It takes a little while to get the knots and kinks out of out of any new business - but luckily for Aravada Massage, there is a staff of nearly 20 trained masseuses to help.

Aravada Massage is a 3,000 square foot massage clinic located at Lakeville Crossings Shopping Center at the intersection of Cedar Avenue and 160th Street. The 11-room facility was opened April 12, but had its official grand opening Nov. 16. Chris Sandford owns Aravada, along with his wife, Deann.

"What makes us different than any other massage therapy clinic is that we're trying to make massage convenient and affordable, so that more people can take advantage of it more often," Sandford said. "When you go to a traditional clinic, they charge you $65 and up just for an hour of massage. We find that there's no correlation between the quality of the massage and the price that you pay for it."

Massage is the only service that Aravada provides. They are open seven days a week, and offer an introductory massage for $39.95. There is the option to purchase membership at the clinic, which allows for more massages at a lower price.

"There's plenty of time, as far as convenience for a person's schedule to fit in a massage," Sandford said. "And as far as our pricing goes, we are second to none."

The Lakeville location is Aravada's first. Sandford said he intends to start two more clinics in the Twin Cities area, and to proceed from there as success allows.

"We think it's the right business at the right time," Sandford said. "I'm an airline pilot for Pinnacle Airlines, which is one of the regional airlines in the Cities. The airline industry has been anything but good to me in the 15-plus years I've been a pilot. So, we just thought that we were tired of working for other people and that we wanted to work for ourselves. We're taking a gamble, and by making it affordable, we're hoping that it does well."

Different clients have different routines - some come in infrequently, and others have come in as much as twice a day. Sandford said he is trying to encourage people come to come a few times a month.

"Most people don't get a massage unless they get gift certificate or something like that," he said. "We've had some great response - people are very happy. It's massage - we're there to make people feel good."

In addition to being licensed to work in the city of Lakeville, all of the massage therapists at Aravada are certified by the American Massage Therapy Association. With the size of the clinic, Sandford hopes to eventually have a staff of 30 to 40 people when the facility is going "full steam."

Part of the profits from the grand opening were donated to Faith's Lodge, which is a new charity that helps children with serious illnesses and their parents. Picking Faith's Lodge was a simple choice, according to Sandford.

"They are brand new and we are brand new - and when we did our grand opening, we didn't want to do a grand opening for ourselves," he explained. "We just thought that would be kind of selfish, and it would be a great opportunity to help someone else out as well."

Faith's Lodge is a retreat that is scheduled to open in the summer of 2007 on the Minnesota/Wisconsin border. Parents and families who have a child with a serious illness or who have experienced the recent loss of a child will use the retreat.

"They bought a very big piece of property, and they are building this lodge for families," Sandford said. "It's for them to relax, get away from everything and try to regroup from their loss. We thought that was a great idea."

This is the first time Sandford has owned a business, and he said it took some time to work out the bugs that inevitably occur with a new business. Originally, he thought the business would open and two weeks later, they would have a grand opening. Not quite.

"Here we are, seven months later, so I guess better late than never," he said, laughing. "We're finally in a position where we can do it right."

It's a strange experience to be your own boss. When his dreams of flying 747s to the Orient didn't take off, Sandford and his wife taxied down a different runway. Even now, he's getting used to the changes in inertia that come with owning a business.

"It ebbs and flows," Sandford said. "When you first start, you're very excited and you're making progress. And then there are the bad times, when you might have a therapist or two leave and you are trying to hire good people.

"Everything is going out and nothing is coming in. We're just now finding a groove. Our goal is to get to that first year, and I think we're doing fine."

Faith's Lodge is a retreat that is scheduled to open in the summer of 2007 on the Minnesota/Wisconsin border. Parents and families who have a child with a serious illness or who have experienced the recent loss of a child will use the retreat.

"They bought a very big piece of property, and they are building this lodge for families," Sandford said. "It's for them to relax, get away from everything and try to regroup from their loss. We thought that was a great idea."

This is the first time Sandford has owned a business, and he said it took some time to work out the bugs that inevitably occur with a new business. Originally, he thought the business would open and two weeks later, they would have a grand opening. Not quite.

"Here we are, seven months later, so I guess better late than never," he said, laughing. "We're finally in a position where we can do it right."

It's a strange experience to be your own boss. When his dreams of flying 747s to the Orient didn't take off, Sandford and his wife taxied down a different runway. Even now, he's getting used to the changes in inertia that come with owning a business.

"It ebbs and flows," Sandford said. "When you first start, you're very excited and you're making progress. And then there are the bad times, when you might have a therapist or two leave and you are trying to hire good people.

"Everything is going out and nothing is coming in. We're just now finding a groove. Our goal is to get to that first year, and I think we're doing fine."