Need some advice

[bowgie]

I'm newly licensed! Go me! And I'm starting to think about places to work.  Today I went to get my hair done and the owner/one of the hairdressers of the salon suggested that I rent the back room and start my business there.  On the one hand it would be a place where I can send clients, the hairdressers can refer clients to me, and it would be a chance to do some therapies other than just massage (hand and foot rituals, facials, stone massage etc.). I've always thought that I would want to do just pain management/RMIs and go more toward the medical aspect of it but.... I bore easily (ADD). I enjoy face to face talking time and I could do that if I did some spa therapies in with the massage. The rent is $125 a week, sounds high to me but I don't have enough experience to know if that is high or not. My schedule is my own. What is y'alls experience with salons vs. clinics?

 

[elaine1]

Congratulations Flying Hands!For someone who is just starting out with no clientile, $125/week will make you real broke, real fast!  Unless they can guarantee lots of referrals to you, and you have some kind of client base, or a healthy savings account, I'd be cautious.  It took me over a year of being out of school before I signed a contract to rent space.  I rent for $100/month or 30%, whichever is greater.  It's been $100 so far though, since I'm only building clientile at this point.This is only my opinion.  Maybe someone can offer better advice.    Take care, and have fun!  

 

[SKINQU3EN]

Need some advice

I would suggest asking if you can rent on a day to day basis until you build up your client numbers?

 

[shaybaby]

I whole-heartedly agree...$125 sounds like a lot to me.The owner of the space where I rent was able to convince me to take a space at $450 a  month by telling me that he has hundreds of people thru his doors daily and a data base of thousands of people. He said that many of his clients were so excited to start recieving massage at his location. Almost 6mo later and I'm hanging on by a string :-[It takes 2 clients per week to make the rent...but it takes many more than that to make the rest of life happen.Consider all possabilities..but never close a door that you can't re-open. :-*~Best of luck!!

 

[Pompal 09.]

Need some advice

You could ask to work on perceneforum.xxxe for the first 6 months, to get your feet firmly on the ground & then at that point, opt to go for the rent. In my area, $500 a month is not bad at all. If the salon is busy & a happy place, it could help you build your business nicely. Paying your rent weekly is easier, but on the other hand, do the math: 52 weeks x $125 versus $500 x 12. But, hey, they are the ones who put the offer on the table. Just get all your terms straightened out before you shake hands (sign, etc). There will still be kinks to work out, but you'll both have a solid foundation of terms to begin with.Jill/Sagetherapist

 

[theShinning]

Need some advice

To me, $125 sounds VERY expensive. Then again, I'm in an area that usually charges $90 - $100/week for rent. Try calling around to different salons that may be looking for a therapist and see what the average weekly/monthly rent is. You may find that the $125/week salon is more upscale and can supply you with more clients, ones who can afford your services, and can afford to keep coming back.

 

[M.O.A.B]

Need some advice

My husband brought up the fact that if I want to be considered a Massage Therapist as opposed to a Masseuse I'd be more legit in a clinical setting. So it basically boils down to image and what I want to project and what I want others to think of me.

 

[rurouni]

I rent at a salon ($300/month) that also has an esthetician on staff.  $125 may be difficult to cover.  My first few months I barely made the $300!  I thought many more clients would come from the salon than have.  But, over time as people see you more, get to know you and maybe experience a complementary quicky chair massage from you they will start trickling through.  You'll just need patience and some cash reserves.In terms of clients, I have been pleased to find that I have a nice mix of relaxation versus clinical clients.  It can certainly be a good thing to have a wide range of needs to keep it interesting and save your energy/strength plus the spa/salon setting allows you more freedom to offer add-on treatments to make extra $$ without much extra effort.  This is especially true with gift certificates.  People always want to buy something different or special as a gift!I have two good friends that work out of chiropractors offices though and they enjoy it immensely.I would also have to say that I doubt that I am viewed as any less "professional" because of the environment I work in.  Its all in how you present yourself!Congrats and good luck!

