March 2008

Career Longevity

by Cherie Sohnen-Moe

The following traits and skills will help you have a long, successful, and fulfilling career.

Personality characteristics
Be confident in your abilities, have a positive mental attitude, maintain healthy boundaries, enjoy working with people, be willing to take risks, and stay focused.

Client interactions
Possess reverence for the inherent magnificence of the human body and spirit. Respect clients regardless of their physical conditions or the reasons that they seek care. Customize each session to address clients’ long-term goals and immediate concerns.

Technical capabilities
Integrate what you’ve learned in school with hands-on practice in the field. Recognize that in the first few years of practice, it’s vital to continue your education to expand your portfolio of skills and techniques. Continuing your professional education throughout your career opens many doors to both personal fulfillment and professional growth.

Business savvy
Take advantage of books, classes, marketing products, coaching services and online resources to assist in expanding your business knowledge.

Self-care
Helping others is difficult if you neglect your own wellness. Developing a habit of self-renewal helps you stay energized and ensures you’re at your professional best. Carve out time for daily walking, yoga, meditation or your favorite exercise. Enjoy time in nature and get a weekly massage!

Grow a strong client base
The number-one key to career longevity is a solid base of clients. After all, without them you don’t have a practice. Include a mixture of promotion, advertising, community relations, and publicity—with the emphasis on promotion. Retain clients by making them feel safe and welcome, and by finding effective ways to support their wellness goals.

According to industry leaders, the average number of years a massage therapist stays in practice is two to three. Yet, some people stay in the massage field for more than 20 years. What sets those people apart from therapists who have a hard time making it? See “A Practice '

An ideal work environment is essential to career longevity. Learn 26 ways to create it at www.futureLMT.com/joblongevity.

Get resources to support you in sustaining your career at www.futureLMT.com/joblongevityresources.

Cherie Sohnen-Moe is an author, business coach and international workshop leader. She has been in business since 1978. She was in private practice for many years as a massage and holistic health practitioner before shifting her focus to education and coaching. In her coaching/consulting practice, she has worked with individual therapists to small wellness centers to day spas that have multiple locations. She has served as a faculty member at the Desert Institute of Healing Arts and the Arizona School of Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine, and is an adjunct professor at Clayton College of Natural Health. She has written more than 100 articles that have been published in more than 15 national and international magazines. She is the author of the book, Business Mastery, which is in its fourth edition, has sold more than 325,000 copies to date with 650-plus schools requiring it as a text. She is also the author of Present Yourself Powerfully and The Art of Teaching. She is co-author of The Ethics of Touch, with more than 300 schools requiring it as a text. She is also a contributing author of Teaching Massage: Fundamental Principles in Adult Education for Massage Program Instructors, and was interviewed for a chapter of SAND TO SKY: Conversations with Teachers of Asian Medicine. Sohnen-Moe is a firm believer in education and as such serves on the exam committee of the Federation of State Massage Therapy Boards (FSMTB) and is a founding member of the Alliance for Massage Therapy Education (AFMTE).  She can be contacted through her website, www.sohnen-moe.com.