Six Word Saturday AGAIN!

DEARY ME. ANOTHER WEEK GONE ALREADY?


I've been busy.
I mean - REALLY busy.
For example, yesterday I had a chair gig all day. The day before that I had a 8 am start of a chair gig at an office until lunchtime and then table work all day- didn't get home til 8:30.
Wednesday was table work all day.
Tuesday was another chair gig and table massage.
It's been crazy.

I need to be better at promoting myself at the chair gigs though. On the Tuesday gig I was with 2 other therapists - both seemed really nice and the 3 of us had actually done the same venue last year. It was a mothers group get together at a local church - there were having raffles, food, pampering things with someone doing hand treatments etc. Anyway, one of the other therapists was WELL organized. She had cool promotional stuff, wee presents in bags and 10% off coupons in them etc. Now NORMALLY if I wasn't so busy I would have thought of this and got my act together and I was sort of kicking myself when I saw it.

So I'm thinking that when times are slow I should just put little packages together like that for the chair gigs and just have them ready for the next time.

Preparation is a good thing.

Where does the time go? I thought I'd only started playing Six Word Saturday yesterday!

I woke up thinking this might be a good idea.....

...since I've been stressed, knocked about and disillusioned about things lately - most of which has been brought upon me by my own doing and stupidity.

But after working all day I got a glimmer of hope and the hope came from my clients since they're just so nice. I'm very lucky to have nice clients. Today I had 7 clients. Three of them were new, and three of them needed a prenatal massage.

I have a 'referred by' line on my intake form and some people say they just found me on the internet, but I probed one of the pregnant clients today to see where and how she found me. She said there is an infertility group discussion board and someone on there had recommended me. It was good to hear. Since the internet is playing a part in my stress, it's ironic that this came up. I did a wee search to see if I could find something on an infertility board, but couldn't find anything, but I did find this which I didn't know about. It's weird the way you find stuff that people are writing about you when you own a business.
It made me smile.

Yep, I'm glad for my clients, especially the ones that are pregnant - so I went off the idea of visualizing human extinction as the day went on! I think that might be a good thing.

Big Magnets and No Business Cards

I went on a home visit yesterday and called in at Half Price Books (one of my favorite stores) on the way home.

When I came out of the store there was a woman wailing and shouting down the phone in the parking lot. I'd never seen anyone so hysterical. Anyway, I was walking to the car, when another woman approached me. I thought she was going to remark on the wailing Banshee, but instead she said "You're a masseuse?" (yes, I dislike that term as much as the next massage therapist).
She had noticed my car magnets and started a conversation where she wanted to know where I worked, how much I charged etc.
Meanwhile the wailing Banshee was getting even louder.
It was a sort of surreal few minutes. It was nearly like some sort of test whereby I was being tested on whether I could still talk about what I do when someone is having a total meltdown nearby.

Anyway, I didn't have business cards with me.

What's the first rule of thumb for every business owner/massage therapist? ALWAYS have business cards. You'd think I'd know that by now, right?
Anyway, the lady had a writing pad and wrote down my information.
It's funny, I always think that no one notices those magnets on the side of the car, but they do. They're an easy and cheap marketing tool and you never know who sees them!

As for cards - well, I REALLY should have been giving one to the Banshee too.

Face Toning Aromatherapy Massage

The worst thing about working for myself is that I don't really have anyone to run ideas by. I can sit and have brainstorming sessions with my multiple personalities, but sometimes they refuse to surface.
I sat and thought of Christmas specials again and since I've REALLY got into aromatherapy I decided to do a Frankincense essential oil face toning massage. My aromatherapy teacher is cool since I sent her a quick email to see what she thought and she suggested adding sweet orange oil to the blend too since the two oils complement each other well - and she's right. I was SOOO glad to have someone to run an idea by over email. She's great.
Frankincense is "Christmasy" and it's also one of the best oils for the skin and it suits many skin types.
It'll be interesting to see if I sell many. Usually what happens with the face toning massage add on is that people try it once and then keep on getting it since it's so relaxing.
I sat up and updated my website last night with the new massage specials. Would you be tempted to try it?

The Most Wonderful Time of the Year

It also happens to be the most stressful
AND the busiest time of year for MTs
AND the time when we make the most money

I've got a list a mile long of things I need to do to promote gift cert sales, specials, wee things I'll sell and general promotional ideas I need to implement that come from being in a different location with 40 other little businesses around me.
Oh, and I need to include "Don't have a nervous breakdown" on the list too.

