Beginning Again: The Long Road to Luminosa

A Dream Takes Shape

Not long after I finished my massage course in Belgium, I travelled to New Zealand to gain work experience. After a few days looking for work, I received a call to work at Natural Health, a health center in Hanmer Springs, where I worked for a year. The center was run by a couple who inspired me. They ran their own private practice at their beautiful home in a quiet town while they also ran their health center in Hanmer, where lots of tourists came. What intrigued me was how financially free they were. Throughout the year, they went on short holidays quite often while someone else, me, kept their health center running.

Since then, I have dreamed of having my own independent massage practice because it would allow me to follow my bliss. I would be my own boss, doing work I love, choosing how and when to do it in a way that feels true. I also hoped, financially, I could move beyond living paycheck to paycheck.

I think the idea of being an owner shaped Luminosa in that this responsibility came with the freedom to build the practice, the brand, and the clientele according to my own vision.

Starting, stopping, starting again

After my travels, I moved to the Netherlands, where I moved three times in five years. During those years, I made several attempts to establish my own massage practice. Each time, I only had a handful of clients a year, and I eventually closed the practice and moved on.

Looking back, I realize that I was trying to build something lasting during a period when very little in my own life felt settled. Financial uncertainty and personal challenges made it difficult to give my practice the attention and continuity it needed.

Yet the desire to work independently never really disappeared. Even after closing those earlier practices, I kept returning to the idea.

Learning what the work asks of me

I think those earlier attempts to build an independent practice taught me grit. I still wanted to realize the dream, despite those failed attempts. Entrepreneurship is about reinventing yourself when you meet setbacks and failure. It goes back to your why. For me, my why revealed itself before I took my first massage course.

The moment I realized that massage therapy was part of my mission, I was lying face down on a massage table, receiving a wonderful lomi lomi massage. Through the skillful hands and loving hearts of massage therapists, massage became part of my healing during a difficult period of my life. It gave me moments of peace in my body, my mind, and my heart.

Another thing I learned is that I used to be a bit rigid or close-minded. For example, many years ago, a mentor recommended that I try mobile massage. But, clinging to a single perception of how to do things, I dismissed his advice and said, “No, that’s not my style.” And now, this is what I do. I travel to people’s homes and apartments to offer them massage therapy. I had to let go of my assumptions about what an independent practice had to look like.

I also learned the hard way that not everyone who presents themselves as professional has your best interests at heart. As a young, inexperienced entrepreneur, I entered agreements too quickly and paid for that financially. Since then, I have become much more careful about contracts and about who I choose to work with.

Letting Luminosa grow slowly

This year, I started developing my signature massage, a slow-flow treatment. I also moved to Knokke, which is a great location to offer my services.

There are moments when I wish Luminosa were growing faster. But perhaps slower growth isn't necessarily a disadvantage.

Alongside Luminosa, I'm pursuing my bachelor's degree, developing Work of Belonging and investing in my poetry. These aren't distractions from the life I'm trying to build. They're part of it.

I once imagined entrepreneurship primarily as a path towards financial independence and freedom. Those aspirations haven't disappeared, but my understanding of freedom is changing.

I want to create a practice that reflects who I am, allows me to continue learning, and gives me the opportunity to offer something meaningful to others. And perhaps there's something valuable about allowing it to grow slowly.

After all, I wouldn't want Luminosa to outgrow me.