Become A Massage Therapist - Business Ideas

Updated: September 15th, 2022
Become A Massage Therapist

Please note that the data provided in this article are estimates and may vary depending on various factors, and should not be considered as perfect or definitive.

Massage is a growing industry, and as such, many business options exist for those who want to enter this field. The most typical form of massage therapist business is an independent operation. This can be either out of one's home or a massage studio rented on an hourly basis.

Building a successful massage therapy business is not as difficult as you might think. Massage therapists offer much-needed services to communities and clientele. If you are looking for a new career or want to increase your income while delivering an important service, then starting a new massage therapist business can be an excellent choice.

Turn your massage therapy practice into a successful business by applying core business skills that lead to success.

Becoming a massage therapist requires a great deal of effort, dedication, and most importantly passion.

If you're interested in how to sell massage therapy, or selling massage therapy online, you can use this page as a guide for everything you'll need to know.

Key Stats

market size
$16.2B
revenue (monthly)
$240K
starting costs
$17.8K
gross margin
80%
time to build
60 days
growth
Word of mouth
business model
Subscriptions
time investment
Full time

Startup Costs

Min Startup Costs Max Startup Costs

Office Space Expenses

$0

$6,900

Business Formation Fees

$600

$3,200

Equipment & Supply Expenses

$63

$200

Retail Business Expenses

$0

$7,200

Inventory Expenses

$300

$5,000

Vehicle Expenses

$0

$10,000

Training & Education Expenses

$0

$1,000

Advertising & Marketing Costs

$0

$1,200

Software Expenses

$0

$200

Website Costs

$13

$215

Food Business Expenses

$25

$500

Successful Businesses

Business URL Rank

Massage Book

massagebook.com

57,375

Massage Envy

massageenvy.com

64,601

abmp

abmp.com

161,848

PHOENIX

hyper-phoenix.com

183,016

Find Massage Therapists

massagefinder.com

263,097

AMTA

amtamassage.org

277,335

MassageTherapy.com

massagetherapy.com

286,769

Massage Luxe

massageluxe.com

363,846

Robin

cuddlist.com/robin/

906,905

Pulseroll

pulseroll.com/

977,134

Massage Therapists, Spas and Salons in South Africa

massage.co.za

1,007,803

Pros & Cons

Pros Description

Ability to start your business from home

It's not necessary to have a physical storefront or office space to get your business started. You can do everything from the comfort of your own home, at least in the beginning!

Little startup costs required

The cost to start a massage therapist costs significantly less money than most businesses, ranging anywhere from 62 to 35,615.

Rewarding work

Starting a massage therapist can be really rewarding work. After all, you are solving an immediate issue for your customer and you're working on something you truly care about.

No overhead costs

To get your massage therapist started, there are no costs associated with overhead, storage, packaging, etc. This will save you a lot of time and money!

High customer retention rates

Once a customer invests in your product, they've invested their time and energy to utilize your product/service which is highly valuable to them. Typically, your product or service becomes indispensable to your customer.

High margins

The gross margins for your massage therapist are typically around 80%, which is considerably high and allows you to grow your business and manage costs easily.

Cons Description

Crowded Space

Competition is high when it comes to your massage therapist, so it's important that you spend a good amount of time analyzing the market and understanding where the demand lies.

Work can be inconsistent

As a massage therapist, the amount of work assigned to you and schedule tends to be more inconsistent, which may make your income less stable. It's important to set boundaries and budget accordingly based on the amount of work you plan to have.

Isolation

Often times, as a massage therapist, you typically work alone and do not have much face-to-face interaction with other team members.

No safety net

Typically, as a massage therapist, you do not receive a consistent pay-check and instead earn money based on your transactions each month. During the slow periods, you typically take away less since the job is based on commission. It's important to budget accordingly for the slow times.

Niche Market

A niche business is not necessarily a bad thing, in fact, it can be the key to your success. However, it can be more challenging and time consuming to find the perfect niche market and target audience.

You may need to charge sales tax

If you are selling your products in various states, you may be required to charge sales tax. Although this may not impact your financials specifically, it can be a headache to create a process and procedure for this. To learn more about sales tax, check out this article

Marketing Ideas

  • 1

    Word of mouth

    Word of mouth is when a consumers reflects their interest in a company’s product or service in their daily dialogues.

    Therefore, word of mouth advertising is essentially a free advertising triggered by the customers experience.

    According to Nielsen, 92% of people trust recommendations from friends and family.

    Therefore, in today’s hyper-connected world, a single recommendation through a word of mouth can have a huge impact to your business.

    Learn more about word of mouth ➜

  • 2

    Social Media Advertising

    Social media advertising is the use of social media platforms to connect with your audience with the objective to build your brand, increase sales, and drive website traffic.

    According to Oberlo, approximately 48% of the global population use social media, and the number is ever-growing.

    Therefore, social media allows brands access to cost-effective advertising by enabling them to interact with a large audience.

    Learn more about social media advertising ➜

  • 3

    Pay Per Click Advertising

    Pay-per-click (PPC) is a performance-based marketing method that allows you to show specific ads for services or products oriented to a very defined target, with the goal that the user visits your website or landing page.