Wee things this Massage Therapist has learned

1. When getting up to do 30 second commercials at networking meetings, be careful when trying to tell a joke since there is a chance no one will laugh BECAUSE NO ONE IS PAYING ATTENTION
2. When getting up to do 30 second commercials at networking meetings, don't be overly concerned about your gut hanging over your trousers or what you wear BECAUSE NO ONE IS PAYING ATTENTION
3. When you go to networking meetings and someone says "Is this your first time?" when it's actually your sixth, don't be alarmed, BECAUSE NO ONE IS PAYING ATTENTION

Or maybe it's: "BECAUSE NO ONE IS PAYING ATTENTION TO ME"

Sometimes I really wish I looked like Cheryl Crow.

I love the prenatal yoga teacher at Medical Center of Plano

Why?
Because I've had 3 new clients from her class over the past 2 weeks and another new one has just booked - 4 new clients from 1 person in 2 weeks - now THAT'S a good referrer. It could also be a "ripple" effect, you know, the people in the class that have talked about their prenatal massage, but at the same time, I know the teacher is giving out my cards to people. She rocks.

I gotta get over to the class and give her a gift certificate for a 1 hour massage as a thank you.

Networking to a More Prosperous End of Year

Yep, networking.
I don't know what most MT's think, but networking just "ain't my bag".
Don't get me wrong. It's not like I don't like people. If I didn't like people I wouldn't work in this field. But LARGE GROUPS of people?
And getting up and speaking in front of those LARGE GROUPS of people in a way that is supposed to grab their attention? Well, let's just say, the prospect doesn't exactly fill me with joys of spring.

A client of mine who worked as a corporate trainer once told me that there are two types of people when it comes to handling groups. There are those people that love to be around groups of people and they get re-energized from them. Then there are the second group that get re-energized from being on their own. The first group are extroverts, the latter introverts. Introverts can relate to people on a one on one basis very well. Extroverts handle groups better. BUT you can have a job dealing with groups, but actually be an introvert. She trained hundreds of people in big groups, but at the end of the day she had to be on her own to re-energize. She said that learning to deal with groups is just a matter of exposure. The more you do it, the easier it gets. So I've just got to keep on doing it. Thing is, when you get out of the way of doing it, going back to it can be hard!


Networking groups are good for business. I know this and I'm sure most small business owners know it too.
I've experienced it first hand and when I started my business I got to know the ins and outs of it. Consistency is a big thing. When I was consistent about going to one group and got to know people, I'd get clients. But over the past year or so I let it slip. My client base had got to where I didn't feel I needed to keep it up. It was a mistake to let it slip.

Last Saturday I ran into someone I knew from one of the networking groups I went to. I told her I was actually a member of the city's chamber of commerce, but didn't go to their meetings. She then said that she would start calling me on Friday mornings to make sure I was going. I like the lady since she has a good positive vibe about her and she speaks her mind about everything. She pointed out that I was wasting the membership dues if I wasn't going to the networking meetings.
I had a good think. I had got some referrals from their website which basically paid for the dues, but I wasn't making the most of the membership. Basically this was like getting a gym membership and never going. And just like going back to the gym can lead to sore muscles, I needed to get back into going and just get over that initial discomfort. So I've made a mid-year resolution to start going.

I think my running into the lady was one of those weird "universey thingies" that happens. (As Einstein says "Coincidence is God's way of remaining anonymous"). My reason for this is because I had made it my goal to sell twice as many Christmas gift certificates this year over last year. I had only written this goal down a few days before running into her and I think that going to the Chamber meetings is going to be one approach in hitting that goal. There were at least 100 people at the meeting this morning and NOT ONE MASSAGE THERAPIST was there. So my "cunning plan" (sorry - Black Adder fan) is to be consistent about going and by the time December runs around my face will be well enough known to where people will consider buying certificates off me. I'll also give a discount to Chamber members. The other thing that will work in my favor is the fact that the lady who told me I should go knows a lot of people there so I'll give her referral cards and tell her for every 5 she send me, I'll give her a massage. She has had a couple of massages from me, so she knows who/what/where she is referring to.

My theory is that sometimes we've to do things that put us out of our comfort zone just to know ourselves a bit better and to make progress in business. And sometimes we get a wee nudge from somewhere directing us into that situation. My hope is that when December comes around I'll be back into the "groove" and my palms WON'T be sweating when I stand for my 30 minute commercial.

