Massage. Business. Success.

Most of us built our first massage business when we knew the least about running one.

We looked around, figured out what everyone else was charging, working, offering and doing—and we started there. That isn't necessarily a bad thing. The problem comes years later when we're still making decisions from that original version of the business, even though we aren't the same therapist or business owner anymore.

In this episode, I’m talking about what happens when the decisions that helped you get started eventually become the decisions holding you back, why fear can keep you protecting a business you've already outgrown, and the lesson I learned after working myself completely out of massage the first time.

Your business has been giving you information for years. The question is whether you're using it.

And maybe the most important question of all:

If you were building your business today, knowing everything you know now, would you build it the same way?

00:00 — Welcome to Massage Business Success

00:20 — Starting a business with absolutely no idea what I was doing

02:24 — The decisions we make when we know the least about business

04:46 — Becoming “under-undervalued” at $25 an hour

07:05 — Why fear can keep us protecting a business we have already outgrown

09:25 — Learning to read what your business is actually telling you

14:03 — The first time I quit massage

16:24 — What changing my prices taught me about my own value

18:50 — Recognizing the parts of your business you have outgrown

21:15 — Whose business are you building, anyways?

23:38 — Deciding what you actually want your business to become

If this episode made you look differently at your own business, subscribe to Massage. Business. Success. and share it with another massage therapist who may be ready to reevaluate what they have built.

DO YOU WANT AMY TO COACH YOU? Fill out this coaching application: https://forms.gle/8fX1mLawrRTwZ7Xs6

MORE FROM AMY BRADLEY RADFORD:

COACHING: https://www.amybradleyradford.com/coaching

WEBSITE:  https://www.amybradleyradford.com/

YOUTUBE: https://www.youtube.com/@amybradleyradford8414

STORE: https://2274d0.myshopify.com/

INSTAGRAM: https://www.instagram.com/amybradleyradford/

LINKEDIN: https://www.linkedin.com/in/amybradleyradford/

FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/people/Amy-Bradley-Radford-Massage-Business-Coaching/61556419647184/

ALIGN ESSENTIAL OILS: https://www.amybradleyradford.com/align-oils

What if manifesting a full massage schedule had less to do with hoping more clients showed up and more to do with knowing exactly what you were trying to fill?

When I first started my massage practice, I used a paper planner and a Sharpie to mark every appointment I wanted filled. I did not realize it at the time, but that simple habit changed the way I looked at my business. Instead of staring at a blank calendar and wondering where all the clients were going to come from, I had individual appointments I could actually work toward.

In this Amy’s Corner episode, I’m talking about what that little Sharpie habit eventually taught me about managing a schedule, keeping a cancellation list and an invitation list, staying proactive even after your practice gets busy, and the difference between putting marketing out into the world and actually working your business.

If your schedule feels lighter than you want it to be, this may change the way you look at those empty spaces.

Free Referral Resource: 3 Things Your Referral System Needs

If you want to go deeper, my 1 CE Referrals class teaches the full referral system I use to help massage therapists create referrals intentionally instead of simply hoping they happen.

Class: Referral Card System

Have a question you would like me to answer on an upcoming Q&A episode?
Put Your Questions in the Comment Section

TIMESTAMPS

00:00 I Manifested Appointments With a Sharpie
02:20 When an Empty Schedule Starts Talking to You
06:50 Ten Clients vs. Ten Appointments to Fill
08:55 Your Schedule Is Your Business
11:15 Cancellation Lists and Invitation Lists
15:58 Keep Your Foot on the Accelerator
20:36 Making Your Schedule Visible Today
22:42 Proactive Business Building vs. Waiting for Marketing
25:06 Maybe I Was Manifesting After All
27:23 Send Me Your Questions

 DO YOU WANT TO WORK WITH AMY? Fill out this coaching application: https://forms.gle/8fX1mLawrRTwZ7Xs6

MORE FROM AMY BRADLEY RADFORD:

COACHING: https://www.amybradleyradford.com/coaching

WEBSITE:  https://www.amybradleyradford.com/

YOUTUBE: https://www.youtube.com/@amybradleyradford8414

STORE: https://2274d0.myshopify.com/

INSTAGRAM: https://www.instagram.com/amybradleyradford/

LINKEDIN: https://www.linkedin.com/in/amybradleyradford/

FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/people/Amy-Bradley-Radford-Massage-Business-Coaching/61556419647184/

ALIGN ESSENTIAL OILS: https://www.amybradleyradford.com/align-oils

Are you marketing your massage business — or are you simply doing more marketing activities?

