A few days ago, I talked to a masseuse from the Philippines who’s been in Sabah for 15 years. She was initially employed as a nurse at QEH, then as a private nurse in Ranau for 5 years. Then she opened a massage parlour (the proper kind, not the other kind) in Ranau for about 2 years, earning about RM30 per session.

The towkay of a popular restaurant in KK brought her to the state capital, where she’s been working for the last 7-8 years.

She claims to be able to heal minor strokes and spinal cord injuries via massage alone. However it could take several months of twice or thrice weekly 2 to 3-hour massage sessions.
For new customers, she charges about RM100 for a 2-hr massage session. This can go down to RM50/2 hrs for regular customers.

She said she now earns between RM5,000 and RM6,000 per month, and that she works every day, even Sundays, and is willing to work until nighttime. Working on that logic, she would earn about RM200 per day, with about 4 customers.

Promotion is by word-of-mouth. She cited a case where from a couple initially, the number of clients grew to 13.
She said she learnt her trade from an old woman in her village in central Philippines, a few days by boat to Manila.

My take

• Hone your area of expertise/special skill.
• Reviews, good or bad spreads like wildfire.
• Make full use of opportunities and contacts.