Massage. Business. Success.

Amy Bradley Radford

The Massage. Business. Success podcast, hosted by Amy Bradley Radford, focuses on helping massage therapists grow their businesses and improve their skills. It covers topics such as marketing strategies, business management, client retention, and pain management techniques, providing practical advice and insights to help massage therapists succeed in their careers.

  1. 4 days ago

    PPS Episode 3: Mapping — How Do You Know Your Massage Worked?

    If you work with clients who come to you because they're in pain, how do you really know whether the massage you just gave worked?  A client can get off your table and tell you they feel better. Your hands may tell you the tissue changed. Their range of motion may improve. But what actually happened to the pain they came in with—and did that change last? In this PPS episode, Amy shares the process that eventually led her to start mapping pain before and after massage. What began as a simple way to measure change became one of the tools that helped her see repeating pain relationships, develop her four-point pain marker, explore scar tissue and bilateral assessment, and eventually build Pain Patterns & Solutions. You'll also hear why Amy says pain is information, not an invitation, how she began using pain as a clue rather than automatically treating where someone hurt, and why mapping can be useful no matter what type of pain-management bodywork you practice. You do not need to know PPS to start using this. Amy is making the pain map she uses available as a free download, along with simple directions and examples so you can begin experimenting with mapping in your own treatment room. Download the free Pain Mapping Tool:PPS Pain Mapping Guide TIMESTAMPS 00:00 Who this episode is for 04:40 Why Amy wanted a way to measure massage outcomes 09:23 When better posture didn’t mean less pain 11:45 Trigger points and learning to get specific about pain 16:30 How body charts became pain maps 23:41 Red pain, blue treatment, and seeing what changed 28:21 Why “I feel better” wasn’t enough 30:41 The four-point PPS pain marker 35:30 Bilateral assessment and looking beyond muscles 40:13 How mapping grew into Pain Patterns & Solutions 44:44 How to start mapping your own clients 51:55 Free mapping download and what’s next with PPS    FREE RESOURCE PDF: Earn More Without Working More  COURSE & WORKBOOK: Maximize Your Massage Business DO YOU WANT TO WORK WITH AMY? Fill out this coaching application: https://forms.gle/8fX1mLawrRTwZ7Xs6   MORE FROM AMY BRADLEY RADFORD: COACHING: https://www.amybradleyradford.com/coaching WEBSITE:  https://www.amybradleyradford.com/ YOUTUBE: https://www.youtube.com/@amybradleyradford8414 STORE: https://2274d0.myshopify.com/ INSTAGRAM: https://www.instagram.com/amybradleyradford/ LINKEDIN: https://www.linkedin.com/in/amybradleyradford/ FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/people/Amy-Bradley-Radford-Massage-Business-Coaching/61556419647184/ ALIGN ESSENTIAL OILS: https://www.amybradleyradford.com/align-oils

    PPS Episode 3: Mapping — How Do You Know Your Massage Worked?
  2. 1 Sept

    What Kind of Massage Therapist Do You Want to Become?

    Professional growth in massage therapy doesn't always mean climbing higher, collecting another certification, adding more clients, or working more hours. Sometimes growth means going deeper—becoming more intentional about your skills, your professionalism, the experience you create for your clients, and the value of every hour you choose to work. In this episode, Amy explores what happens after your schedule is full and your business is doing “fine,” but you know there could be more. She talks about the fear that can keep therapists from making changes, the many different directions a massage career can grow, and why raising your professional standards can ultimately change both the client experience and your income. You'll also hear a practical example of what “work smarter, not harder” can actually mean for a massage therapist—including how increasing the value of the hours you're already working could create significantly more annual income without adding more massages to your schedule. If you know you want something to change but aren't quite sure what needs to change, this episode will help you start looking at your business differently. Free Resource: Download Earn More Without Working More here or from the link in the show notes and start exploring how your existing working hours can better support you. Maximize Your Massage Business: Amy also shares how the class grew out of the process she repeatedly used with coaching clients—and how the accompanying workbook lets you work through those same questions using your own numbers, schedule, prices, and income goals. TIMESTAMPS 00:00 — What Kind of Therapist Do You Want to Become? 02:11 — What If Growth Means Going Deeper? 04:31 — Your Schedule Is Full. Now What? 08:30 — When “Fine” Keeps You From Changing 14:55 — There Is More Than One Way to Grow 20:55 — Leveling Up the Client Experience 27:57 — What Does Working Smarter Actually Mean? 30:15 — Increasing the Value of Your Hour 35:30 — Growth Requires Change 37:00 — When You Don't Know What to Do Next 39:25 — Becoming the Therapist You Want to Be   FREE RESOURCE PDF: Earn More Without Working More  COURSE & WORKBOOK: Maximize Your Massage Business DO YOU WANT TO WORK WITH AMY? Fill out this coaching application: https://forms.gle/8fX1mLawrRTwZ7Xs6   MORE FROM AMY BRADLEY RADFORD: COACHING: https://www.amybradleyradford.com/coaching WEBSITE:  https://www.amybradleyradford.com/ YOUTUBE: https://www.youtube.com/@amybradleyradford8414 STORE: https://2274d0.myshopify.com/ INSTAGRAM: https://www.instagram.com/amybradleyradford/ LINKEDIN: https://www.linkedin.com/in/amybradleyradford/ FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/people/Amy-Bradley-Radford-Massage-Business-Coaching/61556419647184/ ALIGN ESSENTIAL OILS: https://www.amybradleyradford.com/align-oils

