How to make more money without raising your base rates.

[Shayy <3]

If you are like me, you will come to a point when you don't want to raise your rates for whatever reason, but you want to earn more money. How do you do it?

You have a monthly special. Develop a treatment plan which will fit into your most frequent time slots. In my case, 60 and 90 minute sessions. Set a regular price which will seem a bit high for these sessions. I recommend $15 to $20 more. Then, rotate them on a monthly basis and sell them for half off. Tell your clients this particular session is only $10 more than their regular session, would they like to try it for only $10 more?

$10 more sounds better than $75, so keep it simple and just say what the bump up price is.

If you get in 100 sessions a month and 25% take you up on your offer, you have made an extra $3000 a year. If 50% of your clients take you up on it you will have made $6000. That's like getting paid for an extra month of work, but not working much harder to earn it.

This way, you make more and your clients don't quite feel the pinch of a rate increase at all or as frequently. You are happy, your clients are happy, and your wallet is happy.

 

[Danielle K]

Not sure I understand. Could you elaborate with specifics? If you develop a treatment plan, why not just add it to your menu at a fair price rather than at an inflated price which you then discount by 50% from time to time? If a client then pays the half price, will they ever pay a fair price for this treatment? Much less the inflated price?

Please clarify, thanks.

 

[Dead Parrot Society]

there is only like 3 ways to make increase profit in any business.
1. pricing increase.
2. numbers game. meaning having more appointments. frequent client visits.
3. add on sales. charge extra for specialized services or sell products.

that's it. you just have to figure out how to encourage those areas. if you don't want price increase, then focus on more appointments or add on sales.
some of the ways to increase visits is to give a free massage for X amount of referrals. if your learning new bodywork style techniques, you can do intro prices or free for anyone who do X number of massages. Or free 15 minutes of new technique to let your regulars try it out. then they will tell everyone about it if they like it. possibility is to do packages of 6 massages with discount. they pay you ahead of time for the massages and you can use that for whatever needs.
maybe charging 10% less for weekday daytime massages when most people at work. keep things simple. playing with number tricks will confuse clients.

and always have a referral system set up. service business survive and thrive on it. why? save you lots of money on marketing. let you clients market you.

many business tend to only focus on price increase or pay workers low wage if they hire someone. they don't think about #2 or #3.

 

[canizzy_123]

Sorry to burst your bubble, but few business rely on price increases or exploiting workers to increase profits.

Volume increase is the #1 way to increase profits. Why? Because it contributes to both fixed and variable costs.

Gaining volume by discounting does little more than cover variable costs and does not have long term profit impact. It will, however have short term cash flow impact, which is very different than profits.

Price increases would be #2 most successful since you have to account for attrition for those price sensitive. Price increases also work best after you have done #1, when you have an even broader customer base.

Expanding into other services/products is tricky. They usually do not have the same profit margins or volume potential, so their impact is not as great.

But you forgot a very important way to increase profits -- reduce costs, and not just by exploiting your workers. For most MTs - who do not have workers to exploit - cutting unproductive marketing expenses, getting lower CC processing fees, moving to a lower rent space, etc all have strong and permanent impact. Lower rent is lower every month you occupy the new space vs. the old.

Only problem with cost cutting is you can only go so far, and no business ever cost-cut itself to greatness.

 

[luv_yuu_4eva]

Only problem with cost cutting is you can only go so far, and no business ever cost-cut itself to greatness.

Walmart?

/joke

 

[SLipknOT FTW]

Close. No one reduces operating costs and cost of good sold better than Sam's gang.

But Wal-Mart turns most of those cost savings into lower prices for their customers, so they are really in the volume game. Their profit margin (%) is in line with other big box retailers, but they crank it through which adds up to lots of $$ and a more efficient use of their investment (capital) than most retailers.

 

[HotZone]

We are talking about bodywork service business not product business here R&R.
And I guess you don't know that most spa business rely on exploiting workers here in SF and low pay. Also the price is hype up in spas with major city like SF. I guess it's different for you in your city. Anyways, that is another topic than what was asked.

product business is totally different from service business. that's why many business fail. they try to run a product business model on a service business.

 

[neale]

there is only like 3 ways to make increase profit in any business.
1. pricing increase.
2. numbers game. meaning having more appointments. frequent client visits.
3. add on sales. charge extra for specialized services or sell products.

We are talking about bodywork service business not product business here

Most profit for high end spas comes from product sales - retail is a HUGE area for profit where there are skin treatments concerned. Spas have a much higher profit margin on retail sales than from services - bodywork or facial. Basic beauty salon recommendation is whatever they spend on service you should be able to retail to them, bit harder with body services, but not impossible with skin treatments. Spas are a product business. the investment in the environment and the product lines is much greater than any investment made in therapists.