All I've got to do is practice..........

Hmmmmm.......

I've encountered my first (and hopefully my only) odd thing at the new place.
I'm in ABMP and as a wee perk that I get this wee free magazine twice a year that is specifically written and designed to put in waiting rooms of massage clinics/spas. It's more like a health magazine that has interesting articles, one of which is always gauged towards educating the waiting client on massage. It's a cool little magazine.

Anyway.......when I worked at home, I'd sometimes have couples wait on each other getting in my living room, and it was handy for that. Since the area that I'm working in now has it's own waiting area that is to serve the aestheticians and MTs only (the hair stylists and nail techs are all in a separate area), I decided to bring in the current magazine along with a couple of other generic mags. I put a stamp of my business (name, website, number) on the front of the mag - they have specifically designed it that way to do so.

I brought the Summer 2009 one in on Thursday. By Thursday lunchtime it was GONE. The other mags I'd brought in were still there (my stamp isn't on them). So I brought the Winter 2008 one in on Saturday. Again, today it is GONE.

So maybe I'm being paranoid here, but maybe someone doesn't like the fact that I've got my mag out there with my business name on them. It may also be that the clients took the mag home, but it was the speed at which they went that makes me a little paranoid. Plus the fact all but one of the other mags are still there ("Health" magazine also disappeared over the past couple of days).
Or maybe it's just such a good mag that it was immediately snatched up?

Anyhoo, I checked with the manager (who is very good - that's one of the great things about this place - it has a great manager) to see if it was OK for me to put the mag around the whole place (they've got many magazine stands out in the hair/nail area), and she said it was fine, so I ordered half a dozen more (they're only a buck a piece to ABMP members). It'll be interesting to see how fast they disappear from the main area - I'll try another one in the little waiting room too.

Velllllly intellesting.....
I've put WAY too many parenthesis in this post. Sorry about that!

Gaelic lesson #66: "feithealann", pronounced "feyalon", meaning "waiting room"

Your Head "Post" Massage

OK, so maybe most clients don't look quite as bad as the Phil fella, but you have to admit, some do look like they've been dragged through a hedge backwards. I know I do. In fact, the more "dragged through the hedge" looking, the better the massage.


SOOOO when I had a "think" about this problem I decided to get some combs with my business name printed on them and put up a wee sign in my room with some pics of people having a particularly bad hair day with "Got Massage Hair? Have a Comb With My Compliments" on it. I keep having to fill up the comb box - it seems to work well with my clients and I know they like getting free stuff. Giving them some goodies with the business name on it is good in my book.

Taking this FURTHER, I decided to make up a wee box of combs for my hairstylist. Instead of me having a funny sign with bad hair, I made up a sensible one with my logo. I attached a business card holder to the display thingy with referral cards that are specific for my hairstylist ("Terri's clients get $10 off their first massage") and on the back of the card I had a map showing people how to get to my place. Combs and hairstylists go together, right?

At the time I thought this was marketing genius. I actually thought my hair was going to be singed from the brilliant big idea bulb going off above it.

That was 4 weeks ago. I still haven't had 1 referral from it. That's what I get for thinking it was marketing genius!


Oh well.......gotta keep on trying!

Gaelic lesson #62 "gruaig", pronounced "grewig", meaning "hair"

Ughhh.....

Hard-sellers. Salesmen. Online social sites. Condescending attitudes. I've just been verbally bombarded by all of them today.

I got a call today from someone that has some sort of internet radio thing, where they interview me, then they take that interview and "set up" pages for me on facebook, myspace and twitter. The lead in was the fact that I'd have a recorded "interview" in which I could talk about the benefits of massage and aspects of my business. When they first talked to me it sounded like they just wanted to interview me on an online talk show, which sounded good to me, but of course, if it sounds good then it's usually too good to be true. This whole thing where they do the twitter/facebook/MySpace thingy was added in later in the conversation. This whole thing would of course "promote my business, get me more clients and have my current clients coming back more often".


Of course, I found out after I'd talked to them for a while that they'd charge me. First price was $250, then they went down to $99 and I was passed off to someone else to try to do more selling. The first dude said that he needed to know today since his job could be on the line if I didn't get signed up and he also said that I was late in calling him back (they'd left a message on my voicemail saying they wanted to interview me initially). Ooops. Really? My bad. I was a bit confused since was I not the one supposed to be enticed into giving him money? Was the way to do it through "guilt"?


