This is NOT some type of sales spiel. I’m being completely serious when I say this. You can create money through your business from literally thin air.

Let me explain.

At some point in your career as a massage therapist, you will be hit with a serious dilemma. You’ll be faced with needing to pay for a business expense.

It might be an unexpected bill…

It might be a special marketing opportunity where you need some extra funds…

It could be a new personal life expense like some major automobile repairs…

... And you will find yourself short on cash.

Don’t panic. It happens to every business—regardless of industry, size, or how long you have been in business.

So what are the typical ways business owners deal with the unexpected bill?

Most will just whip out a credit card and charge it.

Heaven knows, I have used this method countless times over the years.

The problem is, it’s just delaying the bill. Sooner or later, you’ll have to pay it. And in the meantime, it’s gaining interest on your “Massive Charge” that will make it even more expensive to pay later.

Some business owners will borrow the money from their personal checking or savings accounts thinking that the business will repay it at a later time. Or they will borrow it from a family member or friend. I’ve used this method too.

Guess what?

Most of the time, the business doesn’t repay the money. Most don’t because they don’t have the means to repay it.

According to the U.S. Small Business Administration, over 80% of small businesses fail within 5 years. So borrowing from friends, family, or even yourself can create some hard feelings if the business can’t repay it promptly.

So what do I recommend?

Well, it’s the least commonly used method and yet, it is probably the most effective one. And it’s probably my favorite one.

You need to put on your thinking cap and create a promotion or a sale.

Let me give you a few examples that I have seen first-hand:

1. A friend of mine who is a marketing consultant had a car accident where he accidentally backed into a neighbor’s parked car. He damaged both cars and decided not to file an insurance claim. Instead, he opted to pay for the repairs out of pocket, using the money he gained from doing a special sale.

He created an online sales letter on his website where he told the story of how he got in the accident. He called it “Jacob’s First (and Hopefully Last) Ever Car Accident Sale”. He talked about how much damage was done to both cars. He showed pictures of both cars. He ran a 50% off special for ten clients only… and sold all ten spots in less than 24 hours!

2. When I owned my massage therapy center, my MoneyMailer rep contacted me one day in May with a sweetheart of a deal. He offered to run an ad for my center for 3 months for the price of 2 if I paid within a week. He was raising some extra cash to pay for some unexpected home repairs. He confided in me later that he was successful in raising all of the money he needed to with his promotion.

3. I wanted to grab that special Money Mailer deal. The problem was, May was traditionally a light sales month for me at that time. So I created a Memorial Madness sale on my prepaid packages (you can read the full story in my book Help Your MASSAGE Practice) and raised more than I needed for the Money Mailer deal.

Best of all, one of the buyers I got for the promotion became a regular prepaid package buyer for many years to come and the Money Mailer promotion generated a bunch of new clients for my massage center.

Customers and clients love seeing creative special promotions. Many times, they will grab your promotional deal, even if they weren’t looking to buy at that time. You will rarely get any negative feedback over a special promotion.

Make your promotional offer creative and original. If you can use a story or a current national event, then do it.

Keep your promotion special. If you start running it every month, it will quickly lose it’s luster and marketing power.

Stuck for marketing ideas?

• Read past issues of “From The Massage Table”
• Read past articles on this marketing blog
• Grab your own copy of Help Your MASSAGE Practice. It’s over 200 jam-packed pages filled with great marketing ideas. The deluxe version has an additional 81 massage marketing tips that you can refer to if you’re stuck for a promotional idea.

To Your Success,

Michael Humphreys