Massage & Bodywork

JULY | AUGUST 2020

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74 m a s s a g e & b o d y w o r k j u l y / a u g u s t 2 0 2 0 DIVERSIFY YOUR PRACTICE 6 Ways to Earn Income Beyond Hands-On Work BY IRENE DIAMOND In March 2020, the world as we knew it radically changed. Massage clinics, franchises, and solo practitioners worldwide were ordered by local and national leaders to close their doors and stop providing manual therapy to clients. Because of these mandates, many therapists were left without a revenue stream. Even many seasoned practitioners who had been through other economic downturns were caught unprepared. However, many practitioners recognized long ago the importance of diversifying their practice and already had other streams of income in place. Therapists who were able to weather the COVID-19 crisis are those who had a diversified approach to their practices and weren't reliant solely on hands-on services to generate revenue. Having had your physical doors closed for months, you can see how critically important it is to be prepared for any disaster through additional income diversification, as well as alternative ways to deliver your therapy services. Most businesses transitioned to include some elements of providing services online, and many of my coaching clients and I have successfully been providing therapy services in a format I call a "video visit," which I prefer to "telehealth." For many massage therapists, it's hard to imagine how to provide their therapy services through a computer. Although it certainly is not possible to manually massage a client's body through a computer screen, the good news is that it's possible to provide amazing clinical results, such as reducing physical pain and relieving anxiety, via a video visit. One of the first things to recognize when you transition from physical therapy touch to virtual therapy touch is to identify exactly what you are providing to your clients. I have observed that most therapists believe the only value to their clients comes from providing hands-on touch. Makes sense, right? You're a massage therapist after all. Although I realize the concept of delivering something other than physical touch is unfamiliar to many practitioners, I submit that

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