Ep #121: More Than Massage with Kristi Waltrip

Welcome to More than Mindset, the only podcast that bridges the gap between spirituality and success. Go beyond the mind with clarity and confidence coach Kim Guillory and learn how to integrate your passion to serve with your skills and experience to create a business you love. Let’s get started.

Kim: Hello hello my friends, and welcome back to the show. I have a guest today that I’m really excited to introduce you to. Her name is Kristi Waltrip. Kristi and I have been working together for a while now. She’s been through the coaching program with me and we have big dreams. We see so much potential for the massage therapy industry that is untapped, you know. And especially through this whole last year and a half with Covid and all of the things that have come up and the restrictions we never skipped a beat. And we’re kind of feeling like the rest of the world might need to know about this.

So I invited Kristi to come on just to share what she’s doing in her world and how we’re just really having fun with it. So Kristi, do you mind introducing yourself?

Kristi: well first of all, Kim, thank you so much for having me and you are so right, we are having so much fun with all the dreams and potential that we see in the field of massage therapy.

My name is Kristi Waltrip, I’ve been a massage therapist for 15 years and an educator for about 10 years. And I found Kim a few years ago when I started to feel the pull for something bigger in my career of massage therapy. And she was a massage therapist, a yoga instructor, and I really was struggling with feeling the call to grow in my career but I really felt that I had outgrown my potential.

I was an educator, I taught new massage therapists how to become licensed in that field. I was also teaching continuing education classes for licensed massage therapists. And I was part of a massage organization. So I was wanting to grow but I was coming up against some frustration and some confusion because I didn’t feel, I didn’t know what direction to go in anymore. And so that’s what brought Kim and I together.

From there on from our relationship, for her as my coach the possibilities opened up right away and I’ve continued to grow and now I’m passing the torch for those massage therapists who are where I was.

Kim: I got the goose bumps. I love it. Yeah, so it’s like when you guys start like really stepping into your own power and bringing your own clients in, I feel like the proud Grandma. Like it’s that ripple effect. And I got the goose bumps all the way through my body, like all the way down there my toes. That makes me want to cry. That feels like it’s happening.

You know, it’s like we spend so much time thinking about, “This is not what I want. This is not what I want, what else is there?” But then when you’re actually in it and it’s happening, it’s a whole different learning how to receive that, you know, like and to be okay with it. Like, no, this is real, like I got to keep tapping myself, right? Do you feel that too?

Kristi: Absolutely. Absolutely, because I was in such a place of frustration. And if I close my eyes, I can see where I was when I was frustrated. When I was at the end of the rope and I had been hanging on that rope for a couple of years of being a very successful massage therapist. Not only in just doing massages, I was in the education world, I was in the continuing education world, I was in the public speaking world. But still felt like, “Okay, I’m at the ceiling and the water is rising and I can’t grow anymore. And I am really frustrated by this, and unhappy, and unfulfilled.”

And I had filled out big large post it notes with all of my skills or all of the things I was passionate about. And I just would look at them and stare at them. And I’d get on the computer and I’d do research. And I’d find the self-help books and the podcasts and I would listen to them. And I’d be like, “Okay, great.” But I would never do anything. And I found myself still sitting there thinking, “Okay, what next?” Until I actually found you and we started working together.

That’s when the change happened. And from that point it was like you handed me a box of confidence. And I opened it up, put it on, zipped it up, that was it. From that point on, I’ve been able to wrap that box back up and give it to other therapists.  And they open it, put on the suit, zip it up, there they go

Kim: Yeah, I love that you’re saying this. This is something that I noticed also. So I was traveling around doing aroma touch training, so I was attracting a lot of massage therapists who wanted to bring in an easier modality that would help their clients without using their physical body and you know, just to bring in something different. And this is the story that I kept hearing over and over. It’s like they were already massage therapists for 10, 15, 20 years and they had already kind of met that cap, right, that you’re talking about. Like you’re at the top of the ceiling and it’s like there’s nowhere else to go.

