Financial Success And Future Goals

Her dedicated staff, comprised of MacDonald and Flynn, make a big difference, she acknowledges. “My staff is very important to me. Keeping them happy and content is an extremely high priority,” she says. “Most customers are regulars, and request the same therapist, if possible.” 
She offers incentives to these loyal clients. A sliding scale is incorporated into her package specials. She offers the following:

• 3 half-hour sessions—$80;
• 3 45-minute sessions—$110; 
• 3 one-hour sessions—$130;
• 4 one-hour sessions—$170; and 
• 5 one-hour sessions—$215.

All therapists working at the clinic are self-employed. The clinic takes in all the money, and then they get paid every two weeks. For the therapists, they receive 60 percent for them, and 40 percent goes for the clinic. Most equipment is supplied, except for the table, music, oil and business cards. These items are the responsibility of the therapist.

“For myself, I have to make sure my bills are paid, pay the clinic and then I take what is left,” Galichowski says. “Some months I may only take home 40 percent of my wage, and other months it may be 80 percent. It just depends on how much traffic comes through the clinic.”

Expenses are about $2,000 per month, with rent being $850. The monthly loan payment for the business is $750, and other miscellaneous costs like phone, office supplies, sheets, insurance and photocopying add up to approximately $400 per month. There are no operational costs in her present building. Galichowski brings home on average about $49,000 (Canadian) per year. The average paycheck per month for Galichowski is $3,400 to $4,000. Her employees make on average $2,500 to $3,000 per month. In 2000, the Cochrane Massage Therapy clinic grossed approximately $110,000 (Canadian).

According to Galichowski, it would not be a business if there were not some problems, but overall, the patients who frequent the clinic are excellent. “In any business you may not be able to satisfy all of your customers, even though you may try really hard. It is the same in massage. That is one reason why there are hundreds of successful practices out there.” 
Her patients are loyal because they know that every time they come for a treatment, she gives them 100 percent of her attention. No tips are taken, since massage therapy is part of the health-care field. Last year, she sent out a coupon at Christmas, but she is uncertain if she will do the same this year. “In massage, I believe sending out too many discounts really demotes massage therapy. We want patients to come in because they know they need treatments, not because they have a coupon. Coupons or specials really help around slow times, though. It’s a Catch-22. Glass half empty or half full,”she says.

Last year, she spent about $1,000 on advertising. However, since the business was already established, there was a patient base, but it is always changing and growing, just as Cochrane is no longer a small town. Word of mouth and referrals are still the best way of obtaining clients. 

There are no secrets to Galichowski’s success, except a good dose of common sense, integrity, hard work and dedication to her customers. “Having consistent hours, competitive pricing and packages, being appreciative, having a clean office and offering little extras all help,” she says. “For example, saying hello to the patients by name, recognizing the patients on the phone, being open evenings and weekends, doing our banking, eating and shopping in the community all enable us keep a loyal clientele.

“My level of success is very personal. I think in some aspects, I have not succeeded enough, but in my overall life, I am very content. I live a good, comfortable life,” Galichowski adds.

Since Cochrane is changing with respect to health care, Galichowski and the Cochrane Massage Therapy clinic will be right there to reflect these changes, or else they will not be at the forefront of change. There are more chiropractors in town who incorporate massage therapy into their practices, but Cochrane Massage Therapy only focuses on massage therapy. Galichowski claims her patients, in most cases, prefer this.

At present, she and her therapists work on about 70 patients total per week. She hopes to eventually reach 100.

Coping As A Therapist

With the physical and emotional demands of the job, Galichowski admits that she must keep herself balanced in order to continue at her present pace. Leading a well-balanced life in other respects is very important not only to her, but to her practice. She works out with another massage therapist five days a week. They are at the gym four of those days doing weight-lifting and cardiovascular activities. On the fifth day, they swim. In total, they exercise nine hours a week together. Her husband, their dog Parker, and Galichowski go hiking every Sunday as a family outing, but sometimes she takes Parker for a walk by herself to relax. She also is following the “Eat Right 4 Your Blood Type” diet, which she started in January 2000, and has lost 10 pounds. Due to these healthy choices, she has more energy to be a massage therapist. Though she is experiencing a mild case of repetitive strain injury due to her demanding schedule, self-massage, maintenance and exercise has really helped. Galichowski also practices what she preaches, and gets a massage every two weeks.

At her present pace, she figures she has three to five more years left, which will total 10 years for her working as a massage therapist. In the future, she intends to slow the pace down by eventually working five days per week instead of six.

Clients Get Results

After interviewing a few of her clients, they all raved about Galichowski’s massage abilities. The people I chatted with lead demanding professional lives, but claim that without massage therapy, they would be living in pain or discomfort.

Dennis Hoffman, a chartered accountant and partner in the firm PricewaterhouseCoopers in Calgary, was referred to Galichowski by his doctor. Currently, he is getting treated for a sport injury from running, and says he is having great results.

Teri Gottselig, a dental hygienist, is a car-accident victim. If it weren’t for regular massage treatments, she could not continue doing her demanding job because of the acute pain from her car accident.

Also, chiropractor Leona Sembrat not only sees Galichowski for a condition that is due to repetitive use from her job, but they also refer clients to each other since their practices are in the same building. Some of Sembrat’s patients need work done, not necessarily prior to, but in conjunction with, chiropractic care. “A lot of problems that I see, if you don’t treat the muscle, then the problems are not going to get better,” Sembrat says. In Sembrat’s opinion, although chiropractic care and massage therapy are two different disciplines, they are very complementary. “I think that you need to be open. You need to have an open mind about a lot of things, and if there are so many different disciplines that work well together, you need to find out what works well for you.” 

Lifestyle Changes

Galichowski’s decision to have her own massage therapy business has definitely changed her life. “Being self-employed is an excellent avenue to take. I am always thinking of different business ventures, but since my clinic is still quite new, I feel I need to put in 150 percent. I still want to be busier than we currently are. Having this business has contributed and given me more of a drive to achieve new goals, dreams and aspirations.”

Massage therapy has changed her life in a couple of ways. Being a self-employed massage therapist has strengthened her ability to make decisions, fine-tuned her communication skills and enhanced her business knowledge. “It’s changed my life and made me a stronger person emotionally, mentally and physically,” Galichowski reflected. Though it has made her balanced in some ways, in another way it has taken something away because she works 55 to 60 hours a week. “But as a person, I am more balanced. I know my center. I know my being. I know what I’m good at and what I am not good at, and I don’t have a problem admitting it,” she says.

If she had the choice to work for herself or be an employee for someone again, the decision would be simple. She admits reverting to being “just a number on the wall” would be very difficult. Most of all, she wouldn’t have the freedom to think of new ideas and implement them, or to dream bigger dreams and know that because she has already challenged her fear of the unknown, it will be easier to give herself permission to be the independent, efficient and creative thinker she chooses to be. “I will not do massage therapy full-time forever. It is extremely hard on my body,” she says. “However, I would always like to keep my license current. I have invested a lot of my time and money to just drop it altogether. I really, truly love massage. It is my passion.”

In the final words of patient Teri Gottselig, who is deeply appreciative of Galichowski’s work, “It keeps me human. When I am not in pain, I am easier to get along with. There are a lot of things I couldn’t do because of the pain, but I can do now because of the application of massage therapy.” 

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Grace Visconti, a shiatsu therapist, graphic designer and freelance writer, is based in Calgary, Alberta. She can be reached via E-mail at: rafael4@telusplanet.net.