Interested in starting your own entrepreneurial journey in wellness but unsure what to expect? Then read up on our interview with Adam Cardona, Founder of Elite Healers Sports Massage, located in New York, NY, USA.
What's your business, and who are your customers?
The company is called Elite Healers Sports Massage, and we are a massage therapy company that focuses on athletes, fitness-minded people, and those who need medical massage therapy that is complimentary to physical therapy. Elite Healers is unique in its approach to providing massage therapy in the sense that we focus on massage therapy treatments that are results-oriented while making proper treatment notes that allow us to make improvements that build on each other from one massage appointment to the next, in what we call a "Massage Therapy Treatment plan." We also follow all HIPPA rules and guidelines, which means the details of your treatment stay private.
Our customers tend to be people who are fitness-minded, wellness-minded, and wish to keep their muscles functioning well and improve their performance on and off the field and training room. We also have a complimentary channel on both YouTube.com and Rumble.com. In our video content, we give away recovery coaching tips & advice, as well as product reviews of recovery tools, and take a peek into the training methods of fit celebrities. Just go to our channel to find out more and enjoy some educational and entertaining fitness and massage therapy content.
Tell us about yourself
Well, about me, I started in the fitness industry in 2005 as a Personal Trainer over at Equinox. I started here because I have always been athletic since I was a boy, and when it was time to choose a career as I grew into manhood, I wanted to follow my heart. So I started a job that can allow me to grow in the fitness industry since that's where my passions reside.
While I was at Equinox, I continued to learn and grow, gaining new certifications in skills like kettlebell coaching, powerlifting, spin instruction, functional movement training, & more. My passions were built over the years until I realized the power massage therapy has on an athlete's life to help them improve recovery time, improve performance and reduce the chances of injury. So in 2013, I went back to college to get a degree and license in massage therapy since I thought this would be the perfect complement to my personal training knowledge.
Once I got licensed, I realized I outgrew Equinox after ten years with them because they didn't really have a spot for a hybrid personal trainer and massage therapist, so I moved on. I began to teach as an adjunct professor two days a week and practiced privately from 2015 to 2018 before creating Elite Healers. During this time, I noticed athletes and those with muscular pain were severely underserved with spas everywhere in New York City but nowhere really for athletes to get Sports Massage and recover from training or their injuries.
With my understanding of how important massage therapy is to athletic performance and injury recovery, I decided to create a Sports Massage Therapy Company that would serve an underserved population, and that's how Elite Healers Sports Massage was born.
As for the question of where I get my motivation from, well, it fills me every morning naturally since I have created a company that I believe can help so many people who need what I can provide. My motivation comes from the satisfaction that if I keep on keeping on, then I will be able to help so many people.
What's your biggest accomplishment as a business owner?
Building a massage therapy practice, then one year after opening having to face a temporary shutdown from a worldwide pandemic and having to work my way out of it, with no one to assist during the worst of it. I'm proud of surviving this because I had only recently created a company that focused on providing value for the people it served while witnessing older, more established spas couldn't stay open. So facing a pandemic that caused social distancing really showed me that people need results-oriented massage therapy, and if you help them understand how it can improve their lives, then they will come; this is one thing I feel is a major accomplishment I've achieved as a business owner.
What's one of the hardest things that come with being a business owner?
Oh, that's easy; I'd say it would have to be the uncertainty that comes with business ownership. You have to get serious about your life in all aspects because ownership is leadership and is only meant for the strongest and most adaptable. Being a business owner will test you in ways you most likely haven't been tested before, and there is nothing you can do to prepare.
If you are to make it, advance as a business owner, and build a team, you have to boldly advance and dedicate your mind, body, and soul to your endeavor because nothing is ever promised to you when you are a business owner. You must valiantly lead into the unknown with your vision and have faith in yourself and your capacity to take action and win. You are your own light on the path to achieving your success as a business owner. This is the hardest thing, in my opinion, because you fuel the fire to your own life with action and vision that must be renewed daily, and there is no shortcut. The path is long, and the only way out of the hell of starting your own business is to go through the hell of getting started. Don't get stuck in hell; go through hell, and you will advance and leave hell in the past. It's not impossible; you must be dedicated; it is tough but worth it. If done properly, you will be forged into a new, better version of yourself; I speak from experience.
What are the top tips you'd give to anyone looking to start, run and grow a business today?
- Prepare your business by making your vision into a game plan. Understand what will make your company unique and how.
- Make sure your home life is stable before you start your business. Cause just like a rocket blasting off into outer space; you must produce enough momentum to achieve velocity to drive you towards your goal. Sure, you might float in space one day, but before that, you must pay it forward.
- Always build value, and as you build a team, get them to understand your vision. You must inspire when leading because "Your vibe grows your tribe.
Is there anything else you'd like to share?
Check out our website www.elitehealersmassagetherapy.com.
Watch us on YouTube at: www.youtube.com/elitehealerssportsmassagenyc
And finally, don't forget to follow us on social media; those links are provided as well.
Where can people find you and your business?
Website: https://www.elitehealersmassagetherapy.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/elitehealersmassagetherapy
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/elitehealerssportsmassage/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/EliteHealers
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/elitehealerssportsmassage/
If you like what you've read here and have your own story as a solo or small business entrepreneur that you'd like to share, then please answer these interview questions. We'd love to feature your journey on these pages.
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