MASSAGE IN THE FAMILY
A native of rural southern Minnesota, Schwartz recalls that when she was only 6 years old, her mother and aunts, all registered nurses, taught her the fundamentals of massage and reflexology. "Nurses were taught massage as part of their bedside training," she recalls.

She became a caseworker after majoring in physical education and health at St. Cloud State University in St. Cloud, Minnesota. She married Jack Schwartz, the boy (almost) next door, and in 1963 moved to the Minneapolis area after he landed a job as a computer programmer for the Remington-Rand Corporation (later named Lockheed-Martin Corporation), which evolved into the company that made UNIVAC.

In 1976, Schwartz attended the Minneapolis School of Massage. She learned the art of massage not from a book, but visually by spending countless practical hours with experienced massage therapists. By then, she had three young children, so she began her own practice at home in Burnsville, a small "bedroom community" 10 miles south of the Minneapolis-St. Paul airport.

In 1985, when the children were in school, she moved her practice to a local beauty salon. "My $25-a-month space was about as big as a closet. In fact, it previously served as a storage room," Schwartz recalls. "I kept my client information on cards in a recipe box. I used the income to pay off my car and vacuum cleaner."

Over the next six years, her part-time practice outgrew those quarters, so she left the beauty operators and-despite their advice to the contrary-moved to a storefront previously occupied by a dry cleaning business. Its location was excellent: a shopping center along the main east/west drag, County Route 42. There, her two-room business grew so that she hired an assistant, and placed her in a two-room satellite operation at the nearby Holiday Inn hotel.

That was in 1986. The hired massage therapist, Carolmartine Mason, still works for Schwartz. She was joined for a while by an ex-Romanian massage therapist with much experience in treating gymnasts. Also, Schwartz's sister, Fran Herdt, came on board as a therapist.

FROM TRAGEDY, REBIRTH
Suddenly, the happy Schwartz family was struck by death. The eldest offspring, 22-year-old Dan, died in a motorcycle accident the day before he was to have graduated from college. "We were devastated," Schwartz recalls, "but I was determined that I would not sit around and mope for the rest of my life. Everybody who grieves does it in his or her own way. I decided that my way would be to dedicate myself to building up my practice in memory of Dan. That is when my husband Jack said, ÔPhyllis, you've got a business here, not just a practice. I'll help.'"

HOW A FRANCHISE DEAL WORKS A massage therapist interested in running a franchise for Keep in Touch is asked to pay $19,000 up-front, according to Chris Schwartz, president of his company's franchise division. This price covers costs for training and opening the business. Schwartz then charges a fee of 41/2 percent of gross revenues, which must be paid on a weekly basis. In October 2002, the company's first franchise opened in Eden Prairie, Minnesota, a Minneapolis suburb. More are expected to be awarded in 2003. Top: Phyllis Schwartz's storefront is identifiable and inviting. Bottom: Phyllis and Jack Swartz at home.

At that time, her other two children were busy with their careers and families. Son Chris had a family and was teaching high school, and daughter Jackie was raising three children. It took a few years before they all got involved. Today, father and surviving son are in charge of the business aspects of the practice, while mother and daughter run the operations.

In 1998, the family worked closely with the developer of a new strip mall on County Route 42 not far from the beauty shop. Schwartz explains, "We had the opportunity to start from scratch and design our massage environment just as we wanted it to be. And the developer agreed to rent only to businesses that were compatible-no gas station or pinball parlor or rock music CD store next door."

Thinking always of the departed Dan, the family developed a set of quarters that would be inviting to massage clients and comfortable to massage therapists. Their unique design works. The interior decor is in pastels, including the art on the walls and the clothes the staff wears. The front door opens into a reception area. On the left wall is a working fireplace flanked by stuffed, floral-patterned easy chairs; in the far right corner is the small reception desk from which come friendly greetings as clients walk in. The far wall opens to the long hallway, off which are seven massage rooms, each noise-insulated from the world.

THE WARM HUG
While a client waits to be greeted by the therapist who will escort him or her to a treatment room, the client is handed a warm corn bag. The small, cloth, pillow-like bundle, filled with corn kernels that have been heated by a microwave oven, provides physical comfort, whether cuddled or applied to a sore muscle or joint, Schwartz explains. She noted that after the 9/11 tragedy clients were so stressed that they did not want to give up the comfort of their corn bags. "In those awful months we gave the highest rate of treatments and sold the most gift certificates ever."

Phyllis and Jack's daughter, Jackie Schwartz Swenson, serves as the company's office manager.

The long hallway to the back of the quarters is purposely not a straight path. Instead, it is undulated or wavelike, so as to provide some privacy at the door of each treatment room. "This way," Schwartz explains, "when the treatment is complete and the client leaves the room, it is not into a long, cold corridor. I believe in treating the client as I would like to be treated. I believe that our mission is to help clients deal with the stress in their lives, not add to it." Because she also treats victims of trauma and stroke, the hallway is wide enough to accommodate wheelchairs.

To add to the client's feeling of comfort, Schwartz provides thick, high-quality mattresses. Each is electrically heated and, along with its sheet, has openings for face or head, obviating the need for a face cradle or other external head support. The massage therapist applies oils that have been warmed. "We want the environment of the treatment room to be a big, warm hug," Schwartz says.

