Meet Brandi Kaepplinger | Massage Therapist, Entrepreneur

We had the good fortune of connecting with Brandi Kaepplinger and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Brandi, can you talk to us a bit about the social impact of your business?
Wildflower Wellness is a business that emphasizes safe, ethical, therapeutic massage therapy. My first and last goal for every client we see a Wildflower Wellness is to create a safe space for healing and injury prevention. I have seen first-hand how devastating chronic pain can be for people and their families, mine included. Sometimes, the pain can be caused by injury, stress or anxiety. It can even be caused by a physical manifestation of depression. Pain is different for everyone experiencing it and it’s our job to address it and create a plan to prevent injury and maintain wellness that is unique to each client. My hope is that we can be a part of the changing face of healthcare and preventative health care. It’s all too often that massage is seen as something trite or extravagant instead of a legitimate therapy. It will take time and effort. We are here for it! It’s time for a change. Less and less people want to undergo surgery, receive steroid injections, or use opioids to manage their pain. While we in no way, claim to be a substitute for a doctor’s care, we do know that those options aren’t for everyone. We strive to offer a different approach in healing and pain management where so many are told that they might just have to live with the pain for the rest of their lives. That’s not a mindset I’ll ever accept for a client searching for a way out of their pain.

Can you give our readers an introduction to your business? Maybe you can share a bit about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
The Wildflower is a perfect representation of the spirit of my brand. The struggling working mom who goes to back to school, changes her career, changes her life, and builds a legacy for her daughters. The wildflower is a totem for resilience, courage, strength, and a nourishing presence in the lives of everyone who comes across it. Since the beginning, I have been Wildflower Wellness. It began as a clinical massage therapy business and is now blossoming into a well rounded, multi modality, holistic wellness center.
What has set me a part is my passion and dedication to my client’s wellness. I love talking about anatomy and investigating injury pathology for each client. I do my research if I am not sure, I refer out if we need other types of intervention, I communicate clearly and respectfully about what my objective observations are, and I give homework, lots of homework.

Even before I started massage school, I knew that my goal was to work for myself as a clinical massage therapist. I knew I had to “earn my keep” and learn as much as possible before I could have my own successful business. So, I finished night school as a working mom of two, quit my day job and started working at a chiropractic and massage office called “Back to Basics” in midtown. I am so grateful for this experience because I worked harder than I ever have before, and quickly realized I was on the right path. It’s where I found my voice as a clinical massage therapist.

Even while working and mothering, I was still passionate about setting up Wildflower Wellness. The first several months, I quickly realized how much time and effort it would take just to get people to know I was there. Maintaining clientele for me has always been easy for me. Gaining clientele is a different matter entirely. This was arguably, the most difficult hump to get over. Building a solid reputation for a business is everything and it’s the best thing I have done for my business. It takes time and a lot more patience than I ever thought. I finally, went to other small businesses nearby, including Memorial Tattoo, and offered a discount to them. It was this type of marketing that sparked a revolution for my business’ validity and growth. Now all of my marketing, is by word of mouth. That is the best place to be because clients are more likely to trust their friend’s referral over an ad.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
Atlanta has the most amazing nature walks like blue heron nature preserve, the doll head trail, and sweet water creek are all amazing. I also love visiting Future Perfect for Reiki, The Rosefinch Spa for facials , Memorial Tattoo for quality work and awesome people, and Empire arts Gallery for fine art, tattoos and the boutique.

That’s why I love Atlanta, there are treasure’s everywhere you look and places you might not have ever thought to find yourself.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
My shoutout, is to my amazingly hardworking maven of a mother, Teresa Cole the founder and director of The Willow School. A school that emphasizes the unique and amazing ways young children learn and play. Creating a foundation for what it means to care for and raise young citizens of the world. She’s an inspiration every day!

Website: www.wildflowerwellnessatl.com

Instagram: wildflower_wellness_atlanta

Other: www.vagaro.com/wildflowerwellnessatl