Kindly give our readers an introduction to your business. Please include what your business is all about, in which city you are located and if you have offices in multiple locations/ cities.
Hello everyone, my name is Dorion Smith. I am the owner of BecknCall Massage LLC located in Kennewick Washington. At BecknCall we offer Swedish therapeutic deep tissue massage. Every session is 100% customized with intuitive and intentional therapy tailored to the clients specific needs that day. We offer both mobile and on-site, table and chair massage. Our practice is value based as we have flat rate pricing. Any additional enhancements whether product or non-is all included in the massage so the price you see will always be the price you pay.
Kindly give us a brief description about yourself (it should include your brief educational or entrepreneurial background and list some of your major achievements).
I am a Washington state native that has always taken an interest in physical activities and creative exertion. All throughout grade, middle and high school I was heavily involved in sports and I continue to lean into a life of nutrition and fitness. Due to my long standing interest in anatomy, kinesiology and psychology I decided to embark in health and wellness entrepreneurship rather than traditional college education. In the early stages of my career, I worked for For massage envy for three years and then a local massage company for a couple of years. After I got extensive experience, I decided to go into business for myself which I have been building for the last four years. I have been a therapist now for 13 years. It has been a journey, and I have enjoyed every lesson, every win, and every ebb and flow.
What inspired you to (start a new business venture) or (to make significant changes in an existing business)? How did the idea for your business come about?
The initial inspiration to go into business for myself came about once I realized that there were major gaps and holes that needed to be filled when it came to not just building a business, but providing a service that goes above and beyond and provides value that is unmatched and undeniable. After working for a couple of different companies, I learned the basics and became familiar with non-negotiables. Then I said to myself “OK, how can I do what they are doing, but put my own ‘flavor’ on it?” Being up close and personal to these business owners granted me the privilege to witness their mistakes and shortcomings which inevitably allowed me to see them as humans which removed the intimidation factor out of business and entrepreneurship. The idea of BecknCall Massage was born from the intention of providing therapeutic massage, not only at a brick and mortar location but also in the comfort of your home, office or event party.
What three pieces of advice would you give to budding entrepreneurs?
1. to listen to your gut: too often we get downloads in our sleep while we’re in the shower or many other random places about great ideas and world changing philosophies. These are not by accident. These seeds are planted in us because our creator understands our strengths and weaknesses and knows our destiny. If you have the vision-hold it. Mold it perfectly and protect it with your life. Others are not going to be able to see the vision because it’s not their vision. It’s yours.
2. Relationships are everything: It is especially important in a modern culture where we seem to be rewarded for antisocial behavior. Having simple social skills like looking people in the eye when you talk to them. Saying excuse me and please and thank you. These are all so small but non-negotiable when it comes to building relationships, whether it’s business personal or anything in between. Know how to treat people, be considerate to people situations and be empathetic to their position-this is invaluable
3. It’s not the destination, it’s the journey. Shape your mind to understand that everything that is happening is happening for you, not to you. Switch the mindset. A loss is only a loss if you quit. Everything else is a lesson. Learn from the marks that you missed and implement those corrections, moving forward. Offer those insights to your peers if appropriate. Your biggest opposition will not be anyone in your circle, but the reflection looking back at you. Stay focused, stay in a state of gratitude and always keep your humility in your back pocket.
Top three skills needed to be a successful entrepreneur?
1. People skills/Social skills. If you don’t know how to talk to people, if you don’t know how to treat people, nobody’s gonna want to do business with you. We can all say I’m self-made and I don’t need anybody but at the end of the day we need each other. If nobody buys Coke products Coke fails. If nobody comes to get massages from me or my other therapists, we fail. We need each other. Treat people right!
2. Adaptive resilience or strategic agility. My folks used to say, “you wanna make God laugh, tell’em your plans”. More often than we would like, things are not going to go to our specific way, plan, thought, theory, etc. However, that doesn’t mean it’s over. We need to know how to pivot. We need to know how to audible. We need to learn how to go back to the drawing board, figure out what did work and double down on that. In the words of Troy Millings, “Stay low, keep firing”.
