Good Neighbor Podcast: Fort Collins

E47: When You Treat Staff Well, Customers Feel the Difference

Nick George

What happens when passion for massage therapy meets genuine business values? Rachel Hargrove's journey from uncertain college graduate to successful business owner reveals exactly that. Celebrating 11 years of Height of Health Massage, Rachel shares how she transformed a side gig into a thriving therapeutic practice with seven staff members in Fort Collins.

Rachel pulls back the curtain on persistent massage therapy myths, addressing the classic misconception that water "flushes toxins" after a session. "That's just not how the body works," she explains with refreshing honesty. She thoughtfully reframes how we should think about massage—not as a one-time fix for chronic issues, but as valuable ongoing maintenance for our bodies. With half her clientele coming from Larimer County employees and the rest comprising desk workers battling "texting neck," athletes, and stressed individuals seeking relaxation, Rachel's practice meets diverse needs with consistent care.

The conversation takes a profound turn when Rachel discusses her business philosophy. "Treat your staff well and they will take care of your customers," she emphasizes, a principle that has helped her maintain exceptional staff retention in an industry known for high turnover. This approach stands in stark contrast to what she calls "cookie cutter places" where therapists might leave after just months. Having weathered significant challenges including a complete building renovation, the pandemic, and reaching the significant 10-year milestone, Rachel's story is one of perseverance and authentic values. Ready to experience the difference? Book your appointment at https://www.heightofhealthmassage.com/ or text/call 970-673-0892 to discover what thoughtful, employee-centered care means for your massage experience.

Speaker 1:

This is the Good Neighbor Podcast, the place where local businesses and neighbors come together. Here's your host, Nick.

Speaker 2:

George, Welcome to the Good Neighbor Podcast. Are you in need of an affordable professional massage therapy from experienced therapists who truly care, specializing in neck, shoulder and back pain, right here in Fort Collins? One might be closer than you think. Today I have the pleasure of introducing your good neighbor, Rachel Hargrove, with Height of Health Massage. Rachel, how's it going?

Speaker 3:

I'm great, it's great to be here. Thank you for calling. This is fun.

Speaker 2:

We're excited to learn all about you and your business. Tell us about your company or practice.

Speaker 3:

Yeah, so I started it about 11 years ago. Um, we just celebrated our 11th year last May. Um, I started when I was 25 years old. Honestly, I had no business starting a business, but it's been a great experience. I love it. You know, I've learned so much and, yeah, and I still, I still do massage myself. I have employees with me, um, as well, but I still do it myself, still love it. I love helping people and you know like, honestly, people come to me, they're happy to see me, they leave happy. I make people happy for a living. So it's, it's a great, it's a great experience.

Speaker 3:

How did you get into the business? Yeah, so I kind of fell into it. To be honest with you, I didn't really know what I wanted to do after college. I was kind of, you know, I majored in liberal arts, didn't really know what I wanted to do with that, and then I did massage on the side, just thinking I was kind of interested in it, you know, and I was like, well, this might pay better than a coffee shop job. And then I ended up loving it and it was kind of hard to have.

Speaker 3:

It's hard to gain a following as a massage therapist. It can be hard, you know, working for different businesses. So I just I was working three jobs at different offices which I had great employers. I worked for a physical therapist once. I learned so much there. I've worked for spas, different places, but they have a hard time keeping staff busy. So I was like you know what? I was 25. I didn't have a lot of money. I was like let's just go for it. So I started my own business and here we are and I hired my first employee within the first year and then now I currently have seven other staff members.

Speaker 2:

What are some myths or misconceptions in your industry?

