We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Carly Jones. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Carly below.

Carly, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. We’d love to hear about how you went about setting up your own practice and if you have any advice for professionals who might be considering starting their own?

In August 2014 I graduated from UCMT. I thoroughly enjoyed my education experience, which led me to feeling more on my path than ever before. Overflowing with gratitude, I eagerly began my career journey as a Licensed Massage Therapist.

Just prior to finishing school, I discovered an apprenticeship opportunity to learn a specialized modality. I decided this would be an amazing opportunity for me. I received my license and joined the team shortly after.

My mentor taught us a modality where we use our feet to work with vibration and compression while using bars for support. Using our unique, effective technique, we started doing demonstrations at trade shows and events. He showed us how to build and grow our businesses, and we all worked on building our clientele together for a while.

Unfortunately, my mentor suddenly sustained a severe injury and had to stop practicing. He ended up moving out of state, leaving us to figure out our next steps on our own. This was a major challenge for me, because I was so new into my career and still learning how to build a successful business. It really helped to have someone more experienced to guide me and help me overcome obstacles.

Luckily I was able to secure the massage office and continue working, with the help of two of my colleagues. We found a couple more practitioners to rent with us, and kept the wellness center growing. I have been on my own ever since, and am grateful for the relationships I’ve built and the opportunity to help so many people improve their well-being.

It may have been easier for me if I had reached out to another mentor, but I learned a lot being on my own and growing my practice solo. I am thankful for every experience I’ve had along the way. Being a massage therapist is deeply rewarding and profound. I love being of service in this way, and am still just as passionate as the day I graduated nearly a decade ago!

My advice for a young professional considering starting their own practice would be:

•Mindset work is crucial.
•Put yourself out there, build authentic relationships, and be active in your communities.
•Get specific (numbers, goals/plan, find your niche).
•Take risks.

“Do one thing everyday that scares you.” -Eleanor Roosevelt

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

In college I started focusing on health and wellness classes. I knew I wanted to help people improve their lives in this way somehow. At first I considered health education, but it seemed limited in the way I wanted to work with others. I felt that it may be more effective to work with them in a more hands-on way and individually. I found massage therapy and it aligned perfectly with my vision.

I value the ability to continuously expand my education and hone my skills. Massage is the perfect balance of using critical thinking and intuition. Being able to facilitate healing, educate others, and bring awareness to the systems and connections within ourselves and our bodies is a powerful thing I am honored to share.

One thing that sets me apart is definitely the style in which I work and the techniques that I use. I do my best to customize each session based on the needs of the individual. I am very passionate and detail-oriented, and I take great care in listening to my clients and tuning in with them to help them achieve their goals.

Massage therapy has many benefits, including pain relief, injury/surgery recovery, relaxation, and stress relief. I facilitate healing in many ways, but the most important way is helping people relieve stress and relax the central nervous system. Providing a safe space to relax and reset allows healing to occur on a full-body level. Massage can help to strengthen our mind/body connection and bring awareness to pain, stress, and trauma we are holding on to, which then gives us the opportunity to release it and restore health and wellness.

I also make custom jewelry and wire-wrapped creations. I believe it is important for us all to have a way to express ourselves creatively, and I love collaborating with others in this way and helping them bring their ideas to life. Crystals and stones have unique energy and are beautiful in jewelry and art.

What’s been the most effective strategy for growing your clientele?

The most effective way I’ve found to grow my clientele is word of mouth and referrals. Many of my clients send their family members, friends, and coworkers to me. This works well because they trust the person who is referring them to me, and I trust my clients to send people my way that are a good fit. When it comes to recommendations with any service or product, we are more likely to trust it when we know someone who has used it personally and it has worked for them.

This is also why reviews are important to small businesses and solo practitioners, and I am always so grateful for anyone willing to take the time to give feedback. If someone isn’t referred to me directly, they can see my reviews, and the details provided can help them make an informed decision.

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

Mindset work can be incredibly useful in helping anyone succeed. I feel it is important to acknowledge limiting beliefs that may be holding us back from our true potential. We must work through these obstacles and break down the barriers we create within ourselves in order to thrive. Reprogramming our thoughts can help us regain clarity and view ourselves and the world from a better place to assist us in reaching our goals.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.CosmicVibrationsLMT.com
• Instagram: @CosmicVibrationsMassageTherapy, @11Cosmic_Creations11
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/CosmicVibrationsLMT, www.Facebook.com/11CosmicCreations11

Image Credits
Dee & Cory Productions