Haha! This is what $70 gets you at the Gaiam outlet clearance sale! I don't see why men don't see shopping as a competive sport, its like hunting to me. I hunted it, I 'killed it' at the register, then I brought it home laid it out and admired my conquests. With yoga starting up again next month, I needed some stuff ;)I love these sales, I had asked a friend to go with me but she wasn't in the mood. But she was kicking herself when I told her they had kettle bells, so now she wants to go next month :) Treasure hunting I tell ya.
Lots of irons in the 'business' fire atm. Massages are picking up, slowly but steadily. I'm going to propose to the owner of the spa I work at to set up a chair on Christmas Eve when people are coming in for last minute gift certificates. I got a lovely new batch of gift certificates and some new 'referral cards'. They're like business cards, but they're to be given to someone who has already recieved a massage. They can give the referral card to someone else, and that person gets $5 off a massage. If they do, the person doing the referring gets $10 their next massage. It gives me a little help with marketing and while giving clients a discount. I'm also thinking of suggesting a drawing for a free massage. Free massages are a touchy topic in my industry, mainly because the idea is to get someone to become a regular client, but the people who get free massages typically only want free massages. My idea around that, is this: Have a drawing for anyone who gets a massage in say February, is entered in a drawing for a free massage. That way, the person getting the freebie is already someone who has paid for massages. Unless of course, they want to give it to someone in their family, lol.
I'm also going to be starting my training in Ashiatsu in February, I can't wait! Ahsiatsu is when the therapist uses their feet rather than hands while hanging onto overhead bars for balance. I'm looking into getting the bars installed at my house before class starts so I'll have something to practice on right away. There are a few other trainings I was looking at, aromatherapy for one, thai yoga for the other. But I decided I didn't want to do too much training all at once, even though in later months I might regret that I didn't do it when I could. But I figure the aromatherapy was one thing I can impliment gradually as its just not regulated very well in the states, and I didn't think training for 40 hours in it would send clients running for my door. And the thai yoga I really wanted to learn in Thailand. One of the dancers I met in Costa Rica is also a massage therapist and we had talked about going together which would be way fun. I don't know if I'll be able to swing it, but I remain hopefull. So in the meantime I ordered a DVD showing how to use some of the moves with the client on the massage table, and I signed up for a local 'Thai-taster' class that is cheap and teaches a 20 minute sequence. I'm proud of myself for tempering my instinct to 'TAKE ALL YOU CAN NOW!!!' I'm going to be a massage therapist for a long time and I have plenty of time to get all the trainings I want, and I need to appreciate the time 'not training' and practicing and refining what I have learned. I trained in Bamboo Fusion in October and had planned on taking Ashiatsu in December, but I'm so glad I didn't. Its given me the time to focus on the Bamboo Fusion which I really enjoy and clients really seem to like it. I think if I had done the Ashi class already I would have all this new stuff swimming around in my head and not all of it would stick.
I need to get a website, thats another thing on my long 'to do list'.
