Today we’d like to introduce you to Zalla Otten.
So, before we jump into specific questions about the business, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
I opened Zalla Massage in 2010 after working in the spa industry for a number of years, observing holes in the market, best practices, and ways to uplevel the customer experience and improve clients’ therapeutic results. As the daughter of a serial entrepreneur, I always knew self-employment was the path for me. I didn’t, however, anticipate employing others, and certainly not dozens of others, but that was one of the innumerable things that diverged from my initial expectations.
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
With few exceptions, entrepreneurship is anything but a smooth road. Fortunately, most who choose business as the medium to make a difference in the world typically have a strong sense of the intrinsic value of their idea or solution, and that carries them through the hard times inherent in this path. Some of my personal struggles have included: lack of knowledge related to tax planning; lack of access to capital or awareness of resources; challenges retaining and motivating top talent; learning to delegate and find balance between overpaying to outsource and mismanaging my own time by doing low-value but necessary tasks; and lastly, creating, documenting and enforcing policies and procedures from scratch (if you’re familiar with the DISC profile, I’m lowest in C, which means I’m not likely to be called analytical or systematic). Each entrepreneur’s hiccups will be different, but one thing I’ve noticed the vast majority fail to do is celebrate little wins. This is so crucial because the joy of a win is fleeting, but the volume and repetition of tasks that are vital, but not so exciting, can become a heavy cloud if we’re not purposeful in our celebration.
When I forgot to celebrate little wins, and when I failed to keep my soul’s purpose as a healer, teacher and connector front and center, it was surprisingly easy for my outlook toward my business to languish into disengagement and hopelessness. I’m so grateful that I had the right voices around me to help me reconnect to the power within those truths and reignite my passion. That flame now engulfs me, it infuses everything I do with purpose, and it sparks new creative expressions effortlessly.
My best advice for those starting out in business or considering stepping into entrepreneurship is to stay close to your unique purpose, and research diligently. If you first focus your initial efforts on understanding your purpose in the world (hint: what are your natural talents, what could you easily spend all day doing, what lights you up, what groups are you passionate about serving?), you’ll be far more likely to stick with it when challenges arise. Second, be bold and unyielding in your research before and during the undertaking of your plan. That means read all the articles you can get your hands on, listen to podcasts, strategically network on LinkedIn and in person, and fearlessly ask for industry leaders to mentor you. If they say no, ask for coffee (where you have written your most burning questions ahead), and if they’re too busy for coffee, ask if they’d mind answering your questions in email format. Showing you’re prepared and dedicated will always put you leaps above the competition in any setting, and even if it doesn’t seem there’s any competition, people will remember you for the professional way you showed up. There’s nothing more valuable in business than your reputation, and every person you’ve ever interacted with is a potential character reference. Another invaluable topic of your research should be on yourself: knowing your strengths and weaknesses and finding ways to offset or develop your weak areas while allowing your natural strengths to shine.
What should we know about Zalla Massage? What do you guys do best? What sets you apart from the competition?
Zalla Massage has been known for eight years as Houston’s best-rated massage studio on Yelp and Google, with many therapists who customize each session and deliver a guaranteed amazing massage every time. When I started the company, I was the only therapist and I specialize in prenatal and postpartum massage, so we built a following in that demographic. Today, we serve a large clientele of active professionals, many of whom work sedentary jobs, but regular exercise and value wellness and self-care. We stand out from our competitors by having an Amazing Experience Guarantee (seriously, if it’s not amazing, you get a free session), by offering complementary enhancements (hot stone therapy, hot towel treatment), and by focusing on meeting each client’s specific needs by listening, communicating and always offering suggestions on other complementary services or products that could help the client meet their goals. We are one of the very few providers whose one hour massage includes 60 hands-on minutes, and unlike most others who offer memberships, ours come without a long-term contract. Zalla Massage is also extremely rare in our commitment to giving back time and resources to our community. As a Founder, I believe it is a great opportunity and my responsibility to leverage my success for creating social impact. The causes I support most regularly are the Prison Entrepreneurship Program, Bel Inizio and several organizations seeking to end human trafficking.
Do you have any advice for finding a mentor or networking in general? What has worked well for you?
All of my mentors have been informal: people who connected with me believed in me and had some insight into the next steps required to get from where I was to where I’m going. Some I met through networking with National Association of Women Business Owners and Business Networking International (including my business coach Jared Polak at Entre Results), some I met through the Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Business Program, some through the church, school, and volunteering. The key to getting great value from any person or relationship is to ask great questions, which starts with noticing beyond what someone is saying and anticipating what or who they might know. It’s also important to nurture and develop those relationships in your own unique way so that it will feel mutually beneficial when you harvest the fruits. But don’t underestimate how much people love to help others without any promise of return. Most of us just want to feel useful and valuable, and few things offer than more than giving a hand-up to someone behind you on the path.
Contact Info:
- Address: 1411 Haddon St., Houston, TX 77006
- Website: www.ZallaMassage.com
- Phone: 281-974-2823
- Email: info@ZallaMassage.com
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ZallaMassage/ (business profile)
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/ZallaMassage
- Other: https://www.facebook.com/ZallaOtten (my profile)
Image Credit:
Juancho @ Xposure Photo, Israel Thompson, Liane Candice
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