We recently connected with Erika Tempro and have shared our conversation below.

Erika, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Was there a moment in your career that meaningfully altered your trajectory? If so, we’d love to hear the backstory.

First, I want to take this opportunity to thank you for having me. Now back to your question. At the onset of my journey as a Massage Therapist in Brazil, I immediately cemented my passion for steering this beautiful industry. I had to establish my practice to be at the forefront of this push for a better massage therapy industry. Even though I didn’t have the means then, I took the long path of constant learning, unlearning, re-learning, and practicing until I got the necessary knowledge to start my massage studio. Detox Massage LLC got birthed in 2019 following this deliberate effort to learn the ins and outs of the business. While Detox Massage has recently enjoyed commendable success, it has faced an equal share of challenges. The highlight of these challenges has to be the Coronavirus outbreak that led to our temporary shutdown in 2020. While one may hastily argue that almost all businesses got hit by the Covid-19 pandemic, business loss is a loss regardless of its causes. Another challenge Detox Massage experienced was having a small studio space that made it difficult for the spa to check all its set objectives. For instance, client comfort got compromised due to the limited space. Also, the treatments and massage sessions couldn’t be as individualized as we predicted in our plans.
Starting a business doesn’t have to be a daunting task for owners who may want to figure out everything from the word go. In my opinion, this mindset makes many young people/ inexperienced business people drag their aspirations for quite too long, waiting for the “right” time to launch their businesses. But there isn’t the right time for the anything-just start! In this same spirit, I realized soon after starting my spa that a lot more needed to be done in marketing, increasing studio space, and hiring workers, amongst others. I worked on these business management aspects later on as I consistently learned and applied what I had learned. However, knowing what I know now, I would apply these aspects soon enough to make my new massage therapy business pick up quickly and put it on the right path to revenue generation.

Erika, 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 am Erika Tempro, a massage practitioner with over fifteen years of experience in this industry. I am the owner and the principal massage therapist at Detox Massage Spa, located in North Bethesda, Maryland. My journey in massage therapy began in Brazil, where I studied Physical Therapy at Unileste MG University. I later relocated to the UK, then to the US, where I had to hone my skills in Lymphedema Therapy at Klose Training and Consulting LLC before I got the license to practice massage therapy in Maryland. Upon getting licensed in Maryland, I worked at a spa in Maryland for about three years before I founded my own business, Detox Massage Spa. Detox Massage specializes in lymphatic drainage massage. However, I developed a customized approach to get the best results for our esteemed clients. Lymphatic drainage massage targets the lymphatic system to enhance blood and lymph fluid flow in the body. Lymphatic drainage massage unclogs lymph vessels, causing pain relief, reducing body swellings and stress, and improving skin appearance. Simply put, lymphatic drainage massage plus other massage techniques carried out by our team of practitioners, are carefully designed to give you holistic healing.
In addition to lymphatic drainage massage, we offer other massage techniques and services like post-op massages for recovering surgery patients, body shaping and contouring massage, jetlag treatment, Miracle Face Massage, Miracle Touch Massage, post-liposuction massage, and lymphedema massage. We employ all these techniques to put our clients on the path to a quick recovery.

How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?

