Hi! I’m Jamerie! (pronounced Jay-Marie. It’s my parents' names combined. JAME is from James, my dad’s name and RIE is from mom’s name Patria– the RIA part. My mom’s name is also unique because she is born on St. Patrick’s Day and that’s where the PAT comes from.)
Growing up with a non-traditional name creates a lot of opportunities to gain thick skin, character, and an awkward sense of humor. But you’re not here for my WHOLE life story, so let’s start with the part that’s probably related to why you’re here. My Massage Therapist to Spa Manager to Clinic Manager to Multi-unit Manager to Massage Mentor/Coach Journey.
Was I the kid that massaged their grandparents or elders? Yes. Yes, I was.
Was I the teenager that felt unsure of what she wanted to do but wanted to party a lot? Yes. Yes, I was.
Was my younger self into health and wellness? Nope, not at all. My mom to this day does not like or eat vegetables. I love them now but had absolutely no idea about healthy eating, vegetables, or anything wellness related from my parents growing up.
Emerging from high school into a community or junior college because my parents never talked about anything else. I was essentially with my same high school friends still partying and BORED of partying but that felt fulfilling-ish. Well, here I am partying, dropping classes, and I had a boyfriend at the time tell me I was bad at giving massages.
WELL, being a Capricorn you can’t tell me I’m bad at something I know I’m good at. So I found a local massage school and everything just clicked. The curriculum, the community of students, the teachers, the language, and what was being said and taught. All of it just made sense and felt fulfilling, aligned, and it just felt right with who I am, who I want to become, and what I wanted to do. Help people feel better. Which is what I was trying to do with all my partying in and misaligned way.
So how does all of that go to leadership, management, and being a business coach or mentor?
Well, I moved to the San Francisco Bay Area in 2011 and worked as a massage therapist. When they were looking for a Lead Massage Therapist I wrote a proposal of why I was the best fit, a leadership plan, and the prospective financial gains the spa would attain by having me as a lead. In this leadership role, I created a new assisted stretch service and experienced what it was like to pitch a new service and go from proof of concept to an actual paid service that I trained the whole team to provide. After about a year or more through several different events aligning and happening around the same time frame. I was promoted to Spa Manager.
I had to take a break from being a manager, a leader, and a boss because my boyfriend at the time (now husband) and I decided to move in with his parents in the central valley because his mom was diagnosed with brain cancer. Leading others and being the go-to problem solver is a lot when you’re dealing and living with something so heavy. I feel so lucky that I was able to be there and support their family during this time so I went part-time as a Massage Therapist and went back to school online and received my Bachelor’s Degree in Healthcare Administration and Management. I knew that being in management would set us up for better opportunities and I enjoyed being a boss, having a team, and helping others grow and develop.
When I felt called to move back home to Southern California there was a new location of a massage franchise opening up and what better place to test my skills as a manager, leader, and employer than at a massage franchise that many massage therapists do not like. I thought to myself if I could build, grow, and develop a team here. I could do it anywhere and help anyone do the same. I have grown and built a team for over 6 years and briefly managed multiple locations for a different franchisee. My previous employees are still contacting me and trying to me to come back LOL but
The next sequential thing for me to do now is to help massage therapists and spa business owners in their massage or spa business. This is what I feel aligned and called to do now. I want to help you overcome and break through all the things I had to do alone like create systems and processes for how my location(s) ran, and how I worked as a leader, boss, and employer and all the intricacies that go with all of that.
I hope that my content on instagram has been helpful and that I would like to ask if you can share my instagram page @mtspacoach with other Massage Therapists or Spa Professional that may benefit. Thank you so much for being a part of the massage and spa community. I appreciate you so much!