We were lucky to catch up with Alicia Key recently and have shared our conversation below.

Alicia , thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Do you think your parents have had a meaningful impact on you and your journey?

I come from a very touchy, feely family. We all used to rub each others neck and shoulders when I was growing up. When I was around 7 my Mother was broadsided and tossed out of her car. The car come on top of her crushing her pelvis and ripping her sacroiliacthree ligament. It took 4 truckdrivers to get the car off of her. She had also had three whiplashes before the accident. Over the years her injuries caused her more and more pain. Where I was around 16 a chiropractictor showed me a few massage moves. I was rather good at massage, I helped my Mom with her pain and put my friends to sleep on a regular basis. I remember getting a bit offended by my frieds fallimg asleep at the time with my young self! 😅 Fast forward several years to me as a dental assistant. I HATED IT! After giving it some time I finally decided to do something else. But what? I liked the medical field but didn’t see myself as a nurse. So I prayed on it. After some time I remembered my grandma telling me how I “had the touch” then it came to massage. So I went back to school, worked at a couole of spas for awhile but didn’t completely love how I had people who didn’t know a lot about massage telling me how to do my job. I also happen to have a pretty independent streak. So when things weren’t going as I wanted I started working out of my home eventually moving into an office exclusivly. Now I enjoy my work helping clients relieve pain and gain more mobility. If my mother hadn’t had her pain issues in my family hadn’t been as touchy feely as they were I don’t know that I would have gone into massage. But I’m definitely happy that I did. My only regret is that I didn’t get into it sooner and wasted years dental assisting.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

I now provide Massage therapy, using hot stones and sometimes cupping and occasionally scrapping with a warm ceramic shell that I just stated using last year. I was trained in Swedish, deep tissue, Tui-Na (Chinese massage) and Thai Yoga massage initially adding in the cupping and scraper later in my career. I incorporate all of these methods to get better results, as well as some essential oils to help people relax. I also offer massage with happy help CBD oils and creams ,which can help with pain, imflamation and relaxation and more. All these things together is what make my massage unique and effective, relieving pain and increasing mobility for my clients – that and the fact that I offer sessions starting at 90 minutes so that I can observe the areas causing the problems and treat them properly with compassion and skill.

Putting training and knowledge aside, what else do you think really matters in terms of succeeding in your field?

Refusing to quit, accepting help when you need it, managing peoples expectations, listening to your clients wants and needs with compassion and addressing them and anything else that needs resolving.

How did you put together the initial capital you needed to start?

By working at spas, initially working out of my home, using of some money that my father left me, a friend giving a loan here and there when things were tough and a lot of praying. Never underestimate good friends and prayer. They do more than you think.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://akeysmassage.com
• Instagram: https://Instagram.com/akeysmassage
• Facebook: https://www.Facebook.com/akeysmassage/services

Image Credits
These were pictures I took myself.