    What Kind of Massage Therapist Do You Want to Become?
  3. 25 Aug

    Sometimes the Best Move Is to Pivot

    What if the problem isn't that you need to work harder—but that the business you've built no longer works for you?  In the very first Amy's Corner, Amy shares a small change she recently made in her own business: moving the Massage. Business. Success. podcast from Monday to Tuesday. What sounds like a simple scheduling decision revealed a much bigger lesson about business ownership. Sometimes we create a plan based on how we think things will work, only to discover something different once we're actually living inside it. The same thing happens in massage businesses. We build schedules, set hours, take clients, establish prices and create routines—often before we really understand what will work for our bodies, our income needs and our lives. In this episode, Amy talks about recognizing the difference between something that's simply difficult and a pattern that's repeatedly telling you something needs to change. You'll explore how to recognize when your schedule may be working against you, why being busier isn't always the answer to earning more, how to separate your actual goal from the method you've been using to reach it, and why your massage business should support your life—not require you to continually recover from it. Sometimes you don't need more discipline, more clients or more hours. Sometimes you need to understand your business well enough to make a different decision. Ready to take a closer look at your own business? Maximize Your Massage Business helps massage therapists understand their numbers, evaluate their schedule and discover ways to increase income without simply adding more clients and hours. Learn more at AmyBradleyRadford.com TIMESTAMPS  00:00 — Welcome to Massage. Business. Success. 00:23 — Introducing Amy's Corner 01:20 — Why I moved my podcast from Monday to Tuesday 01:50 — My plan to publish every week 04:10 — When the plan in your head doesn't match real life 06:32 — Are you treating a business decision like a rule? 08:58 — When frustration becomes useful information 11:06 — What is your schedule trying to tell you? 13:24 — Building a business vs. designing a business 15:48 — Maybe you're not tired of massage 18:10 — Separate the goal from the method 20:33 — Start observing your business differently 22:54 — What should your business give back to you? 23:35 — Maximize Your Massage Business 25:17 — Find the place where you need to pivot Maximize Your Massage Business Course: https://www.amybradleyradford.com/revenue Discover Your Value Free PDF   MORE FROM AMY BRADLEY RADFORD: Coaching: https://www.amybradleyradford.com/coaching Website:   https://www.amybradleyradford.com/ Amy Bradley Radford YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@amybradleyradford8414 Store: https://2274d0.myshopify.com/ Instagram https://www.instagram.com/amybradleyradford/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/amybradleyradford/ Facebook https://www.facebook.com/people/Amy-Bradley-Radford-Massage-Business-Coaching/61556419647184/ Align Essential Oils: https://www.amybradleyradford.com/align-oils