There is a difference.

For Episode 41, I'm bringing back my friend Paige Rowberry. Paige works professionally in marketing, she's also a massage therapist, and she was one of the people who pushed me to finally start this podcast almost two years ago.

What makes her perspective so interesting is that although Paige understands ads, social media, Reels, email lists, funnels, metrics, and modern marketing, she didn't use most of those things to build her massage clientele.

She built her practice through word of mouth.

In this conversation, we talk about what your brand actually is when you're a massage therapist, why your client experience becomes part of your marketing, the difference between creating awareness and actually creating appointments, and why getting out from behind your phone and meeting real people still matters in a hands-on profession.

We also talk about follow-up — because sometimes someone has already told you they want what you offer. The next step isn't another Instagram post. The next step may simply be inviting them to schedule.

If you're staring at openings in your calendar and wondering which marketing strategy you're supposed to try next, start here.

00:00 Welcome back, Paige Roberry
02:45 Why marketing feels more complicated than it is
03:25 What your massage therapy brand really includes
09:47 Two reasons clients look for another massage therapist
11:13 Why the client experience is marketing
18:36 Ads, Reels, email lists and marketing funnels
21:20 How a marketer built her massage practice through referrals
24:39 The fear of being seen
26:39 Where to focus when your schedule has openings
29:03 Why following up isn't being pushy
32:30 Decide how many clients you actually want

Paige Rowberry Manifestation Coach:

@paige.rowberry

[email protected]

READY TO GROW YOUR MASSAGE BUSINESS?

FREE RESOURCE PDF: Earn More Without Working More

COURSE & WORKBOOK: Maximize Your Massage Business

WANT TO WORK WITH AMY? https://www.amybradleyradford.com/coaching 

MORE FROM AMY BRADLEY RADFORD

WEBSITE: https://www.amybradleyradford.com/

YOUTUBE: https://www.youtube.com/@amybradleyradford8414

STORE: https://2274d0.myshopify.com/

INSTAGRAM: https://www.instagram.com/amybradleyradford/

LINKEDIN: https://www.linkedin.com/in/amybradleyradford/

FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/people/Amy-Bradley-Radford-Massage-Business-Coaching/61556419647184/

ALIGN ESSENTIAL OILS: https://www.amybradleyradford.com/align-oils

Maybe I should just get a job.

It's a thought that runs through the minds of a lot of self-employed massage therapists—but what are you actually looking for when you think about leaving?

More security? A predictable paycheck? Retirement? Time off? A way to earn more without asking your body to do more?

In Episode #40, Amy looks at what happens when a massage therapist becomes successful enough to fill the schedule but doesn't know what comes next.

Through real coaching examples and her own experience, Amy explores how to read the behavior of your business instead of simply copying somebody else's tactic, why raising prices doesn't work just because you want more money, and how to intentionally increase the value of what you offer.

She also shares why she once left self-employment for the security of a paycheck—only to discover that she could replace that income through massage in a fraction of the time.

This episode is also about something massage therapists don't always give themselves permission to recognize: the value that has accumulated in your hands through years of practice, experience, mistakes, learning, and caring for people.

You have agency over your own value.

And you may not have reached the limit of massage at all.

You may have simply reached the limit of what you currently know how to build.

TIMESTAMPS:

00:00 — Maybe I should just get a job?
02:24 — The $5 price increase that backfired
04:43 — Learn to read what your business is telling you
07:11 — You can increase your value on purpose
08:15 — Why the paycheck felt safer
09:35 — The $10 realization
12:20 — My value wasn't standing still. I was.
16:38 — You have agency over your own value

RESOURCES FROM THIS EPISODE

FREE RESOURCE: Earn More Without Working More

COURSE & WORKBOOK: Maximize Your Massage Business

WANT TO WORK DIRECTLY WITH AMY? Learn more about coaching

MORE FROM AMY BRADLEY RADFORD

WEBSITE: amybradleyradford.com

YOUTUBE: Amy Bradley Radford on YouTube

INSTAGRAM: @amybradleyradford

If you work with clients who come to you because they're in pain, how do you really know whether the massage you just gave worked? 

