Today we’d like to introduce you to Katie Heidecke.
Hi Katie, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
“I’ve been a licensed massage therapist since 2009, but my real journey as a business owner began during one of the hardest moments of my career. When COVID hit in March 2020, I couldn’t work for months. It was terrifying, but it was also the push I needed.
The year before, I had researched locations to open my own studio, but fear held me back. COVID pushed me into action.
In October 2020, with nothing but faith and a quote that kept me going, ‘Do not dig up in doubt what you have planted in faith’ I opened The Good Place Massage Therapy in a tiny rental office in Anderson, SC.
The name reflects my philosophy: being in a good place, physically, mentally, emotionally, is fleeting, especially when it comes to health. But with the right support, you can keep coming back to that good place. That’s what I wanted to create for my clients.
Within two months, I partnered with Kayla McCallum, a fellow graduate from Southeastern School of Neuromuscular Massage who shares my approach and values. Together, we’ve built something I’m incredibly proud of. Five years later, we’re still in our cozy office space, serving over a thousand loyal clients who’ve found us almost entirely through word of mouth.
What keeps me going is simple: I find real meaning in bringing people relief from pain and improving their quality of life. Every day, I get to help people return to their good place.”
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
“Not even close to smooth. The biggest lesson I’ve learned is that no one will care about your business more than you, which means you carry everything on your shoulders, even when life gets overwhelming.
Starting a business during a pandemic was hard enough. Those early months were financially terrifying. I had rent to pay, no guaranteed income, and the constant fear that I’d made a huge mistake. Building a client base from scratch meant long hours and saying yes to every appointment, even when I was exhausted. And as a solo practitioner at first, if I wasn’t working, I wasn’t earning.
But the real test came in 2021, when our youngest child started showing signs of regression. By spring 2022, he was diagnosed with Level 3 Autism and global developmental delay. Suddenly, I was balancing therapy appointments, learning sign language, navigating the world of speech devices, all while trying to keep my business running and be present for my husband and our other three children.
There were days I didn’t know how I’d manage it all. I had to get ruthlessly clear about boundaries, learn to ask for help, and accept that I couldn’t be everything to everyone all the time. My partnership with Kayla became even more critical, we could cover for each other when life demanded it.
I won’t say I’ve mastered the balance, because honestly, it shifts constantly. But I’ve learned to be flexible, to give myself grace, and to keep showing up for my family and for my clients, even on the hard days.”
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about The Good Place Massage Therapy?
“At The Good Place Massage Therapy, we don’t do cookie-cutter sessions. Every treatment is built around you, your body, your pain patterns, your goals for that day.
Here’s what that actually looks like: When you come in, we don’t just ask ‘where does it hurt?’ We assess how you’re moving, what’s compensating, what’s connected. Maybe you came in for shoulder pain, but we discover it’s stemming from how you’re holding tension in your hips. We use whatever modalities your body needs in that moment—deep tissue, neuromuscular therapy, sports massage, prenatal work, lymphatic drainage, and we adjust as we go. Our clients tell us they love that they never get the same rehearsed, robotic routine. Each session is a conversation between their body and our hands.
But honestly, what I’m most proud of isn’t our technical skills, it’s the relationships we’ve built. We know our clients. We remember that Sarah’s marathon is coming up, that John’s rotator cuff has been acting up since he helped his daughter move, that Lynn had two hip replacements. People keep coming back because they trust us, and because we’ve created a space where they can consistently return to feeling good, physically and mentally.
We offer 60 or 90-minute sessions, and for our regulars who make their wellness a priority, we have package options that make consistent care more accessible. It’s not just about one great massage, it’s about supporting people on their journey back to their good place, again and again.”
What would you say have been one of the most important lessons you’ve learned?
“The most important lesson I’ve learned is that you teach people how to treat you and that includes how you value your own work.
Early on, I struggled with this. I worried that if I didn’t offer discounts or bend over backward to accommodate every request, I’d lose clients. But then someone gave me advice that changed everything: ‘People are loyal to discounts, not to your business.’ That hit hard. I realized that undervaluing my services wasn’t attracting the right clients, it was attracting people who’d leave the moment they found something cheaper.
So I made a shift. I set clear boundaries around my pricing, my schedule, and my energy. I stopped apologizing for what I charge. And something amazing happened, the clients who stayed and the new clients who found us were exactly the people I wanted to work with, kind, respectful, and committed to their own wellness.
I also learned to make peace with the fact that massage therapy is a luxury for some people, and that’s okay. Just because someone doesn’t see value in what I offer doesn’t make it worthless. My job isn’t to convince everyone, it’s to serve the people who do value this work deeply, and to honor that relationship by never cheapening what we provide.
That lesson, knowing my worth and holding that boundary, has been the foundation of everything we’ve built.”
Pricing:
- •60 minute Custom Massage $100
- •90 minute Custom Massage $140
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.massagebook.com/therapists/the-good-place/services
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/share/1H7fiPmUvn/
Image Credits
Rebecca Prescott Nix
