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THIS ISSUE:
The Business
of Massage
Therapy
Swedish Institute on-line newsletter for our students, faculty and community.
In 1987, when Donna DeFalco (’81) had a vision of bringing massage therapy to corporate workers, her first meeting with Wall Street executives was a disaster. “I had created a professional presentation about the benefits of reducing stress and avoiding injuries in the workplace with massage,” Donna recalled, “and felt confident about what I was offering. But they laughed. They asked me if I was from “42nd Street”, associated at the time with sleaze and prostitution. I was embarrassed and shocked that the work I cherished could be so misunderstood and maligned.”
Instead of being crushed, Donna was galvanized. Today, her Health Enhancement Company employs 25 people and provides on site massage, acupuncture and ergonomic counseling for an impressive roster of Fortune 500 companies. Including top firms on Wall Street. How times have changed. As a pioneer in a growing industry, Donna would be justified in saying “eat my dust” to those who didn’t share her initial vision. But ever the professional, she would never slam a door behind her.
Getting started
In an ironic twist, her first prestigious client—HBO—was located on
42nd Street. “I approached HBO because
I felt that as part of the entertainment field, they might be more open to having massage on site,” she
explained. She was right, though it still wasn’t easy.
Donna DeFalco and acupuncturist Wendy Henry in the office
HBO provides for massage and acupuncture sessions.
She sent presentation packets several times, kept calling and finally made a breakthrough when she offered to show up at the office for a hands-on demonstration. After providing massage sessions for a few people, Donna was prepared to follow up with a presentation. But before she could say a word, was asked if she could start the following week. She did and continues to work there two days a week, with other employees taking over as she tends to her growing business.
In addition to HBO, Donna’s roster of clients includes American Express, Citibank, Bristol-Meyer Squib, Master Card and Pricewaterhouse Coopers. She has locations around the country and in Europe. Donna also goes to Switzerland to teach the special protocol she has created for on-site chair massage.
A specialized training
“People think they can just adapt their ordinary massage sessions to the chair, but that’s not making the
best use of the chair,” she said. “I have created a blend of massage, CranioSacral Therapy and Polarity
that I use, though I don’t separate the modalities. I believe your tools become who you are.” Donna created
a 15-week training program, Tension Breaker® On-site Corporate Massage, in which she shares not only the
seated massage she has perfected over the past twenty years, but her hard-earned lessons in approaching
prospective clients.
“I ask participants to first define their personal mission,” she explains. “Then I ask them to create a business plan. Without a mission and a business plan, they’ll wobble around for years. It’s usually not easy for massage therapists, because they have opted not to go into ‘business’. But no matter how wonderful their skills, they are going to have to sell themselves, which is one of the hardest things to do.”
To complement her workshops, Donna has produced workbooks and videos, including The Art of Chair Massage (TM) and Enhanced Touch Practical Ergonomics (TM).
Education as part of health
Donna sees massage as an educational benefit as well as a health care benefit. “I do a lot of health fairs
at companies,” she says, “and I ask people if they know that massage can affect blood pressure or how it
reduces pain.” Helping people learn more about the reality of massage and the body is still exciting to
Donna. “If you can educate a company, think of how many people you can educate!”
Her next project has grown out of her involvement in the aftermath of the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. (Nearly 1,400 massage therapists helped rescue and recovery workers in the weeks and months that followed 9/11, and Donna was one of the first to get to Ground Zero. She was chosen to carry the Olympic torch for half a mile as a representative of the massage therapy volunteer effort. For more see page 4 in the first issue of SInews.)
The new program, called Project HECTOR (Health Emergency Core Training Overview and Response), organizes emergency preparedness fairs that present information from the NYCPD, Fire Department, FEMA, and offers workshops in CPR, awareness and fitness. Donna hopes to give individuals the tools they need to avoid post-traumatic stress syndrome. “If something happens, do you know where to go? Can you stay mentally alert? Are you fit enough to walk down 40 flights of stairs?” Though her work may change with the times, she remains true to her mission, written 20 years ago: To address the health and stress issues facing corporate America.
Workplace massage benefits employees
The growing body of research on massage benefits (search PubMed for citations) includes a few studies that have taken massage into the workplace to test what can be expected from relatively brief interventions.
Among the studies relevant to workplace massage is one conducted by the Touch Research Institute that showed a 15-minute massage twice a week resulted in reduced stress and improved performance for employees. The control group, told to close their eyes and relax, did not experience benefits1.
