regret it!!