We recently connected with Jennifer Clarkson and have shared our conversation below.
Jennifer, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. We’d love to hear the backstory of how you established your own practice.
I started my practice, Whitewave Bodywork, as a massage therapy business in 2004 after graduating from the Sarasota School of Massage Therapy. I was only making house calls for my own business at that time, but I was also working as a subcontractor at multiple locations to gain experience. I subcontracted for a chiropractor named Pamela Shackley, another massage therapist who had a business called Massage Care Therapies, and I was on-call at IMG academies to provide sports massage to the athletes there as needed. Once I had about 15 clients consistent clients per week on my own, I stopped subcontracting and rented my own office.
After a while, I realized that what I loved about massage therapy was helping people figure out the source of their pain and how to alleviate it. This passion led me to pursue further education, and I decided that physical therapy was the next step. I attended Nova Southeastern University, which had a satellite campus in Tampa with a hybrid physical therapy program which allowed me to continue working while I went back to school. It took me four years on top of my bachelor’s degree to earn my doctorate in physical therapy.
I continued working at my own practice until the fourth year of my physical therapy program when I did rotations in different specialties. After graduating, I gained practical experience in the physical therapy world before eventually returning to private practice. I worked for a large outpatient orthopedic group, focusing on post-surgical rehabilitation, such as knee replacements, hip replacements, meniscal repairs, ACL repair, rotator cuff repair, shoulder replacements, and pain management. While I wanted that post-op experience, I had always known that pain management was my passion.
In my massage practice I had always targeted working with athletes to diminish pain and improve function. I had also obtained a certification in pregnancy massage early on in my massage career and had come to love serving women as they went through that transformation! During physical therapy school, I discovered that pelvic floor therapy was a specialty for physical therapists, and that seemed like a great fit for me. This allowed me to work with pregnant and postpartum women, helping them live pain-free lives.
After four years in the outpatient orthopedic world and still working part-time for myself, I became pregnant with my first child. This firsthand experience with pregnancy-related pain and postpartum rehabilitation inspired me to focus on this area. So, after having my first child, I decided to return to work solely for myself at Whitewave Bodywork. I now have two children, McKenzie and Morgan, and I employ two other massage therapists at my office who are also certified in pregnancy massage and specialize in working with pregnant and postpartum women for rehabilitation. We operate a cash-based physical therapy and massage therapy women’s wellness clinic. I love being self-employed and highly recommend it to anyone who is self-motivated.
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
My name is Jennifer Clarkson. I hold a doctorate in physical therapy, am a massage therapist, and a yoga instructor. In my practice, Whitewave Bodywork, I specialize in women’s health, combining orthopedic manual therapy with yoga-based exercises to help pregnant women feel good in their bodies and assist postpartum women in returning to their active lives without pain or dysfunction. We offer pregnancy massage, postpartum massage, and comprehensive postpartum rehabilitation, addressing issues like urinary leakage, core strength restoration, back/hip/pelvic pain alleviation, alleviation of pain during sex, and the prevention or reduction of prolapse symptoms. We take a holistic approach, considering the whole person – mind, body, and spirit, and provide education to help them reclaim a life they love.
Do you think you’d choose a different profession or specialty if you were starting now?
I’m incredibly passionate about what I do. I love going to work every day and helping women overcome common challenges that are often dismissed in our society. I would not choose a different path or specialty, but If I were to change one thing about how I designed my business, it would be to leverage technology sooner to develop additional revenue streams.
I’d love to offer online courses, continuing education for massage therapists online, live group courses for pregnant and postpartum women, and live CEUs for therapists. An app and a membership program, as well as hosting retreats, are also on my wish list. I’ve been focused on providing one-on-one services for a long time, so transitioning to these new methods is challenging. However, I’m making progress!
I have a live course coming up on October 22, 2023, at a yoga studio in Palmetto, Florida, called the ‘Restore Your Core and Pelvic Floor Retreat.’ It’s a full-day event with multiple presenters, designed for women looking to jumpstart their core and pelvic floor rehabilitation through learning, practice, and self-care activities.
Training and knowledge matter of course, but beyond that what do you think matters most in terms of succeeding in your field?
For success in my field, I believe genuinely listening to and caring about each person as an individual is paramount. Follow-up is important for retention, and as a business owner, consistency is crucial. In the massage therapy field, people often cancel or reschedule, so as an entrepreneur, you must consistently show up and do the work!
Contact Info:
- Website: Www.Whitewavebodywork.com
- Instagram: https://instagram.com/whitewavebodywork
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/whitewavebodywork
- Youtube: https://youtube.com/@whitewavebodywork
Image Credits
Paulina Grochala
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