A study of a small group of employees showed significant reduction in systolic and diastolic blood pressure after massage2. In a larger study of nurses receiving a 15-minute back massage once a week, nurses receiving massage scored lower on a State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI), while scores of those in the control group increased over the five week experimental period3.
Companies who invite massage therapy into the workplace chart the differences for themselves. Boeing aviation company noticed a decline in headaches, back strain and fatigue after they started bringing in massage therapists4. The Calvert Group, an investment firm in Bethesda, MD, reduced its turnover rate to 5 percent in an industry where the norm is 20 percent. The Investor Relations Group of New York found a weekly 15-minute massage made a difference in retention and employee morale5.
Among Fortune 200 companies, 14 percent offer massage as part of their employee benefits program6.
References
1. Field, et.al. Massage Therapy Reduces Anxiety and Enhances EEG Pattern of Alertness and Math
Computations, International Journal Neuroscience. 86(1996):197-205.
2. Cady, S.H., Jones, G.E. Massage Therapy as a Workplace Intervention for Reduction of Stress.
Perceptual and Motor Skills. 84(1): 157-158; Feb. 1997.
3. Bost, N., Wallis, M. The Effectiveness of a 15-minute Weekly Massage in Reducing Physical and Psychological Stress in Nurses.
Australian Journal of Advanced Nursing. 23(4): 28-33: June-Aug. 2006.
4. Underwood, Anne, The Magic of Touch, Newsweek (April 6, 1998): 71-72.
5. Rivkin, Victoria, Flexibility and Perks Sweeten the Job Pot, Crain’s New York Business (Feb. 12, 2001)
6. Eisenberg,et al. Trends in Alternative Medicine Use in the United States, 1990-1997.
Journal of the American Medical Association. 280(18): 1569-1575; Nov. 11, 1998.
Meg Darnell, L.M.T.
Professional support for professionals
When Meg Darnell started the job of placement director for the Swedish Institute, she took one look at
her desk and saw the future. A licensed massage therapist and alumna (‘93), Meg knew instantly that she
would have to get digital. “I started out in 2003 with a telephone and a notebook,” Meg explained.
“Employers had to call or mail in jobs, and contact with graduates was only by phone. It took too much
time and could never grow to give real job access to all of our graduates. The answer was to get placement
online. I started by sending out job notices via e-mail and it was such a success that we created a
subsidiary website just for alumni.”
As a result, the traffic of job postings and responses has increased dramatically. Employers now use an online form to post jobs. Graduates, who get free access to listings for the duration of their professional careers, can see them and respond within minutes.
Get the most out of it
Alumni should look at the website frequently, as positions fill quickly. Even if they are not interested in work, there are often postings for special events, volunteer needs, rental space and even PR postings such as an interview for a magazine or an appearance on the Today show! The only thing alumni need to do to use placement or any other alumni services is to register, either through the Alumni Services online link, by e-mail to alumni@swedishinstitute.edu, or by calling Meg at 212.924.5900 ext. 142.
Once placement was functioning optimally, Meg set up a Locate a Practitioner link. This feature puts visitors directly in touch with a database of registered alumni that can be searched by name, location or specialty. Like job postings, this service is free to alumni. For a small fee, graduates who choose to do so can personalize and expand a listing.
The school is also committed to supporting alumni with professional continuing education classes. Meg oversees the development of over 150 classes a year. The continuing education catalog, created every fall and spring, is now also available in a digital format, with expanded class info, teacher bios and online registration. (See the current CE classes.)
Balancing change with timelessness
As director of the expanded Alumni Services Department, Meg is happy with the blend of business, massage therapy and community. “I feel these services support our graduates as they go out into their professions. Alumni are finding their way back to us; even a graduate from the 1930’s, who returned for our reunion in 2006.
“By becoming so computer literate, we’re changing the culture here. Every class has a higher percentage of graduates registering for the site and alumni know they have a place to call with questions or problems, especially when they are starting out.”
What’s next? Meg can envision national placement opportunities, job fairs at the school, and educational seminars for employers. As busy as she is four days a week as director of Alumni Services and an adjunct teacher in the Professional Development Department, Meg continues her work as a massage therapist. “No matter how tired I feel, when I start to touch people again, I’m happy. Touch is as essential for me as it is for my clients.” And that’s one thing that can never be replaced by the Internet.
A cautionary tale: An unhealthy experience at a fitness center
by Zack Baazov ('04), L.M.T.