 

[Loius]

Need some advice

I do chair massage at a hair salon once a week (on their busy day--Saturday) AND I work part-time out of a chiropractor's office...If I were you, I'd creep into that hair salon. See how many folks are actually interested in booking a session by maybe doing some chair massage and seeing how many folks sign up on the sheet. If not many, than you'll know that $125 right off the bat is too steep. If you get a boatload of interested clientele, then you could maybe try it BUT ONLY on a month-to-month basis (no contracts at first). Good luck w/ what you decide. Be well,Jen

 

[Matt R]

Need some advice

hey I'm not sure about pricing I'm with seforum.xxx "Try calling around to different salons" congrats though wish you all the best ;D

 

[Cass]

Need some advice

Hello,

I can give you two suggestions.

1) It's worth checking around to see if you can find a better deal on weekly/monthly rent for your massage business than $500+/month.

2) Ask the owner of the salon about doing a concession deal.  You would give them a perceneforum.xxxe of your massage fee in return for use of the space.  It's also a good idea to negotiate the ceiling or maximum on the amount of commision you give up each month in commisions too.  A normal range for the commisions is 25-40% of your fee.

Best of luck,

Michael Humphreys

 

[Evelyn]

Lot of great ideas here.  14health makes a great point, great mix of clients, when there are clients, plus the day of beauty pkgs bring in a lot of one time clients.    Jill/Sage makes several great points, as usual.  It is imperative that the salon is a busy happy place.  Busy Happy Place.  Happy.  Busy.  Do you get the feeling that the salon where I spent a year was not?  Either of them?  Right.  I had never done the math, just always paid monthly, mine was $90/week=$360.  LOL.  Jen brings up a very intersting thought.  A sign up sheet.  Makes me wonder about that.  Is it like signing up for the next time they come in, or for the same day?  I got some clients by being there, doing the chair thing, but it was typically a impulse addon for them.  A couple ladies would very occasionally (way too occasionally) have a massage before the hair, or once while the hair was marinating.  No, make that twice.  To start, a per day or per client will be a better arrangement for you.  I also suggest going to the salon on a busy day, go to the room, light a candle, turn on the cd, and sit in the room with the door closed and light off, just see how noisy it is.  A clinic will have more success referring people to you, at least for chair work, but there are plenty of people right here on this board scrambling to make ends meet at a clinic.  Bottom line, it takes time, for male therapists, and female therapists, even though it seems like the women have it easier, maybe not.  Good luck, keep us posted! mick

 

[originalbadguy2000]

I agree that $125/week starting out is pretty steep.  Remember this is the first offer and you can negotiate a better deal by making counteroffers.  It is usually not a good idea to accept the very first offer that is given to you.  It would be good to know if the owner is working on a booth rental or perceneforum.xxxe of volume with her other stylists.  This will give you an idea of what she is earning from the other staff in the salon.  It is also a good idea to know what other places in town are charging.Once you have this info, I would suggest you make a counteroffer detailing a six month trial period offering the salon a perceneforum.xxxe (I would start low at 25%-30% of your volume).  Then after six months if you wish to stay, you and owner would re-evaluate and renegotiate a firm rent or even a parital rent plus perceneforum.xxxe of volume and any other necessary items.  Six months gives you a chance to see if the salon atmosphere works for you and provides you a chance to see what other issues pop-up that need to be addressed (noise, laundry, scheduling, treating you like an employee rather than an IC).IMO, one of the most important aspects of working in a salon is to get the other stylists and staff on your side so they will refer to you.  In order to do this you need to get them on your table and demonstrate your wide range of skills.  A really good way to do this is to offer to provide the salon staff their first session at half-price so that they can experience your work and help start referring their clients to you.  For the ones who really like your work you could offer a referral special.  If they refer 5 clients to you they would get a massage free.It is also a really good idea that you discuss with the receptionist how you want them to answer the phone regarding your services.  As to your image...this has much more to do with how you present yourself and the work you demonstrate to the staff and clients than it does your actual location.  Once you show people you are capable of many different types of work they will spread this news to their friends and families.  A good salon wants to have a diverse practitioner available to handle the needs of their clients -- not just a one trick pony.Goodluck!

 

[Pompal 09.]

Need some advice

I also agree, $125 a month for rent is quite steep. Especially since it sounds like room only (no advertising, sheets, oils, table, etc)I agree w/Intuit on doing a perceneforum.xxxe at first, maybe with a weekly max, and review after 6 months. (Which is what I am doing). Good luck! (and keep up posted)