Today we’d like to introduce you to Bethany Powers.
Bethany, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
When massage therapy found me, I was burnt out at my job and tired and in need of some way to make money and help people at the same time that didn’t completely drain me! I came across an ad in the local paper for a massage school that had just opened a satellite location in the town next door, I went to visit and met the directors and knew it was a good fit for me. I then had a conversation with my sister, who’s very business minded, she was on the fence on this being a good direction to go in as the market for massage is quite saturated. Though she wasn’t entirely on board she supported my application to the school and when I got the scholarship the school was offering for its incoming class, she helped me pay the rest of my tuition. I stayed working my job and going to school full time – finishing my clinic hours in about a year. At that point, I was fairly newly pregnant with my first child and still in flux with life. The following spring, I began working for two massage therapy establishments and quickly realized that I needed to do my own thing. The birth of this brainchild turned into BethanyHealth & Wellness with the help of my family, husband and friends along the way.
My father has said on a few occasions that I am the last of his children he imagined would be an entrepreneur. I take that as a compliment! I never saw it coming and I am so grateful to have been blessed with the opportunities that have brought me to where I am today.
Has it been a smooth road?
Many obstacles presented themselves along the way. I was never business minded. I still don’t consider myself business minded! Learning the ropes from how to get licensed and how to market, branding and advertising, setting up a website and booking system, having other therapists along the way – it’s all been a learning process and the business continues to evolve into something I never anticipated.
Growing up, I worked as a waitress at my father’s restaurant in Hudson, NY. I learned the ropes of customer service and perfected my socialization skills with strangers by modeling my father’s ability to connect with customers and create long-standing relationships with people he is still friends with today! I am good at talking to people and have been told I’m “easy to talk to”. Creating a space where people feel comfortable enough to talk about the stressors in life usually starts with being able to make them comfortable enough to talk about what’s bothering them physically. I learned a lot of that from my experience growing up and modeling a communication style that enables an easy rapport.
So let’s switch gears a bit and go into the BethanyHealth & Wellness story. Tell us more about the business.
BethanyHealth started as a vision for a wellness center comprised of alternative practice modalities working synchronously to treat each client individualized needs. Although we are not all under one roof, I have built a network of people with whom I co-manage issues clients present with. I have in my wheelhouse a variety of trusted practitioners that I refer to on the regular who all work together to compliment the work we each individually do. It’s part of what sets me apart. As to my own set of skills, the practice modalities I use in particular are individual to each client and each session. Let’s be honest, you can get a massage on just about any street corner these days and for some folks one is just as good as the next. What sets me apart is my intuitive ability to feel soft tissue dysfunction and release it. The other thing that sets my practice apart is self-care education. Frequently clients come to me with issues that they themselves can work on independently, so I teach them how to treat in between session with a variety of techniques including stretching, foam rolling, using self-care tools, etc.
I am most proud of the business in its ability to really truly help people suffering with pain. No one needs to or should have to live with pain. It takes its toll on us physically, mentally and emotionally. Given the current epidemic of drug use here as well, I pride this practice on providing pain relief without pharmaceuticals.
How do you think the industry will change over the next decade?
I think we’ll see a shift again away from big-massage chain businesses. Their model just doesn’t hold up with the amount of turnover both with staff and clientele. I think the small business, individual therapist and building the therapeutic relationship is truly where the benefit lies.
Contact Info:
- Address: 720 Washington Street, Ste 101,
Hanover, MA 02339
(No walk-ins, please email for an appointment.) - Website: Bethanyhealth.massagetherapy.com
- Phone: 6464894697
- Email: bethanyhealthandwellness@gmail.com
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BethanyHealth/
- Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/bethanyhealth-and-wellness-hanover
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