YEC Member Rachel Beider, the founder of PRESS Modern Massage, is making massage accessible to everyone with a modern clinical approach in a warm, inviting setting
“We’re not a typical spa,” says Rachel. “The type of work we do is very thorough, clinical, methodical, and rooted in anatomy and physiology.” She notes that modern life creates modern injuries. “Our clients typically come to see us when they have injuries from day-to-day jobs such as looking at a screen all day — neck issues, eye strains, headaches. Because we have an urban lifestyle here in New York City, the day-to-day commute creates a lot of stress. Being around people creates a lot of stress.”
Rachel believes massage not only helps alleviate these injuries but can be part of holistic preventative healthcare. “I hope in years to come, mainstream medical care will go in this direction, where they have more of a recognition of things like massage and acupuncture and the benefits of holistic alternative medicine,” she says.
Having grown up with scoliosis, Rachel is no stranger to chronic back pain. After learning about massage in Thailand, she graduated Swedish Institute, the oldest massage studio in the country. She initially had a five-year plan to build a book of clients and then open her own studio, but completed that plan in just six months. She launched PRESS Modern Massage in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, in 2016 and has since opened up two more locations in Green Point and Dumbo, and is currently expanding to Long Island City. “Progress and growth have been really important to me … the bigger the company gets, the more people we can help,” Rachel says.
Rachel is not just a massage therapist, but a bona fide entrepreneur. She is also an active member of YEC — a community of passionate, driven entrepreneurs.
"I think you can get the most of YEC by participating in the forum, asking for feedback, helping out others when they have questions, jumping on a quick call, meeting for a coffee, answering all of the Expert Panel questions, writing articles."
“Being an entrepreneur can be isolating,” Beider admits. By actively connecting with other members in the forum and attending events, YEC has helped her find community. “I’ve made so many good friends from YEC that I know will be in my life for a long time. And I’ve made invaluable connections through networking. I’m just really grateful for YEC.”
Connecting with other members in the forum has helped her to build the business. Trained as a massage therapist and not in business, the online forum has been a place where Rachel can get advice from other entrepreneurs who have already done the things she is trying to do. She even found advice on how to hire an operations manager. After getting advice from a fellow member, Patrick Ambron of Brand Yourself, Rachel was confident making the hire. “People are extremely generous with their time,” Rachel says of other members, noting that in addition to Patrick’s response, she received dozens of others.
Rachel has also taken advantage of the community’s visibility benefits by publishing several articles. She believes that building up her thought leadership credentials through the publishing benefit helped land her an interview with O, the Oprah Magazine. It has also helped her land a publisher for her book, Press Here! Massage for Beginners, she says.
“I think you can get the most of YEC by participating in the forum, asking for feedback, helping out others when they have questions, jumping on a quick call, meeting for a coffee, answering all of the Expert Panel questions, writing articles,” she says. “And I know there are pretty epic events that occur too and I’d encourage people to join those as well.”
Watch more of Rachel Beider's story on the YEC YouTube channel.
