What’s better than a chair massage at work??

I’m excited to introduce you to Rebecca Kahn, owner of Knot Anymore. I’m inspired by her energy and ability to make everything look effortless! She shares her big secrets with us – building a business with her strengths and using targeted outsourcing to maintain high-quality family life.

In the late nineties, Rebecca’s then-employer brought a chair massage therapist into the office – every week! Massage days changed the atmosphere: people were happier, creative juices flowed more easily, employees accomplished more. This generous and ahead-of-its-time benefit changed the path of Rebecca’s life. It intrigued and compelled her to share the transformative perk with others.

Rebecca researched the young industry. It turned out her employer had lucked out with the massage therapist from the local gym who understood a corporate environment. At the time, many massage therapists did not. Corporate clients want this win-win benefit to help enhance the business process. It requires therapists who arrive on time, look professional, know how to speak with clients, and just fit-in at the office.

Rebecca saw an opportunity to bring the benefits of workday massage to other companies. But not as a massage therapist. She visualized how her strengths from a professional background could help grow an emerging industry. She would develop training programs, recruiting pipelines, and corporate relationships. She also desired a career with flexibility, the ability to call her own shots, and to create and deliver something she felt passionately about.

Knot Anymore was born

Rebecca had barely reached her mid-twenties, and this go-getter leapt from concept to launch in about nine months. She had great confidence in the idea. More importantly, she ensured the stakes were not too high. She started small, determining how to make her business work with minimal investment.

She didn’t spend money on an office. She networked. She invested in branding and other aspects that contributed to a professional image.

In the beginning, she faced a familiar entrepreneurial chicken-and-egg challenge: she needed massage therapists to secure corporate clients, but needed clients to attract the therapists. She got creative. She posted notices at local massage schools and held recruiting meetings. This young business owner, not a massage therapist and without clients, was undeterred that she lacked the resumé.

It worked. She found success in Houston working at corporate wellness fairs. When she relocated to Austin, a therapist named Eric took Rebecca’s card at a recruiting meeting. Eric contacted her sometime later with an opportunity: the Austin airport wanted to pilot a chair massage program. Not interested himself, he remembered that spunky young woman with a bold idea. The pilot succeeded, and the airport has contracted with Knot Anymore since 2002 – now with three locations.

Rebecca never became a massage therapist (though her husband wishes she had!). Instead, she grew her business by continuing to use her strengths and enabling her therapists to use theirs.

Fitting family into the business model

When baby #1 arrived, she remembers the empowering feeling of building a business while the baby napped. She began to delegate some professional responsibilities with baby #2. Now fifteen years, one “grown up” business, and another child later, Rebecca has created the flexible life she envisioned long before. Rebecca values time over income and continues to outsource selectively along the way.

Some delegation involves tasks best suited to someone else, as she always considers the overall stability and best interest of Knot Anymore. She continues to manage corporate work, finances, and recruitment. Interestingly, the corporate chair massage industry has also matured, and she now finds that many massage therapist recruits are already well-trained in corporate conduct and professionalism.

She credits her amazing managers and therapists for the success of Knot Anymore, including Eric, who has been with the company for over 15 years.

Thank you to Rebecca for sharing her story of optimizing a business by using strengths, partnering with great people, and delegating for more work-life balance! Stop by the airport to get your own massage (and acupuncture!) or visit knotanymore.com to bring chair massage and its benefits to your company.

Rebecca Kahn, believer in massage

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