We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Tiffany Harper. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Tiffany below.

Tiffany, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. What did your parents do right and how has that impacted you in your life and career?

Honestly, one of the best things my parents could have done, was make me work while growing up. I was, what I later realized, very lucky to work with my family. Having one of the largest salons in DFW meant a lot people, with a lot of different personalities, not just among the professionals, but their client as well. I had to learn how to interact with people and communicate with them effectively and respectfully, even if I didn’t like them (which there were a few I couldn’t stand), that really helped to teach me how to deescalate difficult situations with angry clients over the years; I can even tell someone off in a very professional way when they ask for those “extras” they seem to think we body workers do so often.

So many times growing up, I absolutely did Not want to be at the salon; at 5, swirling a brush around a toilet bowl was fun; at 6, tearing down a dressing room to build a shampoo area was a blast; being a model for a highlight class at 10 was a dream; but by 13, spending the afternoon folding towels and sweeping the floor, and Friday nights closing the front desk at 16, was definitely Not fun. I had a love/hate relationship with the very business that provided for everything in my life; even on the days I didn’t really want to be there, they made me show up, but it taught me commitment.

I tried to quit once when I was probably 15, I ended up being given a week off so I could just focus on school, and ya know, be a kid, but then it was back to work the next week. Now, a lot of people would just think that was me being a lazy and spoiled teenager complaining about a fairly cushy job working for my Mom and Dad, as well as a sign that maybe I should get a job somewhere else, but what they wouldn’t know was that being a teenager with Major Depression (later re-diagnosed as Bipolar II), Anxiety, and ADHD, I probably wouldn’t have lasted long working anywhere else, and being driven by my parents to work hard was where I ultimately needed to be. Looking back, that really should have been the first example of how important it is to take time to make myself a priority and rest, rather than working to the point of multiple burn outs over the years. I lectured my clients for more than a decade about the exact same thing, but wasn’t taking my own advice; I had made my entire life center around them and my business, rather than myself. Over the last few years though I’ve started to take time off for things more than just Continuing Education classes, like concerts and music festivals, long weekend trips, or even just going to the gym to work out with my trainer.

I used to be a “Knockouts Girl” (don’t judge, I needed the job) and the manager always seemed very put off by the fact that I could seemingly talk to any client who walked in, as well as get tipped almost as much as her for doing a simple hand massage, what she didn’t realize was that between working the front desk for my parents, years of competitive cheerleading, the short termed hyper-fixation on various topics that comes with having ADHD, my brain being like a sponge for random facts, and just being able to read people, I’m able to make easy and quick connections with people when I really make an effort. All I was doing was what my parents had taught me…Customer Service.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers

Like I said, my parents had one of the largest salons in DFW, so I grew up in and around the Spa and Wellness industry from the time I was 3 (I can do a full set of fiberglass tips with a silk wrap if I absolutely had to thanks to the years spent watching my Mom work), plus I was one of the we’ll say, “Unique” Gifted and Talented kids, let’s admit that most of us were just a little weird: we argued over who would clean the erasers on Fridays or massage the teachers’ shoulders, and for obvious reasons I usually won that last argument, even the teacher begrudgingly would send me back to my desk, and that was long before my Dad became a successful massage therapist himself (no he didn’t teach me anything, even though we apparently work a lot alike). It wasn’t until I worked for other people, and then started my own practice that I truly understood all of the business, customer service, and life lessons my parents had been teaching me all of those years, and I feel like it’s really made a difference in the way I treat and interact with my clients now. I know who I need to use the big fancy words with even though I don’t like using them, and I know who to use more relaxed verbiage with; I know who needs extra time to talk and decompress before so their sessions are really beneficial, and who doesn’t; I even know who does or doesn’t use the hot towel I leave to wipe off the gel I use. That’s just good customer service though, at least to me anyway. But the thing that makes me, ME, is the way that I work, the way I combine elements of different bodywork modalities throughout a session, the way I infuse, no just energy, but MY energy into the work I do for those who need it – my ability to work intuitively.
Having my own 20+ year history of mental and emotional disorders also means that the many clients who come to me for the management of their own illnesses know that I understand them in a way that not many others do, they don’t have to explain everything to me, because I live it right along with them. I’m comfortable with clients talking about what they’re dealing with or feeling, even how their medications may be affecting them. The body keeps a record of everything that’s ever happened to it physically and psychologically, good, bad, and in between; bodywork can often help the body to let go of those things and I know how to handle it when those expressions happen during a session without the person feeling uncomfortable or like they’re an inconvenience. I’ve had clients cry, yell, cuss, laugh, even moo during sessions. Some have even come to see me for massage or Cranio-Sacral therapy specifically to facilitated one of those emotional releases.
As much as I love helping clients relieve their Physical pain and discomfort, those who I get to help with their Psychological pain are the ones that bring the most fulfillment and joy.

If you could go back, would you choose the same profession, specialty, etc.?

Originally I started college as a Psychology major with the intention of being an FBI Profiler, which later morphed into wanting to be a Counseling Psychologist. The longer I worked doing massage and learning about the psychological benefits of bodywork, the more I realized I could use my existing psychology background in conjunction with massage to help with people’s mental health. without all the extra years of schooling. Every day people get on my table and just start talking, telling me their struggles, their frustrations, their secrets; a man confided that he was in the middle of a divorce that not even his closest friends (including my boss) knew about, a woman openly plotted how she planned to legally kidnap her adult daughter and granddaughter to get them away from an abusive husband; and although I can’t legally give any kind of advice or recommendations, I can still lend them a compassionate and non-judgmental ear. I was lucky enough to find a profession where I could combine my two passions, so I think Yes, ultimately I’m exactly where I’m supposed to be.

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

No idea. I attempted to open my first tiny office more than a decade ago because I was Promised there was a demand for my work at that location, my entire set up was smaller than my current treatment room. It was a bust, I think I saw 6 clients in 6 months, no one knew who I was and admittedly I don’t think I was really ready at the time. I took a few years to regroup, continued at the Chiropractic office I was at, worked as the on campus Massage Therapist at UTA, overlapped a year at a men’s salon, and a few weeks at a pretty sketchy place in Carrollton that thankfully was eventually shut down, then transitioned to a franchise spa because I started to get burned out with the ever revolving client list as university students graduated, on top of contracting for backstage bodywork gigs. No matter where I was, a medical office, a university campus, questionable men’s focused establishments, or backstage, I made sure that I always held myself to the highest professional standard I could, I used the years spent working customer service for my parents to stand out from those who were just working a job. I educate my clients whenever possible, listen and make them feel heard, even refer them to other professionals who may serve them better, but in the end it’s been getting the right clients at the right time. I’ve been incredibly lucky to acquire excellent, supportive, and consistent clients who value all aspects of bodywork, and who tell other people. My reputation has been totally dependent upon others appreciating what I do.

Contact Info:

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