We were lucky to catch up with Christy Desko recently and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Christy , thanks for joining us today. We’d love to hear the backstory of how you established your own practice.
I started my first real practice in April of 2020. I was happily working as a licensed massage therapist at a very nice luxury resort spa in Arizona when the Covid – 19 pandemic happened. We all were laid off quite suddenly one morning through an email. We were told not to come back to work as the spa was closed. Three days later, they declared bankruptcy. I had just moved into a very nice house with a pool and was completely terrified about the possibility of becoming houseless because I did not have any savings or family support.
Being the resourceful gal that I am, I signed up for delivery services and was one of the people doing that during the really scary early days of the pandemic. It was chaos. It was madness. I felt like I was utterly alone. The fear and sadness of worrying about my health, safety and the people I cared about catapulted me. I had it a lot easier than a lot of people did at during that time and I am very thankful that I was healthy enough to get through it.
When massage therapists were able to re-open, I took my government assistance money and opened my practice. I named it Pure Love Holistics because I didn’t want anyone to be afraid, alone, or without someone to help them. I had one client’s contact information. I mean literally ONE. I was not able to have access to my clients’ information from the spa which is a policy that should not be in place anymore for practitioners after what we went through during the pandemic.
I built my practice up to having about 300 clients on my list after a year and a half. I moved my business four times due to rent increases, lack of proper facilities or one reason or another. I sacrificed a lot and became laser focused. I was very, very strategic during that first 6 months of my practice and very, very careful not to get Covid or spread it in my clinic. It never came through my clinic because my screening process and sanitization practices kept it from coming through my place. Most of my clients were doctors, surgeons, law enforcement agents, lawyers, nurses, community members, etc… I really am proud of the way I conducted myself during that time and helped people in my community.
Every time I moved locations I had to register and pay for 3 licenses/permits. It was wild! Looking back I have to wonder how the heck I did it.
I overcame so many challenges during that time. It was a blessing to be able to help and to be able to take care of myself. I found that time to be so incredibly rewarding. I learned so much about myself and the massage/spa business through that experience. The advice I would give someone just starting out would be to believe in yourself! Kindness pays off! Practice good self-care routines. Put your wellbeing first and treat your clients with patience, kindness and watch your business thrive.
I closed Pure Love Holistics in the summer of 2022 when I relocated back to Portland, Oregon for health and family reasons and opened my current practice/business Cazimi Spa August 19th, 2024.
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?
I went to massage school getting a certificate in Zen Shiatsu and Thai Massage in 2002. My first day of massage school was the morning of 9/11/2001. This event really set the tone for my career as I feel that I have had a very intense experience overall as a bodywork practitioner. Incidentally, I went on to treat four different people who were either in the 2nd building and escaped, were a first responder to the event or were widowed from it. Isn’t that crazy!
Currently I practice Ayurveda bodywork, herbalism, esthetics and wellness coaching. My spa is called Cazimi Spa and it’s located in Portland, Oregon. I think what sets me apart from others is my genuine down-to-Earth nature. People find me easy to talk to and get along with. I really wear my heart on my sleeve. My spa is not stuffy or uptight. I want people to feel like they are in a safe, nurturing space. I’m proud that I am able to find so much happiness in helping people feel better with Ayurveda and natural wellness.
Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?
Oh boy. I’ve been through so many challenges. Most of us have, I am not special. Here is what I would like to share – After moving back to Portland, Oregon I entered one of the worst times of my life. My chosen sister died suddenly, I was diagnosed with MS and chronic pain and I kept loosing jobs because of all of this. Business owners were so cruel and hostile towards me when I asked for small accomodations. I was never shown any compassion or kindness even though I tried so hard to explain what I was going through. After sharing, I would be thinking I would certainly be met with empathy and understanding I was usually just fired. I finally was able to open my own business again and I am doing so much better health wise and am so happy now. I am going to be hiring an LMT soon to work with me and I am very excited about bringing in another person with their own healing skills, touch and unique qualities for the clients at Cazimi Spa.
Any advice for managing a team?
Well, the largest team I have managed was only about five people so I am not sure I am the best one for this kind of advice! My businesses are always quite small.
I believe that respect, honesty, transparency and integrity are absolutely necessary to lead in the spa/wellness industry. Greed is not the name of the game for me and quite frankly, in the spa industry exploitation of others is extremely high. I have experienced this so many times. nThis is unacceptable to me. I am a very giving boss that believes that there is enough for everyone.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.cazimispa.com
Image Credits
Photo credits to Christy Desko