Today we’d like to introduce you to Christa Duncan.
Hi Christa, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
I never intended to be a massage therapist or have a multi-therapist practice. I actually received my Bachelors in Exercise Science in 2009 and intended to find a job in Cardiac Rehabilitation. Well, it was 2009 and there weren’t many jobs to be found, especially in an area as specific as I was looking for. I had looked at going to a local community college for Massage Therapy but was going to have to wait almost a year to get into the program (I had registered too late). I worked part-time as a gymnastics coach and part-time in a flower shop until 2010 when I moved to North Carolina. I continued to work as a gymnastics coach for several years, but I knew that was not where I wanted to stay forever. I was involved with CrossFit at the time and found myself with a labrum tear in my right shoulder that needed surgical repair. After the surgery, the recovery went smoothly, physical therapy went well; however I was still having pain when doing any movement with my arms overhead. I brought this to my physical therapists attention and his response to me was, “just don’t put your arms over your head.”
Needless to say that response was not acceptable since I was actively involved in CrossFit and was a gymnastics coach that spotted kids and teens and had to have full pain-free range of motion to ensure they’re safety. This is when I sought the help of a massage therapist. She ended up discovering a large adhesion in my right pec. It was quite uncomfortable for her to release, but once she did the pain was completely gone and has never returned. I was hooked then! I enrolled in the Massage Therapy program at Wake Tech about a year later. Right after I graduated from the program, I worked for a small practice as an independent contractor for about 2-3 months. I knew I didn’t want to work for someone forever, so I was also doing some mobile work in the town I lived in. When I asked to change my schedule around with the company I was an IC with, apparently this was grounds for termination of the contract! I was CRUSHED!!! I pride myself on how hard I work. I come from a very blue collar background, so handwork was engrained in us throughout our childhood and into adulthood., I had always strived to provide my employer with quality work to the best of my ability. So when I was essentially “fired” I was devastated! I’m not one to sit down and let the world and life crush me. So, I pulled myself up by my bootstraps and made a plan. My now husband had always encouraged me to just start my own practice, but I felt I needed more experience. Well, we both agreed this was just the kick in the butt I needed to just go ahead and do it.
I began with renting a room off of my chiropractor a few days a week and doing mobile massage the other days when I didn’t have that room available to me. It was hard work lugging that big table around with me everywhere and then having to setup and tear down the office space every time (because he still had to utilize it as well). I had a lot of really strong ties in the CrossFit community and referrals from my chiropractor. After about four months, I was busy enough to go out and find my own office to work out of. My first office was a two-room suite, a treatment room and an office. It was a simple little office but had everything I needed and everything my clients needed. It was great, it was comfortable. After a year, I got to a place where I was no longer able to accommodate all the clients wanting to come in. This is when I brought on my first therapist. We remained in this office for another year or so after that. In 2016 we were noticing both our schedules were full and that we each really needed our own treatment rooms (we had been sharing the same treatment room up until this point). In 2016 while I was pregnant with my son, I signed the lease for a bigger space to be up fitted. We moved into our new space in February of 2017, which now had a check-out area, two treatment rooms, and a back personal office. Things were great, we were busy, we were able to get new clients in, things were good. We stayed comfortable here for about three years. At that point, I knew we needed another team member. In January of 2020, I hired my second team member, and she was doing great right away, and I was making plans to step into more of an owner role and focus on marketing and growing. Then COVID hit…
We were forced to completely shut down for two months. This was very hard on me personally, seeing something I had worked so hard to build being shut down instantly, I knew it was not my fault and had nothing to do with how I ran the business, but It was still crushing nonetheless. When we came back from the two months shut down, things were steady but not where they were pre-COVID. We had to make a lot of changes and implement a lot of new procedures and standards. We did this because we wanted our clients to feel safe within our office. We slowly started to pick up steam, and I hired my third team member in November. At the beginning of 2021, I knew it was time for me to start the transition from massage therapist to owner/ceo. We made a lot of changes in the beginning of 2021, I went from a 5-6 day schedule down to a three day hands on schedule and began throwing my efforts into marketing for my therapists and growing the vision and practice. We brought on our 4th team member in March and she has been thriving! We are now here in the summer of 2021, and I’ve hired two more wonderful therapists, and an amazing front desk staff. We are growing exponentially, and we do not intend to slow down.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
It has been a bumpy ride for sure! Not so much in the beginning, definitely more now that our team and practice is growing. One obstacle I face is balancing family and work. I have a wonderful husband and an amazing son, and they are my world. However, my business is my passion, and I have a team of exceptional therapists that depend on me to run the business to the best of my ability so they are able to support their families. It’s a balancing act that I’m still working through on a day to day basis.
Being a leader to a team of therapists has not been so much a struggle as it has been a learning curve. No one is the same so you cannot handle all situations and issues the same with every team member or client. I want to be a great leader for my team and make sure they know they are valued and appreciated not only by me but also by our clients. Being a great leader for my team is a huge learning curve, but I’m getting information from all kinds of resources to help me navigate and learn to be an exceptional leader for my amazing team.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your business?
We are a team of exceptional massage therapists that provide fully customized bodywork, with the highest quality of customer service, through hard work, skill, knowledge, and common sense. We treat our customers the way we would want to be treated and make a connection with them on a very professional and human level. This is our mission.
We specialize in custom massage bodywork. When you come to your practice, you will receive bodywork specific to your needs and goals for that particular session. We do this by offering multiple modalities during our Therapeutic session’s to accomplish these goals. Our Therapeutic sessions are not the only sessions we customize. We also customize our Prenatal, Thai, Thai Foot, Reflexology, and Energy Balancing sessions for our clients. I believe what truly sets us apart is that we make an effort to connect with each client on a very real and human level. We want to get to know them, we want to hear their story, we want to really help relieve whatever pain they may be experiencing, we really truly care.
I’m most proud of our team, without them this wouldn’t be possible. They see the vision I have, and they understand how important is really is to connect with a client and truly and honestly care about relieving their pain and or discomfort. We have a strong team of skilled, and knowlegable therapists, that make our clients feel welcome, comfortable, and heard during every session!
Do you have recommendations for books, apps, blogs, etc?
Books: Atomic Habits, Entreleadership, Essentialism
Podcasts: Entreleadership, Massage Boss Podcast, Move with Tank
Contact Info:
- Email: Christa@functionalbt.com
- Website: www.functionalbt.com
- Instagram: www.instagram.com/functionalbt
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/functionalbt/