The second dude I was passed on to sounded like he had shiny shoes and goop in his hair. If there's one piece of advice that I would pass on to young women everywhere it's NEVER TRUST A MAN WITH SHINY SHOES AND GOOP IN HIS HAIR. He was Mr. Smooth salesman that talked to me as if I'd the intelligence of a neanderthal.


When is it ever good to try to sell something through talking to someone as if they haven't a clue? When is it ever good to tell someone that they have put someone in a difficult spot and their job is on the line if they don't buy whatever it is their selling?


In the end I just told them that I just didn't want to use twitter or facebook for business uses. I really wanted to tell them that if I did want to use it then I think I could figure out how to do it myself since all those sites are set up so that neanderthals could actually set up accounts. But I held back. I wasn't rude. Maybe the pint of whiskey I had for lunch helped.

It's got to the point where I don't answer my phone if it doesn't have a local area code. This is just one example of why I've decided to do that.

Gaelic lesson "61 "uisce beatha" pronounced "ishke vaha", meaning "whiskey"

I heart Constant Contact

I do.

I was late getting myself organized for Father's Day this year as far as advertising specials. BUT I got a little constant contact email sent out on Tuesday which took about 20 minutes to put together and got $420 worth of gift certificate sales just from it alone. I love the way they have it formatted to where you just have to tweak a few things, upload a couple of images and add a bit of text, some paypal buttons and there you have it - people can buy the GCs online without me ever having to meet them. I either email them the certificate or pop a card to the recipient in the mail.

I love the Internet. If the Internet was to be re-manifested as a human, I'd buy him/her a pint of Guinness (or several hundred).

Gaelic lesson #58 "pointa", pronounced "point-cha", meaning "pint"

I can't believe I got "irked" again......

......BY THE SAME PEOPLE!

Seriously, the same people that called me on my home phone the other day CALLED ME AGAIN. ON MY HOME PHONE. The conversation went something like this.....

"I'm calling from blh-blh-blah to verify a listing on some-online-thing and I need your information"
"Yes, here's a question. Why are you calling me on my home phone when I told you the telephone number for my business the other day?"
"Yes, but before we update our information, we need verification"
"What more verification do you need? I told you the business phone number, all you need to do is update your wrong phone number. Plus if you really wanted to verify it, you would call the business number I gave you to verify that it's right".
"But we need to go through a process"
"OK, OK OK..go ahead and waste 5 minutes of both our lives by asking me some questions"

so...5 minutes later after I've told her my business phone number 3 or 4 times (remembering that I've a funny accent, she has a funny accent and the number "5" cannot be understood by either party) and answered some other questions which I had already answered the other day.

"What type of phone connection do you have"
"Why do you need to know that?"
"pshe msiije sjiioe ythio" (she'd a really funny accent)
"I'm sorry?
"Do you have any other phone numbers for the business?"
"Nope"
"No other phones?" (said in an incredulous tone)
"Nope. I've a cell phone for the business, which is actually the phone that I should be talking to on since we're talking about business related business"
"OK, thank you" and she hung up


That was it? After 5 minutes of trying to get the numbers right for the actual phone she should be calling, she hangs up after finding out I've only got a cell phone for the business and no others?

I'm just a weeeeeee tiny fish!

I can't believe how easily I become irked by this though since I could feel myself turn into a narky beeotch. I need to watch that. I don't like it. So now I'm imagining some telemarketer somewhere putting pins in a doll with my name on it since I was so narky! My leg will just fall off any minute when she pulls the leg off the thing.

As a result of this whole screw up, I googled my business name. I got a lot of references, most of which are right BUT sure enough, some online directory which I didn't add my business to personally has the wrong phone number. Oh joy of joys!

Gaelic lesson #52 "Bhi drochaoibh orm", pronounced "Vee drok-eev orum", meaning "I was in a bad mood"

I don't know about your association.....

....but mine is brilliant.

I switched to ABMP a while back for a couple of reasons, one of which is too long and complicated to explain, and the other being that I heard that good things about them. I was on a course with 2 ladies from Beaumont, Texas (who were a blast, and if Sandy and Carol are reading this - you gals still make me smile when I think back on that course!) who sang the praises of their association after Hurricane Katrina hit and AMBP called THEM, not the other way 'round. They didn't have damage to their place of business, but I was impressed by the fact that their insurance provider actually took time out to make sure they were OK.

