Rachel Protasiewicz @ mlive.com, April 24, 2008
After earning his diploma from the Flint School of Therapeutic Massage nearly eight years ago, Bernie Kissame decided to promote his massage therapy practice by building another business around it. Kissame, a life-long Auburn resident, thought about the local video rental store that had closed its doors. "I saw a void in town that wasn't currently being filled," he said. Kissame decided to recreate the video rental store and theorized it would bring in traffic that would, in turn, flow into his massage practice. From there, his business ventures continued to grow. In addition to his 22-year-old mobile disc jockey service New Horizons, Kissame expanded the video store, Superstar Video, to include an Alltel mobile phone dealership and changed the name to Superstar Video and Wireless. His massage practice has grown into a full salon called Absolute Harmony. The tight economy has meant fewer holiday season gigs for his disc jockeying, but one of his businesses has been affected more than any of the others. "It seems like massage therapy takes the most hit when the economy takes a downturn," he said. Kissame partly attributes the thump to health insurance companies. Therapeutic massage is an alternative to chiropractic services, he said, but most health insurance companies cover little to none of the expenses, while chiropractic visits may be covered up to 100 percent. Read the whole story.