infant massage

[tuccartlava]

hi

has anybody heard of blossom and berry? i am looking to take a infant massage course so i can eventually set up teaching new mums and dads. I stumbled across the blossom and berry website, they offer franchises. i have had quite an informative email back from them, it all sounds very professional but i just wondered if anybody had heard of them or had any dealings. also what is the general opinion on a franchise in this field.
any thoughts would be appreciated.

lilyflower x

 

[having a deep thought]

Had a quick look. It mentions "Distance learning package to ensure high quality baby massage teaching ".

Is that all the training you get? Not really in favour of distance learning when it comes to hands-on therpay personally...

There also seem to be a lot of costs involved if you want to be a B&B instructor, if I understand it correctly: £300 plus £40 per month for the basic training and ongoing support.

If you then want to use their brand, marketing materials, webpage on their main website, help and support to start your business, which is the kind of stuff you would want/expect from a franchise deal, then you have to pay another £200 plus £20 per month.

So that's already £500 one-off and then £60 per month!

And the site goes on about some more stuff you can subscribe too.

Frankly I don't see the point of doing it this way.

Why dont' you just go and do a training course and set up your own business?

Are you a massage therapist with your own business and insurance already? Then all you need is a short course on infant massage, and you can just add it to your repertoire. Of course you might want to invest in a little bit of marketing for your new skill, but altogether still works out a lot cheaper than going down the blossom and berry route.

Hope this helps!

I'm not saying it's a scam, it looks genuine. But going down this route looks like a waste of money to me.

 

[deckels]

Check out the IAIM website. International Association of Infant massage. Do yourses all over the country and are very good.

You can't learn infant massage via correspondence course.

Do you have other massage qualifications?

Patchouli

 

[frmthesouthgrl]

hiya

thanks for the replys, they are certainly food for thought.
the company like you to go to a training school in london for 3 days training and to also complete case studies.
I have just qualified in swedish body massage, also i have vtct in indian head massage and nvq 2 in beauty therapy.... but i guess its just the daunting part of setting up as a therapist and also the financial aspect.
there are so many other qualifications i would like to gain but i want it all now lol

lilyflower x

 

[Linken Loader]

It is also worth remembering that in many parts of the country midwives now teach baby massage to parents for free. As a result there is not much money to be made at this from a business point of view.

I wouldn't say don't train in it, but just be aware that you may struggle to get a good return on your investment.

Good Luck with whatever you decide to study next.

Dave

 

[Devon]

Yep, thats what happened to me. Went and trained at IAIM and we were advised to tell our local health visitors that we were available to do the baby massage.

So, once qualified I spoke via phone to the HV....she was quite cagey and not particularly responsive. Six months later she had done the course herself and had first dibs on the mothers and babies so my little number went straight down the pan as I was charging and she was doing it through NHS. It was IAIM she went to as well. They don't have "catchment area" stipulations or anything so the money I spent I barely got a return on.

If you do any other courses it may be an idea to find some niche thing that no-one in your area is doing. Probs is, then everyone jumps on the bandwagon.


Patchouli