Retraining - massage?

[Ooopsadaisy]

Not actually anything to do with "Going back to work" because I've never not worked. Just not quite sure where to post this request for a bit of advice.

I'm considering a new direction.

I have always been interested in massage. Is it a reasonable career idea?

What qualifications/training are required? How long does it take? What should be considered if thinking of this as a career? Should a newly-qualified person work for a salon or go it alone?

I'm 42 - is that too old to go into quite a physical career?

Anything else I should know?

I retrained in sports and remedial massage last year and now do it from home on a self employed basis. I really enjoyed the training, and I enjoy the work but to be honest I find the marketing and promotion side of being self employed challenging and difficult.

I retrained through NLSSM in North London, attending every other Sunday for 12 months and qualified with a Level 5 BTEC in Sports & Remedial Massage. There's quite a lot of reading and homework to do (learning all the anatomy etc) and 100 practical hours need to be completed before you can sit your exam but it is a really interesting course. There were people on my course in their 50s, so I really don't think 42 is too old. It's not actually too physical a job as it's very technique based - I now find giving a massage can be as relaxing as getting one!

If you're thinking of more holistic massage, I would recommend looking into the sports/remedial stuff too as you learn so much more about anatomy and treating injuries that you gain huge amounts of confidence in giving more relaxing treatments - I was once badly injured by an overconfident holistic masseur. It's easy to dial back your treatment to relax rather than treat injuries rather than the other way around.

Obviously the course cost is going to be the major investment in your training, but the cost of buying books and equipment needs to be factored in. A good massage table can be expensive - I bought a cheap one from ebay but had to replace it fairly early on as it was too big for me (I'm 5'5"). All in I expect I paid around £350- £400 for table/books/insurance/consumables whilst training.

The people I trained with have gone on to either work as self employed or in a practice, and both have their merits/disadvantages. I didn't want the structure of working in practice, so have gone it alone. Most practices/salons employ you as a self employed practitioner, so you'd have to do all your tax/NI/insurance stuff yourself even if working under their umbrella, so aside from not having to find clients there aren't too many advantages to working in a salon environment. If you're working for yourself you may need a licence from the local authority, though I manage to avoid that by being a member of a professional association.

Hope that helps!

Wow - thanks - that's really interesting.

Can I be really cheeky and ask if you make a good living from it?

Also, do you feel that the market is already saturated or is it a growing market?

How does working from home work for you? Do you have a room set up as a treatment room permanently? What if the children are about? What if the phone rings or the postman knocks in the middle of a treatment? (I know this is all a bit drama-ish, but I like to be prepared!)

How have you got your clients? Advertise? Word of mouth?

Sorry for asking so many questions but I am an information freak.

I don't make that good a living from it, but that's mainly because I don't need to - I am lucky that DH has a very good job so my earnings are just pocket money. That said, my friends from college are doing well, and they've only qualified this year. I charge £50 per hour (in London), so if I were to only work 10 hours a week I'd turn over more than £2,000 per month! I guess I'm just lazy.

That said, the work is totally out there - people are becoming more and more active and therefore need more injury management. Also, more people are taking on formidable challenges like marathons or triathlons, and they need massage during their training and as part of their recovery, so there's a really big market out there! I think also having the olympics in the UK people are becoming more excited by sport.

I don't have children but one of my friends does (he's a baby) and she pops him into childcare when she's working. If your children are older and self sufficient I can't see that it'd be a problem for you to work with them in. If they're in school you could look at working in local businesses during the day (this can be very lucrative) - this is a growing sector too. If the phone rings or doorbell goes when I am treating someone I ignore it - they are paying for my attention, not for me to do house stuff at the same time.

I have converted the spare room into a work room but have a sofabed in there rather than normal sofa for the clients to sit on whilst we're discussing treatment and for them to put their clothes on, thus it can house guests when required.

Most of my clients are from word of mouth - I don't advertise. I hand out business cards like they're sweeties and have contacted local sports clubs offering their clients a discount with me. I am toying with doing referral fees for local PTs, combined with a discount for their clients - say charge the client £45 instead of £50 and give the PT a £5 referral fee/credit towards free massage.

I hope that covers your queries - feel free to come back with more questions if you have them.

One thing I did before I started the course with NLSSM was do their introductory weekend. It's a good gauge for how you'll deal with massaging strangers and getting used to bodywork - you might like it in theory but find it icky in practice, or you might (as I did) get bitten by the bug and love it!

Thanks again for taking the time to give so much information.

Yes, DCs are perfectly self-sufficient and can be ignored. I just wondered what clients felt about coming to a home for treatment when other occupants are about.

I have started looking into available courses. They seem to vary greatly. Some require qualifications in the sports/health area and some require nothing at all.

It's all a bit bewildering but I shall persevere!

Thanks again.

I regularly pay for holistic massage (£30 a session - s Wales) and my therapists teenagers and dog are atthe house, which doesn't bother me at all.

Good luck.

I'd not have problems attending somewhere where there were other people around - I have clients come here when DH is in, in fact I make sure DH is in when I have new male clients.

I had no background in sports/health etc, and had no problems getting onto the course - and the subject matter wasn't too hard, though it was thorough and I did have to study. One thing that is worth looking at is what level qualification you'll get. If you want to do the sports massage thing then make sure you don't end up below a BTEC Level 4 - professional body membership has different tiers, and I've noticed that there is a bit of snooty-ness about Level 3 qualifications. The course I linked above is Level 5 (though you can drop to level 4 if you want).

Dear afishcalledmummy
I have come across this thread and wondered if you had any advice for me. I am on maternity leave from a city marketing job. A few years ago I gained an LSSM qualification in sports massage and was now wondering whether - if I re-took the qualification (my hours were never kept up) I could do what you do, from home. My only worry is that I'm a worrier. I know I massage well, and love helping people feel better but what if I can't make someone's injury better? Is it just a confidence thing? (I got good grades in all exams). Any advice would be welcome! Thank you!

Hi BeeandBear

If you got your LSSM qualification it will still stand, so you won't need to retake it to be able to practice. You may want to build up your hours though - do LSSM have a student clinic where you might be able to work a few hours a week? That would really help build your confidence!

I often have clients I can't fix - but that's OK, as we're not here to cure, we're part of the injury management process. I have started to build up relationships with physiotherapists and osteopaths (mostly following my own injuries) so I refer them on or send clients to their GP for referral if I'm not sure.

Confidence is a huge part of the job and comes from practice. If you're based in London I'd be happy to meet with you and work on techniques if you want to practice and have some supervision! Feel free to PM me if you want to chat further/work on some stuff!

Afish xx