And I think what is really easy for me that I didn’t notice was some sort of gift was being the visionary. Like I see so much potential and opportunity and possibility it’s like, “No, no, this is what we need to do. This is where we need to grow.”

And I remember reaching out to you. And I was like, “Hey, is it true that the reason that we’re not able to practice massage therapy right now is because we don’t have anybody like actually on our side? Like we don’t have anyone defending the massage therapists or speaking up for them?” And were like, “Yeah, it’s actually the way that it’s set up right now is it’s to protect the client.” And I was like, “Well, we need to get this done.” Like, this is a lucrative, you know, career like we it’s just that it’s untapped. You know, so much of it is untapped.

So it’s like when you said the outgrow potential, like that really caught my attention. Because I remember when you first reached out to me to come to retreat, you had a hunger then.

Kristi: Yes.

Kim: And so I’ve never asked you this before, but in this moment, I’m just thinking about it. I’m wondering, like you were signing up, you were like, “This is it, I’m going to do something, I’m going to get out there. She’s doing all the things I want to do, I want to be a part of it.” You’re ready to come in and then right away, you get this promotion.

Kristi: Yes.

Kim: I’m curious if you thought that that promotion was going to give you what you were looking for.

Kristi: I was thinking that the promotion was going to- That I had to redirect my focus from what lit me up and what set me on fire and I was really passionate about to what I needed to do for my actual job. I didn’t think that I was going to be fulfilled, but I think it almost, if you want to get really deep with it, I think that that promotion could have given me the excuse to say, “I’m afraid of this change. I’m afraid of what I’m capable of. And this gives me the excuse to step away from it.”

Kim: The reason I’m asking that is you ended up canceling, and then you redid it. So that’s what makes me wonder because, you know, sometimes we do get a little glimpse of something new and we’re like, “Oh, this is it. This is it. This is it.” But we can’t really put out that soul passion.

Kristi: Yes, I believe that we let ourselves become sidetracked. And especially when we’re in this type of field, because there are little things that could get us sidetracked and we think, “Oh, well, I think I’ll get excited about this because it’s easier.”

I was talking with a client who wanted to start selling her own body butter. And I started to think, I’m like, “Man, I really want to tell her that that’s not where her highest calling is.” And I know that it’s fun but she thought it might be easy, or an easy way to meet new people. So we had a really, you know, real and transparent conversation about it, that it was just a distraction, pulling her away from her real growth.

Kim: We see this a lot, I’m going to agree with you on that one. Because that’s why I was with doTERRA and that’s what they were calling in, is they were like, “Well we can sell this on the side, it’s going to be some passive income.” Like exactly what you’re saying.

But that’s not going to satisfy that calling to leave, like, because that’s what happens is after a while you, it’s not that you really get bored with it, but there’s like no more challenge in it. You kind of learn the techniques, the modalities. And then there’s this point and not for all, because you help both, you help those who want to stay in massage, and then you help those who want to expand beyond the massage table.

Kristi: Yes.

Kim: So I’m speaking to both, I think there are people that are pleased just doing massage. And then they have their kids, and their husband, and their whatever, and this is like their side gig and they really love doing it. And it nourishes and feeds them and they’re not really looking to be an entrepreneur or like to be a business owner kind of thing, right? They’re just like, that’s valid. I can see it, I was that person for a while also.

Kristi: Yes.

Kim: And then there’s that other person who’s actually lead by design. And what I mean by that is there is a higher calling already planted inside. Like you when you showed me, I was like, “Show me the sticky notes. Show me the paper.” You’re like, “Oh my god, no, no.” I was like, “No, I need to see them.” And I mean immediately I was like, “Oh yeah, we can totally do this.”

Kristi: Yes, I remember that. And feeling your conviction and, I mean, you had no, there was no faltering with you. You had no doubt. You saw my notes, that I had very clearly written down every angle of my brain, the thoughts that were running through them. And you took a look at it and you were like, “Yes, let’s do this.” You weren’t like, “Man, I wonder if we could do this or if this would work.” There was none of that.

