We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Shana Lemon a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Shana, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Do you think folks should manage their own social media or hire a professional? What do you do?
I have hired a company to do my social media for the past several years. I haven’t had them do Instagram because I wanted that to stay personal. I chose to have someone else do it years ago because I just didn’t have time to spend on coming up with relevant posts as often as I needed to. I thought the posts had to be on topic and informational and I just wanted to take care of my clients and fellow therapists. The results have been ok, but honestly I think people want something more unique and personal. The information is great, but people don’t have time for that. They want to know what the studio looks like, how much services cost, and if they are going to vibe with the place in general. If you have the time to make your social media about your specific space and the people that make it what it is I say do it yourself. A goal of mine is to start to take it over and make it about the day to day and see what the results are!
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 have now been doing massage for 18 years and I have no plans of stopping. I love the relief, happiness, healing, and connection it provides all of my clients. I truly believe I have the best job in the world. I would say my style of massage is always focusing on deep relaxation. I can focus on certain areas of concern, but I will always make sure your treatment feels complete and comfortable. I am not the type to dig and dig in an area without smoothing it over and allowing you to breath again. I can apply deeper pressure but I definitely have a more flowing style that helps your body relax while its getting relief from tension. It is not everyone’s preference and that is why I try and hire therapists that have all different styles and techniques. That is one thing I try really hard to accommodate at the studio is a variety of skills and specialties. There are so many different styles of massage and they are all helpful and amazing when the client finds their match. All of my therapists have been doing massage for long enough that we would rather a client find their match than keep a client to ourselves that could benefit from a different style of massage. I also believe that most treatments are a combination of different types and depths of massage so we don’t make clients choose just one. We charge by the time so you can explain what your goals are for the treatment and the therapist can combine all their skills to accomplish those goals. We try our best to make sure you are getting what you need out of every session. My main goal is to make every client a regular client because that is where the real magic happens for your mind and body! Calm mind, Calm body
Alright – let’s talk about marketing or sales – do you have any fun stories about a risk you’ve taken or something else exciting on the sales and marketing side?
When I first opened the studio I could tell there was a lot of business walking right by my door without knowing I was there. The entrance to the studio is thru a small corridor and set back from the sidewalk just enough to miss. I love that it is a little hidden because it feels a little more cozy and quaint, but in the beginning hidden wasn’t what I wanted at all. I needed to capture all of the walk-by traffic without making them feel attacked or bothered, so I started putting out a chalkboard sign with available times for the day and next day. It was amazing how many more people started popping their heads in and asking if that time was still available and booking it right then and there! We would also get people calling and saying I’ll take the 4pm today that I saw on your sign. It really gave them a way to know exactly what they could get without having to ask. They could go get there coffee and think about their day without even having to talk to anyone and then realize, ya a massage would be perfect today! It was free marketing for me and it worked like a charm!!
Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?
COVID was definitely the hardest, scariest and most challenging thing that I have ever had to go thru during my journey as a business owner. The not knowing how long it was going to last or how sick anyone was going to get was terrifying. In our line of work there is no social distancing or working from home. We have to be physically touching people and that was exactly what everyone was afraid of. I was unsure if I would have a line of work after COVID let alone a business. As time went by and I personally started to feel more comfortable around people and really longed for connection, I realized that we are all going to need massage more than ever after this time of uncertainty and solitude.
As soon as we felt comfortable we started offering to go to client’s backyards and doing massages outside. I don’t have a private space at the studio to offer it there, but we had enough interest from existing clients to make going to them worth it. I knew if we could do enough to keep the bills paid we would be OK. I have to credit my therapists too. They trusted me and stayed loyal thru it all. I wanted to make sure we all had a place to work once life got back up and running. Once the government allowed us to reopen, it was amazing how busy we were. People had been so stressed and starved of connection, that massage was exactly what they needed! It was some of the hardest work we all had ever done but it was so rewarding. Connection and touch is so important for our overall well-being. I love that we provide that for so many people everyday!
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