Each client gets a full hour of hands-on massage. Intake form-filling time and conversation about any special problem areas of the body are beyond the therapeutic hour. The massage therapist checks to make sure that the pressure he or she is applying is the level the client wants. After treatment, the client is led back to the reception area and is given a glass of water or juice and a hot scented towel to help gather himself or herself together and prepare to return to the real world outside.

Schwartz clarifies, "We treat people like they matter. It is that simple-from when they first inquire and reserve a time, until they leave. We train our staff to be polite, pleasant and informative."

HOURLY CUT PLUS BONUSES
Schwartz's staff of 50 is made up of office help and 40 licensed and certified massage therapists, many of whom are American Massage Therapy Association members. Five are full-time therapists. Each is an employee who is paid hourly; each has signed an employment agreement. While they are not issued uniforms, all staff members are required to wear pastel clothes that match the color plan of the office and reception area.

Only three of the massage therapists are men. Schwartz says, "We are very conservative here in Minnesota. Most male clients here do not want to be massaged by male therapists. They definitely prefer female massage therapists. We know this because each new client is asked for his or her preference when making a first appointment."

Phyllis Schwartz closely monitors her staff's work.  Here, she demonstrates her techniques by massaging the head and neck of colleague Nicolle Orbin.

Husband Jack Schwartz states, "Of each $65 per hour we charge, $56.34 is eaten by costs and $3.66 goes to taxes. [Minnesota has a service tax.] Our massage therapists are paid approximately 50 percent of the fees they generate. That includes FICA [Federal Insurance Contributions Act] payments."

That averages to about $31,000 annually, plus tips and a year-end bonus. These massage therapists treat two or three clients a day, although some massage as many as eight clients a day. The top total of massages given per week by a therapist is about 30. Many of these are standing appointments, from one per week to one per month. Each massage therapist is called the day or evening before so she can know her next day's schedule. Most live within a half-hour's commuting time. Their schedules are made by daughter Jackie Schwartz Swenson, 41.

Massage therapists' performance and earnings are reviewed twice a year, and, when justified, raises and bonuses are given in the same schedule. The Schwartz family plans to soon add benefits for their staff.

Schwartz frequently holds all-staff meetings, at which she serves food and holds training sessions. Sometimes she demonstrates massage techniques; other times she holds discussions on client/therapist interpersonal issues, such as boundaries. Newly hired massage therapists spend more time with her at what they jokingly call "Phyllis's Finishing School." She boasts to having trained every therapist who has worked for her.

While her practice has grown into a sizable business, it still has a mom-and-pop atmosphere. For instance, until recently Schwartz took the day's laundry home every night to be washed by her husband, in whose home office is located the couple's washer and dryer. There, he also keeps the books of the business, although he will soon turn them over to son Chris, 33. This is the same home-though updated and expanded-in Burnsville, a five-minute drive from the business, which the couple bought in 1972.

FRANCHISING MASSAGE
Chris Schwartz was the first to suggest the current expansion of the Schwartz family's successful business operations. First, after consulting with lawyers and working out projected financial numbers, the family formed a franchising corporation called Keep in Touch Massage Centers, Inc. in Minneapolis' Uptown area.

"Our systems are already in place," Jack Schwartz explains. "We offer handbooks that provide all of the details to operate a franchise. The franchising attorneys estimated that we have more than $1 million invested in a system that works. We have just set the franchise price, and are structuring it so that the first payment will pay for training and for our assistance in opening the franchise. Once the franchises are operating, we will charge a percentage of gross sales. We want to keep it simple and fair.

"We have found that the operation of a massage therapy business closely parallels that of a barber shop, so we will probably structure our franchising much like barber shop franchises," he continues.

He added that his family's franchises are being marketed first for nearby locations in Minnesota. The first one opened in Eden Praine, a Minneapolis suburb, in October 2002. (See sidebar, Page 81.) Others are being negotiated, and are expected to open in early 2003. After those are successful, the franchise market area will expand geographically into Wisconsin, Iowa and, perhaps, the Dakotas. If all still goes well, they will go national in about five years. "We already have been contacted by investors in California," he says. "But we are definitely not ready for national franchising at this point." One problem is sorting out the different state franchising laws.

Chris Schwartz adds, "Up to now most of the interest in our franchises has come from businesspeople seeking opportunities for their venture capital or looking for career changes. The best-case scenario is for a franchise owner to be a massage therapist."

FINAL WORDS
Perhaps the Schwartz family of Minnesota is not unique in running a massage therapy practice as a thriving family business. But the evidence suggests that family members are certainly noteworthy in applying sound business principles in order to successfully expand their horizons. It also succeeds in accomplishing their initial goal of establishing a living memorial to Dan Schwartz, their son and brother.

Summing up, Jack Schwartz observes that, "This business just pulls us along."
Phyllis adds, "The business pulls us together." And she often quotes her favorite author, Lynn Grabhorn: "Excuse me, your life is waiting." *

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Theodore Berland, former editor of MTJ, freelances in Chicago, and can be reached at: TedBerland@attbi.com.

The Schwartzes can be reached at: JLSKITBVL@aol.com, or at: [www.keepintouchmassagetherapy.com].
The Bag Lady can be reached at:
952-953-3313.

* Grabhorn, Lynn. Excuse Me, Your Life is Waiting. Charlottesville, VA: Hampton Roads Publishing Company, Inc., 2000.

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