And when you gave me the permission to say, “Okay, yes, this is what you could do.” And when you told me that or gave me that permission, I was able to step into it. And I know that that’s a very real, that’s something tangible, that that wasn’t just a Kristi thing. I have seen that in all of my clients. They just need permission to step into whatever that their future potential is.

Kim: Yeah. And I saw what you saw. And so then you were able to like be your own confidence, right?

Kristi: Yes.

Kim: Because you’re like, “Okay, I am on to something. “Because we’ve been told like, “Oh, yeah, don’t dream too big.” Or “Yeah, just try that, that’s not going to work.” Like when we say we’re going to do something new everyone loves to tell us all the reasons why it doesn’t work. And so we’re trained, you know, for that.

Kristi: Yes.

Kim: But in this case like I really do believe that we could expand the massage therapy industry like double what it is. Because there are so many therapists who have wisdom and knowledge now to share with the newer therapists, and they’re being called to lead. They are feeling it. They’re feeling it in their physical body, they’re feeling it in their boredom, you know, the lack of fulfillment and satisfaction. But they don’t really have a road map. They don’t know like what does that mean? What does that look like?

Like all of the massage therapists I’ve talked to, and I would love to hear from anyone who this is not true for, just so I can quit telling the story. But I haven’t talked to anyone else who has gone beyond 6k a month as a massage therapist, and that’s working completely full time $80 massages. Like no time off, no vacation, you know, that’s the max out. And what we’re introducing or sharing is other opportunities for massage therapists other than trading dollars for hours.

So you want to talk a little bit about, you know, what’s been your experience with CEs and other opportunity for massage therapists?

Kristi: We’re getting to the point where we need quality continuing education providers. So when the continuing education providers retire, we don’t have recruiters out there that are saying, “Okay, we’re ready for the next batch of providers.” That’s something that we need to constantly be looking out for. And if you have that spark inside of you that feels led to, I would like to teach other therapists, that’s something you need to answer that call. Because we really are in need, as an industry, of good quality, passionate, continuing education providers.

And what I have run into personally of clients that are answering that call, and who are stepping up and embodying that, they lack the self-competence to think that what they have to share is worth sharing, or that other therapists would gain anything from their experience or knowledge.

And that’s the really sad part about it. But once, again, you gave me permission, once someone sees something in you that’s already there, no one is creating anything for you. You’re showing up, our clients are showing up and saying, “This is who I am.” We’re seeing it and saying, “Yes, you need to share the gift that you already have within you, you just need to let people know.”

Kim: It’s okay to answer the call for more.

Kristi: It’s really true and I think that this really touches a nerve with massage therapists because a big part of what we do is based on relationship, not just our hands. And my clients, it’s almost like they had a clearer vision of my future than I did. Because they saw me growing and they’re like, “You’re up for bigger and better things.” I’m like, “What? I’m never leaving my little table and office.”

And before you knew it I would say, “Okay, well, I’m only going to be here three days a week. Two, one, once a month.” And then it finally happened and I was in the education world full time before I knew it. And I wasn’t doing any massage on the side at all. But I had over 20 students, massage therapy students, and was teaching continuing education.

So did I have a table and a practice? No. But I was still in contact with up to, you know, 50 massage therapists a year, just educating them. I was very fulfilled. But even after that, I was like…”

Then I moved into a leadership role at work and left massage slightly behind, even though I was in a leadership role that had a massage therapy program. It still was pulling at me like, “Okay, I didn’t reach the top. And I don’t know what the top looks like, but I’m not there.” And that’s how you kind of helped me and you were like, “Come on.”

Kim: I would say like I’m trying to put this out. Like I keep trying to put this fire out because it’s like not possible for me. Or like, you know, living in this little rural area, like we can’t do that, you know, it’s not possible. Or no one’s done it before, that was another one, no one’s done it before. If it were a brilliant idea someone else would have done it, right? Those were the stories I would tell myself.

Kristi: Yes.

Kim: And another thing that we have in common is Susan Salvo as a mentor, you know, and Susan was always telling us to go beyond, to get out there, to bring something new to the industry. Like I loved that about her being my teacher. And even still today she’s always upgrading in her education and bringing it up. But I feel like she’s such a great seed planter for the industry, you know, and she would say that but I was like, “Yeah, well, not what I do, it won’t qualify as a CE.”

