Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Abby Nedderman. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Hi Abby, thanks for joining us today. We’d love to hear about the things you feel your parents did right and how those things have impacted your career and life.

It’s difficult to say whether or not I’d have gotten where I am today without the support of my parents. I was adopted by Terri and Howard Nedderman in March of 1991. I was not an easy kid to raise and faced many hurdles in my adolescence and early 20s, including autism as well as risky behaviors that led to being hurt or arrested on several occasions. But every time I fell down, they were there with open arms to guide me back on the right track, until finally I was there to stay. Despite my challenges, I have always had a compassionate heart and a draw to help those who were in pain or did not have the same privileges that I was blessed with. The kindness and generosity my parents demonstrated towards myself and others has translated over to me and my pursuit to relieve the pain and sufferring of others on both physical, emotional, and socio-economic levels. My massage practice is just one way that I am able to achieve this. I am beyond grateful for my clients, my health and physical abilities, and most of all my loving and supportive parents.

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 background and context?

When it came time for me to pick a career, I knew I wanted to work with my hands in a field that allowed me to use my creativity and intuition. In 2012, I was introduced to a man named Peter Nguyen and became his student. He was a healer for my friend’s family, mainly practicing a form of Vietnamese face reflexology, herbal and nutrition medicine, and energy work. My time spent with Peter was valuable and I looked up to him as a mentor. Awhile into knowing him, Peter began to seriously encourage me to get my license for massage. It was something I was interested in, but had never considered as a career, and this struck a chord within me. I graduated from the massage program at TCC and got my license in 2014 and worked at a few spas over the course of several years. I was unimpressed by the business models. The clients were often undercared for and the therapists were either underworked or overworked. I knew this was not where I was meant to end up. I officially started my own practice in 2019 and have been blessed with many loyal, awesome clients who value both me as a person as well as my practice. While massage is not a cure-all, I have always been able to relieve the physical and emotional stress that people hold in their bodies, while simultaneously allowing them a safe space to unpack mental baggage if they choose to do so. I take pride in my ability to offer deeper pressure for those that need it, and to be able to locate problem areas with ease. I am also a second degree reiki practitioner, which further enhances my abilities to help others and ground myself in the process. I am also prenatal certified and hope to develop more on this particular modality. Here are a few quotes from my clients to expand on the ways I have helped them which can be found in my google reviews:

“I went to someone else for a year before I met Abby. That person couldn’t get rid of my tight shoulders with massage and hot stones. Abby took care of it in one visit. I was hooked after my first massage with her.” -Janet K

“Abby is the best masseuse I have ever patronized. Her devotion to her craft is demonstrated in every session. She has a true passion for healing. Abby has a sweet and genuine soul.” -Kathy M

“Abby is my miracle worker. No one else has been able to get through all the scar tissue i have aquired from 15 major operations. Her quality of care is unmatched. A true gem i luckily met thru a client thats is my friend. 5 stars are not enough!!!” -Steve C

Can you tell us about what’s worked well for you in terms of growing your clientele?

I learned my most effective strategy in business from my father, who is also a business owner. For us, it has boiled down to integrity. While profit is obviously a priority and necessary, your clients and customers are more important. Our culture has been in the bad habit of viewing people as commodities. My goal is to help people feel human again, inside and outside of work. Treat others with respect and compassion, take financial needs into concern when necessary, and prioritize your clients. Quality of work and good intentions are crucial to not only build honest credibility and character. When you achieve that, word of mouth will take care of the rest.

We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.

A common setback for a lot of therapists is burnout and health concerns. For myself, it was an autoimmune condition that gradually began to sink its claws into my quality of life. There were days I would come into work feeling like i was at 30% and still needed to push through and give 100%. The past 2 years, my condition worsened and it was a wakeup call that I needed to focus more on my health and self-care if I wanted to be able to give the most of myself to those I cared for. I began a remote program with a talened Chinese Medicine practitioner Chris Volesky, focused on my nutrition and made rest and recovery more of a priority. My resilience through this process figuting back against my disease has been paying off and my health is greatly improving.

Contact Info:

• Website: tba
• Facebook: facebook.com/AbbyNeddermanLMT
• Other: I currently have an official website in the works. For now, you can find reviews, services, and other info on my google business page and facebook. Google Funky Town Massage for more info!