Today we’d like to introduce you to Zoe Reese.
Zoe, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
I finished Northwestern at the top of my class with a degree in psychology and started grad school but felt like I didn’t have a marketable skill. I started taking Thai massage when nobody had ever heard of it back in the 90’s and loved it. By the time I went to a traditional massage school I already had a full clientele that paid for the tuition. When I graduated from the Chicago School of Massage Therapy (now Cortiva) I was trying to build a practice in Winnetka but kept getting calls for hotel work. Concierges were so grateful to have a college-educated professional that was on-time and answered her phone! Guests were excited to have a real therapist and not a prostitute or someone who just pushed oil around. I loved the hotels, meeting folks from around the world and not being tied down to one place. One concierge, Ed Tobin, took me aside and mentored me more about the visitor industry and how to interact with concierges.
Soon I was working constantly in upscale properties and decided to hire more therapists. After a while, things blossomed and the company started designing and staffing boutique spas and treatment rooms in hotels, doing chair massage at tradeshows and special events and expanding to body treatments, facials, and nails. Currently, WCM staffs over 40 people and is open 84 hours a week in the city and suburbs working with hotels around O’hare, Oakbrook, Lombard, and Chicago and everywhere in between. We have spas at London House, Felix Hotel, Westin Michigan Avenue and Godfrey Hotel as well as treatment rooms at Hard Rock Chicago, Omni Chicago, Oakbrook Hilton Hills Resort, & Raddison Blu. We currently provide massage therapists for Chiro1 wellness events and many other businesses. Our image is fresh and contemporary and our staff is ridiculously good. Even though massage is the bulk of what we do, the demand for facials has grown considerably. Our estheticians use EmerginC products and truthfully, clients leave looking noticeably better than when they walked in! The company is growing by leaps and bounds due to a heavy emphasis on relationship building and a well-established reputation.
Has it been a smooth road? What have been some of the bumps in the road?
I had a partner who wanted to expand to New York City. Our model of moving therapists quickly around the city doesn’t work very well when no one drives and subways are unpredictable. I also believe in being very hands-on and realized that I didn’t want to manage a staff I didn’t know well. It’s a hard job and we’re like a family. Therapists respect that I’ve done the work I’m asking them to do and taught massage around the country. This creates respect. Being an absentee owner can work, but it means overcoming the distance both physically and emotionally.
What are you most proud of?
I am most proud of the staff’s dedication and professionalism. This field is full of “flakes” and stories of horrible massages abound. I can honestly say that the staff is very talented and genuinely caring. We have several therapists that have been with the company for well over a decade.
Is Chicago a good place to do what you do?
The city is a very tough place for this kind of business. The rules and regulations are many surrounding massage and the weather can be brutal for house-calls and on-site services. We lose many good therapists during the winter who struggle with the logistics of the job when it’s cold and dark. Having brick and mortar spas and treatment rooms have helped a great deal, but if I had it to do again, I’d definitely pick a warmer location with less city regulations.
Pricing:
- We have a special $99 residential rate for new clients at their homes.
- Our LH Spa at London House has an incredible hydrofacial machine that is a game changer for your skin starting at $120.
- We are currently running a special for a massage or facial at $89 or both for $175 with Groupon at Body Rituals Boutique Spa at our Westin Michigan Avenue location
Contact Info:
- Address: Windy City Massage
c/o BRBS 2nd floor
909 North Michigan Avenue 2nd floor
Chicago, IL 60611 - Website: windycitymassage.com
- Phone: (312) 946-3000
- Email: info@windycitymassage.com
- Facebook: windy city massage
- Yelp: windy city massge
