A Dose of Inspiration: Recharge

Ahh...taking an uneventful vacation is so nice!

My husband had planned his vacation (paid, one of those perks of being an employee) for the second week in January. I was still undecided about whether I would also be taking that time off work. We didn't have any plans of doing anything special, he mostly was taking it ... to take it. 

As one of my very best regular clients was finishing his appointment with me, he was thinking of scheduling his next appointment within that week. As I explained my uncertainty of whether I would also be taking vacation, he urged me to do it, saying that the money (my vacations are not paid!) will always come, but you never get the time back to do things differently. That sold me. (And I'm so happy, the money did come, in the form of insurance payments I'd billed a few weeks prior.)

We still didn't do anything special--really. My husband went to 2 Blazer games and his regular bowling league. But for me...it was so nice to not have to go and be somewhere. Many of you probably know that I'm beginning to itch to shift my work schedule once our youngest is in school, so that we can all be at school/at work at the same time, and all be home together--at the same time. Yes, I enjoy the flexibility of my career, and it has been tremendously helpful in avoiding daycare expenses, but it still comes with a toll of its own, and I'm ready to pay THAT debt off! ;) 

So that vacation was a wonderful way for me to recharge my batteries. Looking back, I realized my husband took his last vacation in July--but I did not. My last vacation was in February of 2011 when he and I took our first cruise together--SO awesome! That trip included my weekend workshop training to be a Certified Injury Prevention Instructor, and as soon as we landed back on the west coast, we were jolted back into the middle of buying our house. The cruise was fabulous, but the vacation ended quite abruptly.

I feel restored. My theme for this year is "Embrace." I am ready to do just that.

2011 Check-In

Wow, 2011 has been rocking so far! How is it going for you?

I maintained steadiness with clients in January, then took on a new endeavor: house hunting! Truth be told, I had been opposed to buying a house just yet, feeling like my husband and I needed to get a better grip on our finances first, but he and others kept saying now is the time to buy. My pivotal moment came late one night when I wasn't quite tired enough to go to sleep yet, and found myself perusing houses posted for sale on Craigslist. I told my husband if he could get us into "THAT" house, then I would do it. "THAT" house didn't end up being the one we put an offer on, but definitely moved us into the direction of buying now. We saw 16 or 18 houses, and put in an offer on one a couple weeks ago, and are planning to close by March 18.

In addition to staying busy with my regular work duties and house hunting, I was also preparing for the trip my husband and I took to Florida, including a cruise to the Bahamas, and my workshop back on land again in Boca Raton. We had a wonderful time, enjoying our respite from parenthood while our two boys stayed with family in our absence. With the completion of my workshop, I earned new credentials: CIPI--Certified Injury Prevention Instructor, though I still need to have a dry-run through presenting my own workshop as we had practiced together in Florida. I am excited for this new branch of business opportunity.

My husband and I had our taxes done yesterday, and thanks to my increased income last year, we moved into a different tax bracket, so our refund isn't quite what we anticipated. Ordinarily, that wouldn't be much of an issue, but with buying a house, we were counting on that money to buy our major appliances. I'm sure we will work that out somehow, and one way to help off-set that unexpected imbalance is for me to be available on weekends for appointments also now. I have opened my Clickbook scheduling availability to include Saturdays and Sundays between 9am-8:30pm (not that I expect to be booked full through those times, but just offering greater flexibility for additional income).

So, as you can see, I've been quite busy this year! I'm hoping that things will begin to settle down now (HAHA, I know!), and that I will get back into my regular blogging. 

One more thing: our son's preschool (Oregon City Preschool) is having a fundraising auction on Saturday, March 5, located at the Clackamas County Fairgrounds 4H Hall, 604 NE 4th Avenue, Canby, OR 97013. If you would like to attend the auction and support Adam's school, you may buy dinner tickets for $10 (dessert included), or dessert and beverage only for $5. Raffle tickets are going for $2 each, or $5 for 3 tickets, and you can choose between entering the raffle for $200 cash, or an Amazon Kindle. There will be other raffles and live/silent auctions on-site. I've donated a 90 minute massage with body butter gift certificate, and there will be hundreds of other awesome items to bid on. You do not need to be present to win the $200 cash or Kindle raffles, however. Any support you can give is greatly appreciated! Please call me for more information and to buy dinner, dessert, and/or raffle tickets: 503-318-9626.

2010 In Review

As 2010 approached, I instinctively knew it was going to be a good year, and overall, it didn't disappoint. 

The hiccup my business ran into in March turned out to be a blessing in disguise combined with another change--getting my massage room to myself and no longer sharing it with another LMT. This change allowed me to redesign my treatment room, with the express needs of MY clients and myself in mind, not also those of the other therapist and trying to blend our styles and needs together. It also allowed me to increase my availability for appointments, moving from 3 days a week up to 5. 

The increased work time worked well for my income--I made 50% more in 2010 than I did in 2009, however, my bottom line didn't enjoy such a dramatic increase. Due in part to the redesign of my treatment room, as well as several continuing education courses, including planning for an upcoming out-of-state workshop, and a few new perks for my clients: new sheets, the full-back weighted heating pad that's getting lots of praise, and sample-size containers to allow clients to bring the spa experience home with them, my business expenses absorbed more than 50% of my total income for the year, a revelation that, while necessary at the time, I hope won't repeat itself for 2011.

In 2011, I have new goals. I will be going to a weekend workshop in Boca Raton in February to become a Certified Injury Prevention Instructor, so I will be able to teach other manual therapists ways to keep their bodies healthy, and prevent, recognize, and learn effective ways to treat injuries incurred due to the nature of their careers, and add value and longevity to their careers. I am very excited for this new venture. At this time, I don't expect it to interfere with my hands-on time with clients, but see it as another source of revenue, and likely will be implemented on the weekends. I've also decided to hold myself to a budget for my monthly business expenses, forcing myself to analyze the urgency of each potential purchase. 

In remembrance of my past life as an employee in a corporation, I don't want to sound as if my bottom line is what it's ALL about, but I would like to see the scale tip more in my favor than it did last year. My income, while not the breadwinner in my household, provides a very necessary contribution to my family's livelihood. My husband and I are beginning to very seriously consider buying a house, a goal of ours that I wasn't expecting to reach for another couple of years, and one that, if obtained soon, will require much more diligence of budgets, and watching my expenses is the biggest area I can work on to increase my bottom line. 

All that said, the good news is that you, my client, shouldn't notice much, if any, effect from these goals. I believe I set myself up pretty well in 2010 that I don't expect you or myself to feel the pull. As always, please don't hesitate to tell me your concerns. Without you all, I wouldn't be here anyway, and it will always be my goal to assure your happiness in having me as your massage therapist, this year and for many years to come.