3. Sales, Sales, Sales. Sales gets a bad rap, but the reality is we are all selling something whether it’s a product, a service, a skill, a mindset, etc. we’re all selling something. Being able to master the art of rebuttal or knowing how to couple every customers excuse with a dignified and evidence based reason of why they should support or buy the product.
How many hours do you work?
A typical shift will be from about 11 AM to 7 PM with around five massaging hours
To what do you most attribute your success?
There are multiple variables that contribute to my success, but I think the number one thing is being in alignment with my path and my destiny. I enjoy my work. It’s fulfilling. It feeds my soul and I’m great at it but most importantly it’s received in a superbly phenomenal way from my clients and supporters. This may not be the end all be all of my journey but is definitely an important steppingstone and a level in my ascension.
How do you go about marketing your business?
Right now, my marketing is pretty standard. The social Media route, networking in person around local events, vendor expos and business groups. We’ve done some Radio ads as well. I would say my most successful form of marketing hands-down would definitely be word-of-mouth because those are usually warm to hot leads. To add to that, it helps when I am seen in multiple places and avenues, as familiarity builds trust in community.
Where did your organization’s funding/capital come from and how did you go about getting it? How did you obtain investors for your venture?
My organization’s funding and Capitol came from Tri City diversity and inclusion council, which is an organization that specializes in facilitating black and brown businesses that are underserved. I also have received some short term loans from my point of sale company as well. (“Spot-On”, Square etc).
What is the best way to achieve long-term success?
I think the best way to achieve long-term success is to have a plan in place and stick to it regardless of the current state. If need be, edit the plan, customize it and update it but always stick to the plan. Keep the end in mind and also make sure you never get comfortable. Always look for ways to improve and keep your eye on what’s coming, especially in this current state of technology and AI integration
Where you see yourself and your business in 5 – 10 years?
In 5 to 10 years I see BecknCall Massage making up words of $250 – $300k a year with multiple employees a second location. I also see a formidable and reputable name around eastern Washington and Washington state as a whole. I see myself stepping more into a managerial and owner role rather than a therapist. I also see myself transitioning into nutrition and fitness in conjunction with health and wellness.
Excluding yours, what company or business do you admire the most?
A company I admire the most would be a tough one. I follow a slew of companies and I learn a lot from multiple factions so it would be hard to pick one. Off the top of my head I would say Costco has a great business model. Also I believe Nike has a great product not the best stock performance but great products. I think Amazon has also done well with quality customer satisfaction with exceptional return windows, and such. It will be hard for me to pick just one that I admire the most. There’s a few great ones that come to mind.
How long do you stick with an idea before giving up?
I think if an idea is truly great you never give up on it. You might pivot and figure out how to adapt, but if it’s a solid position, you never give up. Just tweak it and keep firing.
What motivates you?
What motivates me? We can write a whole book on that, but in the sum of a few words, I would say fear. But not what you would think. Fear of complacency. Fear of being where I was last year. Fear of being a bum. Fear of being a lame. Fear of my kids, not looking up to me. Fear of looking in the mirror and being disappointed at what I see. Fear of not doing better than my parents. Fear of not changing the trajectory and moving the goal post so that the next generation can start from our ceiling rather than our floor. Fear of what happens when I don’t live breathe and perform at the highest level I know possible.
What are your ideals?
My ideals are going to be a “sound” 7+ hours of sleep. An absolutely phenomenal a.m. gym session followed by a quick 20 minutes of sauna. A fat protein shake with some fruit. Laughs and jokes with my kids and wife before we start dropping kids off at school and running errands before work. All of my favorite clients who tip in cash tell me all the good news that’s going on in their life and refer me to all of their friends, family and peers. A delicious chicken or fish dinner with some veggies. A piece of quiet time and solitude, followed by a successful recording session. A little fun in the sun with loved ones before we wind down and get up to do it again.
How do you define success?
I define success as being in alignment with who you are at your core and improving every day until you are called to transition.
How do you build a successful customer base?