A client can get off your table and tell you they feel better. Your hands may tell you the tissue changed. Their range of motion may improve. But what actually happened to the pain they came in with—and did that change last?

In this PPS episode, Amy shares the process that eventually led her to start mapping pain before and after massage. What began as a simple way to measure change became one of the tools that helped her see repeating pain relationships, develop her four-point pain marker, explore scar tissue and bilateral assessment, and eventually build Pain Patterns & Solutions.

You'll also hear why Amy says pain is information, not an invitation, how she began using pain as a clue rather than automatically treating where someone hurt, and why mapping can be useful no matter what type of pain-management bodywork you practice.

You do not need to know PPS to start using this.

Amy is making the pain map she uses available as a free download, along with simple directions and examples so you can begin experimenting with mapping in your own treatment room.

Download the free Pain Mapping Tool:
PPS Pain Mapping Guide

TIMESTAMPS

00:00 Who this episode is for

04:40 Why Amy wanted a way to measure massage outcomes

09:23 When better posture didn’t mean less pain

11:45 Trigger points and learning to get specific about pain

16:30 How body charts became pain maps

23:41 Red pain, blue treatment, and seeing what changed

28:21 Why “I feel better” wasn’t enough

30:41 The four-point PPS pain marker

35:30 Bilateral assessment and looking beyond muscles

40:13 How mapping grew into Pain Patterns & Solutions

44:44 How to start mapping your own clients

51:55 Free mapping download and what’s next with PPS 

FREE RESOURCE PDF: Earn More Without Working More 

COURSE & WORKBOOK: Maximize Your Massage Business

DO YOU WANT TO WORK WITH AMY? Fill out this coaching application: https://forms.gle/8fX1mLawrRTwZ7Xs6

MORE FROM AMY BRADLEY RADFORD:

COACHING: https://www.amybradleyradford.com/coaching

WEBSITE:  https://www.amybradleyradford.com/

YOUTUBE: https://www.youtube.com/@amybradleyradford8414

STORE: https://2274d0.myshopify.com/

INSTAGRAM: https://www.instagram.com/amybradleyradford/

LINKEDIN: https://www.linkedin.com/in/amybradleyradford/

FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/people/Amy-Bradley-Radford-Massage-Business-Coaching/61556419647184/

ALIGN ESSENTIAL OILS: https://www.amybradleyradford.com/align-oils

Professional growth in massage therapy doesn't always mean climbing higher, collecting another certification, adding more clients, or working more hours. Sometimes growth means going deeper—becoming more intentional about your skills, your professionalism, the experience you create for your clients, and the value of every hour you choose to work.

In this episode, Amy explores what happens after your schedule is full and your business is doing “fine,” but you know there could be more. She talks about the fear that can keep therapists from making changes, the many different directions a massage career can grow, and why raising your professional standards can ultimately change both the client experience and your income.

You'll also hear a practical example of what “work smarter, not harder” can actually mean for a massage therapist—including how increasing the value of the hours you're already working could create significantly more annual income without adding more massages to your schedule.

If you know you want something to change but aren't quite sure what needs to change, this episode will help you start looking at your business differently.

Free Resource: Download Earn More Without Working More here or from the link in the show notes and start exploring how your existing working hours can better support you.

Maximize Your Massage Business: Amy also shares how the class grew out of the process she repeatedly used with coaching clients—and how the accompanying workbook lets you work through those same questions using your own numbers, schedule, prices, and income goals.