Same goes for pretty well any retail business, and most other businesses, million dollar mining equipment, wages are anothing compared to that outlay, irrigation for orchards, wages for fruit pickers are minimal, happens in any industry, massage therapists are not unusual. The only difference is that the general public think massage therapists are paid a lot because they don't know one personally. Everyone knows your average hairdresser/skin therapist is paid a pittance, plumbers get a great hourly rate, they know someone that knows someone that makes that kind of money. Massage therapy is still a fairly new 'profession', hardly anyone knows anyone that makes a living from it, so the general public think you get paid $100 per hr because that is what the spa charges, and it's good pay. So people go to massage school expect $100 per hour, graduate, get hit by reality and complain how unfair it is.......

 

[Shayy <3]

We are talking about bodywork service business not product business here R&R.

Thanks for clearing that up, I thought I was posting in the Widget Manufacturing Forum.

Since service and product businesses could not possibly have ANYTHING in common, I suppose every poster needs to go back and erase any references to Massage Envy being like WalMart. The fact is, Massage Envy is very much like WalMart - using lower costs to offer lower prices to drive volume.

And I guess you don't know that most spa business rely on exploiting workers here in SF and low pay. Also the price is hype up in spas with major city like SF. I guess it's different for you in your city. .

You are right. SF is only our 2nd largest market nationwide, accounting for 20% of our sales, but since I think this is a product business, I must have no idea about therapist wages in that market.

Did it ever occur to you that the fact you can get a massage permit in SF with only 125 hours of training has anything to do with the low wages? The easier to join the profession, the more people that will try to be MTs and the lower the prevailing wage. NY requires 1000 hours, and the cost of living is comparable to SF, yet MTs in NYC make considerably more per hour. But I must not know anything about NYC because I only do business there and don't live there.

"Price hype" - which I suspect you mean "over priced services relative to therapist pay" - are not the sole domain of large cities. Our spa in Charlottesville VA, population 50,000, starts massages at $90

 

[MadMan]

lol, most people in SF has more than 125hrs. even those that have over 1000 hrs still get screwed. and hours don't mean anything. it's the therapist. you can get a phd, and you still suck in your skills.
for example. many people doing bodywork in SF have college degrees and over 500 hrs addition of bodywork. it's the spa industry that exploit. many more mess up one than good ones.
most spa follow the same model so yes there is price hype. no one expect 100/hr pay in massage except for clinical type. the schools hype that up.
and run like a factory. yes, go ahead and run your business like massage envy. guess you don't know every therapist hates how massage envy treat therapist. no wonder no one respect you. u exploit like massage envy since you agree with their way of business.

the wage is low due to poor therapist out there. too much. yet, those that have skills business folks not willing to pay them. they lump the good therapist into the poor therapist and general treat them the same. and not to mention most spas follow suit to other spa's pay. if they see other place pay therapist low, they too think they can do same for their place.

and yes, spa is a product business. the therapist side is a service business. that is why you folks funning the business don't know much and exploit service workers by way of using product business model on therapist. you folks just don't know the discrimination that is in the field. why? cuz you on the other side. learn to do a massage and actually work as a massage therapist and you will understand.

price hype is price relative to value of service. since spa massage are pampering focus , it's overcharged. just cuz of the spa name, they can charge higher.

and you two are morons. why? because mr.jacobson was asking about massage service. you and melb just love to nitpick and fight in this forum.

 

[Bob Smith]

Lets act like grown ups and not resort to name calling here.

 

[Starz]

Please remember that personal attacks are not appropriate in this forum and will not be tolerated.

 

[Peter B]

Hi Sillypup,

Come on relax and take a chill pill. Why are you so angry and fighting with everyone? This forum is very useful so don't go getting yourself barred.

 

[LADii T]

Whether or not you agree with R&R's business model, if you look at their website, you will see that they actually compensate their therapists pretty well. That includes both actual pay AND something almost unheard of in this industry- health benefits, vacation, and a few other benefits if I recall correctly.

So stop the name calling. If there is an argument with the post or the idea that is fine. Those debates often lead to interesting exchanges. But calling people names is not going to win any points.

 

[Lea Lea]

I'm not the one who start belittling other's post. And I'm not angry or start fight with everyone. I'm just standing my ground to not be bully by those that belittle my post by nitpicking them. I find that unconstructive and so do many others. You can give your views in response to other's post without using their quotes and slamming their character through condescending remarks.

I have a right to stand up for myself. Warning should be given to those that belittle other's post not me. When someone attack your post in condescending way, its like a personal psychic attack. I'm just defending myself. Any person with a heart understand where I'm coming from. I looked in the mirror and I was in no way wrong in my post other then responding back to defend myself in a harsh way. I'm sure anyone would defend themselves too.