First, I want to take this opportunity to thank you for having me. Now back to your question. At the onset of my journey as a Physical Therapist in Brazil, I quickly developed my passion for steering this beautiful industry. I had to establish my practice to be at the forefront of this push for a better physical and massage therapy industry. Even though I didn’t have the means then, I took the long path of constant learning, unlearning, re-learning, and practicing until I got the necessary knowledge to start my massage studio. Detox Massage LLC came to life in 2019 following this deliberate effort to learn the ins and outs of the business. While Detox Massage has recently enjoyed commendable success, it has faced an equal share of challenges. The highlight of these challenges has to be the Coronavirus outbreak that led to our temporary shutdown in 2020. While one may be quick to argue that almost all businesses got hit by the Covid-19 pandemic, business loss is a loss regardless of its causes. Another challenge Detox Massage experienced was having a small studio space that made it difficult for the spa to check all its set objectives. For instance, client comfort got compromised due to this limited space. Also, the treatments and massage sessions couldn’t be as individualized as we predicted in our plans.
Starting a business doesn’t have to be an uphill task for entrepreneurs, especially those who may stress on wanting to figure out everything from the word go. In my opinion, this mindset makes many young people/ inexperienced business people drag their aspirations for quite too long, waiting for the “right” time to launch their businesses. But there isn’t right time for anything-just start! In this same spirit, I realized soon after starting my spa that a lot more needed to be done in marketing, increasing studio space, and hiring workers, amongst others. I worked on these business management aspects later on as I consistently learned and applied what I had learned. However, knowing what I know now, I would apply these aspects soon enough to make my new massage therapy business pick up quickly and put it on the right path to revenue generation.
I am Erika Tempro, a massage practitioner with over fifteen years of experience in this industry. I am the owner and the principal massage therapist at Detox Massage Spa, located in North Bethesda, Maryland. My journey in massage therapy began in Brazil, where I studied Physical Therapy at Unileste MG University. I later relocated to the UK, then to the US, where I had to hone my skills in Lymphedema Therapy at Klose Training and Consulting LLC before I got the license to practice massage therapy in Maryland.
Upon getting licensed in Maryland, I worked at a spa in Maryland for about three years before I founded my own business, Detox Massage Spa. Detox Massage specializes in lymphatic drainage massage. However, I developed a customized approach to get the best results for our esteemed clients. Lymphatic drainage massage targets the lymphatic system to enhance blood and lymph fluid flow in the body. Lymphatic drainage massage unclogs lymph vessels, causing pain relief, reducing body swellings and stress, and improving skin appearance. Simply put, lymphatic drainage massage plus other massage techniques carried out by our team of practitioners, are carefully designed to give you holistic healing.
In addition to lymphatic drainage massage, we offer other massage techniques and services like post-op massages for recovering surgery patients, body shaping and contouring massage, jetlag treatment, Miracle Face Massage, Miracle Touch Massage, post-liposuction massage, and lymphedema massage. We employ all these techniques to put our clients on the path to a quick recovery.

I have a background in physical therapy and massage therapy. I have also had the privilege of learning specialized massage techniques like lymphatic drainage massage and getting their certifications. Apart from the much-needed education on massage therapy necessary for a successful career, I have gained hands-on experience from my practice that spans three continents-South America, Europe, and North America. I’m glad that my practice in the US has culminated in Detox Massage Spa establishment, which employs specialized techniques for the best results for clients. As I mentioned, Detox Massage conducts lymphatic drainage massage, unclogging the lymphatic system and offering relief to customers in stress/ pain.
Detox Massage aims to bring back body confidence to persons, who are, for one reason or the other, struggling with this issue. At Detox Massage, we assist you get your body back following medical surgeries, cosmetic surgeries, liposuction procedures, lymphedema build-up, and prenatal effect.
Detox Massage stands out from other massage spas due to our objectives and policies. At Detox Massage, we give clients the liberty to dictate the amount of pressure to be applied by our trained practitioners. The client also gets to choose the background music of their choice. This policy ensures that customers “feel at home” and that we hear their concerns, giving them value for their money.
As the founder of Detox Massage, I am proud of the milestones we’ve achieved within a short time. We have moved to a bigger studio space to serve our clients better and launched Detox Massage Academy to spread our specialized techniques to steer the industry forward in less than three years since our inception. Also, many of our clients have posted very positive results, which are encouraging to both of us. These results serve as constant reminders to our team to continue putting in the good work that we do at Detox Massage.

How’d you build such a strong reputation within your market?

Some of the massage techniques employed at Detox Massage have been redesigned by myself, incorporating my experience to tweak them to my clients’ needs. This way, our clients get these kinds of treatment only at Detox Massage and nowhere else. Also, very effective techniques like lymphatic drainage massage (LDM) get rarely performed in this region. Since my clients have seen the wonders that LDM works in restoring the body to a healing trajectory, they tend to become loyal customers of our brand. The result is the ripple effect, getting us many new clients through direct referrals and boosting our reputation as an industry leader in Maryland..

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.detoxmassage.co/
• Instagram: https://instagram.com/detoxmassage?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=

Image Credits
Joe Portolano