2008 Small Business of the Year Finalist: Professional Massage Training Center Inc.

Employees: 15 (full-time equivalents)

Juliet Mee started her business out of necessity, but she didn’t intend for it to become what it is today.

As a massage therapist in private practice, when she sought to hire some help, Mee wanted to make sure the people she hired could perform to her standards.

Rather than taking a risk with other training options, she created her own, opening Professional Massage Training Center Inc. in 1994.

“It was just easiest for us to go ahead and train our own people,” Mee said, noting that she figured that she’d only train a few people to work in her business.

The nearly 15-year-old company just graduated its 50th class.

“It just ended up taking on a life of its own,” Mee said.

The number of graduating classes at the school each year varies, Mee said, from one to as many as six, depending on student demand.

Class size is usually around 15, she said, but she declined to disclose tuition rates.

The center is certified through the state of Missouri and accredited by the Accrediting Commission of Career Schools and Colleges of Technology.

“We’re developing the whole practice of massage therapy to be a true profession,” Mee said. “It kind of used to be a cottage industry, and now it’s much more … we’re licensed as health care providers.”