Kristi: Exactly, and I think that’s like the double-edged sword of knowing someone as amazing as Susan is to me she was my teacher, she was both of our teachers, she was the author of our textbook. Not only that, the textbook that I continue to teach out of up until this day I still have it and use it.

So when you look at someone like her that you really hold up on a certain level, and yes, she’s planting these seeds and it’s so wonderful that we know her but then yes, we’re going to do some comparison in our brain and say, “Yeah, but I’m not as good as-

Kim: We’re not Susan, we’re not as good as her. We’re not as smart as her.

Kristi: We’re not Susan, that’s right. I wonder if her ears are burning right now.

Kim: Well hopefully she’ll listen to it. But I remember her, she kept planting that seed, planting that seed, but there really wasn’t a person to go to, to help achieve that. So I feel like we’re so fortunate now to have you that can actually- She’s planting the seeds but there’s actually a place to send them where they can actually take the steps to get it done, right?

Because that’s, that’s how I felt, I was like, “I think I could lead I think I could teach.” Like, you know, I had been traveling teaching aroma touch, and, you know, yoga and meditation and other things. So I was like, “I kind of think I can.” But then the fear of it’s not going to get approved, you know, or you have to do certain things.

Like I remember her saying that and me feeling that, you know, feeling that call, and then I would hear that, and then it would shut it down. And I’m like, “I wonder if the other therapists are thinking that too.”

Kristi: I didn’t think about if the other therapists were thinking about it, I just assumed it was only me. That it was an issue with me.

Kim: For sure, same here. Same here.

Kristi: Yes.

Kim: I’m thinking of it now, looking back, you know, after working with several other massage therapists also, you know, and moving into this new realm of expansion. But I remember that specifically hearing my own thought about that. And I remember thinking, “Can I bring business to massage therapists? Like, can I bring the entrepreneurial part of it?”

Because I felt like that was something that was missing even in the hair industry, the yoga industry. Like, you know what I’m saying? Like in my local business I kept getting all of these creatives that would come through that were doing hair and nails, yoga, massage, and it was like no one had business, there was no vo-tech for healing focused individuals or entrepreneurs, right?

Kristi: Yes.

Kim: So yeah, anyway, Susan, hope you’re listening just so you know. Like she was my plug in to school because I was like, “Yeah,” I was kind of scared of anatomy and where to go and, you know, just some of the things about school. And then whenever I found out she was still the educator I was like, signed up, here’s my money, I’m in, done.

Kristi: Yes, no questions asked.

Kim: Yeah. So let’s talk about what do you see with the students in school? Like when they’re getting out of school what’s their biggest holdup?

So I’m just kind of curious of, let’s say, you have 50 people come through, and there’s a handful that are like, go getters, and they’re already kind of like, you know, they’ve come from an industry where they were already doing hair, and then they moved into massage or anything like that, or a nurse, you know. What do you find is their biggest challenge?

Kristi: I think their biggest challenge is not knowing that they have a voice in saying, “This is the kind of work I want to do. This is when I want to work. This is how much I want to make. These are the type of clients I want to be working with.” I think that, and also that the first job that they get will probably not be the one that they stay at and that’s okay.

And then if it doesn’t work out, if they’re not fulfilled, then they think, “Well, this career is not for me, I’m just going to go do something else.” Which is really sad. Because they don’t know walking away that, “Hey, I’m going to have to try a few things on before I say, I think I’m going to hunker down here and I’m going to bloom where I’m planted. This is where I’m really going to invest myself completely. Someone is going to invest in me as well to help me grow.”

And that’s what I believe about our industry, not just massage therapists, but other holistic practitioners. I think that we have a unique opportunity to when we are happy, when we find somewhere we’re happy and we want to grow, that usually there is someone there waiting to invest in someone like us to help us grow even more. So I think that that’s what holds a lot of students back that are new in the industry.

