Today we’d like to introduce you to Sarah Hankammer.
Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
I became a massage therapist straight out of high school because I was seriously injured when I was t-boned in a car accident at 16 & my mother, a massage therapist, fixed me. I later went to college & earned my Bachelor’s in Marketing & Master’s in Business Administration Management because I was not happy with how massage therapists were being treated & compensated working for someone else. I entered into retail management after graduating & put my education to use & learned so much about managing & motivating others. I also learned so much about myself; I was not made for the corporate world. I don’t play politics, I hate drama, & I’ll never get ahead if I have to step on people to get there. By this time, I was involved in another serious car accident, this one broke my spine in 3 places & 4 ribs. I had a long road to recovery & was thrilled to be physically able to return to massage therapy as a career again. I spent a few years at a franchise massage business & was shocked at the way they treated the clients & the practitioners. I hoped I would have an opportunity to improve things, but I learned the ways of a franchise. Instead, I focused on how I might do it all better; for the clients & the practitioners. I began researching ways that would help me do what I do & help the client feel better longer. Then came the hardest part. Believing in myself & taking that leap of faith!
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
It’s definitely been a challenging road for me & Above & Beyond Wellness Spa. Once I finally found where I wanted to open my business & what I wanted to have within my business, I needed an architect & contractors to build a good bit of it since I was combining two suites into one large one. It was at this time that COVID-19 had begun to inconvenience our lives drastically. Everything took much longer than originally planned with each stage of the build-out, furniture wouldn’t be delivered for 2.5 months, supplies were sparse & taking a long time for delivery, nobody was leaving their houses for any kinds of services-even wellness services. I found myself always asking “What can I do to fix this?” & sometimes it helped me uncover the solution. Over budget due to construction taking forever. “Guess I can paint the walls, door frames & stain the doors myself.” Furniture going to take too long to be delivered & the stores are doing curbside pickup only. “Guess I can drive to the nearest store to pick up all the furniture even if it is 4.5 hours each way.” I just had to roll with it every step of the way!
As you know, we’re big fans of Above & Beyond Wellness Spa. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about the brand?
It’s in our name, Above & Beyond, because we believe in going the distance for our clients in all that we do. That’s why everything we offer multiplies the benefits of each service to provide you with health & wellness above the industry standard. We start with True Time services where a 60-minute massage or facial is actually 60-minutes long. We use the highest quality products, including vegan-friendly products in our services, as well as for cleaning around the spa while still disinfecting. We offer a variety of massage techniques, couple’s massages, assisted stretch sessions, facials for all skin types, advanced skincare services, lash & brow services, waxing hair removal, halotherapy salt chamber sessions, hydrotherapy soak sessions, & wellness classes. Our Soak & Salt is becoming what we are known for since they work together to increase the circulation of your blood & lymphatic systems while boosting your immune system & leaving your skin soft & smooth. Adding a Soak & Salt to your massage &/or facial increases the benefits of your service. Our hydrotherapy tub is 6 ft long with 16 jets & oxygen-infused to increase your blood & lymphatic circulation while activating your metabolism & exfoliating your skin. Halotherapy uses Rx grade salt that naturally kills 99.99% of all viruses, bacteria, & fungi, neutralizes the skin’s PH & is a natural anti-inflammatory increasing your circulation & immune system. Microparticles of this salt are released into the air of a dry, sealed room or booth to improve a laundry list of health issues. We offer the only halotherapy salt chamber in the St. Louis area which gives you the same benefits as a salt room in only 10 minutes vs. 45, plus, it’s private so you can disrobe & get all the skin benefits too. These two services are great by themselves, but even better when combined!
We believe it isn’t enough just to have all these great services, we wanted to make them affordable too! We created a monthly membership that’s based on time, can be shared with anyone, rolls over if unused, & is billed each month with only $50 to cancel. This allows clients to save more & do more for themselves & those they care about. We also created a no-commitment membership that’s an individual, one-time, flat-rate fee that allows clients to save on each service. Members save $5-$20 per service, 10% off all products, double rewards for referrals, guest passes, birthday surprise, & exclusive offers. Plus, all of our products & services are covered by your Health Savings Account & Flexible Spending Account. Bottom line, we go so far Above & Beyond for our clients!
Working here has major benefits too, even though we’re a small business! We offer competitive commission rates for services & product & membership sales that increase with your time spent working here, & you can qualify for profit sharing on your 3rd year anniversary. We offer great perks for employees including free services, deep discounts on products, & family members receive member pricing on services. We welcome individuality & treat each other with respect in a drama-free environment that encourages open communication & an open exchange of ideas for our products, services, packages, etc. You’re compensated honestly & fairly, treated with kindness & respect, free to specialize in what you’re passionate about doing, all in a nicely kept clean environment with the best products. Basically put, we want this to be the last place you ever want to work because you love it all around!
Is there anything else you’d like to share with our readers?
I’ve always been a bit OCD about cleanliness & germs. In fact, even as a toddler, I had a place for everything & when I was done with one thing, I’d put it away before getting something else out. My shoelaces always had to be perfectly flat, not twisted up. I’m still nuts about my shoelaces! Touching people for a living definitely means I am all about keeping things clean & sterile, just without harsh chemicals. The details matter to me & it’s something that you can definitely see when you enter our spa. We are able to keep our environment warm & inviting even though it is clean & sterile. We use Young Living Essential Oils Thieves Cleaner, E-Cloth anti-bacterial & anti-microbial cleaning cloths, & UV-C sterilization lights & run Thieves oil in our diffusers throughout the day to keep our place sanitized.
My massage approach is meticulous as well, as I treat each layer of soft tissue starting with the fascia. The #1 cause of chronic pain is fascial restrictions that limit the muscular range of motion causing the body to adapt to the dysfunction. Then, I flush the muscle trash out of the muscles allowing fresh blood to circulate. Finally, I use a technique that activates the muscle’s memory cells with passive range of motion & massage together. I call it “The Onion Approach.” Layer by layer we free up tension & restrictions without torturous pain to restore your body’s mobility again!
Pricing:
- $65-$75 60 Minute Massage
- $100-$115 90 Minute Massage
- $75-$85 60 Minute Signature Facial
- $90-$100 Hydro Facial
- $220 Spa Day Sampler Package: 30 min Soak, 10 min Salt, 60 min Massage, 60 min Signature Facial, & Paraffin Wax Treatment for Hands & Feet
Contact Info:
- Email: sarah@abovebeyondwellness.com
- Website: https://www.abovebeyondwellness.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/above_and_beyond_wellness
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/aboveandbeyondwellness
- Yelp: https://biz.yelp.com/home/tDsE5g3xtpwaoXzJNE5TjQ/