Speaker 3:

That you should drink water to get the toxins out. That is the number one. That's just not how the body works. So, yeah, when people say that it's, yeah, that's not how the body works at all. So you should drink water to stay hydrated and healthy. But I think that's kind of like old rhetoric that you'll hear. I still have clients who you know. I'll have clients that come in who have seen other massage therapists for years and they're they tell me that they're like oh, yeah, I'll drink lots of water, we'll flush all of those toxins and I'm just like, oh, that's not actually how the body works, but it's good to stay hydrated. Um, but yeah. So that's one of the misconceptions I would say. And also the biggest thing that I actually believed when I first started working too, is that we're here to fix people when in fact, like we're not really going to fix somebody.

Speaker 3:

Massage is more kind of like a maintenance thing, like you can come in for certain specific issues like, say, you slept wrong, you know, we can like kind of help to ease with that or certain aches and pains here and there. But if you have had tension you know from sitting at a computer for 20 years you've had 20 years to build up that knot, those knots, that muscle tissue, the fibers are tight. You're not going to get that out in one single session. So you know, a lot of people come in and they're like, oh, can you fix this in one session? And it's like, no, and honestly it's going to take time and you're going to rebuild those knots and that pain tissue. The muscle tissue is going to get tight again, um, just with daily activity.

Speaker 3:

You know we're sitting in place, we're all hunched over, um, so we all have texting. Neck is what I call it. Now, you know we're always looking down. So, um, it's one of those things. You'll continue to get knots and muscle tension as you live your life. So, um, we're not here to get it out once it's done. So those are probably the two misconceptions that I hear most.

Speaker 2:

Wow, I definitely feel like I need a better chair after this conversation, for sure. Who are your target customers and how do you attract them now?

Speaker 3:

Target customers. So we have kind of twofold. So half of the business is actually Larimer County clients. They have an amazing massage therapy program, massage therapy benefits, so we really see a lot of them. Larimer County is just an amazing employer, to be honest with you, and yeah, so we have a lot of clients there. That's probably about half of the business, and then a lot of the other clients that we see. It's it kind of varies Like we will see some athletes here and there.

Speaker 3:

We also see a lot of people who sit at desks. You know sedentary lifestyles like neck pain, things like that. A lot of clients I do see they come in for a specific reason, for pain or tension, and then they'll typically come and see us, you know, monthly, or sometimes they'll just wait till they get in pain again and then I'll see them six months from now and then it's kind of like start the cycle over again, which is fine too. You know, like sometimes it's just life. We all get busy. You know, if you can only see me one or two times a year, like that's better than nothing and I'm just happy to see people when I see them. And then also we see a lot of people who just want to relax. Like you know, the world is stressful. People hear about a lot of like news, everything is stressful, so people just come in to chill. I would say a decent bit of our clientele is just there for relief. Just relax, have a getaway.

Speaker 2:

Let's switch gears. Can you describe a hardship or life challenge that you overcame and how it made you stronger? What comes to mind?

Speaker 3:

Yeah, well, the first thing that comes to mind is actually so, you know the saying where businesses expand, it's the riskiest time and the most challenging time. Well, that is true, I can say that without a doubt. Um, so I decided to move my business. I bought a building. I, I mean, I was all in which I no regrets at this point, you know, but I bought a building two years ago, so april 2023. I bought a building, um, and decided to move my practice there.

Speaker 3:

Before then, I'd always rented, you know, and it just wasn't an ideal place wherever I've rented from. So I got this amazing space, but then I was just in over my head. You know, I have that business. I'm sure you see it all the time. I have that business mindset of like, oh, I can do anything, we can get there. I did a full renovation on the building. You know, that's life.

Speaker 3:

Stuff happened Like it's all at once right, when it rains, it pours, and so that was that was probably the most challenging time of the business and in my personal life as well. And yeah, it took months to like get through that renovation. You know, I had staff leaving, staff changes, but I look back now and I feel like if I could get through that segment of my life, both personally and professionally, it's like, well, what's next? We're going to be okay. So, honestly, after COVID happened and then that happened, um, yeah, just learning like, okay, well, we're still here. Because you hear those things like businesses expand, that's the riskiest time. So I feel like, you know, and then this last year I hit 10 years of business a year ago. That's also, you know, it's hard to hit the 10 years. So you know, you hear all these goal points, these goal posts, and I just feel like, okay, well, we did it and we're still standing.

