I’ve been thinking a lot lately about small business. For most of my life, small business to me has meant the Mom and Pop shop on the corner, desperately trying to survive the big box stores getting all up in their business. I grew up in suburbia, NY, and can only remember three locally owned businesses. After I moved away, it seems that the big box stores mushroomed throughout the town, save these three particular businesses. There is a Target less than mile away from a Walmart which is less than a quarter mile away from a Sports Authority, which is…oh heck…you get the picture.
To me, though, this being a problem just didn’t enter my consciousness until I went into business for myself. Mind you, I had already worked as an employee for a few years when I made that decision and had never really had to think all that much about what it would take to be an independent contractor. All my life, I have just decided to do things and, well, done them. But recently, I was reflecting on my first couple of years as an independent massage therapist with Massamio’s CEO, Benjamin. I told him my story casually, because quite frankly, it’s so far in the past (read: I’m so old) that it seems like a blip to me, but to Benjamin, it made his light bulb surge with power.
This is a common story, I know. I left a busy clinic where I was an employee, and started from scratch. After signing a no-compete clause years before, I had to get creative and be completely open to whatever came my way, professionally. I said yes to every client. I traveled to homes and hotels without charging a travel fee. I went door to door in 100-degree weather, leaving my business card in mailboxes. I answered phones for free at the small, independent clinic I worked in. I was available every day. I became comfortable speaking about what I do, and whenever the opportunity arose, I let people know what I did for a living. I never stopped working at my alma matter, as a teacher and a TA.
But even with all that perseverance, I would still have weeks where I had only one or two appointments. I ate Campbell’s soup almost every day. I traded with friends for meals and other things I couldn’t afford, like massage music and candles. I focused all of my energy on becoming a busy massage therapist. Now I see that it was more than that: I was becoming a small business owner.
It’s been over 10 years. I have a full practice and do little, if any, marketing. I say yes to my clients a lot, but mostly no, if it’s outside of my preferred schedule. I eat well, and can occasionally even splurge on meals out. I have practically no job stress. So, I suppose you could say that I am a successful small-business owner. So it’s natural that my heart breaks when the small businesses I love to support go out of business. Or when I meet a new massage therapist who has the passion but no focus or no understanding of how to get motivated and make it happen. I stand beside so many other small business owners and feel solidarity, overwhelming pride, and an extremely strong desire to be one of the many people supporting and promoting that small business. And I also have the same strong desire to help massage therapists realize their potential, and to someday, in the near future, have the ability to look back and say, “Yes. This is exactly what I want.”
And one day realize that they too are small business activists.
♥ Sarah