Kim: We didn’t have it. We didn’t, I mean, I remember looking for the mentor. I remember I wanted the person who had been doing massage for quite a while and wasn’t really going for that quick fix modality. That didn’t interest me at all. Like doing the cupping classes and there was other things that were kind of promoted as that.

Kristi: Yes,

Kim: That didn’t, and still today that’s not the CEs I do. Like I want the holistic approach and so if we’re not going to talk about like energy and, you know, the whole mind body thing, I’m just not interested. And that’s what I love about your CEs is, you know, when we did the tie in we were talking about the meridians, and we’re talking about how it affects the systems of the body. And outside of that I’m just- But I think there’s a place for it and I think there are people who want those services. So I’m not saying that it’s bad or wrong.

Kristi: Right.

Kim: I’m actually saying there’s so much variety that we’re not tapping into. And if each massage therapist can really find that, how are they exclusive or how are they unique, you know, and to go all in on that, which is what I think you’re saying. You know, find that place where you can be yourself, not where you’re working for a place that’s telling you exactly what to do when you have a drive inside of you that wants to do something different. That would be the difference.

Kristi: Yes, and I’m glad you said that because that is a common theme when I talk to massage therapists and new clients. They want to “find their niche.” And I have to tell them, “You’re the niche. It’s you, it’s you personally, it’s what you bring to the table.” And they’re like, “Well, I have to go get this other certificate because then I’ll have an identity.”

And I know what that feels like. And you know what’s really frustrating about that is if you never find that modality that lights you up. I like Thai massage, I’d love Thai massage, but what I really love about it is the mindful movement. It’s the breath, it’s the mind body connection, it’s tapping into the parasympathetic nervous system. That is what I love about Thai massage. I think my main modality that I’m super passionate about, I’ll never stop is education. Massage therapy education is where it’s at for me.

Kim: And not education and just physical education. But you’re talking about the relationship education and the holistic education. The whole mind body thing and I think that is so important. That’s where we’re at. I mean, especially after these last couple of years, there’s going to be a lot of unresolved trauma coming to the surface. Like this has tapped in to like what’s happening in our system that’s causing chronic pain and disease and illness.

Kristi: I think that last year it was a major shift in our field, in our industry. And not just in the field of massage therapy, I’m hearing business podcasts talking about empathy and I’m just like, “Whoa.” I love it because it’s there, it’s needed, and I think that it’s, I see it while talking to massage therapists that they’re burnt out. And they’re hitting that 10 year mark or so and that leaves them a little, I’m going to circle back to what we were talking about having guilt or walking away from a clientele.

And that’s a very real thing for massage therapists and it can keep them from stepping up to the next level, from opening the door. Someone’s knocking at the door and they’re not opening it because they are feeling guilt about possibly leaving some clients behind.

But here’s the thing, sometimes when we leave something behind, it’s so someone can come up and reach their next level, their potential. What we’re doing now, someone is behind us, and they’re waiting for us to walk away from it so they can step into it. And someone above us is holding on to something that’s ours. You know? So if we can just give ourselves permission to think about it that way, you know, that it isn’t ours, what we’re still holding on to, and that’s why we’re not fulfilled because it isn’t ours anymore.

Kim: And when we can drop the judgment and comparison about that’s taking someone else’s place, or someone’s better at it, or I’m not. When we start that mess, that’s when we really get in trouble. Because when we go into competition or comparison we actually lose the opportunity for expansion and impact.

Kristi: Yes.

Kim: We actually lose it. Because the more of us who are saying it, the more powerful it is, you know, and so I think that’s also something to look at. But we’ve kind of been taught this, right, like, oh, you can’t do that because so and so does that, or you can’t do that because, right? As if they were like owners.

Kristi: Yes, and my clients will say that I can’t teach that, so and so teaches that. Like, what? You’re not her though.

Kim: Like I can’t my baby that because so and so named their baby that.

Kristi: Yes.

Kim: I’m like your kids might live on a different continent.

Kristi: That’s right. Yes, yes.

