Today we’d like to introduce you to Catherine Berg.
Hi Catherine, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
A Touch of Lonsdale started out as just dream, that was it, just a dream.
My husband and I moved to Lonsdale in the winter of 2020, welcomed our second child the spring of 2021 and dreamed of what we could bring to our new home town. During this time I was working out of a chiropractic office in Burnsville and commuting almost 40 minutes each direction four to five times a week. Between the price of gas, paying for a nanny for two children, and just every day living it wasn’t enough. I wanted to be able to be close to home incase something happened, and not having to commute during the Minnesota winters sounded like a dream.
I had talked about starting my own business on Main Street but had no idea where to actually start. Then one day our nanny Barb goes, “the chiropractor on the corners looking for someone to work in his office.” and that was it! I met with Dr. Bill Lieske and within a few days, I was painting my new room and bringing in furniture. Within a month I had my own space and started building a clientele. Then about a year later, I was able to convince my coworker Cherry Wiseman to come and work with me.
We had an awesome following but were starting to out grow the space & after chatting with a client, we found out she had signed a lease to open her own studio space with two extra rooms available for rent. Thats when we knew we had to take the opportunity and move. We spent about a month and half moving our whole business, building and decorating our new space, and enjoying the freedom this opportunity gave us. We soft launched the new space in March of 2024 because I was 38wks pregnant with my third child.
In May of 2024 we hosted our grand opening and had an amazing turn out. Our existing clients swooned over the new location and new clients were excited to have a massage business in town, but were shocked to know we had actually been here for awhile. With the new storefront, business has been booming. We’ve been so blessed to have the bonds we’ve grown with our clientele and are able to share our skills and knowledge with new clients who walk through our door. We look forward to what the next four years brings, the new clients we will get, and all the services we will be able to provide for the city of Lonsdale plus surrounding communities.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
As we all know, even the newest of roads can have their bumps. Starting a new business is always hard. It takes a lot of time and patience which some days can be hard to come by.
When I started A Touch of Lonsdale, I had to also work part time at my other job while I built my clientele. So, learning how to balance my time between two locations, plus being a mother of two kids under two and navigating sicknesses is definitely a roller coaster.
Then there was making the tough decision to add another coworker versus being a solo therapist. I knew I needed to because I wasn’t able to be at the office nine hours a day, five or six days a week, but making it worth someone else’s time while still building the business was hard. I thankfully knew Cherry from my prior job and that she lived just on the out skirts of Lonsdale. With much convincing she joined me in building my dream.
Now the only bumps we’ve been seeing are the increase in prices for our continuing education classes and our products. We’re proud of the services we’ve been able to offer to our clients. To go up and beyond, but having to raise our rates due to these increases has been hard. We want to be able to provide care for everyone who needs it, but we also understand sometimes it’s just not in the budget. Even with these increases we strive to keep the industry standards everyone has come to expect while trying to keep a good price point. We appreciate everyone who has come in for our services and continue to help build A Touch of Lonsdale to be the best it can be.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your business?
With over 10 years of experience in the massage industry, we bring our professional techniques and knowledge to the small town of Lonsdale and its surrounding communities. We offer a variety of therapeutic and relaxing services from deep tissue to Swedish. Helping our clients with recovery, every day stress/tension, and providing the best experience possible for their needs.
We’re known for our ability to listen to our clients and deliver the best session to fit their needs. We’re not your average massage therapist spot either. Our clients aren’t just a number to us, they’re family. From the moment they walk in our front door on that first appointment, they’re treated with respect and really listened too. We build this bond to help us as therapist to tailor each session to their needs.
What makes me so proud of our brand is people love us and what we do! Majority of our clients come from word of mouth. We will get one new client that goes and tells five people and within weeks those people are booked with us. It’s amazing! We seriously appreciate and are beyond blessed to be able to provide the services we do & have such an amazing following of clients. Without them, we wouldn’t be here, living my dream.
As for services, we offer 30 minutes all the way to 120 minute sessions. Our clients can add cupping, hot stones, foot or back scrub & CBD lotion. Cherry even offers Reiki & sound bath session! Our 90 minute session is one of our most popular sessions beside when we offer our specials in October & February. The special is a 120 minute session with two upgrades for a discounted rate. This way clients can try out one or two upgrades they haven’t had before or typically wouldn’t add onto their monthly session. We also tend to favor Cupping as there’s so many health benefits that come with the service.
Is there a quality that you most attribute to your success?
The best characteristic we have is that we’re personable. We genuinely care about our clients and what they’re going through. When they come in for their service they’re greeted with a smile and treated the same way we friend our friends and family. There’s no “customer service voice” personality. Plus we’re a comfortable environment. Need a glass of tea before or after your service, we got you? Or even a snack for the road, done. We’ll go the extra mile when we can to make sure our clients experience is a good one.
Pricing:
- 60 Minutes is $85 + tax
- 90 Minutes is $120 + tax
- To add 1/2 body of cupping it’s only $15
- To add 1/2 body Hot stones it’s only $25
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.massagebook.com/therapists/touchoflonsdale/?src=external
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Atouchoflonsdale
