What can I attribute my energy to that I was able to massage a body every ten minutes for several hours straight with no interruption, have a 20 minute meal break, and then work another hour more, during the Newark Community Day fair, today?
The beautiful weather? Eating Chinese rice noodles and shrimp before leaving? Chilling out with Pink Martini before leaving? Doing squats and pushups before leaving?
Does it even matter?!
Today's event turned out much better than Newark Nite in June. More hours and daytime hours, for one. Which means many more peeps. And of course, the word FREE. Charge a dollar a minute and only a few will be willing to cough it up. Offer mini massages for FREE and people are willing to wait until eternity, almost!
I myself can't believe all the people who waited in line for us to give them a much needed massage. (Everybody needs a massage!) Or maybe I should believe it considering we offered free massages. Ten minutes is better than nothing! Five minutes doesn't do much at all. It was like a factory: one body following another body! I barely had time to grab my water bottle!
From 11:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. or thereabouts, I was on a ROLL! In my element! Every ten minutes a new body was on my table! Sixty minutes=one hour. Sixty divided by ten equals six. SIX bodies an hour! I've never even had six clients in a day...yet!
I have had five relatives in a day, bless their hearts! ;-)
Of course, I prefer the longer massages (60-90 min), but you do what you gotta do to get more business. Two people will win an hour-long massage. We got a lot of new names to market to, too. And I got one person to commit to a massage this week with a substantial discount. :-)
Even with incentives, few people are willing to make an appointment. Or perhaps I should say, part with their money. Save $20 off a regular price massage OR buy a gift certificate: BOOK TODAY! Other massage vendors were charging a dollar a minute...maybe that's why our waiting lines were long and non-stop! FREE is such a nice word, isn't it? ;-) Selling is a hard job...and all the more challenging when you are selling your own services rather than those of a company, which I have done before.
The most important thing for me, was that I made a lot of people happy with loosened muscles today. :-)) That's my focus. My livlihood. My joy!
I finally had to turn away a group of college gals and asked them to return in half an hour because I HAD TO EAT! %-0 Let alone find a Port-a-Potty! I went to the area where most of the food vendors were situated and first walked by the Indonesian stand, but I heard the women behind the table telling someone they had no chicken satay left. It was past 3:30, after all. Then I found the Chinese Student's Union table and they had food and trinkets for sale. I always go to them on Newark Community Day--I like to support students because I remember being a college student.
They had the food that Americans like and most Chinese don't (unless cooked at home or for Chinese people): fried rice, egg rolls, and fried dumplings. Fried everything on their menu. It was waaaay too greasy, but it was good because I was famished. Simply starving beyond imagination! Heart attack food can sure be tasty when you almost don't care WHAT you put in your belly! Even though the food was cold, it filled the bill. I ate part of it walking back to our station, then I ate in front of everybody waiting for a massage! Told one lady I couldn't work on her because I was eating. I HAD TO EAT! No food in my belly makes for an awfully cranky yours truly! :-0
So she walked away disappointed because my colleague was working on someone else. Geez, lady, did you expect me to drop my plate at your beck and call? I would not even stop eating if you paid me! ;-( What good am I to you if I don't take care of myself first? (Well, THAT'S worthy of another blog entry!)
My belly full, I was ready to go back to work for free again.
For another hour and some odd minutes.
That makes some 30 or 31 bodies I think! I really did lose count, but I do know that I was working non-stop for several hours at a time today.
One other detail: we had tables instead of a chair today. Table work IS much more pleasant than chair massage and MUCH easier on therapist's body, especially for prolonged periods of time. I know I'd be more tired than I am now if we had to do chair massage (which I and many of my therapist friends do not like) all day cuz I've done it before and I hated it. I can deliver a much, much more effective massage with the client on the table.
Oh my...I'm probably gonna feel the effects of today, when I wake up in the morning! Then I'll need a massage! %-)