    Sometimes the Best Move Is to Pivot
  4. 20 Aug

    PPS Episode 2: The Forces Behind Pain

    PPS Episode 2: The Forces Behind Pain Why can a muscle feel incredibly tight when it is actually being held in a lengthened position? Why can working somewhere far away from the painful area sometimes change the pain almost immediately? And why does tissue we work over and over sometimes seem to come right back?  Those were some of the questions that led me toward Pain Patterns & Solutions Bodywork. In this second PPS episode, I'm taking you deeper into the principles that changed the way I began thinking about pain, inflammation, scar tissue, and eventually force within the body. We start with something almost every massage therapist has encountered: that stubborn, painful spot in the rhomboids. I'll walk you through why “tight” doesn't necessarily mean “short,” and I'll tell you about the client who unexpectedly showed me a relationship between her painful rhomboid and scar tissue along her IT band. That discovery created more questions than answers. Why did working the IT band change the rhomboid? Why did the scar tissue eventually return? Why did the IT band stop responding after several treatments? And what was the body trying to maintain that I hadn't understood yet? Those questions eventually led me toward the idea of paired scar-tissue relationships, the order in which those relationships develop, and some surprisingly simple physics principles that helped me begin understanding what I had already been observing in my clients. We'll also begin exploring one of the larger ideas behind PPS: pain doesn't necessarily tell me where to work. Pain gives me a clue about where to start looking. This episode lays another piece of the PPS foundation and introduces concepts we'll continue developing next month when we explore direction, reversals, transfers, and what happens when the body's efficient suspension against gravity begins shifting toward compression. If PPS is new to you, I recommend beginning with PPS Episode 1: Learning to See the Body Differently, because these episodes are intentionally building on one another. Interested in learning PPS? I'm currently developing and testing the next generation of PPS training and refilming the hands-on curriculum. You'll find a PPS Interest Form in the resources below if you'd like to be notified as training and educational opportunities become available. Want to see the rhomboid/IT-band relationship? I've also included my YouTube demonstration in the resources below. It doesn't demonstrate the entire relationship discussed in this episode, but it gives you a visual introduction to that connection. Timestamps  00:00 — Welcome + What PPS Is 04:33 — PPS, Inflammation + Scar Tissue 16:09 — How PPS Differs From Myofascial Work 21:00 — Pain Is Often Felt in Lengthened Tissue 25:25 — The Rhomboid Client Who Changed Everything 27:43 — The Unexpected IT Band Connection 34:50 — Physics Enters the PPS Story 39:25 — The IT Band Wasn't the Beginning 44:06 — There Is an Order to Scar Tissue 48:49 — Untying the Knot 51:11 — Understanding Speed + Direction 55:58 — When Suspension Becomes Compression 58:23 — Pain Tells Me Where to Go 1:03:00 — Why I Kept Following the Unconventional 1:05:24 — Where PPS Goes Next WANT TO LEARN MORE ABOUT PPS? If this episode has you curious about Pain Patterns & Solutions Bodywork, I’d love to know what you’re interested in learning. Fill out the short PPS Interest Form and tell me what you’d like to learn more about. It also makes sure I can get the right information to you as I release new PPS education, resources, classes, and future training opportunities. → Fill Out the PPS Interest Form SEE THE RHOMBOID + IT BAND CONNECTION Want to see the connection I talked about in this episode? I have a YouTube demonstration that gives you a simple visual introduction to the relationship between the IT band and rhomboid. It doesn't take you through the entire PPS pattern we discussed in this episode, but it's a great place to begin seeing the connection. → Watch the Rhomboid + IT Band Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o1TSzNhMeEs&t=597s LOOKING FOR BUSINESS COACHING? Sometimes you don't need another class—you need someone to sit down with you, look at your business, and help you figure out what needs to happen next. If you'd like to explore working with me one-on-one, fill out my coaching application and tell me a little about where you are and where you'd like your business to go. → Apply for Business Coaching with Amy FREE RESOURCE FOR MASSAGE THERAPISTS Discover Your Value — A free PDF to help you think differently about the value you bring to your clients and your career. → Download Discover Your Value MORE FROM AMY BRADLEY RADFORD Website: amybradleyradford.com Business Coaching: Work With Amy YouTube: Amy Bradley Radford Store: Shop Amy's Products Instagram: @amybradleyradford LinkedIn: Amy Bradley Radford Facebook: Amy Bradley Radford Massage Business Coaching Align Essential Oils: Explore Align Essential Oils