TIMESTAMPS

00:00 — What Kind of Therapist Do You Want to Become?
02:11 — What If Growth Means Going Deeper?
04:31 — Your Schedule Is Full. Now What?
08:30 — When “Fine” Keeps You From Changing
14:55 — There Is More Than One Way to Grow
20:55 — Leveling Up the Client Experience
27:57 — What Does Working Smarter Actually Mean?
30:15 — Increasing the Value of Your Hour
35:30 — Growth Requires Change
37:00 — When You Don't Know What to Do Next
39:25 — Becoming the Therapist You Want to Be

FREE RESOURCE PDF: Earn More Without Working More 

COURSE & WORKBOOK: Maximize Your Massage Business

DO YOU WANT TO WORK WITH AMY? Fill out this coaching application: https://forms.gle/8fX1mLawrRTwZ7Xs6

MORE FROM AMY BRADLEY RADFORD:

COACHING: https://www.amybradleyradford.com/coaching

WEBSITE:  https://www.amybradleyradford.com/

YOUTUBE: https://www.youtube.com/@amybradleyradford8414

STORE: https://2274d0.myshopify.com/

INSTAGRAM: https://www.instagram.com/amybradleyradford/

LINKEDIN: https://www.linkedin.com/in/amybradleyradford/

FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/people/Amy-Bradley-Radford-Massage-Business-Coaching/61556419647184/

ALIGN ESSENTIAL OILS: https://www.amybradleyradford.com/align-oils

What if the problem isn't that you need to work harder—but that the business you've built no longer works for you? 

In the very first Amy's Corner, Amy shares a small change she recently made in her own business: moving the Massage. Business. Success. podcast from Monday to Tuesday. What sounds like a simple scheduling decision revealed a much bigger lesson about business ownership.

Sometimes we create a plan based on how we think things will work, only to discover something different once we're actually living inside it. The same thing happens in massage businesses. We build schedules, set hours, take clients, establish prices and create routines—often before we really understand what will work for our bodies, our income needs and our lives.

In this episode, Amy talks about recognizing the difference between something that's simply difficult and a pattern that's repeatedly telling you something needs to change.

You'll explore how to recognize when your schedule may be working against you, why being busier isn't always the answer to earning more, how to separate your actual goal from the method you've been using to reach it, and why your massage business should support your life—not require you to continually recover from it.

Sometimes you don't need more discipline, more clients or more hours.

Sometimes you need to understand your business well enough to make a different decision.

Ready to take a closer look at your own business?
Maximize Your Massage Business helps massage therapists understand their numbers, evaluate their schedule and discover ways to increase income without simply adding more clients and hours.

Learn more at AmyBradleyRadford.com

00:00 — Welcome to Massage. Business. Success.
00:23 — Introducing Amy's Corner
01:20 — Why I moved my podcast from Monday to Tuesday
01:50 — My plan to publish every week
04:10 — When the plan in your head doesn't match real life
06:32 — Are you treating a business decision like a rule?
08:58 — When frustration becomes useful information
11:06 — What is your schedule trying to tell you?
13:24 — Building a business vs. designing a business
15:48 — Maybe you're not tired of massage
18:10 — Separate the goal from the method
20:33 — Start observing your business differently
22:54 — What should your business give back to you?
23:35 — Maximize Your Massage Business
25:17 — Find the place where you need to pivot

https://www.amybradleyradford.com/revenue

Discover Your Value Free PDF

MORE FROM AMY BRADLEY RADFORD:

Coaching: https://www.amybradleyradford.com/coaching

Website:   https://www.amybradleyradford.com/

Amy Bradley Radford YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@amybradleyradford8414

Store: https://2274d0.myshopify.com/

Instagram https://www.instagram.com/amybradleyradford/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/amybradleyradford/

Facebook https://www.facebook.com/people/Amy-Bradley-Radford-Massage-Business-Coaching/61556419647184/

Align Essential Oils: https://www.amybradleyradford.com/align-oils

Why can a muscle feel incredibly tight when it is actually being held in a lengthened position? Why can working somewhere far away from the painful area sometimes change the pain almost immediately? And why does tissue we work over and over sometimes seem to come right back? 

Those were some of the questions that led me toward Pain Patterns & Solutions Bodywork.

In this second PPS episode, I'm taking you deeper into the principles that changed the way I began thinking about pain, inflammation, scar tissue, and eventually force within the body.

