Miss-Delectable
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St. Cloud Times | Jobs/Growth
Armed with a Sidekick smart phone and a laptop, Nik Dillman doesn't take appointments for his massage business by telephone. Instead, clients contact him via his e-mail address — psycrow79@tmail.com — a mailbox he checks every half-hour daily.
Communication via phone is almost impossible for Dillman, who is deaf.
But his disability hasn't stopped the 28-year-old St. Cloud man from becoming a budding entrepreneur.
In January, Dillman opened Silent Hands Massage Therapy, specializing in Swedish, full-body and deep-tissue massage, at 1320-32nd Ave. N.
Learning early
When he was 3 years old, Dillman's hearing started fading. He has learned to speak and makes accommodation for his deafness by using sign language and reading lips. In certain situations, he uses an interpreter.
His father and one of his brothers also have hearing impairments.
"I accepted at a very young age that I was going to be deaf," Dillman said.
However, as much as Dillman was comfortable with his deafness, it didn't stop elementary school classmates from making fun of him.
Bundled with attention deficit disorder, Dillman said he was taunted because of his deafness and high energy.
"I just wanted to run around and play all the time," Dillman said.
Discovering a gift
Dillman didn't know the key to his future was in his hands. He had been an amateur masseuse during his childhood and young adulthood, rubbing his mother's back or offering to ease the stress in athletes' shoulders and arms during high school.
After graduating from the Minnesota State Academy for the Deaf in Faribault, he tried pursuing other career paths such teaching or working with computers.
In 2003, with the encouragement of his family, he enrolled in Sister Rosalind Schools & Clinics of Massage, using interpreters to help get through the curriculum.
"I believe my massage was a gift," Dillman said. "I believe that it was something that I was meant to do."
After his certification, Dillman worked with an area spa. The thought of opening his own massage business was years down the road.
However, when the possibility of leasing a massage office property in north St. Cloud arose last year, Dillman took it.
He worked with a representative from the local Small Business Development Center to develop a long-term business plan.
Dillman used e-mail to communicate with his business adviser without help of an interpreter.
"I'm very proud that he was able to follow through with his desire and the field that he's passionate about," said his mother, Eve Dillman."I really encouraged him to go into massage therapy because he was good about it. He's always doing things not expected."
A business project
To run his business, Dillman makes sure his clients are aware of his deafness. He asks newcomers to fill out a sheet about themselves. At the top of the sheet is a note stating Dillman is deaf.
Dillman also concocted a thumbs up and thumbs down system for clients during the massage session to communicate pressure preferences.
He plans to install a phone that uses a video relay service that connects Dillman with clients by having a third party interpret for him through the phone using video equipment.
Dillman said he doesn't see his deafness as a hindrance to his profession. It might be a benefit because he encourages clients to their own music to play during the massage, whether it be hip-hop, classical or country.
"I'm happy being deaf," Dillman said. "There's a reason I'm deaf. I don't know why, but I'm happy being who I am."
Armed with a Sidekick smart phone and a laptop, Nik Dillman doesn't take appointments for his massage business by telephone. Instead, clients contact him via his e-mail address — psycrow79@tmail.com — a mailbox he checks every half-hour daily.
Communication via phone is almost impossible for Dillman, who is deaf.
But his disability hasn't stopped the 28-year-old St. Cloud man from becoming a budding entrepreneur.
In January, Dillman opened Silent Hands Massage Therapy, specializing in Swedish, full-body and deep-tissue massage, at 1320-32nd Ave. N.
Learning early
When he was 3 years old, Dillman's hearing started fading. He has learned to speak and makes accommodation for his deafness by using sign language and reading lips. In certain situations, he uses an interpreter.
His father and one of his brothers also have hearing impairments.
"I accepted at a very young age that I was going to be deaf," Dillman said.
However, as much as Dillman was comfortable with his deafness, it didn't stop elementary school classmates from making fun of him.
Bundled with attention deficit disorder, Dillman said he was taunted because of his deafness and high energy.
"I just wanted to run around and play all the time," Dillman said.
Discovering a gift
Dillman didn't know the key to his future was in his hands. He had been an amateur masseuse during his childhood and young adulthood, rubbing his mother's back or offering to ease the stress in athletes' shoulders and arms during high school.
After graduating from the Minnesota State Academy for the Deaf in Faribault, he tried pursuing other career paths such teaching or working with computers.
In 2003, with the encouragement of his family, he enrolled in Sister Rosalind Schools & Clinics of Massage, using interpreters to help get through the curriculum.
"I believe my massage was a gift," Dillman said. "I believe that it was something that I was meant to do."
After his certification, Dillman worked with an area spa. The thought of opening his own massage business was years down the road.
However, when the possibility of leasing a massage office property in north St. Cloud arose last year, Dillman took it.
He worked with a representative from the local Small Business Development Center to develop a long-term business plan.
Dillman used e-mail to communicate with his business adviser without help of an interpreter.
"I'm very proud that he was able to follow through with his desire and the field that he's passionate about," said his mother, Eve Dillman."I really encouraged him to go into massage therapy because he was good about it. He's always doing things not expected."
A business project
To run his business, Dillman makes sure his clients are aware of his deafness. He asks newcomers to fill out a sheet about themselves. At the top of the sheet is a note stating Dillman is deaf.
Dillman also concocted a thumbs up and thumbs down system for clients during the massage session to communicate pressure preferences.
He plans to install a phone that uses a video relay service that connects Dillman with clients by having a third party interpret for him through the phone using video equipment.
Dillman said he doesn't see his deafness as a hindrance to his profession. It might be a benefit because he encourages clients to their own music to play during the massage, whether it be hip-hop, classical or country.
"I'm happy being deaf," Dillman said. "There's a reason I'm deaf. I don't know why, but I'm happy being who I am."
That's funny... I'd rather listen to soothy-smooth music while being massaged or massaging the others... Maybe like jazz without lyrics and 80s music but to each their own. 