Anyhoo.....I'm impressed with their service. They provide a free website to their members which is easy to use, and even though I have a main website, I'm using their free website (they have a range of different templates to choose from) to get more visibility for my main site (links to my main site help with search engine optimization for it). BUT I had a brainfart when I entered the website domain name and misspelt "massage" - yep, you'd think that I'd know how to do that by now. It annoyed me that this happened and even though I won't be putting the domain name of the freebee site on anything, I just didn't like the fact that it was just wrong. So I emailed them and they got on to it right away. Nice as pie in their communications and efficient in executing what needed to be done. You'd think I had my own wee I.T. department. Oh, and they also provide a lot of cool printed material for your business and lots of good marketing advice.

So if any of you are thinking of changing associations at any time in the future, keep ABMP in mind. I think the acronym actually stands for "Association of Brilliant and Marvelous People".

Gaelic lesson #27 "daoine deas", pronounced "din-ye jass", meaning "nice people"

Condo-monium and an upset GPS

I had a home visit in a condominium complex recently that turned out to be an "I'm-in-need-of-a-massage" experience for me AND my GPS (who's name is Nuvinia).

I turned into this massive condo complex that had street names and building numbers, but could I find the building number that I needed easily? No. It so happened that a big cop car pulled in right behind me just as I was entering the complex. He saw me doing my first 3 point turn. No harm there. Meawhile Nuvinia is starting to do her: "Recalculating.......drive blah blah blah...to blah blah blah", but I ingore her and try to go by building numbers. She doesn't like it. "Recalculating...recalculating..drive blah blah blah to blah blah blah", then I do another 3 point turn, then another. "Recalulating....for goodness sake, woman, aren't you listening?". Nuvinia is about to burst a blood vessel in her head, if she had one.

Meanwhile, the cop car has found me again - he watches me do my fourth 3 point turn. I spot him in my rear view mirror and I'm just waiting on him turning on his disco lights.
I turn into a parking spot and wait. He looked at me for a while, then I think he saw my big magnets on the side of my car with my business name. He probably thought "There's a crazy massage lady that doesn't know where she's going" and drove on.

I was glad for those big magnets. Thank you vistaprint for providing them! You saved me the hassle of trying to explain that I was indeed lost.

Eventually all was well - I found where I was supposed to be. I sent calming vibes to Nuvinia and put her back to sleep. Poor Nuvinia - she deserves a wee virtual neck massage.

Gaelic lesson#26 "carr poilini", pronounced "car pollini", meaning "police car"

Massage and the Recession - good for some?

My husband forwarded me an article from a Fort Worth newspaper on how some massage therapists are busier than ever. It turns out that I know one of the therapists in the article, Dannette, since I was on a course with her a while back - way to go Dannette! Not only on being busier than ever, but on getting more publicity from the article!

Gaelic lesson #23 "nuachtan", pronounced "new-och-tawn", meaning "newspaper"

Floyd reference and a want for people that nick stuff

Last December I had a "momentary lapse of reason". Actually, it was more like a brain fart, but I just wanted to get a Pink Floyd reference in there and "momentary lapse of reason" just sounds so much more poetic.

The moment in question involved pens. I got a call from a company that make promotional products and they were offering this great deal on promo pens. Now, normally I would just hang up on such calls since pens just aren't really anything that I would be interested in and don't really "go" with massage therapy. Sure, clients write checks and they fill in client intake forms, but since it's not a "writey" intensive business, pens just don't seem like the most obvious promo product.
But the guy on the phone was so over-the-top in the sales pitch, SO OVER THE TOP that he made me laugh. It was like I was in a Saturday Night Live skit. So what happened? I ended up getting the pens. LOTS of pens with my massage business info on them. This was a lapse of reason on my part.

These may be like no other pens. I think they reproduce. No matter how many I give away, there always seems to be more. The box in which the pens live is like the biblical sack of fishes and loaves. I have a mission to get these pens out there......

I give the pens to clients. I "sneak" them on to counters at banks and grocery stores, hoping that the person behind me "nicks" pens (FYI "to nick" in British slang is "to steal" for those who haven't seen any Guy Richie movies or those terrible sitcoms from the 70's).
I throw them into the wee pen bucket of anyone that I come across that has one - my hairdresser, the guys at the post office. I have a stash of pens in my bag at all times - putting them here, putting them there, putting them everywhere.

