You make very good points, R&R
I guess what I was referring to when I mention control and/or freedom goes something like this...
Right now, I juggle two small practices, run vastly differently. One of them is by working for the school I used to go to as a renter/IC. I get to set my workdays and times. But I am relegated to their pricing, their measly 2-hour cancellation policy, their soft enforcement of no-shows, their acceptance of same-day male clients, etc. I can't screen most of the clients myself, because someone else makes the appointments. No problem, it's just that one of my pet peeves is when the school charges more for Deep Tissue than Swedish (both are kind of ridiculously low rates, but at least Deep is $10 more) and clients are given the option to choose and they choose Swedish, knowing full well they need Deep but they want to save the $10 and then tell the MT to go deep when they get into session. I really would have LOVED to screen the client (at least a meet & greet!) that signed up for an HOUR AND A HALF Swedish and then wanted me to do ONLY her upper back and neck! (Basically, her traps were rock-hard and she was getting headaches.) I mean, this should have at LEAST been a deep tissue, if not an NMT session (which is $10 more than Deep Tissue and thus $20 more than Swedish). How the front desk describes each different modality is irritating to me... What they say is, Swedish is regular massage, Deep Tissue "costs $10 more and goes a little slower with some more pressure" and they don't even mention any of the other modalities we offer like NMT, Hot Stone, or whatever. Now I've had school clients call me on my cell wanting to set something up at the school and I ask them what they hope to achieve from their session. When they mention they just want to relax, I recommend Swedish. When they mention any kind of pain or stiffness, I recommend Deep Tissue or NMT, depending on the specifics. Most ppl go "oooohhhh...I didn't know THAT." (Well duh--it's because the front desk isn't telling them! ANd it's NOT like we're so high-volume that the desk doesn't usually have time.)
OK, rant aside... In my own practice, I have the freedom to charge one rate, no matter what the work. I don't have to adhere to different prices for different work. I get to remove the burden from the client of having to decide what kind of work they want. I have the freedom to say I take cash only (no checks, due to the fact that many in our area write hot checks). I can enforce a 24-hour cancellation policy. I can schedule an extra hour for new clients (consultation, explanation of services, biomechanical assessment, getting to know them, explaining our incentives, etc.) I get to offer the client incentives for scheduling more frequently. I get to work in my own space that has been decorated the way I (and my clients) like it. I get to play the music THEY want to hear, use the essential oils THEY want to have used. I get to say that outcalls aren't available on Fridays. I can say I take my last appointment at 8pm. I can decide to work a half-day on Saturday. I cater to the clientele that view massage as preventive healthcare, as preventive medicine, as part of their overall wellness program. I do NOT cater to those who chronically decide to get a massage on whim and want it NOW. (There are those who do, and they can have those clients. I like my steady monthly and weekly regulars who make a commitment to their health and keep my schedule relatively steady, considering the nature of this business.)
Of COURSE many things depend on the client. There is a certain amount of control and freedom you give up, because you can't simply just take a month of vacation and expect to come back to a full clientele. If you can't be there when they need you, they'll find another therapist. But I CAN say "no, I'm not working that late" or "I take Sundays off" or simply "I have nothing available that day" or "my next available appointment is (x)".
Having worked in two wildly different settings now for nearly 2 years (not much in the grand scheme of things, but my experience has grown exponentially in those 2 years, with many thanks to this board) I still maintain my assertion that working for yourself DOES carry a certain amount of freedom and control, especially when compared to working for someone else, or (gasp!) a 9-5 desk job (shudders)...
So anyway, that's my thesis
Peace,
~Jyoti