How I would build a successful customer base is to understand that your customers and clients are the reason you are in business in the first place and allow your disposition to reflect that. Meet them where they are, if appropriate supply a sample or illustration of your product or service so they can experience firsthand what you are offering. Offer value. Make it as easy as possible for them to come back repeatedly and support you. Make it as hard as possible for them to say no. Offer a deal so great that they feel like they’re missing out if they don’t take advantage. Stay consistent. Always improve.
What is your favorite aspect of being an entrepreneur?
One of my favorite aspects of being an entrepreneur is the freedom. Freedom to control my schedule. Freedom to determine my value. Freedom to make executive calls when necessary. Freedom to create a business culture of my own. Also, it is a beautiful thing to create something out of nothing and watch it grow and flourish. I would liken it to raising children in a small sense.
What do you feel is the major difference between entrepreneurs and those who work for someone
else?
There are a great deal of differences, but I would say one of the biggest major differences between entrepreneurs, and those who work for someone else would be the difference in mindset. Entrepreneurs understand that you have to do what it takes. Employees seem to fall into the mindset of, “well at least I tried”. Also employees sometimes lack the vision and the foresight. That is a non-negotiable with entrepreneurship.
What kind of culture exists in your organization? How did you establish this tone and why did you institute this particular type of culture?
The type of culture that exists in our organization is simply understanding that we are all part of something grand and it’s bigger than us as individuals. This forces us to not operate from “me and I” but from “us and we”. That in itself elevates everything from how you talk to people to how you treat people and everything in between. The way we established it is, I believe like many others who established it. We’ve been hurt, we’ve been through pain and instead of perpetuating that same pain and hurt we decided to foster an environment that does the opposite. We give grace, we give understanding because we don’t want anyone else to go through what we have been through.
In one word, characterize your life as an entrepreneur:
To characterize my life as an entrepreneur in one word would be “Eventful”
If you had the chance to start your career over again, what would you do differently?
If I had to start my career over again, so many things I would do differently. The first thing I would do would be to make a declaration to myself that “this is what I’m doing. This is what I stand for and this is what I will die behind.” Therefore, doubt will not be an option. Second-guessing myself will not be an option. Failure will not be an option. Obstacles will crumble in front of me. The resolve that I would have will be unshakable. After that, I would do extensive market research. This research would allow me to develop a plan with actionable steps that I can take every day instead of fumbling through a lot of things. I would also slowly transition into entrepreneurship rather than jumping right into it. Meaning instead of quitting my job I will start my business on the side, do both and then slowly transition from employee to business owner. Many other things, but that’s a couple of them.
How has being an entrepreneur affected your family life?:
Entrepreneurship has definitely affected family life, which is something that I think we need to speak about more often so that people understand the toll that it takes on your family. This is not a job where you clock in at 9 o’clock and clock out at five. You’re wearing 15 different hats, you’re putting out multiple fires and it’s almost guaranteed that your family will not quite understand. I think entrepreneurship should always come before starting a family because those moments with your family, you really can’t never get back nor can it be recreated. I’ve missed a lot of sports games, a lot of conferences, a lot of meetings and a lot of laughs and jokes as well as some stressful situations where my wife has needed me and my support.
What is your greatest fear, and how do you manage fear?
I would say my greatest fear would be if I was in a position in one way or another where I was not able to provide because of physical impingement or disability. The best way I manage fear for one is to not speak any life into it nor entertain any additional drama. There’s plenty of actual issues going on right now-we don’t need to “borrow trouble”. If there is an actual area of concern, let’s prepare for it, train for it, etc., and then move forward.
How did you decide on the location for your business?
I knew that Kennewick (Washington) was the hub when it came to local businesses and my current location on Clearwater doesn’t get any more centralized than that. It just made sense. Also I am in a coworker space with one of my Massage school co- students so it works out great.
What book has inspired you the most? (OR what is your favorite book?)
A book that has inspired me the most (as hard as it is to choose just one) would be “The Four Agreements.” And there is also a part two which is called the “fifth agreement”. This book is a Toltec, wisdom and spiritual guide to navigating the challenges of life. A lot of this information that’s in the book we already know and a lot of us grew up with it as the foundation and principles, but it’s a great reminder about putting that knowledge into practice throughout our journey.