Now and Then

Earlier I was thinking about what I wanted to write about today. And as my squirrel brain jumped from idea to idea, I thought about how far I have come. 15 years ago I was on a completely different career path. 10 years ago I was entirely against owning my own business. 5 years ago, I prayed for just enough clients every week to pay my bills. Now, I have a job that I love, running a business that I am very proud of, with enough clients that I need to hire help.

For years, when I was growing up, I wanted to be a veterinarian. I love animals, I always have and I always will. I worked in an Animal Clinic during high school and I loved it. My manager there was incredible and she taught me so much. I wanted to make a difference and do something that would help. Veterinary medicine seemed to be the most logical choice. So that was what I decided to start studying when I got to college. Three semesters in, I burned out on school. I hated most of my classes and was starting to question if this was really what I wanted to do with my life. So I took a break from school.

During that break I had a lot happen in my life that changed how I looked at the world and how I thought about things. Long story short, I went to massage school, got married, and moved to Washington state. While I was in Washington, my life was again turned upside down and I had to re-evaluate everything that I thought I knew. I struggled with depression, low self-esteem, and just wondering what I was going to do with my life. I was lucky enough to work for a wonderful woman at the time who taught me a lot.

My boss at that time was a strong, confident woman who raised five kids, one with special needs, owned a business, was active in the community, and was just an all-around amazing person. One day she asked me if I thought I would ever open my own practice. I emphatically said "No Way!" I had no desire to be responsible for other people and their lively hoods, or even my own. I was happy working for someone else and just making a paycheck.

Fast forward to five years ago. My husband had just gotten out of the Navy, we had moved our small family to Tennessee, and all of his job offers had fallen through. I was pregnant with my son and having a hard time with the pregnancy, the move, and living with my in-laws. Neither of us had a job and we were just trying our best to figure things out and keep ourselves afloat. Six months after my son was born I got my Tennessee State Massage License and started looking for work. The job offer that I originally had fell through and I wasn't sure what to do next. I walked into a chiropractor's office who just so happened to be thinking about renting out a space to a massage therapist.

At that time, I was hoping to at least make enough money to cover my family's expenses. Getting 15 clients a week was phenomenal. I thought that I would have to spend 3-5 years building up my client base until I was able to have enough regular clients to start living comfortably. But things went so much faster than I anticipated. Within six months, I had several regulars and at the end of my first year, I was doing 15-20 massages every week.

Now, I am booked solid every day. I had to hire a receptionist to help me handle all the calls and messages for appointments that I was getting. I am booked out farther than I ever dreamed I would be and still have people on my waiting list. I am currently looking for another massage therapist to hire to help me with all the appointment requests so I can get everyone booked in a timely manner. Not only do I have a job that I love, I run a business where I am able to help people. I am able to employ others and help them earn an income.

I am so far ahead of where I thought I would be at this point in my life. I cannot begin to express how grateful I am for Dr. Lusk for letting me rent a space in her office, all of my amazing clients that have been with me on this journey, my family for supporting me through this sometimes tough process, and my God for blessing me more than I ever thought possible. When I look back at where I have been and see where I am now, I am amazed and humbled. When I was going through my darkest moments, I never thought that one day my life would be this chaotically wonderful. I still struggle sometimes, but I have faith that I can get through anything.