For those who asked, here is the exact text I use for my massage client cancellation policy: "To avoid the cancellation fee, please give 24 hours of notice for any changes to your appointment time. Late arrivals may receive treatment for the remainder of scheduled time but I cannot extend the scheduled time without notice. Thank you for being considerate." Now, of course we are all balancing our needs and preferences with our client base. But I like to make sure we're super clear on the front end, and then I can make exceptions when I see fit. To pull this off, you have to make sure the client knows that you're making a special exception. "I understand, Lucy, and the policy is ___________ but just for today, I'm going to cover that fee for you." This keeps clarity high and makes it clear that they are receiving special goodwill from you. And, since they are not running the back end of a massage business, your clients may not naturally recognize the difference between your policies and the exceptions you make for them. Unless you point it out. Specifically, I see LMTs really debating whether to charge a late fee, or cut off treatment times, or how to enforce the scheduling policy.... Personally I don't like to use any form of punishment on my clients. I'd much rather just align with the natural consequences! So for late clients, that means they arranged to purchase my full attention and expertise from, say, 1-2pm. But they only accessed that from 1:15 to 2pm. Don't feel guilty for giving them exactly what they paid for! And, if you do offer extra flexibility and grace, just clearly state what you're willing to do. Don't let your gift of time be invisible. Will some clients make this weird? Of course. But it's not our clients' job to uphold professional standards and clear communication. It's our job. Be well, good luck, and let me know if you have any specific issues we can zero in on! 💛Adele

Aloha Healers, we made you something super fresh! Mika and I have been running special Seasonal Offers most months for a while because it really helps keep existing clients coming back. It also gives them something shareable, which increases referrals! Every time we run a special, we get a smattering of bookings from it. Some regulars add on an extra visit as a treat. Often a regular forwards a special to someone new, who becomes a client. And I almost always have a few "lost regulars" resurface and get back on rotation. I just launched this special so I don't have specific data for it yet. I'll share when that comes in. But I can tell you this: the last special I ran was super simple and easy, and it's directly responsible for about $900 of income boost. Back in my early days I was afraid to reach out to clients too often, and I felt it was too big a risk to plan a special that, maybe, no one would care about. And I thought they were silly, lol. But I've learned the power of Seasonal Offers is mostly in keeping communication open between you and clients, giving you a reason to reach out, keep educating, and keep sharing how many different ways you can help them. It's actually really increased my confidence (in addition to my income) since I started running seasonal specials about a year ago. I had all the other pieces in place, social media, google page, great printables and excellent reviews.... but the Season Offerings really unlock a new level of stability and structure. So please give it a try, and report back on how it goes! The more data we have, the better we can make resources tailored to be helpful for you. Stay in Touch! <3 Adele https://docs.google.com/document/d/1g9jCIFOSfvuvDJdG_o9G_b7dViHOD16J9ZlHlH1ovTw/edit?usp=sharing