My first day at the Swedish Institute our instructor had all of the students form a circle to introduce themselves and explain our reasons for choosing this field. Like other “younger” members of the group, I explained how I wanted to help people feel better. The older, more experienced students frequently cited their desire to leave the unsatisfying and ungrateful world of “corporate America.” Shortly after we graduated from the program and became licensed, I found a position in a high-end sports club owned by a corporate entity. As it turned out, I walked right into the kind of environment my former classmates had been fleeing!
At first it all went smoothly. The club was a pleasure to work at and business was booming. The woman who had hired me was a very fair manager. My co-workers quickly turned into friends.
During my third month of employment, however, things started to change. A corporate representative called a mandatory meeting for all spa personnel. He had only unpleasant things to say. First of all, our current manager was being transferred to group fitness in another branch. We were happy for her, because she would be doing what she loved, but we were sorry to see her go.
Another bit of bad news was an announcement of a branch “deficit” or rather, a failure to make the monthly quota in profit. Pressure was put on the massage therapists to try to make up the shortfall. We were told to go up to the gym floor and encourage people to use our services and to arrange with the trainers to give them free massage sessions for referring their clients. This of course didn’t sound fair to my coworkers and me.
As it was, the club kept about 70 percent of the massage fee. Therapists who knew additional modalities were supposed to get an extra $2 per massage. However, these services often required more time but were still handled as regular sessions. One coworker complained after she gave a stone massage that was an hour long and took a half-hour to prepare for and clean up afterwards. Though it was priced at $40 more than a Swedish massage, she got only $35, the standard commission for a one-hour session.
The last straw was when a manager took over who couldn’t manage. He was also a massage therapist, which I hoped would make him more sympathetic. Instead, within a month he had stolen a few return clients from people he managed. The club frequently ran out of supplies and business overall started to suffer. To try to increase business he hired new therapists. Increasing supply did not increase demand. Realizing his mistake, the manager had no remorse in firing half the staff, new and old, including me. We found out later that the club was having many troubles and has since been sold twice.
What I learned from this 10-month saga is to do more research before I sign on to any place. I found that an unorganized front desk is a good indicator that the management is either new or bad. I ask the current employees of a spa about management, clientele and supplies. And I make certain that the level of compensation is something I can live with.
Right now I am working part time at a privately owned spa. The place is very busy and the management is more attuned to the needs of the therapists. Though sometimes the management asks the therapists to work overtime, that is, more than the mandatory five clients per shift, that’s fine with me. Overall, this is a positive change that seems very suitable for me.
It is unfortunate that the word “corporate” is often used when the real problem is “poor management.” It just seems harder to resolve issues when it is not clear who is in charge or policies aren’t honored. I also suspect that I just don’t want to work for any company that has only profit as its motive, and doesn’t consider the quality of its service or respect the needs of its employees.
Practitioners of acupuncture, massage therapy and personal training may not have a typical definition of
success. For most, it involves a mix of self-mastery, direct experience with life, portability and a fully
booked day. Successful practitioners are also avid participants in continuing education classes.
Our Summer/Fall Continuing Education catalog has nearly 70 classes that cover acupuncture, the healing arts, massage, personal training and professional development.
If you are a graduate, look for the catalog in the mail. Update your address by e-mail at alumni@swedishinstitute.edu or call 212.924.5900 ext. 143. Course listings and registration are also available online at our Professional Continuing Education link.
Want to join a forum to discuss ideas for marketing, research and practices with therapists from around the world? Read about Egyptian massage? Find out about the Peaceful Touch movement being brought to schoolchildren in Sweden?
Then go to the newly launched website World Massage Forum. Built by Rolf Elmstrom, director of Axelson’s Gymnastika Institut in Sweden (with 7,000 students a year it claims to be Europe’s largest massage school) this new site aims to build a global community for the world’s 5 million body based therapists.
Three Components of Success
Jenn Sommermann, L.M.T., Chair of the Business Practices Department, has an article in the June 2007 issue of Massage Today entitled, ”The Difference Between Sales and Marketing.” In it she presents her belief that a therapist’s success depends on three equally important factors: hands-on skills, business skills and marketing skills.
Jenn encourages massage therapists to reframe the idea of selling their work. “If you are only trying to book a massage appointment, you are selling. If you are offering the solution of massage therapy for someone’s back pain, you are providing information and helping someone make a decision.” Offering information that helps people make decisions is how she defines successful marketing. (Read the full article.)
In addition to being a faculty member of the Massage Therapy Program, Jenn will be teaching business classes in the fall Continuing Education Program. Find out more in the Professional Development category of the print or online catalog.
