Healing Through Touch: How Rachel Built a Thriving Massage Therapy Practice from the Ground Up

My name is Rachel, and I’m a licensed massage therapist based out of North Carolina. I’ve been practicing for over 7 years now and run my own studio. I specialize in therapeutic massage, focusing on pain relief, stress reduction, and injury recovery. I also offer customized sessions that blend techniques like deep tissue, Swedish, and myofascial release, depending on the client’s needs.

My business is built around creating a safe, calming environment where people can not only heal physically but also take a mental break from the stress of everyday life. I work mostly with professionals, athletes, and people dealing with chronic pain, but I also have clients who just need to unwind. It’s just me right now, though I do have plans to bring on another therapist soon. Every session is one-on-one, highly personalized, and designed to make people feel like they’re being truly cared for.

I was originally in a very different field—I worked in corporate HR for nearly a decade. I loved helping people, but the job started to wear me down emotionally. Around that time, I was also dealing with chronic migraines and back pain from sitting at a desk all day. Massage therapy helped me in ways that traditional medicine couldn’t, and I remember thinking, “Why isn’t this more accessible to everyone?”

That experience planted the seed. I left my job, enrolled in massage school, and never looked back. What inspired me the most was the ability to help people feel better in a very real, immediate way. Whether it's releasing months of tension in someone’s shoulders or helping an athlete get back on their feet, being part of someone’s healing journey is incredibly rewarding.

Obviously having a packed calendar every day is a good sign of success. However, that’s not always everything. There’s a lot that can be said for the quality of the relationships I build with my clients and the results they experience. If someone walks out of my studio feeling like a different person, or finally gets relief from a chronic issue they’ve been struggling with, that’s a huge win in my book.

Financial stability and growth are important, of course, but I also measure success by how balanced I feel. I’ve built my schedule in a way that allows me to take care of myself, so I can be at my best for others. Being able to support myself doing meaningful work that I love—while maintaining peace of mind—is the kind of success I always dreamed of.

I think if I had to start over, I’d invest more in branding and marketing from the beginning. When I first started out, I relied heavily on word of mouth, which worked to a degree, but it slowed my growth. It took me a while to understand the power of social media and having a professional online presence. I eventually built a website, started posting helpful tips on Instagram, and even started a monthly newsletter—and that made a big difference.

I’d also be more intentional about setting boundaries from day one. In the beginning, I said “yes” to everything—late-night appointments, double bookings, you name it. It burned me out quickly. Now I’ve learned that protecting my time and energy actually makes me a better therapist and helps me serve my clients more effectively.

First, invest in your continuing education. Massage therapy is one of those fields where you can always learn more—new techniques, anatomy, business practices—it all makes you better at what you do. Clients notice when you’re constantly improving and evolving. It also keeps the work interesting and rewarding for you.

Second, don’t underestimate the business side of things. You can be the most skilled therapist in town, but if you don’t know how to manage bookings, market your services, or handle client communication, you’ll struggle. Learn basic bookkeeping, get good scheduling software, and build your network. Most importantly, stay grounded in why you started—helping people—and let that guide everything you do.

Right now, I average around $5,500 to $6,000 a month in revenue, working about 20–25 hours of hands-on time per week. That doesn’t include the time I spend on admin and marketing, of course, but it’s a very sustainable pace for me. After expenses like rent, supplies, continuing education, and taxes, my take-home is usually around $3,800–$4,200.

It took a couple of years to get to this point, especially since I started from scratch without taking over an existing client base. But now I have a loyal group of regulars and a steady stream of referrals. I’m hoping to bring in another therapist this year to expand availability and offer other wellness services like cupping and assisted stretching. That should open the door to increasing monthly revenue while still maintaining balance in my work life.