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Meet Tamara Buchanan

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Today we’d like to introduce you to Tamara Buchanan.

Tamara, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
I grew up in Chandler, AZ (I am an AZ Native) and had a curiosity for massage therapy growing up from when my grandmother would do Reflexology on my feet when I was little and on into my adult life. I married very young and had three children by the time I was 22 years old. We moved out to the outskirts of Maricopa in the year 2002, and my dream of becoming a massage therapist seemed to fall further and further away from becoming a reality. As my kids got older and after a messy divorce in 2009, I was a single mom with a full-time office job trying to pay my bills and raise my kids the best that I could. I was miserable sitting at a desk in front of a computer all day. My self-esteem was pretty much non-existent at this point in my life after being in a very controlling marriage for 13 years.

I met my new husband in 2011 and we both found a passion for Recovery, and also for Jesus Christ. I dove into Christianity and once my faith started growing my self-esteem did as well. In 2012, I decided to enroll in a massage therapy school that offered night courses. It would take a year to get my license. One year of working during the day and going to school at night with clinicals on the weekends. It was definitely the most difficult year of my life but also the most rewarding.

I worked for a day spa straight out of school, as well as for a chiropractor and a fitness center briefly. In August of 2014, I decided to throw out a very affordable massage special on the Facebook community pages in my area and within two weeks, I had so many potential clients contacting me about getting appointments that I had to quit my job. It was amazing. That was over five years ago and my schedule has stayed extremely busy since day one. I have recently added spray tanning to my services, just to add some variety to what I do and I love it!

I fully believe that God has something to do with my business flourishing as it has. I have had some amazing interactions with people since starting my own business. I have beautiful opportunities to talk about my experiences with those who needed hope or were struggling. I love what I do and feel extremely blessed that this is my job.

My husband is a law enforcement officer and we have two boys that are in the United States Marine Corps, so our family has a very interesting dynamic to it. We also have a son that is married and working as an engineer for Ford out in Michigan, and a daughter who is married and successful. We are truly blessed. My husband and I are also the leaders of a Celebrate Recovery ministry at our church in Casa Grande. Thank you for letting me share my story!

Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
My challenges with owning my own business have been pretty smooth. I enjoy being a small business owner and I have fun with it. My only real struggles have been my mentality, thinking I couldn’t do this and I didn’t deserve to be successful in the beginning. I also ended up breaking my foot about a year into starting my own business, and I had to push back two months’ worth of appointments. Most of my clients ended up staying, but some left.

Please tell us about your business.
I have a beautiful spa room set up inside of my home, with its own bathroom. It is the perfect setup. It is a very relaxing and peaceful atmosphere. I am proud of my family for their sacrifices and for all they did to help my dream become a reality. I pride myself on running a successful business where I truly care about every single person that walks through my door. I also love to pray silently for my clients during their session and I treat everyone with love and respect. I recently started spray tanning as well and enjoy the added variety to what I can offer my clients.

Do you look back particularly fondly on any memories from childhood?
My favorite memories as a child always revolve around Christmas time. My parents would always make Christmas so special and did things to make us think Santa had been to our house. It was such a magical time and I remember feeling such joy with all of the lights and decorations.

Pricing:

  • 60 minute massage $60
  • 90 minute massage $80
  • Spray Tan $30 (Just recently added this service)
  • 60 minute Hot Stone Massage $80
  • 90 minute Hot Stone Massage $100

Contact Info:

Image Credit:
Mako School & Sports Photography
Dawniele Castellanos

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