We recently connected with Mandy Holden and have shared our conversation below.

Mandy, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Was there a defining moment in your professional career? A moment that changed the trajectory of your career?

I started out as a traditional massage therapist working in high end day spas for the majority of my career. After 18 years of doing massage five days a week my shoulder started to hurt. It got to the point that when I would come into work and see a deep tissue on my schedule I’d start to cry thinking about how much pain that would cause me. I found out I had a tear in my shoulder that would require surgery to fix. The recovery from a labral tear surgery takes close to a year and meant I had to be off work for a few months. I had aways dreamed of working for a Wellness Center and integrating holistic nutrition into the work that I was doing. While I was healing from my surgery I took the free time to go back to school and became certified in holistic nutrition. This decision change the trajectory of my career forever. I had stayed at my job because it was safe but I was never fulfilled. I wanted to be my own boss, create the type of services I was passionate about and help my clients on a deeper level. When I returned to work I met a woman who was an acupuncturist looking to build her own Wellness Center. As we talked I knew our paths had crossed on purpose. I pursued her, her business progress and eventually became one of the first practitioners to join Magnolia Wellness one of Orange County’s leading holistic wellness centers. I became my own boss and within three years I went from having only one client to having a successful six figure career. If it hadn’t been for that shoulder injury I not sure if I’d still be a bodyworker today.

Mandy, 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?

My name is Mandy Holden, I am a lymphatic therapist and holistic healer. I went to school to be a massage therapist. After my initial training which allowed me to start working I went back to school so I could add to my knowledge base which included manual lymphatic drainage. MLD is a gentle form of massage that helps to reduce inflammation and strengthen the immune system. I worked at high end spas for the first majority of my career but always dreamed of having my own practice inside a Wellness Center with other people passionate about holistic health. After an injury caused me to take a break I took the opportunity to add nutrition into my practice and went out on my own. I started a180life in 2017, I now offer lymphatic drainage, bodywork modalities, holistic nutrition coaching and energy healing. I work with mostly women dealing with chronic inflammation, hormone disfunction, past trauma and autoimmunity. My goal is to help my clients find the root issue and help to heal it using a holistic approach to well-being. I am so proud of the hard work I put into creating the career of my dreams. When I first went out on my own I brought with me one client. My goal was to be able to replace my salary within a year. I used what I had learned from working for powerhouse spas, I listened to every business podcast, took every webinar, signed up for community events, and I made myself as visible as possible in the community. I not only replaced my salary in just three months but I was making six figures within just three years of business. I think the biggest part of my success comes from my passion for the work I do. Not only do I love what I do but I see how valuable it is to my clients. Seeing my clients physically and emotionally change as they walk out the door is why I do this. Seeing their eyes look brighter, they have a smile on their face, the stress that they carried into the room with them is now gone and they look noticeable lighter. That is why I do this work and why I never want to do anything else.

Any advice for growing your clientele? What’s been most effective for you?

People often tell me “you’re so lucky, you post on Instagram and people just book with you”. While it is true Instagram has been one of the top ways I connect with my clientele and it has allowed me to grow my business but I had to put in the hard work first. I first started by creating an avatar of my ideal client, what age group she would be in, what her pain points would be even down to where would she spend her free time. I then took every opportunity to get out into the community where I thought “she” might be. I would give free mini sessions inside high end boutiques, group sessions for pop-up events and I’d partner with other local therapists to create our own events we could offer to local women looking to improve their well-being. I made a name for myself within my ideal community I even started my own Networking group for other female local business owners so we could help each other grow our clientele. Once people started knowing my name they started following me on Social Media. I was able then to use that platform to let my clients know when I had availability. I eventually grow to the point of being booked out months in advance with a waiting list. I gave away a lot of my time but I saw it as the price you pay for marketing and it worked.

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

I think a lot of us had to pivot during Covid especially in person services. 2019 was my most successful year with a projection of doubling my profit in 2020 then Covid hit and I had to shut down completely. I had a choice, pivot or change careers. I choose to pivot which meant I had to figure out how to convert a one on one in-person business into a virtual one. I thought about everything I knew and how I could make that into virtual content. I started making videos showing how you could massage your family at home using my husband and son as models. I offered virtual nutrition coaching sessions, I taught clients how to do self lymphatic massage and I offered virtual trainings to other massage therapists. I did Zoom healing sessions for individuals and groups. I created “how to” goggle docs on dry brushing, facial Gua Sha and self lymphatic massage. I started sending Newsletters weekly on how to increase your immune system. In my case I knew that this pivot would be temporary but I needed to keep myself in the minds of my clients so when in person services came back they would be thinking about my work and how much they needed it. This strategy worked well and I was able to reconnect quickly with my clientele. My biggest takeaway from this was if you are passionate about what you do and you know it serves a purpose you will find a way to make it happen. Be willing to change how you connect with your audience and move with what works.

Contact Info:

• Website: a180life.com
• Instagram: /a180life
• Facebook: /a180life
• Linkedin: Mandy Dixon Holden

Image Credits
Alison Bernier North Rim Photography