Today we’d like to introduce you to Jilian “JT” Knighten.
Jilian “JT”, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
I first found out about massage because of injuries I had playing college soccer. I’ve been licensed for about 20 years, spending the last 7 as a Licensed Massage Therapist Trainer & Spa Consultant. I recently took my Spa marketing strategies to Tiktok to show my consulting clients that when you have skilled/knowledgable therapists on staff & great social media marketing strategies, your brand can thrive in no time! I ended up building a new massage brand by mistake, Muse -Houston Escape. I’ve been fully booked a month in advance since my first post May 20th. Since then, I’ve grown over 11,000 followers, generated 5 figures a month in revenue, & been offered paid speaking & training opportunities. I plan to launch an online community soon where I’ll be offering training, career guidance, & Continuing Education credits to Licensed Therapists. The community will also serve as a resource to massage lovers in the general public who love learning about anatomy, Somatic Therapy, & the mind/body connection healing that massage therapy offers.
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?
The biggest challenge for me & the one I see holding most massage therapists back from career success is their leadership skills & professionalism. I feel like the Healthcare industry & many clients don’t take massage therapists seriously & just see us as people they can boss around in the treatment room. But we are licensed professionals & those of us who are highly skilled have invested in our careers year after year. If massage therapists & spa brands want to feel respected & appreciated in a way that business growth remains sustainable, they have to understand the importance of investing in developing their leadership skills in terms of communication & professionalism. Many clients do look to us for guidance on their healing journey. They’ll only respect that guidance if they feel they are being led by a mature professional who makes their career a priority. As for spa owners, they must understand that clients AND employees want to feel heard & appreciated when they are feeling neglected or underserved. A massage therapy brand should begin with an attitude of “we’re here to serve & heal the world”…profits will flow once their target audience feels that authenticity.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about Muse – Houston Escape?
We are a massage spa & educational media company specializing in MyoFascial massage modalities. What sets us apart is, we don’t just offer clients a menu of “Swedish or Deep Tissue” session options. Every service is customized to how each client’s body responds & our therapists are deeply trained in anatomy & body mechanics science so the deepest healing can be achieved. We also offer training & business consulting for Licensed Massage Therapists (LMT’s) & spa owners. Mainly in social media marketing, training, & operations development.
Is there anything else you’d like to share with our readers?
I’ve got a few events coming up in Houston & an online community for learning more in-dept info about alternative healing modalities, including Somatic Therapy & Fascia Release for nervous system regulation & trauma processing. I’ll be guest speaker at the Woodlands Resort Sept. 12th speaking about Somatic Massage along side Debra Guerrero, star of the movie “Zero Limits”, produced by world renowned healer Joe Vitale (who was also featured in Rhonda Byrne).
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