We were lucky to catch up with Michala Uresti recently and have shared our conversation below.

Michala, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today We love heartwarming stories – do you have a heartwarming story from your career to share?

After I finally had the opportunity to open my dream business in 2019, I was crushed when the news of the pandemic hit us all in 2020. As was the case for so many small business owners, it was an uncertain and challenging time, especially with all of the shutdowns and social distancing measures.

Between some savings and a corporate massage part-time gig, I was able to stay afloat during an incredibly difficult social, emotional, and financial time. In early 2020, I had a lot going on in my personal life, so I was already in a savings-first mindset. The little bit that I had already saved helped me pay my studio rent while we were in quarantine despite the fact that I was unable to actually see customers and run my business day-to-day. I vividly remember a day when a nurse working at my office mentioned the lockdowns and that we needed to pack our stuff and go. COVID-19 was starting to become a serious issue, and I was told it would be my last day.

Massage chair in hand, I left the facility feeling deflated and uncertain about what my next steps would look like. I was doubting myself and feeling like I picked the wrong career. I remember sitting at home with my kids during quarantine, questioning everything. Some days I spent working on my business. Others, I had to be a full-time mom. It just felt chaotic. As a newly single mother with a newborn and a business owner with big dreams, I knew I couldn’t give up.

I was at the lowest part of my life, but I used it as fuel and motivation to get back up and rise again. While it was a crazy couple of years, I’m now busier than ever and couldn’t be more grateful.

My takeaway? No one is going to save you or change anything but YOU!

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

Hi, my name is Michala. I am a Massage Therapist, Intuitive, Reiki Master, Entrepreneur, and soon-to-be Massage Therapist Coach. I help people feel better with Holistic Whole Body Healing and love doing what I do every day.

I am the founder and owner of Massage Studio of Kansas City, which first started as a solo Massage Studio before the Pandemic (with just me in 2019), and now I have 3 Massage Studios in the Midtown area of Kansas City with a team of 8 employees.

I also founded Mobile Massage of Kansas City, Kansas City’s best Mobile Massage Company that provides Holistic Whole Body Healing on-the-go. We travel to your home, workplace, event, or hotel to provide world-class table massage, chair massage, couples massage, corporate chair massage and wellness retreats, and massage spa parties. My team uniquely blends massage therapy, lymphatic drainage, Reiki energy healing, and intuitive messages to provide Holistic Whole Body Healing for the mind, body, and spirit. Our signature Metaphysical Healing Spa Treatments and a-la-carte spa add-on rituals are known to deepen relaxation and healing.

While all my staff at my studios specialize in traditional massage therapy techniques, I’m personally best known for my relaxing and therapeutic massages, Reiki therapy (which I call my “Reconnect Massage”), and my intuitive experiences. When you work with me, you’ll get a true sense of my passion and love for my craft. I thoroughly enjoy working with clients to help them feel better and rebalanced through my treatments, building a brand, decorating my studios, managing my team and payroll, and other elements of operating my own business. I’m proud to say I’ve grown the Massage Studio KC business from $0 in revenue in 2019 to a multi-six-figure company today.

I am grateful for every step in my journey and all my clients who have supported my businesses along the way.

Can you open up about how you managed the initial funding?

Initially, I had no funding, and barely knew what I was doing starting a business. All I knew was that I loved massage and helping people, and wanted to start a business around it. I let my intuition guide me most of the way and consistently reinvested money I made back into the business. With very limited resources, I created everything from scratch on my own – everything from my website to my Instagram and Facebook to service descriptions and marketing materials to everything in between.

Believing in myself and routinely building good habits is what led me to where I am today. I got into metaphysics and energy work, worked on myself physically, spiritually, mentally, and emotionally, and prioritized progress over everything else. I’m a big believer in putting your money where your mouth is, so all the things I offer in my healing practices to my clients, I get done on myself regularly.

Even without initial funding or startup investment, I’ve been able to build a very successful business and have continued to learn more about being an entrepreneur every single day.

Are there any books, videos or other content that you feel have meaningfully impacted your thinking?

I don’t have a piece of content to share, but I do have a piece of advice to new business owners. Hire someone you would change places with to coach you along the way. Avoiding mistakes that others have made by taking advice from a coach can help save you tons of time, money, and energy.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.massagestudiokc.com www.mobilemassagekc.com
• Instagram: @massagestudiokc @mobilemassagekc
• Facebook: @massagestudiokc @mobilemassagekc

Image Credits
Sarah Ireland Photography. Samantha Levi Photography