We recently connected with Zechariah Scheiding and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Zechariah thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Setting up an independent practice is a daunting endeavor. Can you talk to us about what it was like for you – what were some of the main steps, challenges, etc.

The decision to open my own practice as opposed to being another employee was a big decision in itself. Its a risk putting everything on you rather than have the comfortability of knowing your going to get a salary but this was one of the best choices I have ever made. The challenges started immediately trying to figure out how to legally open a business, choosing a name, picking a business location, figuring out inventory, taxes, deadlines, etc.. it was all very overwhelming. I thought those times would pass but over the years there’s new obstacles, new tasks, and the best way to handle them is to go through the hardships. Without the beginning struggle the current struggles wouldn’t seem so minor. Luckily over time you learn how to handle some of the logistical issues a little more efficiently and effectively. Once I figured out all of the logistical issues, how to run the business, talked to CPA’s and other finical advisors it was time to start and begin work. Only issue is just because you have a business doesn’t mean people are going to show up. The next step was figuring out how to get people in, how to advertise, get referrals which back then seemed like another large obstacle.

Once I was able to just focus on work thats exactly what I did. I reached out to every gym, physical therapist, chiropractor, yoga instructor, orthopedic surgeon and anyone in-between within 30 mins of me. Offering to come in person, call, email, talk more in depth on what I can do to help them. I reached out to every single place and I mean every place to get someone to give me a opportunity. Unfortunately I only had two chiropractors get with me. One in the interview said what I was doing was helpful but not for his clients. The other Chiro literally made a spot for me, wanted me to do speeches on importance of manual therapy, have/run my own clinic in his office, do public outreach and much more. This also after 3 interviews and a month of expecting a job they let the idea go and I was left jobless. I was about to return to my factory job when I decided I was going to reach out to NFL players agents and see of they would be interested in getting work done. I wanted to work with pro athletes, why not skip the line and get straight to my goals? So thats what I did, reached out to every Cincinnati Bengals agent and tried to get a player. About an hour later I had a response from one of the biggest names on the team. I immediately messaged him back and had an appointment the next day. From that day on my career would be much different.

I ended up moving to Boca Raton, FL a few years later where I had did my training in the past. I worked there for a year learning from a chiropractor that ending up winning chiropractor of the year. I learned so much business and treatment wise. I got to work with the NFL Combine, WBC Champs, UFC fighters, NFL guys, NBA, MLB, PGA, Olympians, you name in. It was an incredible atmosphere to be around. After a year of living there we moved back to Ohio where I have been again for 3 years. Starting back up was little slow but it took off quick. I got contracted (and still am) with FC Cincinnati which is a pro soccer team in the MLS league. I have continued work with the Bengals going on 6 seasons, have now worked with thousands of pro athletes. I have got private contracts for athletes to be their personal therapist, offered to be flown out of state, sent to pro days at colleges and much more. There is many obstacles in this story but as stated above; There will always be obstacles, find ways to overcome them, beat them, and prepare for the next. Success comes and goes, you just have to be prepared to fight back when success in being tested.

The best advice for new therapists: just do it. Just get out there and open the business, be prepared to not know the steps, be prepared for trial and tribulation, and be prepared for an absolute mess. I can give you all the advice but until you get your hands in the dirt and begin to do the work, you may never get started. When I began I knew nothing. I just threw myself in and figured it out (maybe not the best idea) but you can prepare for all the things I listed but I promise you things won’t go as planned, something will pop up where you have 0 idea what to do, you will miss a deadline, even with all the help in beginning. So get out there, fail, succeed, fail, fail, fail again, and succeed once more. The more you try, the more you fail, the more success you will seem to find. People often dont get lucky in success, they try more times than the person before and find a way to get a different result. Go get yours!

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

My name is Zech Scheiding and I got into sports massage therapy in 2016. I had a daughter at a young age and was currently attending school to become a physical therapist as well as an athletic trainer. I decided to go and get my manual therapy license for massage therapy as a way for me to make better money while I was in college. While I was in massage therapy school I came across a magazine article that was accepting eight people into a course to work with NFL combine athletes. I immediately applied and ended up getting accepted into the program. This would change my course of action as I came to love the manual therapy portion of treatment as opposed to the physical therapy portion of treatments.

When I opened my business and began working with people my main goal was to help individuals live a pain-free life and allow them to continue doing the sports and activities that they loved. I unfortunately broke my back when I was in high school and wasn’t able to continue sports, ever since then I was wanting to do what I could to help others stay on the playing field.

We offer sports massage, myofascial therapy, cupping, stretching, deep tissue massage, graston, normatec recovery boots , electric stem, automatic compression therapy and more!

What makes us stand out from other massage therapy companies is that we really focus on our clients needs. If you come in with a low back issue we don’t just treat the low back, we treat everything that encompasses that area, assisting muscles in that area, the antagonistic muscles and the fascia that encompasses that. When you have an injury there is a pain area and the other areas that are surrounding it that become compensated from the injury. We focus on the whole injury as opposed to just one section of the injury, this then gets a better result and allows for our clients to find success faster than other treatments.

Can you tell us about what’s worked well for you in terms of growing your clientele?

The most effective strategy for growing your clientele is simply doing good work. There’s a lot of different ways to grow your clientele or market but I have found if you’re focused in on every session and you provide for your client everything that they need, then growing your clientele base literally takes off by itself. If you can just go out and be present in the community, provide outstanding treatments for your clients, and be punctual then you will find your clientele growing organically.

When I first started my business I kept trying to find ways to make my clientele grow. Once I stop focusing on that and focused on the clients that I had I doubled the amount of clients because my current clients were telling their friends, office colleagues, and anybody in between that I was the one helping them live pain-free. That went a lot longer than me trying to sell somebody on how good I am. The people did the talking for me and that was the best way to effectively and organically grow.

We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.

There’s a few stories I can think about that would illustrate my resilience but the one that comes to my mind the most is when I first started my business. I got everything ready and when it was time to work I couldn’t get anybody to come in, I couldn’t find family members to come in, I couldn’t even find a job for at least 2 1/2 months after I graduated. I graduated in the beginning of January and got my first client sometime in May that I can say I worked for. Since I couldn’t get clients to come in I started offering free appointments for a whole month to try to get people hooked on what I was doing.

I did everything I thought I could do, I reached out to physical therapists, chiropractors, orthopedics, yoga instructors, Pilates instructors, gyms, etc anyone that I could talk to to try and get my services out there. But unfortunately I just couldn’t get anybody’s attention. I had many job interviews, many meetings but nobody could understand what I was trying to do. I continued outreaching until I finally outreached to an NFL agent that hooked me up with one of the players from the Cincinnati Bengals. That resilience paid off by not giving up. I was told no, that I wasn’t good enough, that what I was doing wasn’t going to help their clients and thanks to my resilience I started the career that I love today.

Contact Info:

• Website: massagebook.com/scheidingsportsmassage
• Instagram: Zechariah_sportstherapist
• Linkedin: Zechariah Scheiding
• Youtube: Zech Scheiding

Image Credits
Lindsey Brown (two photos) One of me working on a knee, the other is of a tool in my hand.