    PPS Episode 2: The Forces Behind Pain
  5. 4 Aug

    You Are the CEO of Your Massage Business

    Most massage therapists don't struggle because they aren't talented.  They struggle because no one ever taught them how to think like the owner of a business. In this episode, Amy explores one of the biggest mindset shifts every massage therapist must make: the difference between working in your business and leading your business. You'll learn why so many therapists unknowingly become employees inside businesses they own, how to recognize the habits that keep you stuck, and what it really means to wear the CEO hat. Inside this episode you'll discover: • Why ownership feels heavy—and why that's normal • The four employee habits that quietly limit business growth • Why working harder isn't the same as building a better business • How one weekly CEO Hour can completely change your direction • Why systems reduce stress and create momentum • The difference between your professional identity and your personal identity If you've ever felt overwhelmed, disorganized, or wondered why your business isn't moving forward despite working incredibly hard, this episode is for you. Because you're already the CEO. The only question is whether you've been wearing the hat. Timestamps  00:00 Welcome 00:40 The CEO Mindset 04:30 The Weight of Ownership 07:00 Wearing Different Hats 10:00 Why We Think Like Employees 11:30 Employee Habit #1 — My Work Ends When My Clients Leave 14:00 The CEO Hour 16:00 Employee Habit #2 — I'll Just Work More 19:00 The Power of the Hour 21:00 Employee Habit #3 — I'll Get To It Tomorrow 24:00 Three Goals Create Momentum 26:00 Employee Habit #4 — My Business Will Eventually Get Organized 29:00 PPS Principle: Fighting vs. Healing 32:00 Personal vs Professional Identity 36:00 Taking the CEO Hat Off 38:00 One Question to Ask Yourself This Week   Do you want to work with Amy as your coach? Fill out this coaching Application: https://forms.gle/8fX1mLawrRTwZ7Xs6 Discover Your Value Free PDF   MORE FROM AMY BRADLEY RADFORD: Coaching: https://www.amybradleyradford.com/coaching Website:   https://www.amybradleyradford.com/ Amy Bradley Radford YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@amybradleyradford8414 Store: https://2274d0.myshopify.com/ Instagram https://www.instagram.com/amybradleyradford/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/amybradleyradford/ Facebook https://www.facebook.com/people/Amy-Bradley-Radford-Massage-Business-Coaching/61556419647184/ Align Essential Oils: https://www.amybradleyradford.com/align-oils

    You Are the CEO of Your Massage Business
  6. 28 Jul

    The Map I Wish I'd Had: The Story Behind The Massage Business Method

    How does a massage therapist become a business coach... without ever planning to? In this personal episode, Amy shares the story behind her journey—from teaching continuing education classes, to coaching massage therapists around the world, to discovering something much bigger than she ever expected. What started as individual conversations about referrals, pricing, schedules, repeat clientele, and business systems slowly revealed a pattern. Over time, Amy realized successful massage businesses don't grow randomly—they grow by solving the right problems at the right time. This episode is the origin story of The Massage Business Method—the framework that has quietly been developing over thirty years of practice, teaching, coaching, and now podcasting. If you've ever wondered: Why building a massage business feels so overwhelming... Why business advice sometimes doesn't seem to fit... Or how to build a business that supports your life instead of consuming it... This episode is for you. You'll also hear why Amy completely rebuilt her Maximize Your Massage Business class from the ground up—and why she now calls it "the map I wish someone had handed me when I graduated massage school." In this episode you'll learn: How coaching changed the way Amy thinks about business Why every massage business grows through predictable stages The connection between pricing, referrals, retention, scheduling, and systems How The Massage Business Method was discovered Why your business should support your life—not the other way around. Learn more: https://www.amybradleyradford.com/ TIMESTAMPS 00:00 Welcome 01:05 How I Accidentally Became a Business Coach 04:20 The Pattern Every Massage Business Follows 10:55 Why Business Advice Doesn't Always Work 13:15 Building My First Business Class 17:20 Why I Started This Podcast 20:15 What Podcasting Taught Me 26:50 Every Class Started With My Own Problem 29:45 Discovering The Massage Business Method 33:45 Rebuilding Maximize Your Massage Business 37:00 Where the Podcast Is Going Next    OFFERS MENTIONED: Maximize Your Massage Business Course and Workbook: https://www.amybradleyradford.com/revenue   MORE FROM AMY BRADLEY RADFORD: Do you want to work with Amy? Fill out this coaching Application: https://forms.gle/8fX1mLawrRTwZ7Xs6 Coaching information: https://www.amybradleyradford.com/coaching Website:   https://www.amybradleyradford.com/ Amy Bradley Radford YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@amybradleyradford8414 Store: https://2274d0.myshopify.com/ Instagram https://www.instagram.com/amybradleyradford/ Facebook https://www.facebook.com/people/Amy-Bradley-Radford-Massage-Business-Coaching/61556419647184/ Align Essential Oils: https://www.amybradleyradford.com/align-oils