We start with something almost every massage therapist has encountered: that stubborn, painful spot in the rhomboids. I'll walk you through why “tight” doesn't necessarily mean “short,” and I'll tell you about the client who unexpectedly showed me a relationship between her painful rhomboid and scar tissue along her IT band.

That discovery created more questions than answers.

Why did working the IT band change the rhomboid? Why did the scar tissue eventually return? Why did the IT band stop responding after several treatments? And what was the body trying to maintain that I hadn't understood yet?

Those questions eventually led me toward the idea of paired scar-tissue relationships, the order in which those relationships develop, and some surprisingly simple physics principles that helped me begin understanding what I had already been observing in my clients.

We'll also begin exploring one of the larger ideas behind PPS: pain doesn't necessarily tell me where to work. Pain gives me a clue about where to start looking.

This episode lays another piece of the PPS foundation and introduces concepts we'll continue developing next month when we explore direction, reversals, transfers, and what happens when the body's efficient suspension against gravity begins shifting toward compression.

If PPS is new to you, I recommend beginning with PPS Episode 1: Learning to See the Body Differently, because these episodes are intentionally building on one another.

Interested in learning PPS?
I'm currently developing and testing the next generation of PPS training and refilming the hands-on curriculum. You'll find a PPS Interest Form in the resources below if you'd like to be notified as training and educational opportunities become available.

Want to see the rhomboid/IT-band relationship?
I've also included my YouTube demonstration in the resources below. It doesn't demonstrate the entire relationship discussed in this episode, but it gives you a visual introduction to that connection.

00:00 — Welcome + What PPS Is
04:33 — PPS, Inflammation + Scar Tissue
16:09 — How PPS Differs From Myofascial Work
21:00 — Pain Is Often Felt in Lengthened Tissue
25:25 — The Rhomboid Client Who Changed Everything
27:43 — The Unexpected IT Band Connection
34:50 — Physics Enters the PPS Story
39:25 — The IT Band Wasn't the Beginning
44:06 — There Is an Order to Scar Tissue
48:49 — Untying the Knot
51:11 — Understanding Speed + Direction
55:58 — When Suspension Becomes Compression
58:23 — Pain Tells Me Where to Go
1:03:00 — Why I Kept Following the Unconventional
1:05:24 — Where PPS Goes Next

WANT TO LEARN MORE ABOUT PPS?

If this episode has you curious about Pain Patterns & Solutions Bodywork, I’d love to know what you’re interested in learning.

Fill out the short PPS Interest Form and tell me what you’d like to learn more about. It also makes sure I can get the right information to you as I release new PPS education, resources, classes, and future training opportunities.

→ Fill Out the PPS Interest Form

SEE THE RHOMBOID + IT BAND CONNECTION

Want to see the connection I talked about in this episode? I have a YouTube demonstration that gives you a simple visual introduction to the relationship between the IT band and rhomboid.

It doesn't take you through the entire PPS pattern we discussed in this episode, but it's a great place to begin seeing the connection.

→ Watch the Rhomboid + IT Band Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o1TSzNhMeEs&t=597s

LOOKING FOR BUSINESS COACHING?

Sometimes you don't need another class—you need someone to sit down with you, look at your business, and help you figure out what needs to happen next.

If you'd like to explore working with me one-on-one, fill out my coaching application and tell me a little about where you are and where you'd like your business to go.

→ Apply for Business Coaching with Amy

FREE RESOURCE FOR MASSAGE THERAPISTS

Discover Your Value — A free PDF to help you think differently about the value you bring to your clients and your career.

→ Download Discover Your Value

MORE FROM AMY BRADLEY RADFORD

Website: amybradleyradford.com
Business Coaching: Work With Amy
YouTube: Amy Bradley Radford
Store: Shop Amy's Products
Instagram: @amybradleyradford
LinkedIn: Amy Bradley Radford
Facebook: Amy Bradley Radford Massage Business Coaching
Align Essential Oils: Explore Align Essential Oils

Most massage therapists don't struggle because they aren't talented. 

They struggle because no one ever taught them how to think like the owner of a business.

In this episode, Amy explores one of the biggest mindset shifts every massage therapist must make: the difference between working in your business and leading your business.

