Solo-preneur, Entrepreneur, Insta-preneur: Which one are you?

Entrepreneurs of the massage kind are the power behind multi practitioner offices, Massage Envy franchises, Big Mall Chair massage, and the likes of Zubio in metro areas. Clearly these folks and more are making a difference while changing the face of massage as-we-know-it. Much gnashing and hashing has gone on amongst the troops in terms of what the implications are to the solo- practitioner (solo-preneur), but resist as we will . . . the entrepreneurs have moved on, and solo-preneurs must adapt.

You may not like the terms, Solo-preneur and Entrepreneur. Not the jargon of massage on the day to day scene, but I bring them up to reveal their place in the past, present and future of massage.

Independent Practitioners are solo-preneurs, carving their way into a specified niche or modality. While we prefer to see our work from the perspective of its benefits, (i.e., healing, wellness, nurturing, relaxing and now medicinal), what massage as a trade has been all along is a business. And we've had to adapt, and that's why these terms are important.

Entrepreneurs are traditionally seen as mavericks creating business opportunity, cashing in and moving on to the next project, ambition and money in hand . . . but business people with savvy non the less. While yester-year found these individuals rare, today's business climate has turned many successful into entrepreneurs by nature.

Why?

Because business of late has upped the game in terms of being able to respond to the market, and staying strong on your feet. CEO's and Owners have learned to scramble and adapt, and its why so much has happened so fast in the last 20 years. So many business tools have grown up to streamline the process, yet also made some things more complex. So, while the wave continues to build . . . we have two choices.

1. Stand in its way and cling tightly to the life-raft.

or

2. Ride the wave and grow stronger on the way.

After all, we're in business.

Is there a chance of crashing? . . . Well, sure. There always has been. However, things on the horizon may help us to think in new ways and help the massage trade to adapt with the times. Are you game?

Lately I'm hearing the term Insta-preneur bandied about. It seems to be haunting me at night in my dreams. What does it mean, and how will it shift the playing field? That my friends is what this post is really about.

With the voluminous growth of the internet and the speeds that broadband now offer, business is growing at the speed of cable. Here we sit with a service oriented massage business, and it all seems "over the head" in terms of how to use it. If the internet is where the people are, we need to climb on board to reach them. Perhaps not as an all consuming method, but we at least need to understand the power and reach of it. But I digress.

What is stuck in my craw is the idea of the insta-preneur. Simple enough to understand that with the internet business can be handled instantly. Yet that doesn't quite apply to massage, right?

Well not so fast.

I must be a marketer by nature because what it conjures up for me is questions on how to take massage to "instantaneous" levels?

What if we could do massage anywhere? Anytime? Just like the internet.
How would that look and what would it require?
How would it change the way I found customers?
Who would my most likely customer be?
How would it change how I approach them?
How could I communicate and respond to them with speed?
How would it change my return ratio?
How could I compete with Massage Envy's and such?
How would it change my niche or modality?
How would it set my small business apart form others?
What equipment would I need to make it all happen?
What could it do for stability to the business?

Asking these questions gave me some interesting ideas. I hope to post more about that in the future. For now, I'm curious what you all might have to say. Does this tickle your brain or make you want to cover your head. Do you want to challenge the way you see things or is your massage business OK, no changes needed?

There is no right or wrong here, and I hope it's not too long winded, but massage has been my passion for many years. I feel compelled to conceptually midwife it to the future. And by the way . . . the future is NOW!

Resource to keep you thinking:
Best Small Business 2009: Home Health Services