I don't need a chill pill. I'm pretty relax. Thanks for you concern ukgal99.

yes, arguments are fine but giving condescending remarks to other's post is a personal attack. R&R may run her business well and pay therapist well, but the majority of the business in this field don't. I can understand that she don't agree with such statements and felt offended and attack such statements, however, she can't speak for the business that are corrupt. they exist and should be made aware to more therapist so they can stand up to such discrimination. No one was attacking R&R, she took it personally and attack the post in descending way if it don't fit her principle. I've seen it in other post as well toward other posters.

 

[larry141094]

and you two are morons.

Oh please, name calling is ridiculous, this is getting laughable. If you really consider a post on a message board is "like a personal psychic attack" if it doesn't allign with your post, it might be time to reconsider posting on a public forum. It's a message board!!!!!!!!! So far I am not feeling at all bashed by your posts where you say you are bashing back. They've been verging on laughable, I'm not feeling attacked, I may be rolling my eyes, but that's about the biggest response so far.

why? because mr.jacobson was asking about massage service. you and melb just love to nitpick and fight in this forum.

mr.jacobsone? Do you mean m.jacobson the original poster of this thread? You could at least show someone enough respect to get their profile correct, otherwise they may take it as a personal slight.
m.jacobson did ask about massage services, not product sales. You yourself brought up the matter of product sales (which was why I quoted it previously), not m.jacobson. A message board is not made up of replies directly to the original post, it is replies to the original post and other posts that have made points, what you term as nitpicking. If someone wants to ignore 4 pages of replies and repeat what people have said in other replies because they only reply to the original post, that would be fairly moronic behaviour, but it doesn't make them a moron.

I'm confused by references to you two, they bash, they nitpick, they this, they that. which they do you mean? I don't know if you suddenly have correctly started calling R&R they and then reverting back to she, or they means R&R and melb and/or some other poster.

that is why you folks funning the business don't know much and exploit service workers by way of using product business model on therapist. you folks just don't know the discrimination that is in the field. why? cuz you on the other side. learn to do a massage and actually work as a massage therapist and you will understand

. Which you is that? R&R or R&R and melb and/or someone else? Funning the buisiness? funding? running? some colloquial term for laughing all the way to the bank? Yes it's nitpicking, but I don't understand the word.

 

[Emily W]

spas

Hi, sorry for going off track, but the subject of spa's came up and it interests me if spas are the same in the U.S as they are in Europe. The problem with getting a quality massage therapy in a spa here is that the staff are trained in facials, skin care and massage last as an afterthought. Massage is hard work if done correctly and I don't think the spa personal are quite cut out for the sweat over the brow. Make up could run down into their eyes maybe? I don't know.

 

[Wilfred]

Yes, same problem, worldwide I think, though I would've expected less of a problem in Europe where there is such a long tradtion of spa therapies. Maybe they're going more day spa/beauty therapy where the glitz is?

I think a lot of places will have beauty therapists doing massage, they're usually resentful about it because it is much more work than doing a facial, and their training in massage is usually limited, BUT they are usually cheaper and less complaining that MTs that feel like they are being ripped off.

Some spas employ MTs so they can offer more specialised modalities and techniques - eg not too many beauty schools teaching Hawaiian lom lomi, and that would look like way too much work for the average skin therapist.

Knowing spa and/or skin therapies can make life much easier for an MT - much less taxing on the body, more chances to sit down (though some have perfected sit down massaging on a stool with wheels) but it often pays less than massage. Beauty therapy is notorious for low wages, so spa work is notorious for low wages, but it saves the body. A lot of MTs don't give that any value and won't lower themsleves to work at that level. So the spas are left with the beauty therapists that aren't interested in massage - no wonder a spa massage is often less than the best massage ever. Most spas do more facial treatments than body treatments, so even if they do employee some MTs, there is a chance of getting a beauty therapist for a massage .

 

[Gayle]

To Melb

Thank you, Melb.

I've often wondered about that. I hear in Russia the quality of spas is better (Can't back up if true or not) but I agree, must be a world wide thing. I guess it's all relevent to how much effort put in to how many rewards can be taken out.

Good

 

[Scocasso !]

whatever melb. your clueless to what actually happened. all you look at is content and not context, the whole picture. Guess some people are not aware of certain things. if you don't know that someone can do psychic attack with their post , you've yet to learn about intent and energetics as well as the many ways of communication. I'll just leave it at that since your awareness sensitivity skill isn't there as well as heart if you don't understand such concept of degrading other people on post forum. =o)

I wonder why moderators say no personal attack on this forum? hmmm maybe cause you can attack someone. guess it don't exist in your world of australia. All these past post has nothing to do with you, you just like to join in to stir the pot.

No need to reply as anything you reply with is not relevant anymore. I've already got my message across that condescending remarks on people's post is disrespectful attack and i'm sure many people with heart agree with my view.