In 2021, massage therapists in the United States held about 149,900 jobs. Out of that number, 64,457 self-employed workers requested their services, which represented 43% of the market share.
Furthermore, the employment of massage therapists is projected to grow 20 per cent within 10 years (2021 to 2031), which is much faster than the average for all occupations, according to the U.S Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Relying on these promising statistics, here is a guideline on how to write a massage therapy business plan in case you are seeking sponsorship.
Even without seeking investors, you need to have a plan for whatever business you do. Whether you are planning to manage a sole proprietorship or not, this guide will assist you.
Why Massage Therapy?
In a very busy and stressful world, it is necessary to have in place some measures of improving one’s overall sense of well-being. This is one essence of the massage therapy industry.
More people are embracing massage therapy due to its immense benefits, and it keeps expanding the frontiers of the industry, making it more profitable.
Therefore, any strategic massage therapist can position themselves for a good slice of the lucrative treasure residing in the industry.
And one of the things you can do that will help you excel with ease is to know how to make a formidable massage therapy business plan.
The Importance of A Business Plan
In today’s competitive business world, creating a business plan is essential. Aside from the edge of clarity and guidance, it gives over many other competitors will increase the chances of acquiring funding from potential investors or lenders.
A business plan is a guiding light that leads you on the pathway to success, making the vision of your massage therapy business as plain as possible.
In your massage therapy business plan, you will be able to see a realistic picture of how your enterprise will grow even amid fierce competition.
It helps in coming to terms with the uniqueness of your target market, how to stand out, marketing strategies to prioritize, etc.
7 Important Sections in Massage Therapy Business Plan
It is important to know the shape a formidable business plan should take if it’s to aptly maximize its potential. These are major sections you are to include in your massage therapy business plan:
Executive Summary
It is expedient that your massage therapy business plan should start with an executive summary, which is a brief one-two page introduction to what your business is about.
This will be inserted at the beginning of the document and is therefore important to ensure it creates a good impression when a reader has access to your plan.
Be sure to clarify what makes your massage therapy business different from the thousands of others out there.
This section should contain great details about your business, while you will be as brief as possible. You can also input your mission statement here.
It is usually advisable that while the executive summary comes first in your business plan document, you should be patient enough to write this section lastly after you are through with the rest of the plan.
It will enable you to focus on extracting some of the most prominent things from the entire plan.
Business Description
Here, you are to give a vivid description of what your company is all about, and you should include vital information such as what makes the business different from others.
In this section of your business plan, you should also highlight when the business was established, the structure it is running upon, its mission statement, its location, as well as your target market.
When writing your company description, it is very necessary to focus on emphasizing who your ideal clients are. When an investor or lender is going through your business plan, this is one of the things they want to give attention to.
Everyone knows the market is already saturated, and you can’t be marketing to everyone if you want to easily stand out.
When you are sure of what your focus is, you can also be confident in which marketing methods are effective for each unique target.
You should identify where they live, how much they earn and are willing to pay for massage therapy and their reasons for desiring these services.
Operations And Management Team
You are to give a good explanation of how the massage therapy business will operate. You should be very familiar with the equipment that is needed for effective operations, including massage tables, towels, lotions, and so on.
If you have a management team, you can also highlight each of them in this section. It is important to talk about their expertise, to give an impression that the team had all it takes to make a massage therapy business a successful venture.
Products And Services
In this section, you simply have to highlight your services, making them as clear as possible for everyone. A lot of massage therapy businesses are known for services such as hot stone massage, sports massage, deep tissue massage, aromatherapy, and reflexology.
It is important to focus only on what your skill level permits, as well as what you are sure is most effective for potential clients.
Marketing Analysis
There is an important section in your massage therapy business plan that is popularly known as marketing analysis.
One essence of this spot is that it helps you have a good understanding of competition in the industry, which is very pivotal as far as profitability is concerned.
You have to research and include details about your competitors that revolves around their history, revenue, etc.
The aim is then to see what gaps your massage therapy business would close in the industry, as this will easily give you an edge in the already saturated market.
Marketing Plan
This will help you have a very clear picture as touching where your customers will be drawn from, as well as what will make them give great priority to your services amid several others.
In this section of your massage therapy business plan, you have to highlight ways that will be utilized to get to your target audience (which you should be familiar with by now). This can include paid advertisements on social media, in local newspapers, and so on.
One of the best things you can do for yourself is to position your business for word-of-mouth referrals. Not just from your friends and family.
But satisfied customers whose testimonies about your services could easily convince others. So, you have to be good and satisfying. Also, don’t be ashamed of asking for referrals too (it is efficient and very effective).
In this section of your massage therapy business plan, you should also talk about some business aspirations to define your immediate marketing strategy, so you can give an impression of good preparedness.
You can talk about setting up social media handles on prominent social media platforms like Facebook and Instagram, creating a website, and so on.
Financial Strategy
You are expected to have a clear and realistic picture of how you will get the resources required to start your business.
If you are depending on popular options like loans, savings, and grants, be sure to highlight anticipated costs and how (and when) you can begin to get good profits to cover your startup expenses (this ideally should take nothing less than two years).
Additionally, you should shed light on how your customers will pay for your services. Clarify if you are settling only for the popular options of cash and credit card payments, or if there will be additions. All of these will prove very helpful in staying on track financially.
Conclusion
You should be very tactical with your business plan so it can be very helpful to the success of your massage therapy business.
The median pay of massage therapists is $22.55 per hour or more. As you plan to go into this profession, make sure you include the vital info outlined in this guide in your massage therapy business plan.
Reference:
- US Bureau of Labor Statistics (September 8, 2022). Occupational outlook: “Massage Therapists”. bls.gov
- Featured image by Andrea Piacquadio