Speaker 2:

So that's awesome.

Speaker 3:

And you also learn a lot. I'm sorry.

Speaker 2:

No, you also learn a lot. Were you going to say anything else?

Speaker 3:

Yeah, well, just, you really learn. You know it really showed me to like what employees you know really thrive during that time even hard times and you, just, you really learn. I also learned to see like how many people stepped up during that time when I needed the help, and so I also, as a business owner, you know, there's that saying where you know it's hard to ask for help and to delegate, and so I think that was my biggest learning lesson in that time too, because I really did have to be at the building renovating it, doing all of that, and so I had some really amazing people that are still with me who really stepped up and helped. So I think, yeah, overall it was just it was great for the business long-term.

Speaker 2:

Have you ever thought about doing your own podcast?

Speaker 3:

No, but it's fun. I mean, honestly, I listen to podcasts all the time but I'm not one to just think, you know, like yay podcast, I don't know, I haven't thought about it too much.

Speaker 2:

Well, you seem pretty socially engaging for someone that doesn't do that for a living. That's why I asked Well, thank you. Please tell our listeners one more thing, one thing they should absolutely remember about Hype of Health Massage.

Speaker 3:

Oh, one thing they should absolutely remember is we treat. I have it in mind to treat my staff well. That is my main goal when I started the business. I did this myself way before starting a business. I'm not a cookie cutter place. I treat my staff well, I pay them really well, we have fun, I make it a very good working environment and so I feel like when I went into business you know this was my core principle is treat your staff Well. If you treat your staff well, they will take care of the customers.

Speaker 3:

So you know I a lot of complaints that I hear from people going to other businesses. Like you know I'm not going to name it, but you know the cookie cutter more like box shop places, the big franchises I hear you know, man, I like I have a membership. I can't get out of this membership and all the people leave, you know, three to six months their therapist leaves. I try to keep my people for years, you know, and it is. It is a high turnover field. It's a very physically demanding job. So you know I have lost people throughout the years but for the most part I keep higher retention than most places. So most of my staff are. You know, they're all happy to come to work, they're happy to take care of you, and it's kind of a mutual thing. We also attract clients that are happy to see us, so yeah, it's just great, Rachel.

Speaker 2:

how can our listeners learn more about Height of Health Massage?

Speaker 3:

I just started an Instagram page. I mean, I've had it for the last probably three years, I think, but honestly, I didn't even have the app on my phone. I just now downloaded it, so I am putting a lot of time and effort into it. It's super new. We're having fun with it. I'm trying to engage my staff and you know they're a little timid to be on camera right now, but some of them are really liking it. I think they're going to have a lot of fun and you know, even like some of my more shy staff are like, ooh, I think we could do this video angle, and so I feel like it's, it's actually been really fun. I've been able to really like re-engage my staff in a different way that I. I didn't even think that was going to happen, um, but yeah. So I would say, definitely Instagram. We're starting that.

Speaker 3:

Just go to heightofhealthmassagecom. That's the best way to book appointments. You can book online right there, super easy. You just follow a few prompts. Phone text you know what's that number? Yeah, so our phone number for height of health massage is 970-673-0892. And you can also text us as well. I think that's a really good way you know, when you're at work.

Speaker 3:

Sometimes you just want to send a quick text message, so we'll also text you back as well. But we can also do the old school way as well, and we can talk on the phone.

Speaker 2:

Well, Rachel, I really appreciate you being on our show. We wish you and your practice the best moving forward.

Speaker 3:

Awesome. Thank you, so fun to be here.

Speaker 1:

First podcast here, first podcast ever good experience. Thank you for listening to the good neighbor podcast. To nominate your favorite local businesses to be featured on the show, go to gnpfortcollinscom. That's gnpfortcollinscom, or call 970-438-0825.