Kim: Yeah, it’s so interesting. So the thing you just said, number one, I think is super powerful because I did the same thing even when I was leaving the nail industry. I did exactly like you, three days, two days, one client. I had one client left and she said, “I know I’m your only client, you can let me go.” And I cried and I cried and I cried. I did not want to, like it was the end of it and she actually had to offer me to be free of it.

Kristi: She had to bring it up, yeah.

Kim: Yeah.

Kristi: She had to break up with you.

Kim:  Number one, I see that. And so that moving into that, I call it leadership because I feel like that’s what it is. Once that 10, 15 years is in, it’s like that wisdom and knowledge, there comes a point where it’s time to teach it. You learn it, you learn it, you do it, you learn it, you do it.

 

And there’s, like I was saying earlier, there are two different types. The one that’s like, “I’m fine, I just want to do this. I’m not really interested in business, this just gives me something to do and bring some extra cash in my pocket and I love my clients. And it’s very easy. And I work around my own schedule.” You know, that kind of thing.

Kristi: Yeah.

Kim: And then there’s another one who is like, “No, we need to blow this up. The whole world needs to know about touch, the whole world needs to know about what we can do as massage therapists.”

And so you have those two different types. So I think we talked about this earlier before we started the call is, I wish we would have known or had an opportunity for someone to like kind of lay out the vision of what all was possible.

Kristi: That’s because when we went to school, when we talked about business and careers it was, “Okay, here’s a list. And here’s all the places that you can work. And here are all the places where you could go give out business cards, and flyers. And you could go volunteer at a health fair, or maybe a health food store.” But that was kind of it. And then not what to do after that.

We talked about taxes. And we talked about here’s how to set up your room and here’s how to shop for your first massage practice. But, and we talked about evolving, like you’re going to evolve in your massage career. But we didn’t talk about what to do when you felt the call, or when you felt that pull to grow, that never came up. And I don’t think it was on purpose.

Kim: It’s kind of not the job of the school, though. That’s not what you’re there for.

Kristi: Right:

Kim: You’re there to learn that.

Kristi: That’s right.

Kim: And so now here we are, you’re available for the next step. Like now, so we can call this like getting our masters.

Kristi: Absolutely.

Kim: It’s like here’s your education, go out and get your practice, and then let your call find you. Which it will.

Kristi: Yes.

Kim:  Your call will find you. If you’re meant to do something else, you will not be able to put it out. It might be two years, three years, four years, and you’re still trying to like move those sticky notes and douse the flame, like I was doing. You know, it’s like fighting against myself. And I think it’s what you said earlier, we’re just so afraid to be all of us. We’re so afraid to not even be able to recognize ourselves as that expanded version.

Kristi: Right, because we don’t know. We’re afraid of what will happen. We’re afraid of what if no one accepts us? What if we were wrong?

Kim: What if we’re not as good as…

Kristi: Yes, yes. And that can be a scary thing. It’s better just to stay where you’re at until someone comes along, happens to come along, knock on your door and say, “Hey, I think you might be amazing. Come on out and play.” Well, that doesn’t happen.

Kim: That’s like wanting to get married or be in a relationship and never going out of the house. Just maybe the UPS guy will be single.

Kristi: Yes. Or maybe they’ll see that one social media post I put out once a month, somebody is going to see that.

Kim: Don’t get me started on that one, you know my rules.

Kristi: Yes, we’re going to go way down the rabbit hole with that.

Kim: All right, so let’s talk about we’re just, yeah, we said we were going to keep it short, we weren’t going to go all the way to an hour.

Kristi: Yes.

Kim: So just so you know we’re going to kind of bring this in. So I want to talk about what you have going on. You have a mastermind, and it’s all about empowering massage therapists.

Kristi: Yes.

Kim: Because you were noticing the same thing over and over, which was a lack of confidence.

Kristi: Yes.

Kim: And a fear of trying something new and different. So you created something in order to help these people, you want to tell us a little bit about it?

Kristi: Yes. So basically what I was seeing was after you and I worked together and I was able to work through and move to the next level of my career in massage therapy, I saw that the more massage therapists I talked to, they were me. They were having the same challenges that I was having, which was confusion, lack of clarity, lack of motivation.