You'll learn why so many therapists unknowingly become employees inside businesses they own, how to recognize the habits that keep you stuck, and what it really means to wear the CEO hat.

Inside this episode you'll discover:

• Why ownership feels heavy—and why that's normal

• The four employee habits that quietly limit business growth

• Why working harder isn't the same as building a better business

• How one weekly CEO Hour can completely change your direction

• Why systems reduce stress and create momentum

• The difference between your professional identity and your personal identity

If you've ever felt overwhelmed, disorganized, or wondered why your business isn't moving forward despite working incredibly hard, this episode is for you.

Because you're already the CEO.

The only question is whether you've been wearing the hat.

Timestamps 

00:00 Welcome

00:40 The CEO Mindset

04:30 The Weight of Ownership

07:00 Wearing Different Hats

10:00 Why We Think Like Employees

11:30 Employee Habit #1 — My Work Ends When My Clients Leave

14:00 The CEO Hour

16:00 Employee Habit #2 — I'll Just Work More

19:00 The Power of the Hour

21:00 Employee Habit #3 — I'll Get To It Tomorrow

24:00 Three Goals Create Momentum

26:00 Employee Habit #4 — My Business Will Eventually Get Organized

29:00 PPS Principle: Fighting vs. Healing

32:00 Personal vs Professional Identity

36:00 Taking the CEO Hat Off

38:00 One Question to Ask Yourself This Week

Do you want to work with Amy as your coach?

Fill out this coaching Application: https://forms.gle/8fX1mLawrRTwZ7Xs6

Discover Your Value Free PDF

MORE FROM AMY BRADLEY RADFORD:

Coaching: https://www.amybradleyradford.com/coaching

Website:   https://www.amybradleyradford.com/

Amy Bradley Radford YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@amybradleyradford8414

Store: https://2274d0.myshopify.com/

Instagram https://www.instagram.com/amybradleyradford/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/amybradleyradford/

Facebook https://www.facebook.com/people/Amy-Bradley-Radford-Massage-Business-Coaching/61556419647184/

Align Essential Oils: https://www.amybradleyradford.com/align-oils

How does a massage therapist become a business coach... without ever planning to?

In this personal episode, Amy shares the story behind her journey—from teaching continuing education classes, to coaching massage therapists around the world, to discovering something much bigger than she ever expected.

What started as individual conversations about referrals, pricing, schedules, repeat clientele, and business systems slowly revealed a pattern. Over time, Amy realized successful massage businesses don't grow randomly—they grow by solving the right problems at the right time.

This episode is the origin story of The Massage Business Method—the framework that has quietly been developing over thirty years of practice, teaching, coaching, and now podcasting.

If you've ever wondered:

This episode is for you.

You'll also hear why Amy completely rebuilt her Maximize Your Massage Business class from the ground up—and why she now calls it "the map I wish someone had handed me when I graduated massage school."

In this episode you'll learn:

Learn more: https://www.amybradleyradford.com/

TIMESTAMPS

00:00 Welcome
01:05 How I Accidentally Became a Business Coach
04:20 The Pattern Every Massage Business Follows
10:55 Why Business Advice Doesn't Always Work
13:15 Building My First Business Class
17:20 Why I Started This Podcast
20:15 What Podcasting Taught Me
26:50 Every Class Started With My Own Problem
29:45 Discovering The Massage Business Method
33:45 Rebuilding Maximize Your Massage Business
37:00 Where the Podcast Is Going Next 

OFFERS MENTIONED:

Maximize Your Massage Business Course and Workbook: https://www.amybradleyradford.com/revenue

MORE FROM AMY BRADLEY RADFORD:

Do you want to work with Amy? Fill out this coaching Application: https://forms.gle/8fX1mLawrRTwZ7Xs6

Coaching information: https://www.amybradleyradford.com/coaching

Website:   https://www.amybradleyradford.com/

Amy Bradley Radford YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@amybradleyradford8414

Store: https://2274d0.myshopify.com/

Instagram https://www.instagram.com/amybradleyradford/

Facebook https://www.facebook.com/people/Amy-Bradley-Radford-Massage-Business-Coaching/61556419647184/

Align Essential Oils: https://www.amybradleyradford.com/align-oils