Today we’d like to introduce you to AJ Leigh.
Hi AJ, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
I was severely pigeon-toed as a child – like my toes almost pointed directly at each other. My mom put me in ballet, which corrected that problem, but kinda confused the muscles in my hips. Fast – forward to my teen years and I did a couple of years in gymnastics and four years of incredibly competitive Tae Kwon Do, during all of which I unevenly trained both sides of my body. I was also in two car accidents in which I suffered whiplash. By my mid-20s, I had degenerative arthritis in my cervical spine.
Leaping ahead to my late 30’s – I’d had whiplash three more times and been in some degree of pain every day for over 20 years. I discovered massage therapy and Reiki, fell in love with them and went to school. I started a solo practice as soon as I got my license in March 2017, while always working a side gig for other massage practices in IL and had two really awesome mentors that taught me a lot – both about entrepreneurship and massage.
I lived in Fayetteville, NC as a child and always wanted to move back to North Carolina. In June 2021, I moved to Goldsboro. I worked as a massage therapist with the aircrew on Seymour Johnson Air Force Base for a year. While I loved working with the aircrew, I prefer to work for myself than someone else. I opened my practice in Goldsboro in November 2022 and moved into my current location in April 2023.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
No it has not. My biggest obstacle has been getting the word out. It’s very difficult to build a service-based practice in a community where you don’t already know people and have connections in the community. Socializing for me is quite exhausting because I’m both Autistic and ADHD; however, I made and continue to make, a concerted effort to go to events in the community, make friends, and let people see my face so it becomes recognizable to them.
We’ve been impressed with A.J. Leigh, LMBT, but for folks who might not be as familiar, what can you share with them about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
I am a Licensed Massage and Bodywork Therapist. I specialize in what I call Restorative Bodywork which focuses on assisting to restore range of motion and relieve chronic pain, using clinical massage techniques with their foundations in myofascial release. I’m known for being effective at getting results. I believe what sets me apart, is 1) that I only offer a few types of services and there’s only one length of duration for each service, 2) I’m very comfortable working with things like scar tissue release, spinal fusions and other spinal conditions, hip issues and a lot of other conditions because of which clients have told me they’ve found it difficult to find a therapist willing/comfortable to work with them and 3) to a lesser extent that I don’t accept tips. Brand wise, I’m most proud of offering services that feel like I’m fulfilling the core values of my business, “Body + Mind + Spirit = Living Well on Purpose”. What I want you to know about my brand is that I genuinely give a damn about every single client, and especially about every bit of progress on their healing journey. When a client tells me their quality of life has improved because now they can spend time doing things with their kids for longer than 15 minutes that they never thought they’d be able to do again after a surgery they had 3 years ago, that lights me up. And I live for those moments and bits of progress.
Before we let you go, we’ve got to ask if you have any advice for those who are just starting out?
I had the benefit of an accounting and tax background and awesome mentors as well as taking what was essentially a marketing bootcamp specifically for massage therapists so I don’t feel like there were too many holes in my knowledge when first starting out, or if there were, I filled them pretty quick.
Advice for those starting out: Have a clear idea of what you want to accomplish and how you want to interact with your customers – really think about how you would want to be treated
Think about situations that could come up, how you want to handle them and write policies around that. If something comes up that you didn’t already think of and you wish you had handled it better, think about it and write a policy.
Don’t be afraid to change what isn’t working.
Make the systems you use, work for you.
Have an actual website for your business, not just a social media page, although you should have at least one of those too.
Make sure to keep your website updated.
Have a separate phone for your business – preserving the separation between business and personal time and communications will save your sanity.
Proofread written communications – bad grammar and spelling can absolutely affect the way potential customers view your competence.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.ajleighlmbt.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/a.j.leighlmbt/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AJLeighLMT