And with a lack of motivation, probably most of the time, it’s because of a lack of clarity. They didn’t know what they wanted to do and they were afraid. And they were saying the same things that I was saying before I moved to that next level.

So I knew that I had something to offer them. And really what I had to offer them is what I went through and the same process that you and I went through together. So helping them to see what their next level was. And in the mastermind group that’s what we do.

And now they’re coming in with confusion, lack of self-confidence, and within that group, and after that group, they’re actually becoming CE providers. They are taking their business to a whole other level. They’re eliminating what is unnecessary in their massage therapy career or what is not giving them joy anymore in their massage therapy career. They’re able to look at that, eliminate it, and go on to the next level.

Kim: And we talk like that’s so easy, right? Yeah, you don’t like that, just throw it away. But there is a grieving process.

Kristi: There is.

Kim: There is, like that’s where the work that we do comes in handy, right? Because like you could support them through that because as we know as massage therapists, we have a nervous system response from that letting go, from that detaching. And that puts us into this fight, flight, freeze, freak mode and that’s where we get stuck at.

So it’s like having all of these tools and modalities to help them with the mindset, with the emotional processing, and with the vision and holding that belief with them as they move into the transition.

Kristi: Yes.

Kim: I think like I want to mention that because I think it’s so powerful. And I do think it’s the missing piece. That’s that integration and embodiment of the confident massage therapist, of the empowered massage therapist who wakes up one day and they’re like, “Yep, seven massages on the book today, six tomorrow. And then there’s four, and 10 on Friday. Holy smack, how am I going to get through this week?” Right?

And then they go through all the who’s going to cancel and who’s going to be the repeat, and all of that stuff. And all that time focusing on that actually becomes like the drama or the diversion from what you really want. Because we’re so focused on what we don’t want to do that we keep doing and dreading it.

Kristi: Yes, the humdrum. After a while that can be very exciting when you, you know, get out of school and you and you have that ahead of you, and you’re building a business or you’re building a clientele. But once you have conquered that in your life and you’re kind of stagnant for a while. You’re staying in that same spot, and you can be very successful as a massage therapist, like the timeline you just laid out.

But then when you start to see that what you’ve laid out for yourself, and that you’re having no show clients, or that you’re starting to feel the energy from that is starting to seep into your bubble. And you’re taking it into your own personal life and into your own body and your own nervous system. And you’re feeling a combination of unfulfillment by not, putting in its simplest form, cutting back on your clientele so you have time to reach that next level, what’s waiting for you in your massage therapy career.

There’s guilt there. There’s fear there. What if I take this day and decide that I’m going to, you know, do some work so I can step up to the next level in my career? What’s going to happen to those clients? It’s almost like a juggling act or trying to fill up a vase with rocks, and then sand, and then water. How much can I fill into this vessel that’s me, a massage therapist, a healer, before I crack? And then what’s left after that? How do I grow? Yeah, how do I fulfill who I am as a therapist?

Kim: Yeah. And looking with the like how to go up on my prices? You know, I’ve been doing this for 10 years, 15 years, I can’t go up on my prices, I have the same clients. That’s one of the stories. And then how can I shift my hours without losing my clients? Like how can I take care of myself without losing the business that I do have? And how can I bring in variety? And again, it goes back to the grief and the worry of doing it.

So these are the things that you cover in the mentorship, right?

Kristi: Yes.

Kim: In the mastermind and mentorship. So I love that because it is something that every massage therapist is going to come across. And there’s someone listening to this that’s saying, “Well, it must be nice to have seven massages on the book. It must be nice to have four on the book. You know, what are you guys complaining about?” Because there’s different stages, you know.

Kristi: There’s different stories too, yes.

Kim: I just want to get some clarity because I’m really not sure. So if someone is coming out of massage therapy school and they don’t have a full route, like they haven’t built their business yet, you know what I’m saying? Like they haven’t gotten to that point because I know you work with those who are 10, 15 years in and they’re ready to step into doing the CEs.
But is there an opportunity for the person who’s coming out of school, just been out for under five years?

