Solid Foundations—a course for bodyworkers to get started in private practice.

I’ve had a hell of a time (in the best way) building a private practice, and it’s one of the many points of career pride and satisfaction I’ve been able to achieve in my eight years as a licensed massage and bodyworker. There have been a lot of ups and downs in the process, and some years where I wondered if I should just get a job working for someone else because the bills weren’t getting paid yet… Glad I stuck it out and took the time to learn what systems and marketing styles worked for me. Now, moving into my fifth year in private practice, I can honestly say it was the best move I ever made—even if I was scared AF to make the jump initially.

In my years teaching hands-on courses for new massage students, I realized one of the topics new therapists are most thirsty for is how to make it on your own in this industry—how to have a successful practice with the autonomy to make your own schedule and make a decent living while at it. I’d be teaching a sports massage class and get left-field questions about marketing, or teaching an integrative massage course and someone would ask about the best tax structure for a private practice.

During my time as an admissions director at a massage school, I would always ask prospective students about their career goals after massage school, and 99% would answer the same: “I want to work for myself.” And it’s not just new therapists either—former coworkers and colleagues of mine, prior to starting my practice, will often reach out with questions about business. Here’s the thing: a lot of us were drawn to this work to help others, to have flexibility, and to be able to have a practice of our own. But we don’t necessarily come with the knowledge of how to run a business, and the fundamental business courses offered in massage schools typically aren’t enough to give you the confidence needed to really make it in private practice.

When I got started, I didn’t have the knowledge or business foundations that many would say you need to be an entrepreneur—but I’ve learned a lot along the way and am truly excited to share what I’ve learned to help other bodyworkers out there reach the same success and career satisfaction that I have. Hopefully with fewer learning curves and more of a community to support you along the way.

So this course, Solid Foundations, is designed to give you a strategy to get started and the basic building blocks of structure and systems to keep you running smoothly and avoid burnout. It’s a self-paced, digital course with support from me and my team on the back end. We suggest you take each module one week at a time and offer weekly group check-ins to give you real-time support and community along the way. But the self-paced nature of the course gives you flexibility—whether you finish sooner or take your time with it. The course launches in January 2026, so you can get started toward your own business with the motivation of the new year to guide you. The course is $200, with payment plans and equity pricing available.

The official course website will launch soon and will be linked here when it does. In the meantime, if you’d like to sign up early or have any questions, please reach out to me at Jessi@thefoldavl.com.