When starting a business, it’s important to show potential clients that you are going to provide the best service.

Not many businesses can attribute their foundation to tibial stress fractures.

So it has been, however, for Gary Howard, the founder of Easy Tiger Sport Performance Massage.

A former elite hockey player, ‘Tiger’ Howard started to consider alternative treatment options some years ago after suffering his sixth tibial stress fracture. He knew there had to be a more effective way than being treated by physiotherapists who handle multiple patients at the same time.

“I went and got a massage from a sports therapist who happened to be very good and that was all I needed,” Howard says. “It was better value and much more effective.”

Then he hit a hurdle. After a few months of treatments, the therapist retired and Howard was forced to look elsewhere.

“I couldn’t find anybody as effective as he was and that was when I made up my mind about planning [a business].”

Howard figured that if therapeutic massage worked well for him, it would probably also benefit other athletes. He enrolled in a massage course at college and soon started to sow the seeds for Easy Tiger Sport Performance Massage.

The business now helps clients address a range of issues such as improving posture, increasing the range of muscle movement and preparing bodies for the rigours of an upcoming race or event.

Hands-on strategy
As the sole owner and full-time employee of Easy Tiger Sport Performance Massage, Howard is a busy man. He is the name and face of the business, the marketing director, the receptionist and, of course, the sports massage therapist. A typical week will see him do 33 massages (at college, he learned that a therapist should do no more than 20).

It is this hands-on attitude that has helped Howard foster a high-profile client list. He treats some of Australia’s leading athletes, including Athens Olympic Games hockey gold medallist Michael McCann, and the first, third, fourth and sixth place-getters in the 2008 City to Surf, Sydney.

While expansion is on the radar, Howard confesses his focus is on providing quality service rather than trying to grow his business. Simply put, his patients come first.

“Most weeks I have people waiting on cancellation lists to come in,” he explains.

While such a backlog of work would be a dream for many business owners, Howard says maintaining quality controls will be top of mind with any expansion plans.

Such a commitment to excellence mirrors his strong sporting heritage. Since retiring from hockey, he has set his sights on becoming a competitive athlete, sprinting at state level as well as the odd marathon thrown in.

Inevitably, though, Howard’s focus has started to switch to business. Even before he started studying massage at college, he realised the importance of marketing.

He joined running forums to talk about running, as well as the struggle to find quality massage therapists, a problem, he discovered, he shared with many other runners. “That got my name out there and got me known in the running community.”

Practice makes perfect
The early emphasis for Howard was on honing his skills through as much practical experience as possible.

“The main thing was to practise on good people, like good athletes. I practised for free before I started. I remember when I was at the college and we were doing practical – I had done as much practical as most of the instructors had massaged in their lives because I wanted to be sure I could deliver.”

This experience helped him improve his technique and create a loyal client base.

“These guys [elite athletes] get massaged and treated by the best people. Their bodies are important. I wanted to make sure I could actually do the job and be good enough to look after them.”

Howard’s informal marketing and work experience quickly paid off when he opened the doors of Easy Tiger.

“Starting the business was a bit of a fluke and it comes down to doing something that you enjoy doing and making a business out of it,” Howard says.

“Everything has been from word of mouth. The running community is quite a small group and that’s a massive advantage as a massage therapist – if somebody comes in they trust you straight away because they know people have had results from you.”

Despite being booked out, Howard has kept his prices at a competitive rate. “I could definitely charge more than the average person because of demand, but the way I like to work I prefer to have customers [who are] more regular. With the elite runners I give them a discount to encourage them to come more often because I think it’s much more effective [for their performance].”

Howard’s commitment to professional improvement continues: “Once a week I go and get a massage and every second week I will go to somebody new just to learn different techniques or to meet different people.” To build up his knowledge and skill, he also accompanies some of his clients to other specialists to better understand their injury and the treatment options.

Learning from the best
As Howard’s business has grown, he has had to look to others for assistance, particularly for administration duties. “[The book-keeping] is a big weakness. I have a bookkeeper and an accountant lined up.”

“I’m definitely in the position that I could start someone straight away and fill the appointments.” Yet Howard remains cautious about taking someone new onto the books.

“I know I have a lot more to learn before I can have somebody under me.”

There’s also scope to enter a sports therapy clinic with other practitioners, such as physiotherapists, podiatrists and exercise physiologists, and he has a network of possible partners.

While Howard has scaled back an original plan to set up a “McDonald’s of massage” franchise, he believes there is great scope for expansion courtesy of his client-first approach. “There are a couple of things I’m thinking of doing in the background but I’m happy with what I’m doing now and learning.”

By Peter Switzer, published on 31/03/2009

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