We recently connected with Amber Stevens and have shared our conversation below.

Amber, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today We’d love to hear the backstory of how you established your own practice.

My story begins in 2007 as a newly certified and licensed massage therapist. I opened my own practice right out of school, working very part-time hours as I still worked in the corporate world. I had a vision of working for myself and also raising a family. I was juggling many hats and progress was slow, though clients loved my work. My focus was on sports massage and working with outdoor enthusiasts. Then I was expecting my first child and my focus shifted a bit to include prenatal clients. Eventually I quit corporate work and focused on my family and my career. It was tough at times, but I was happy and working hard, and it was time to get serious. I remember having a key moment of “Most people have a massage practice. I’m going to have a massage business. I’m done practicing!”

I started using my business and marketing skills at a stronger level. I reached out to professionals to network and to refer. I joined women-entrepreneur groups. I asked for help from experts and found my mentors. I furthered my services by becoming a Board-Certified Health and Wellness Coach. My skills grew; my confidence grew…so did my stress. I began having some health issues and through self-discovery realized that I was an emotional eater and that meditation changed everything. From my journey I did the logical next step of course and wrote a book. Food, Feelings, and Freedom: The End to Emotional Eating launched a new chapter if my business growth allowing me to become an international speaker.

Finally, life aligned and I was able to go full-time with my business. Four years later and through a pandemic, I have grown into a full and integrated practice offering other services beyond massage and health coaching and hiring staff. It’s amazing to look back at the “happy, little practice” I had imagined and see it emerge into a “happy, growing business” that is incredibly fulfilling.

Advice for young professionals: don’t let fear hold you back. I can not imagine myself in any other role than therapist and business owner. If helping people is what you do – hold onto the vision. See it; feel it; the how is not up to you, but you must put in the effort and keep doing the work to see vision become reality. The path with reveal itself and, in many ways, will begin to feel easy.

Don’t be afraid of change either. I changed my business name four times, my location 7 times and my target market continues to adapt but stays rooted in my main purpose. Would I have don’t anything differently? Yes – I would have gone full-time sooner!

Amber, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

For over 15 years, I have worked as a Licensed Massage Therapist and National Board-Certified Health and Wellness Coach. I recently expanded and opened Boundless Body and Wellness in West Arvada. We offer therapeutic, prenatal and CBD-enhanced massages, along with acupuncture, Trauma Touch Therapy, health coaching, energy therapy, yoga and wellness classes.

I also have a B.A. in Technical Journalism from CSU. I worked in news right out of college and immediately new it was not the right fit for me. But what was? I began working in corporate marketing and started to feel strongly pulled toward health and wellness. However, going back to college for a B.S. in health seemed exhausting. And then the day came – as an avid adventurer, I saw a magazine cover featuring a kayaker (like me at the time) and a story about how massage kept him in play. I was amazed! Until then, I thought massage was only for a luxury spa day. I bought the magazine and felt an encouraging nudge…maybe this was it. After touring massage schools, I found a home at Colorado School of Healing Arts and loved learning about anatomy and the amazing way our bodies move and feel; and that massage was a necessary healing and not a luxury.

In 2007, I began seeing clients in a small shared office space. With time, I learned to tune into individual body’s needs, quickly recognizing that not all bodies are the same, so neither is every massage. My approach is truly integrated blending all the techniques that I’ve learned in an effort to work with the body, encouraging the muscle to soften, release and let go of pain.

In 2015, I became an Integrative Nutrition Health Coach (Board Certified in 2020) helping people to have a better relationship with food and their bodies. My approach is based in mindfulness with mindful eating and guided meditation at the core of the work. I’m interested in helping others to understand WHY they eat so they can make better choices when it comes to deciding WHAT to eat. My book – Food, Feelings and Freedom: The End to Emotional Eating – was released in 2019 and acts as a field guide to the gut, brain and body helping others to make positive food connections and to learn self-compassion and loving kindness.

In January 2022, I opened Boundless Body and Wellness with an emphasis to help the community live healthy and happy. We work together to connect mind, body and spirit for your overall well being. We are different; we are not a chain massage place or a spa. We are a wellness center – a place to be heard, valued and cared for. A place to unwind, tell your stress to take a hike and feel truly calm and centered. We are deeply client centered, listening for what you need each and every time.

We are valuing our community by offering wellness classes (with most of those beginning in the Fall) covering a broad range of topics in health. We’ve teamed with local artists to setup a gallery in the classroom space showcasing the artists work. And your times gives back – We plant a tree for every session booked!

I’m most proud of opening a center that values people and the environment and explores our connections with one another and within ourselves. I adore my staff who know the importance of quality client care and working as a team, and who are amazing individuals. At the center, you don’t just get an hour or more on a comfy table with a specialist. You get an hour or more to just BE; to stop doing, to feel and be held. In one place you can receive a treatment, sip on hot tea, enjoy local art…and just breathe.

What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?

I had to unlearn that money was the enemy; that people who have money are greedy. This lesson was indirect but reinforced over years as I grew. I was taught to share and be giving of my self and time – to be in service to others without expecting anything in return. This is a lovely gesture and kind way of living, but it’s terrible for business success, especially when your business is “in service for others”!

I had to establish a new relationship with money. I worked with a life coach and reiki master to shift my self-limiting beliefs in mind and body. She helped me to realize that I had a poverty mindset (something I didn’t even know existed) and that it tethered me to a belief that I shouldn’t be paid for my work, or that I should offer deep discounts, or that life and work should be about struggle.

She introduced me to Abundance and the belief that everything I need, want or desire is available to me (and to us all); we just have to claim it. I had to make friends with money. I had to learn to love money. Not in a “greedy, give me, give me” kind of way, but in a way that says “money provides what I need, and if my needs are met, I can better help others with their needs”. What a pivotal and powerful moment!

As my whole energy around money has shifted, so has my business and my ability to adapt to down-turns and industry changes. My needs are met, and so are my clients. I can both give and receive with love.

Training and knowledge matter of course, but beyond that what do you think matters most in terms of succeeding in your field?

Know yourself. Know what you want and want you value. Then point your compass in that direction. Listen to others only when their advice is solid and aligns with your compass. You will hear many voices telling you what to do and “the right way to do it”. Only you know your dreams and desires; work with those who are good at helping you to get there and not trying to steer you towards their vision.

Know that you will fail. Or rather that the attempt failed, yet you are not a failure. Keep at it and hold precious the things that keep you energized and motivated. Don’t lose yourself (or others) in the effort. The effort should be an extension of you, not a loss of yourself. Then, as you succeed, look forward to the day when you can sound like a motivational poster for an article publication!

Contact Info:

• Website: www.youareboundless.com
• Instagram: amberstevens.boundless
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Amber.Stevens.You.Are.Boundless
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/amber-stevens-81b6b41a/