Kristi: Absolutely. Because if we would have, if you and I would have been able to work with someone like that, with a mentor, coming out of school it would have been a whole different story that I could have written. A quick story from when I was a brand new therapist and someone gave me an opportunity to have a massage therapy practice within their hair salon.

I was a fairly confident person but, you know, I didn’t have what it took to become my own spokesperson for my massage therapy future. So my idea of marketing myself was going to the hair salon, sitting in a chair where people were getting their hair done and hoping someone would make eye contact with me so I could talk to them and say, “Hey, you want a massage?”

Kim: Sitting in the corner with a sign like, “Hey, don’t you see the sign?”

Kristi: Yes.

Kim: But I was there, but I went for eight hours. That’s the excuse, right? But I was there for eight hours, four days a week.

Kristi: Yes, and here’s the thing, when that happens to you, when you put yourself in that situation and you don’t get the type of response that you want from your “audience” that leaves you feeling terrible. And you know what? Those little thoughts start to come in like, “Yeah, I knew this wasn’t going to work. I knew this was a bad idea. Everyone told me.”

Kim: Uncle Johnny was right.

Kristi: Yes, he told me that massage therapy was crazy.

Kim:  Yeah, I should listen to my neighbor.

Kristi: I should have listened to my neighbor, yes. And that just, it makes it like, “Yes, they were right, I was wrong.” And then the lower your confidence goes and the less eye contact you want to make with anyone.

So a new therapist finding a mentor right away you can eliminate so much of the, you know, you have the peaks and the valleys. You know, get on top of the mountain, and you’ll be able to see clearly instead of getting caught.

Kim: Yeah, I love that. It’d be great if, you know, that was just the norm in the massage therapy industry. Like you go through school and then you just know that that’s your next step. So that you can prepare for it and have a budget for it, right? It’s just part of my education, it’s part of my learning, it’s part of what I do.

Kristi: Right.

Kim: And just knowing that, I think that would make a big difference. I’ve always seen it, but I’ve been a businessperson for 27 years, you know, so it’s like something that I notice because I’ve always been in the service based industry. But I did not hear anyone talking about it. And I tried to share it at school, I tried to talk about it, but it really was kind of rejected, it really wasn’t understood. So I’m glad that you’re out there educating.

We’re going to put your information below. So if anyone wants to contact you, I think they can hop on a call with you or they can just check out your website.

Kristi: Absolutely.

Kim: And you have a couple of things to help them get started though, don’t you have something that they can do for free?

Kristi: I do. I do, I created a free mini course called The Empowered Massage Therapist. And it kind of sets the stage and meets you where you are and has some questions that you can ask yourself, and then we can hop on a call and discuss.

Kim: Okay my friend.

Kristi: Thank you.

Kim: Until we meet again, this was fun.

Kristi: Yes, it was. Thank you so much, Kim.

Kim: All right, guys, that’s what I have for you this week, check out Kristi and all the amazing stuff that she’s doing in the massage therapy industry. And if you feel called to more, whether it’s bringing CEs to your business plan or you know, looking at maybe your pricing, your hours, bringing in a variety of different things to do. What I love about the CE opportunity is you have opportunity for a passive income because you can do this online and in person.

And Kristi has the exact step by step framework for how to get that approved and what steps you need to take moving forward. So I invite you to reach out because we need you. We want you and there are people out there who want massage therapists who are more educated. And they want massage therapists who are more empowered, because there’s, no I shouldn’t say, yeah, I’m going to say it. There’s nothing worse than having someone that is not in their own power and you’re the client and you feel sorry for the therapist because they’re complaining about all that. I’ve had that happen, it feels terrible.

Kristi: Yes, yes.

Kim; Yeah, so anyway, do it for us.

Kristi: Yes, do it for you.

Kim: I love, love, love-

Kristi: You’re worth it.

Kim: Yeah, finding places who are, you know, who have empowered massage therapists who know how to do business and please the client.

Kristi: Yes.

Kim: All right my friend, thank you.

Kristi: Good stuff.

Thanks for listening to this episode of More Than Mindset.