    The Map I Wish I'd Had: The Story Behind The Massage Business Method
  7. 21 Jul

    Why Success Requires a Different Way of Thinking With Shelle Hagan

    Graduating from massage school is exciting—but for many therapists, it's also where the biggest surprises begin. In this conversation, Amy Bradley Radford sits down with educator, school owner, business owner, and industry leader Shelle Hagen to explore what really happens after graduation and why technical skill alone isn't enough to build a thriving massage career. Together they discuss the gap between expectations and reality, why so many therapists struggle to build momentum, how confidence affects business success, and why changing your thinking is often the first step toward changing your results. Whether you're a brand-new graduate or a seasoned therapist looking to grow, this episode will challenge the way you think about success, business ownership, mentorship, customer service, and lifelong learning. In this episode you'll discover: Why graduation is only the beginning The biggest mindset shift successful therapists make Why passion alone isn't enough How confidence and consistency build successful businesses The importance of mentorship and coaching Practical ideas for attracting and retaining more clients Why collaboration—not competition—strengthens our profession If you've ever wondered why your career isn't growing the way you hoped, this conversation may help you see your next step in a completely different way. TIMESTAMPS 00:00 Introduction  01:00 Meet Shelle Hagen 05:35 The Gap Between Graduation and Reality 12:25 Expectations vs. Reality 17:00 What Work Ethic Really Means 22:00 Working Your Schedule 25:00 Why Waiting Doesn't Build a Business 31:20 Customer Service Still Matters 36:45 Coaching & Mentorship 44:00 Confidence Builds Successful Therapists 52:40 What Successful Therapists Have in Common 58:00 Changing the Way You Think 1:04:20 CoreStones 1:07:30 Massage Marketplace 1:13:15 Final Thoughts   OFFERS MENTIONED: www.corestonemassage.com  www.massagemp.com (Product code for Corestone discount on this site) MORE FROM AMY BRADLEY RADFORD: Do you want to work with Amy? Fill out this coaching Application: https://forms.gle/8fX1mLawrRTwZ7Xs6 Coaching: https://www.amybradleyradford.com/coaching Website:   https://www.amybradleyradford.com/ Amy Bradley Radford YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@amybradleyradford8414 Store: https://2274d0.myshopify.com/ Instagram https://www.instagram.com/amybradleyradford/ Facebook https://www.facebook.com/people/Amy-Bradley-Radford-Massage-Business-Coaching/61556419647184/ Align Essential Oils: https://www.amybradleyradford.com/align-oils

    Why Success Requires a Different Way of Thinking With Shelle Hagan
  8. 13 Jul

    PPS Episode 1: Learning to See the Body Differently

    For years, people have asked me one question: "Amy, what exactly is Pain Patterns & Solutions?" I finally realized I couldn't answer that by teaching techniques. Before I could explain what PPS is, I needed to explain why it exists. In this first episode of a new monthly PPS series, I'm taking you back to the beginning of my journey—back to the questions that changed the way I see the body, the clients who challenged everything I thought I knew, and the observations that eventually became Pain Patterns & Solutions. This isn't a lesson in scar tissue or mapping. It's an invitation to begin seeing the body differently. If you've ever wondered why pain keeps returning, why some clients respond beautifully while others don't, or why your hands sometimes tell you something your education can't quite explain, this conversation is for you. My hope isn't that you leave understanding PPS. My hope is that you leave asking better questions. In this episode you'll learn: Why I waited more than 30 years to tell my story The two experiences that forever changed how I observe the body Why curiosity became the foundation of PPS The biggest difference between traditional massage and PPS Why recurring pain led me to ask different questions How one client completely changed the direction of my career   TIMESTAMPS 00:00 Welcome 00:37 Why I'm finally telling the story of PPS 07:32 What is Pain Patterns & Solutions? 08:10 The Magic Eye story: learning to see differently 09:17 Drawing the air around the chair: negative space and observation 12:17 Why PPS works over different tissue than traditional massage 14:36 Curiosity, learning to see, and the "I see it" moment 17:30 The rhomboid and IT band client that changed everything 24:00 The journey from observations to mapping 30:55 The body is communicating—learning a different conversation 33:14 The continuing education class that changed my career 38:10 The question that changed everything: Why does pain come back? 40:28 Physics, balance, and the client who taught me about force 45:13 What's coming next on YouTube 47:36 PPS, business, and universal principles 49:31 Closing thoughts   Amy Bradley Radford YouTube Channel https://www.youtube.com/@amybradleyradford8414 Do you want to work with Amy? Fill out this coaching Application: https://forms.gle/8fX1mLawrRTwZ7Xs6   MORE FROM AMY BRADLEY RADFORD: Coaching: https://www.amybradleyradford.com/coaching Website:   https://www.amybradleyradford.com/ Store: https://2274d0.myshopify.com/ Instagram https://www.instagram.com/amybradleyradford/ Facebook https://www.facebook.com/people/Amy-Bradley-Radford-Massage-Business-Coaching/61556419647184/ Align Essential Oils: https://www.amybradleyradford.com/align-oils

    PPS Episode 1: Learning to See the Body Differently

About

The Massage. Business. Success podcast, hosted by Amy Bradley Radford, focuses on helping massage therapists grow their businesses and improve their skills. It covers topics such as marketing strategies, business management, client retention, and pain management techniques, providing practical advice and insights to help massage therapists succeed in their careers.

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