Chair Massage for ProfitsChair Massage can be the opportunity that gets your massage practice off to a profitable jump start. With some creative promotional marketing ingenuity, some attractive brochures, a massage chair, and your massage talent, your on site massage chair practice could very well be all you need to launch your massage therapy business. Some HistoryChair Massage is a relatively new modality and way to give a massage almost anywhere at any time. David Palmer, a visionary massage practitioner and massage school owner who was inspired to adapt Amma techniques and create acupressure based massage routines for the seated position, set out to highlight unique features of seated chair massage. Although David Palmer did not invent the massage chair, he is acknowledged as the founder of seated chair massage.David Palmer started teaching the first seated massage training program in 1982. The first commercial massage chair was designed by David Palmer and Serge Bouyssou in 1986. This new design was all wood frame with padding for the person to sit on and lay their face and head. The first wood frame chair weighed 26 pounds. A more efficient metal frame design followed in 1989 weighing only 14 pounds and offered quick and easy setup and adjustment. Palmer and associate, Stephen Pizzella launched a seated massage business and signed their first major corporate customer, Apple Computer, in 1984. This first customer eventually paid to have seven practitioners provide 350 seated massages a week for it’s employees. Seated massage started to become more popular as employers noticed increase in production from employees getting a massage. Seated massage became an efficient way to work on athletes at sporting events. Massage chair design offered even lighter weight chairs with numerous features and adjustments to help the person receiving the massage to be more comfortable. A Service to Get Excited AboutChair Massage is often an over looked niche in the massage therapy profession. Imagine operating a business with no overhead. No rent and virtually no maintenance, the only expense you have with chair massage is the portable massage chair, lotions and oils, face covers for sanitary practice, maybe some essential oils, a CD player to create a relaxed atmosphere, and some spray cleaner to keep your equipment clean. Total cost for your business might be $800 on the high end and this would include marketing materials to promote your business.Schools, government offices, large corporate employers, or any business that employs over 20 people is the target segment that you are looking for - the larger the potential client pool the better. Many of these organizations have wellness programs and will contribute to the massage program. I have a friend that does just school districts and travels around to several schools to work on teachers while the school district picks up the entire cost of massage to these teachers in a state wellness program. The program works! Large corporations are starting to see benefits of employing massage therapists on a full time basis. Rule of thumb with seated massage is $1 per minute. Three 15 minute massages an hour is a good policy. This allows for a 15 minute massage and a 5 minute break in-between to prepare for the next client, change face cradle pads and clean equipment. Here is an income breakdown scenario to consider: Three massages an hour. The company wellness program picks up $8 and the employee pays $7. Lets say the company is large enough to support 12 massages a day, or four hours of steady work. The company pays $96 and the employee pays $84 for a total daily revenue of $180. Lets say the company can support 5 days a week with employee demand - $180 X 5 = $900. Wow, the first week pays for your business investment outlay. Not bad for four hours a day and 5 days a week. This is an ideal situation and the corporation would probably have to have 600 employed. Benefits of Chair Massage for Employer and Employee
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