How Many Bras Do You Have?

How many bras do you have?

A few years ago I bought my friend a birthday card which had on the front a drawing of a bra and underneath it read:

“Bras are like good friends

Close to your heart

And there for support”

How many “Bra Friends” do you have to support you in your business?

Being a massage therapist, particularly if you work from home or are mobile, can be an isolating experience. No-one to chat to over coffee, or bounce off ideas, or talk through something that has arisen with a client and you’re not quite sure what would be the best course of action. We all need the support of others at some time or another.

A few years after I set up as a massage therapist, I began attending business network meetings, chatting to people from different sectors such as marketing, accounting, IT and other wellbeing professionals. After a time, a group of us sole entrepreneurs decided to meet up every three months to chat through where we were with our businesses and to plan what we wanted to achieve in the months and years ahead. It turned out to be a brilliant idea.

There were six of us from completely different businesses – an image/style consultant, a conference rooms owner, HR professional, Personal Trainer/Nutrition Expert, Social Media expert and massage therapist. Our initial meeting saw us working on our 5 year goals. We then broke that down into a 1 year goal and then into 3 months. It worked because we all supported each other and also having someone from outside your own profession looking in is quite an eye-opener and they can see things from a different perspective. It certainly helped me with decision making and it felt good being with a group of like-minded people who all got on well and became good friends.

We are also lucky now that social media allows us great opportunities to find support online in our own profession. There are several Facebook groups specifically to support fellow therapists and where you can post any questions that may be troubling you about what treatment to give to your client, or a particular issue they have that you may not have come across before. Even, where is the best place to purchase a decent electric massage couch!

Don’t ever worry about whether a question is a stupid question. There is no such thing. Just ask. You’d be surprised how willing people are to help you, it’s an incredible platform.

Some training schools also offer supervision sessions as part of your continuing professional development. A great opportunity to meet and talk with other practitioners offering invaluable emotional and practical support. One of the good things to come out of the pandemic is that there are so many more resources available online as well as in person and this looks to continue so make the most of them.

Don’t ever feel that you are on your own.

What do you find is a good source of support, whether from the day to day running of your business or information and knowledge about the treatments? What works for you?