Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Ellie Reav. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Hi Ellie, thanks for joining us today. It’s always helpful to hear about times when someone’s had to take a risk – how did they think through the decision, why did they take the risk, and what ended up happening. We’d love to hear about a risk you’ve taken.
The biggest risk I have ever taken in regards to my practice was deciding right after graduating school that I would start my own practice without the help or experience of working in a clinic. I knew when I started my massage therapy program that I wanted to change the narrative of integrative body work. Too often I would speak to my clients about feeling hopeless in their pain and dysfunction and each time they would explain to me how many practitioners they had visited to resolve the dysfunction, unfortunately with no results. I knew that I wanted to change the narrative and restore trust back into the field from the client perspective and I also knew I didn’t want to be limited in a practice that I couldn’t curate to be my own. Therefore, I started out completely in the dark not knowing if I’d be able to build up my practice or how long it would take for me to do so. It was a risk worth taking for me. To strive for success and fail in the name of something greater, rather than limit myself in a setting I knew didn’t speak to my heart and wouldn’t give me the same opportunity.
Today I can confidently say the risk was worth taking.
Ellie, 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?
I have been fascinated by human potential for over a decade, throwing myself into various forms of athletics since I was a kid. The human body has so many layers and patterns and being able to work with that vessel hands on allows me to share that passion and knowledge with others.
I know first hand how important it is to stay ahead of the game by optimizing recovery and I get to help that happen for my clients. I work with a wide array of clientele and as someone who loves to move my body and test my physical strength, the athletes speak to my heart.
I always remind my clients that any time they are receiving bodywork from any practitioner that is applying some form of manual manipulation, we are force loading information into the nervous system. The brain then responds to that stimulus with physiological change. So cool!
I offer a variety of techniques in my practice, ranging from myofacial release, attachment work, joint mobilization, active release, cupping, and scraping. I strive to facilitate a space that is geared towards injury prevention and injury recovery.
Can you tell us about what’s worked well for you in terms of growing your clientele?
. In my personal experience I am absolutely awful when it comes to advertising my business, and I think the best thing I could’ve ever done was get involved in a niche practice centered around the things I am most involved in and passionate about. For me that passion was and very much so still is various athletics. Being involved in the community you cater to really allows you to share a passion with your client and about the work you offer to assist their journey. I strive to listen to and learn from those that book sessions with me and I’ve learned the importance in listening to the client in front of me. This really ensures that you are able to tailor and facilitate the session specific to that individual. In doing so, you really start to create a space where your clientele feels validated in their dysfunction and heard. From there, those clients are more likely to share your information with other people. After many fails, I came to the conclusion that I personally dont have the creativeness to market my business through advertising on social media and I completely understand this isn’t everyone’s story, it takes a lot of work and dedication, so major props to a lot of my peers that strive to grow their client base this way. I have seen a lot of success from social media marketing within my community
Any stories or insights that might help us understand how you’ve built such a strong reputation?
Curating my practice around athletes as someone passionate and involved with athletics myself really gave me an advantage in my reputation within my market. My community tends to seek out practitioners that understand what it is that they (the client) are physically and mentally doing when it comes to training.
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