So....if you happen to wake up and find that there are pens all over your house with the name of a massage therapy business on them. Never fear. It's only me paying a visit - the Santa Claus of pens.

Think I'll put another Floyd reference in here since they're shiney....

"No more turning away from the weak and the weary
No more turning away from the coldness inside
Just a world that we all must share
It's not enough just to stand and stare
Is it only a dream that there'll be no more turning away?"

From the Song "On The Turning Away", off the Album "A Momentary Lapse of Reason" by Pink Floyd

Gaelic lesson #15 "peann", pronounced "pan", meaning "pen"

Gratitude - got a large portion of it today

My massage therapist friend, Kelli (who, incidentally, is one of the coolest chicks on the planet) contacted me about the possibility of donating a service to a silent auction in order to raise money for a lady she knows who needs $20,000 for cancer treatment. The lady in need is only in her thirties.

Kelli suggested that she and I team up for donating an in-home couples massage, which I thought was a great idea since I have a feeling it will get more bids than the normal massage gift that I have given to silent auctions in the past. So we're going with that. Kelli also suggested that there may be a promotional aspect to the event in getting my name out there with business cards etc.

I don't regard silent auctions as a way to promote my business, although a lot of people say that it's a great way to get business exposure. My experience has been that the business benefit has come when the winning bidder becomes a regular client, which is great in itself, and then they refer their friends. What is really great about silent auctions for causes like this is the satisfaction of knowing that I'm donating time and work in order to help someone in need.

So I've got this gratitude thing going on today - I'm grateful for my health and the health of my family and friends. I'm grateful for being in a profession where I'm able to give to help someone in need and I'm grateful for a good friend who helped steer me into this state of gratitude! Cheers, bud!

Gaelic lesson #10 "Buiochas le Dia", pronounced "Bweeachhkus lay djeeah", meaning "Thank God"

Dollar Tree Madness

I like to get stuff for a buck. Yes, I admit to shopping occasionally at dollar stores. One thing I'm always on the look out for are relaxing CDs made by "Body and Soul". They have different ones with different types of relaxing music - e.g. one is called "Music for Reading", another is "Natural Sleep". I really like them since I give them to clients. I put a printed address label on the back of the CD covers with "A wee gift from..." followed by my business info. I like giving them since it's something that can help keep client's relaxed after the session and it's just nice to give them something. It's really great when I hear that people are actually listening to them and using them to unwind.

Well, it's always hit and miss when these CDs are available in the store. Most of the time I only get a few of different ones since they seem to run out of them fast, but when there's a stack of them I get a lot. So yesterday I ended up with 20 copies of the "Peaceful Moments" CD.

The girl at the register swiped all 20 of them individually and said "You REALLY like this music, don't you?"

"Yep, I really, really, really really, REALLY, really like it. Really."

Gaelic lesson #7 "Ceol alainn", pronounced "kee-ol aw-linn", meaning "beautiful music"

Swedish Massage? How about "Irish Massage"?

Since we're nearly at the end of February, I thought it time I updated my website and got rid of my "Valentine's Day Specials". The next big promotional day for gift certificate sales in the massage world is Mother's Day.
So....I decided to have a brainstorming session with my multiple personalities (Sybil, Phoebe and Meryl) and come up with Mother's day specials. One thing we've decided on is a "Mum-to-be" special for pregnant ladies.

According to statistics, it costs approximately $500,000 to raise a kid. So I'm going to give the Mum's-to-be a break on their prenatal massage. Most people charge more for prenatal massage, so I'm going against convention here, but who wants to be conventional anyway?! Plus I like working on pregnant women since I'm actually working on 2 people at the same time. How cool is that?

I've got a prenatal table, which works well 99.9% of the time (if not, then I work on the client side-lying) and the clients love it. Complete with holes for breasts and an adjustable sling in a hole for the belly, it means that the pregnant client can lie face down.
Sometimes I wonder if the set up would work for those of us that have imbibed a little too much Guinness in our lifetime. "Got a beer belly and not able to lie face down? Never fear, Guinness loving massage now available."

Hmmmmmm.....might be a possible niche there....St. Patrick's day is coming up......."Sybil, Phoebe, Meryl!!! Time for another brainstorming session!!!"

Gaelic lesson #4 "Ta me go maith", pronounced "Tah may g'moy", meaning "I am well"