Today we’d like to introduce you to Sandra Napoli.
So, before we jump into specific questions about the business, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
I went school for Massage Therapy at the Muscular Therapy Institute in Cambridge and graduated in 2002. Before graduating I took a continuing education course for Chair Massage. I really enjoyed this subset of massage therapy, so much that my business plan for graduation was focused on chair massage. After graduation I jumped into table massage and worked at a spa and then a hospital. The whole time I was working in these settings I kept thinking about how much I preferred chair massage. I didn’t think I could make a living by doing only chair massage. As I became a little bored with going to the same location every day I began brainstorming about how I could make myself happier, I was in my early twenties and knew I could not do this for the next 40 years.
I still remember the day my company was born. I was sitting on my couch, dreading going into my afternoon shift at the spa. I was trying to figure out how to break into chair massage full time. I knew I wanted to work in settings such as office buildings and provide short chair massages to people and give them the boost they needed to get through the day. When would an employee have time to stop work and get a massage? During their coffee break, yes! Coffee Break Massage was born.
After obtaining all of the necessary legal business certificates and company information I was ready to go. Working with limited funds for marketing I sat down at my computer and started sending emails, introducing my company to local businesses, colleges, and non-profits. Most of these emails probably never saw the light of day but the ones that did described a sincere young businesswoman wanting to prove that her company would be a great addition to their office. 13 years later we still have a lot of these business relationships and have seen the wellness programs expand.
Has it been a smooth road?
Though the road has not been smooth it was never bumpy enough to give up. The biggest challenge has always been that chair massage is not a main stream concept. I have had to explain what chair massage is to even my closest friends and family. “What is it that you do exactly?” is still a question I am asked after all of these years. There was no model to emulate, no big company that had been doing it for years that I could research.
When I began practicing Massage Therapy it was not state licensed, I had to obtain a license for each city/town I worked in. This made traveling to multiple locations difficult. Thankfully the licensing changed a few years ago and now we are licensed by state.
Another challenge has been setting boundaries and making sure I leave time for self-care. Massage is about giving, you need to have something to give and if you burn out, it’s over.
We’d love to hear more about your business.
Coffee Break Massage and Wellness is a traveling chair massage company. When a client hires us we travel to their location, anywhere in Massachusetts. We’ve provided chair massage for health fairs, teacher/student appreciation, convention/conferences goes, store grand openings we’ve even been the favor at a baby shower.
We pride ourselves on being affordable and working with the client by giving advice on how to plan a successful event. All of our massage therapists are experienced in chair massage and are fully licensed and insured. We are a group of caring massage therapists who want to bring relaxation to everyone in our massage chair. We are not a nameless company who sends just anyone to your event. We take pride in treating our massage therapists well so the person giving the massage has enough energy to give our clients.
We also have a passion for giving back to our community. We set aside a certain number of hours each year to provide free chair massage to non-profit organizations for fundraisers and appreciation events.
Is our city a good place to do what you do?
Boston is a great place for chair massage. I have personally seen the growth in wellness programs over the years. I went to college in Boston and was never offered a chair massage. Now-a-days mid-term and finals time is our busiest times of year. We have provided chair massage for most of the colleges and universities in Boston.
Pricing:
- Mention this article for 10% your entire event.
Contact Info:
- Address: We travel to you!
- Website: https://www.coffeebreakmassage.com/
- Phone: 781-680-5226
- Email: info@coffeebreakmassage.com
- Instagram: cbmwellness
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CoffeeBreakMassage/
- Twitter: CBMwellness
- Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/coffee-break-massage-and-wellness-boston-2
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