My Biz: Business works toward balance, for customers and staff

Name: Wahneta Dimmer, Owner

Company: Hands in Harmony

Address: 1615 32nd St. NE and 4333 Czech Lane NE, Suite 84, both in Cedar Rapids; and 104 First St. SW, Mt. Vernon

Phone: (319) 366-5454

Website: www.myhih.com

Elevator pitch: “It's not just for Valentine's Day.”

CEDAR RAPIDS - The goal at Hands in Harmony is balance.

When Wahneta Dimmer opened her business in 2006, her plan was to create a work space where like-minded holistic healers and trained therapists could work together to bring physical and emotional balance to their clients' lives, while achieving that same combination for themselves.

“Ninety-eight percent of my therapists are independent contractors,” Dimmer said. “It's part of my whole philosophy.

“I want them to come here to work because they want to come here, not because they have to punch a time clock. I've worked to create a space for them to be who they are supposed to be.”

Hands in Harmony offers 16 different types of massage therapy, from pregnancy to orthopedic and sports needs, from Ashiatsu barefoot massage to lymphatic drainage therapy.

Also available are Reiki sessions, both Usui and Karuna, along with a list of treatments that include facials, waxing, body treatments, body wraps, manicures and pedicures.

The company boasts 12 staff members, another 12 therapists who rotate in and out and a support staff of 6.

Dimmer, a native of Wisconsin and graduate of Luther College, completed her training at Carlson College of Massage in Stone City in 2000. In addition to running her business she also teaches for Carlson and serves as a teaching assistant for the Upledger Institute in Des Moines, a school for light-touch therapy education and training.

She is licensed in the state of Iowa, nationally certified and a member of the American Massage Therapy Association.

Dimmer stressed that continuing education and improvement is important not only for her, but for the therapists who work in her spas.

“Two of my people are in yoga training right now, and one of my staff members just underwent the Reiki instruction training for her own personal benefit and understanding,” she noted.

Hands in Harmony has brought something new to the area - couples massage.

“It's not just for Valentine's Day,” she said. “People get so busy with business and kids and all that that they don't have time to sit and look each other in the eye, much less from a heart-center perspective.

“With a couples massage they can come in, get the massage (which uses two tables and two therapists in the same room), use the hot tub and then go out to dinner together, relaxed back down to who they are at their core.”

Do you know a manager or owner whose company has been in operation for at least a year who should be considered for “My Biz”? Contact business editor Michael Chevy Castranova at michael.castranova@sourcemedia.net.

The Gazette also is seeking entrepreneurs for “From the Ground Up,” a new feature to focus on startups. Send your suggestions to michael.castranova@sourcemedia.net.