Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Sharon Bryant. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Hi Sharon, thanks for joining us today. Can you share an anecdote or story from your schooling/training that you feel illustrates what the overall experience was like?

I attended a massage program at a community college in the first group of massage therapists that school trained. It was rough! They worked out a lot of kinks in their new program on our class including losing the director of the program and getting a new one during the last semester. Unfortunately, like many programs, they closed a few years later leaving us with no direct follow-on career support outside of admin stuff like copies of transcripts and diplomas.

I went to massage school knowing I was going to immediately go into business for myself as a sole proprietor. I rented from another massage therapist early on, but it would have been nice to have had a larger support network to fall back on. Unfortunately, I went to school before the internet, social media, and everyone having computers in their pockets so networking was an in-person thing where you had to show up somewhere at an allotted time.

That old adage they teach you about massage school just giving you the bare minimum of education was really true for my program. Honestly, if I hadn’t spent the last two semesters of my program taking every test Massage Nerd had ever published and buying every study guide I could find, I wouldn’t have passed the NCETM. I guess you could say that I wanted more. More resources, more support, more mentoring, I was thirsty and driven as many of us second career ladies can be. I joined AMTA at the recommendation of one of my instructors and found my massage tribe with them. I am an active volunteer in the Alabama chapter and even though I love my peers we gather only a couple of times a year.

Since I never really found what I was looking for, maybe I don’t even know exactly what I was looking for I just know I have yet to find it, I learned how to support myself and ask for help where I needed it. And in order to pay it forward, I’ve published a free e-book for new graduates on how to navigate the online licensing process for our state and I write a Substack newsletter called Things I Should Have Learned in Massage School. It’s sometimes philosophical about our industry and sometimes has very pointed, actionable content for massage therapists who are navigating the massage therapy and wellness industries. I like to think it’s generic enough to be helpful for most service-based, wellness professionals.

Sharon, 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?

Any stories or insights that might help us understand how you’ve built such a strong reputation?

I think coming to massage therapy as a second career was a huge boost that many of my peers did not have. The second career had the advantage simply because I was more mature and brought more life skills to the table. A lot of people looked at me and assumed I knew what I was talking about because I was older than my peers. I had to grow my confidence quickly to meet what clients expected. I had to learn how to speak this new language, not of tech/geek, but of bodywork, anatomy, physiology, and kinesiology.

Having the bachelor’s degree in a technical field and experience working in a corporate setting was also helpful. The technical degree helped when it came to things like building an online presence. I was able to stand up a website almost immediately. I waded into Facebook Fan Pages early on, even teaching other massage therapists how to create and maintain them before they were common and the era of content creators began. Even though my private practice is full and my books are mostly closed, I still seek out new and different ways to be found online because of the continuing education branch of my business. I need to continue attracting new massage therapists ready to learn barefoot massage.

Experience in a corporate setting taught me how to get along with all kinds of people in challenging situations. It forced me to become even more disciplined than college had. And it built a level of professionalism and commitment that is hard to teach inside a massage therapy classroom where you only have students for a few months.

I also joined AMTA (American Massage Therapy Association) and began volunteering with my local chapter. This gave me the opportunity to meet people in my field and build leadership skills all while supporting the industry at large. I became very well known among my peers statewide from serving on the board and nationwide while serving as President of our local chapter. Currently my volunteer role is supportive and in the background, but I still have so many industry friends. I don’t think that will ever go away.

One of the most valuable tools I have found for building credibility within my client-base is my email list. I started an email list early on because it was an easy way for me to reach out to clients without having to call each of them on the phone. I’m also extremely introverted so that was never going to happen. Regular newsletters were a manageable way to communicate availabilities, build trust, offer tips and suggestions on self-care and any other offerings. I did a monthly newsletter for many years, then went to quarterly, and now send out the occasional missive.

Joining the Center for Barefoot Massage instructor team and building the Alabama Barefoot Massage Training Center has also grown my reputation as a continuing education provider. Developing and writing for my industry has also helped my credibility within the industry. I think it’s important to give back when I can and I think each small product I can release moves my business and education center forward by an increment.

It looks overwhelming when you overview 15+ years of work. But my entire business, relationship with my community and peers has been built in small, incremental steps. It’s working a little every day toward the larger goals that gets you known and busy enough.

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

If we’re talking about massage therapy clients, I’m going to say the website and email list. My strategy was first to be findable (have a web presence) and then have a way to communicate (email was not new, but not widely used when I became a massage therapist). I started out with newsletters to my email list letting my existing clients know when I had open appointments and actively asking them to refer me to friends and family. I literally played with days and times until I hit the jackpot on 9am Monday morning for the most effective time to deliver emails to my client-base. I could fill my schedule if I could deliver at that time. So much of marketing is psychology and I shot for the most miserable point in a desk jockey’s week, going back to work after a nice weekend.

I also had a rebooking strategy before letting a client leave my office. That sounds horrible, I was nice about it, but I always let my clients know it was easier to get on my schedule before they left than it would be if they had to call me later. When social media became a thing I jumped on, but it was never as successful as I think the website/blog/newsletter combination has been. I maintain the social media presence loosely because so many people use FB/IG as a search engine now. I’m currently exploring Pinterest as a different way to drive traffic to my website and business through my blog.

I think the biggest struggle for growing my practice was just confidence. It took a while to really let the fact that what I do helps people saturate into my tissues. I was afraid of being too loud, getting too big for my britches as my mom would say. But once I found my voice and started telling the world about what I do, the clients came and I have had a nice, full practice of the right kinds of people for many years. I love my job!

If we’re talking about Alabama Barefoot Massage Training Center and bringing in students, that strategy is quite a bit different. It also features a website/newsletter, but social media plays a big role in this younger generation of students. The monthly newsletter gets good open rates and I think it’s a good reminder for those already subscribed, but social media is where building the audience is right now. Staying active on socials, leveraging past students for reviews, likes, tags, etc. and just chasing the tail of the dragon as far as social media goes. It’s exhausting, but it works if you have a plan and work the plan.

I also teach a unit at our local massage school to get in front of entry-level students which gives me the opportunity to build awareness of barefoot massage, in general. I write a free newsletter on Substack called Things I Should Have Learned in Massage School that explores different aspects of the massage therapy industry. And I have written an eBook to help entry-level students get their massage license in Alabama which gets me in front of school admins as well as entry-level students even if it’s not in-person. These two strategies are new and I can’t tell what the pay off will be yet, but it feels right in a slower, more authentic kind of way. I believe giving back to the industry when possible is the right thing to do.

I’m 5 years in teaching for Center for Barefoot Massage in a tough, southeastern U.S. market. Growth has been slow, but this year I’m already seeing a payoff in people finally knowing that I’m here and ready to train. Classes are starting to book out ahead of time with less last minute registrations which is really the only metric I have to tell how well all these marketing strategies are working.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.harvestmoonmassage.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/alabamabarefootmassage/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100063630246922
• Other: Substack Things I Should Have Learned in Massage School: sharonlbryant.substack.com ABMTC Website: https://www.alabamabarefootmassage.com ABMTC FB: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100058972676125