Income prospects rising for massage therapists

EDMONTON - When you visit a massage therapist in Edmonton, you can expect to pay from $70 to $100 an hour, depending on the location. If you have been thinking of a career in massage therapy, you may have been tempted by those numbers.

At $80 per massage, a self-employed therapist seeing 20 clients a week takes in an average of $1600 a week, or about $75,000 a year. Not bad at all.

Not so fast, says Roberta Brosseau, principal of MH Vicars School of Massage Therapy. Clinic rental, fees, supplies and marketing can take a good chunk of that cash.

Massage incomes vary widely, she explains, and while many therapists make a comfortable living, it can take some time—and some business sense—to establish a sustainable practice.

Commonly, it takes six months to a year, with effort and persistence, to build a practice. Having good business and entrepreneurial skills can also be a major factor in building a practice. That’s why, says Brosseau, a good massage training program must include business education.

"At MH Vicars, our students are mostly mature men and women with family responsibilities, so it is very important that we prepare them to succeed financially, as well as becoming excellent therapists.

"We teach the basics of marketing and planning, but much of their business education comes through their senior-year practicum placements, where they learn about the realities of business by working closely with clinic owners and managers. Our students are required to do 200 hours on the job, and the best placements will include marketing and promotion as well as seeing clients."

In general, massage is an entrepreneurial field. Massage therapists with their own facilities usually earn the most and have the most responsibility, including building and maintaining a sufficient clientele. They often can sublet their space or hire other therapists to increase their overall income.

Independent contractors working in a clinic setting commonly split their fees on a percentage basis to cover the services that are provided, such as working space, receptionist, supplies and equipment. The massage therapist who works for an hourly wage generally earns the least but has fewest expenses.

Director Maryhelen Vicars says the school likes students to have realistic expectations of their potential earnings, but says the outlook is generally positive.

"My Career magazine reported recently that 71 per cent of Canadian physicians now refer patients to massage therapists, and that number is growing, too.

"Professional massage therapy is a hugely growing field. Statistics from all over Canada are showing a big jump in the number of people who are using massage. In Ontario, the number doubled from 1990 to 2000, and more than doubled again from 2000 to 2003. We don’t have more recent statistics, but our graduates tell us this rapid growth is continuing, despite a softer economy.

"We find that the biggest growth seems to be in the smaller towns. I was in Yellowknife and Fort McMurray last summer talking to grads and in both places, therapists are fully booked—many of them are not taking new clients at all.

"People are often surprised to learn how great a demand there is for massage therapy outside the larger centres," Vicars says. "But if you think about it, it makes a lot of sense. So many rural jobs are physical work, and there is always a risk of injury. When it comes to getting back to work, country people have learned that massage treatments can speed up their recovery and get them back on the equipment sooner."

Students come to MH Vicars School of Massage Therapy from all over Alberta, BC, Saskatchewan and even the territories. They have hands-on classroom sessions one weekend a month during the two-year program, and do the most of their academic work at the kitchen table, or in a home office.

"We aren’t a correspondence school," says Vicars. “But with our independent-study materials, supported by the practical instruction and lectures of the monthly classes, students don’t have to leave their families, home towns, or day jobs to train for a new career.

The program is 2200 hours over two years, and requires a commitment of about 20-25 hours a week in independent study time. New classes begin in September and January each year. For information, call 866-491-0574 or visit the school web site,www.mhvicarsschool.com.