So over the weekend I celebrated 1 year at Locker 27! I cannot believe how quickly the time has gone, I do feel like I have been there forever (in a good way).
I recently did and interview talking about how I got into doing sports massage and all the challenges that I have faced along the way. Therefore, this blog will be my story to getting my amazing room at Locker 27.
When I was at University I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do when I finished my Sports Science Degree, I knew I enjoyed the anatomy and physiology modules of my course but had no idea what to do as a full time job. I decided to do a Sports Massage Diploma as a CV booster as I was thinking about doing a Physio masters and this would help me get onto a course. The company I selected ended up asking me to set up the Sports Massage course at my University and I was in charge of getting students enrolled on the course.
Once I started the course it became obvious that I really loved it and started to think about making it my career. I didn’t know anything about setting up a business, but I knew that is what I would have to do if I wanted to make it a full time job! So, at the age of 21 I was a business owner and completely 100% self employed and very scared. The first year was tough, but I decided to work under the umbrella of other companies to gain experience and do some private work on the side. I cannot thank these companies enough for that year of experience – it massively helped me to gain confidence and enhance my skills as a therapist.
In September 2017 I started at Locker 27 – I knew it would take a while to build up a client base large enough to be there full time so for a while I had a couple of locations on the go. This was SO tough on my body, I was driving from one location, eating lunch in the car and then starting all over again at the next. Some days I was working 12 hour days – but it was definitely worth it!
I have now been full time at Locker 27 since May and it has been amazing – I have a lot more time to myself to grow my business, work on my social media presence and grow my knowledge. My clients are lovely, friendly and I love making a difference to their lives. This difference could simply be ‘I got a PB in my latest completion’ or could be as big as ‘I am no longer in pain’. The staff at Locker have been so welcoming and I definitely feel part of the locker family!
Challenges/difficulties:
- Location – finding the right place for me took a while, I worked at 3/4 different locations before finding Locker 27 but each location taught me different things not just about massage but also about how to (or not to) run a business.
- Age – I am young, some locations didn’t want to give me a job because I was so young and they didn’t think I had enough experience. This was tough to overcome because I can’t change my ages – however I felt my youth was a bonus! I was fresh out of studying with a vast knowledge base of the latest scientific studies and with the most up to date training.
- Tax – I did not have a clue how to do a tax return, they don’t teach you this in maths at school, I was so lucky as a family friend offered to help me and I couldn’t have done it without him. The most important thing is to stay on top of it, record everything as you go along and don’t get behind!
Molly Sports Massage 