Upon entering you feel a sudden calm.  The soft walls and earthy hues greet you with open arms.  The rug that overlays the transition from marble tile to carpet is placed with perfect symmetry.  The autumn-colored desk is clean and extends at an angle.  The detail in design funnels you into the waiting area, welcoming you to the office.  The sole owner/operator of The Muscle Medics, Scott Lindquist, functions with the same detail in mind.

Upon meeting Scott, you get the feeling that you’re both in on the same inside joke.  He locks in with a firm handshake, already half-laughing, “You like the desk huh?  It took them about five tries to get it right, but it was worth the wait.”  You can tell his road to success has been as hard as it has been fun.  We sit on the cozy waiting chairs and begin the interview.

B: “Tell me about your business.”

S: “In my years as a massage therapist, I’ve gotten to know my customers very well.  I have a strong bond with them.”

When looking at the numbers, that bond is evident.  The stout entrepreneur opened his business last fall and is set to break the 100k mark in year-to-date revenue with minimal overhead.

S: “This year has been exceptional.  I’ve been able to pay my business loans down much faster than anticipated.”

B: “I see you have taken a clear stance against Day Spas.”

The chiseled-face, blond masseuse looks more like a college linebacker than your average spa employee.  And his signage boasts it: “No Fluff.  This is not a Day Spa.”

S: “When people walk in here, they know exactly what they’re getting and how much it’s going to cost.  That kind of certainty makes their decision a lot easier.  At other massage places there is no defined goal.  Some people go there to relax, some to alleviate pain, and some with no objective in mind.  And that’s fine, but it’s not for me.  I’m a person who likes to get things done, so I want to have a clear cut goal that I share with my customers.  That goal is Pain Relief.”

B: “So what kind of clientele does that signage attract?  How are they different from day spa customers?”

S: “In a business and in life, you don’t attract what you want, you attract what you are.  It’s funny, because my clients are diehards too.  When winter hits Omaha and there are several inches of snow on the ground, my customers still come out.  They don’t miss a day and I love that.”

B: “What’s the secret to keeping such a staunch client base?”

S:  Scott pauses for a moment, carefully deliberating before the response.“Empowerment.  I give my customers something that no other pain-relief specialist does: Knowledge.  Many people aren’t aware of how their muscles are interlinked.  How a problem in the lower back can cause a neck-ache.  During their initial session, I explain what’s going on visually and kinesthetically.  Visually, I stop and show them the muscular links on the chart.  Kinesthetically, I apply pressure in one area and it shoots pain to another.  We get to the point where my clients’ have this ‘Ah-ha’ moment.  That’s when they begin to understand how everything is physiologically connected.”

B: “When someone walks in here for a massage, what should they expect?”

S:  “Results.  When someone walks into my office, I can see where their pain is by their posture and the way they move.  Each person is a unique case with unique needs.  Dentists have sore necks because they hold their head cocked over patients all day.  Desk workers have sore backs from hunching over a computer.  I find out what they do and how long they’ve been in pain.  Then, I test their muscles.  From here, I can develop an accurate pain profile with an effective treatment.”

B: “I usually get a sore lower back from deskwork, what can I do?”

S: “First and foremost, you can come and see me.”  Scott lets out a chuckle.  “Of any single treatment, this is the most effective because every ounce of massage pressure is focused on your problem.  I go right to where it hurts and fix it.  Clients can do things outside of The Muscle Medics that will help them tremendously.  Learning better work techniques, intraday stretching, proper posture, strengthening, losing weight, exercise – these are all ways to absolve pain and keep it away.   If we can combine some of these with my treatments, that’s the full package.”

B: “Which of those should I do, or how should I start?”

S: “For someone like you who is taller and at a desk, I would suggest sitting on a yoga ball with proper posture.  The posture will cause less stress on your back and the balancing will strengthen your abs so they can absorb more strain when you hunch over.  Also, get up and walk around every hour to stretch out.”
Scott motions me to one of his rooms.  The dimly-lit enclave mixes the efficiency of a doctor’s office with the comfort of a spa room.  The center-piece on the wall consists of a life-size muscular chart.

S: “This is where my customers can see what’s wrong.  They’ve been feeling pain but usually don’t know why.  Here, I explain how their muscles are connected.”

B: “How are the muscles connected?”

S:  “Think of your muscles as two rubber bands that you are stretching against each other.”  Scott finds two bands and connects each one to the index finger and thumb on each hand.  “And think of your fingers as your bones that the muscles are connected to.   Now if these bands are interlinked,” Scott moves one band against the other, “And one of those muscles tightens up, it will pull on the other one.  This stretched out muscle now has more tension and is less flexible in other directions.  If you pull that stretched out muscle in an opposite direction, it will strain or snap.  The less flexible and more tense a muscle is, the less blood flow it receives.  This restricts mobility even more because the muscle is receiving fewer nutrients.”

B: “Besides teaching, how do you keep your clientele motivated?”

S:  “Benchmarking.  During the beginning of each session, my clients will feel a certain amount of pain and have a certain amount of restricted mobility.  At the end of each session, we check in on that pain and mobility.  There are vast improvements every time.  We keep tabs as these improvements build up over the weeks.”

B: “What is your current role and what would you like it to be for the future?”

S: “Currently, I see myself as a teacher and a servant.   I teach to empower my clients to do something about their pain.  I serve when I am the tool they use to take control.  There’s no gap in knowledge.  I have muscular charts right there and use them to demystify pain.  In the future, I would like to expand and do more motivational talks and teachings.  I still want to do massages, but I would rather teach.”

B: “Any final advice for anyone starting up a business in this economy?”

S: “The Omaha economy isn’t so bad.  Make sure you have a clear message and specific audience.  Don’t worry about trying to cater to everyone.  When the economy sinks, those businesses will go down first because if the service caters to everyone, then it’s not that special, and most people will be able to live without it.”

Conclusion:

Step 1) Scott’s model can be applied to any business model.   The first step is to ascertain value.  If you can teach somebody something valuable about themselves, or give them a way to express themselves, then you empower them.  Value is measured in relevance.  Scott’s signage prefilters clients into his office that are already concerned with relieving pain.  This is what any good signage should accomplish – delivering a statement of intent.  “We’re this company and here’s what we’ll do for you.”  When clients agree on that message, then relevance (and value) is already established.

Step 2) The second step is to teach your clients about themselves within the frame of that message.  Scott teaches his clients about their muscular pain and how to get relief.  Other businesses may give their client a better product to empower them.  Both ways empower the customer to act on their relevant need.

Step 3) The third step is to show your clients that you are the vesicle to that empowerment.  That your service or product is what will give them what they want.   Scott does this by showcasing his knowledge and conducting benchmarks within each session.  This helps customers ratify the benefits of his service.

Empower people.  Give them a relevant new way to do business, feel, act with greater efficacy, or express themselves, and show them how you are the bridge to that empowerment.  Then be like Scott, be the bridge to your client’s empowerment.

Contact The Muscle Medics:

-Brian