The FasciAshi faculty is lucky to be rooted in a strong network of “Sole Sisters”, as many of us have been friends, colleagues and online buddies for years.  Even though we are all about a half days travel away from one another, we talk almost daily, so when we do get to meet up it’s as if no time has passed at all! With Jeni, and 4 other instructors all in the same place at the same time this week at the Barefoot Massage Summer Camp in San Antonio, we thought we’d make today’s “Tuesday TOESday” tip all about how you can combine forces with another massage therapist friend to grow BOTH of your businesses and careers in Barefoot Massage!

Sole Sisters and FasciAshi Ashi-Friends can help your Ashiatsu business succeed!

…read more by clicking on the “continue reading” link below~

I have had a lot of students come through my courses who were the first in their town to offer some form of Barefoot Massage. It’s always awesome to be the first, but it’s HARD! Many of us forget that being the lone star means you will have to do all the heavy lifting, all the ice breaking, and all the community awareness ALONE.

You may not have a business partner, and you may not have co-workers or employees – but maybe there’s that like-minded massage therapist across town or in the next city who you just jive well with… have you ever thought of buddying up with her to co-market each of your private practices? Just think of the events you could do together! Pooling your resources, and brainstorming ways to promote your individual businesses together – without fear of competition – but with a focus to grow and thrive as amazing massage therapists. It’s fun, rewarding and educational, for sure.

Check out this list of ideas on how the buddy system can help you and your Ashiatsu!

• Go to classes together and be each other’s massage partners while you learn new work: so you KNOW you’ll be getting the pressure and approach from someone you trust.
• Carpool to class and be roommates: save money on travel expenses!
• Compare notes after class and study together: two brains are better than one, and she may remember something GOLDEN that you didn’t even notice!
• Practice on each other regularly and give honest, educated, experienced feedback, so your massages continue to improve for your client’s sake!
• Share cool tricks and tips you’ve learned or figured out independently…
• Share expenses on booth space – so you can afford that primo location at the big marathon!
• Go in on bigger print, radio or TV advertisements promoting each other… (“Are you on the west side of town? Check out Dawn! If you are Centrally located, visit Jeni”)
• Refer clients to each other so that you can each play to your unique strengths and help clients efficiently and ethically.
• Share equipment, or split the costs, using (say for example) your portable bars like a time share: she can have it this weekend, I’ll take them next weekend, and we’ll do a joint event together next month!)
• Keep the other accountable: “Hey: You said you’d commit to getting 1 new client a week! Get on it!”
• Have a built in cheerleader: we all need someone who see’s our strengths, who know’s our insecurities, and helps play up your confidence so you can continue to SLAY EVERY DAY!
• Be a sounding board for ideas: Should I raise my prices? Should I dip my toe into this other niche market? Should I paint this wall orange or purple… or both!?!??!
• You can proofread each others blogs, brochures, websites and even photos before it’s released to the public to find errors (or bad camera angles!)
• “Guest Post” on the others blog to help maintain current catchy content and co-promote the style of massage you both LOVE!
• Back each other up when you need support: reality checks from someone who’s walked a mile in your barefoot “shoes” can help you get back on track, and put things in perspective honestly.
• Vent: we all need to do it. Be an ear for your bodywork buddy so they can voice their frustrations and get it out of their system.
• Going out of town and need help running your front desk, or client overflow? She’s your gal!
• Travel with a like-minded SOLE and have a blast: go on those ~dream massage vacations~ we all secretly plan to Thailand, Hawaii… or San Antonio.
• Trade space! Whether you organize a “temporary take over” and run each others biz for a week to gain insight and find room for improvement, or if you want to “guest massage”, so to speak, and trade clients so they can feel your style: it’s an amazing idea to bring about change if things have become stagnant and stuck.
• If you work in the same space, you can let her know when she walks out of a massage session with racoon eyes!

There’s so many more reasons: what would you do if you had an Ashi-Friend?