Getting out on your own

[~~Birdy~~]

If you made the leap and set up your own therapy clinic/space/whatever outside of your home, what caused you to make the jump? Did you have a client base already established?

I'm asking cause I want to get my own space here in town. There are only two places that offer massage, one is in a chiros office and the other is in a salon/spa where the owner has a rep for being pushy.

I'm making a list of potential places.
Health Club
Community Center
Country Club
Hair Salons
PT office
Rent my own space

I'm going over the pros and cons of each.

The problem I have is that: a) I need a place with a potential client base built in b)I have small kids and don't want to work past 2:00 c) can't really swing rent working limited hours like that.

I guess I could go back to my original idea of working out of my home but I'm a little uncomfortable bringing a new client/stranger into my home. And I like keeping home and business seperate. My husband is always angling for a massage as it is. Plus I would want to set my table up and leave it up.

 

[Samantha Boyle]

I have just made the leap (Aug.) from working for a DC to working for myself.
I do have a home office for now - and I enjoy it. I am very careful about who I accept into my home for any reason. Eventually I would like to rent a different space, but for now I am just working with my clients and enjoying my time away from too much work.
I have a seperate space for my massage room and I try not to make my home feel like my business. I have "business hours" and I do all business related things during those hours. Clients are very respectful of that also.

Once I have enough steady income coming in that would allow me to pay all rental bills myself - I will be out looking for a space to move my office.

 

[Yogi]

You may consider talking to existing therapists who have offices and want to rent it out when they are not using it. Sometimes you can work a deal where you only pay rent for the time you actually use it with a client. You may also be able to work out a relationship where that therapist refers their overflow to you. That way they still make money on clients that either they are too full to take, or who want massage on days and hours they don't want to work.

There can be a big advaneforum.xxxe to renting a room in a place that already has clients coming in, such as a salon, or health club, so long as you are allowed to market your services to them. The clients are already familiar with the location, and are probably going to be the type who are more likely to use massage.

 

[xsageo]

I've got a setup like that now at a country club across town. I love the therapist that 'owns' the place but I want a place in my town. Maumelle is a growing city and other than therapists that work out of the pushy salon/spa or the one that works out of the chiros office there isn't any. Not a clinic that is just massage therapy.

I don't know. I'm in one of those indecisive states of mind where I have all the pros and cons of the various options bouncing around in my head. Lots of bouncing around and getting no where.

I did actually drive around and look at some of the commercial property in town. I found a couple of places that look promising. My husband thinks that I ought to find 2-3 other young go-getter MTs and rent them space. That way I have a place to see my clients but can still take off and be with the kidlets after school.

 

[prtygirl17]

I rent a room at a salon. But my business is completely separate. I have my own sign out front underneath theirs and I make my own policies, prices, schedule, gift certificates, etc.

Right now I am paying them a % of my sales every week with a cap of a certain dollar amount. This is the arrangement we agreed to for the first six months then I will go to just a weekly rent.

I have gotten great referrals from the stylists and my business is growing at a steady pace.

Cons

- it's loud sometimes with four stylists and their clients (kids are the loudest).
- I could find a less expensive place to rent on my own, but I wouldn't have the traffic to build by business rapidly.


Really the cons are nothing while I am building my client base.

Previously I did rent my own office space and I advertised, but it's a small town, no one knew me, and I didn't have the traffic. Having the stylists talk to their clients about me is really awesome.

 

[kojackid]

It is tough to set up a place of your own and not work past 2. Is it possible you can reserve 2 days a week to work later? I can understand and admire your commitment to your children. Perhaps teaming up with another therapist who is looking to work the afternoon into the evening might be a good solution.

I got my own place. Was the furthest thing from my mind, but things were carrying me in that direction and I went for it. It is the best decision. I did not have a clientele at the time so I started from scratch. It takes work and persistence, but it is do-able.

Good luck.

 

[Sydney]

i too think it's a great idea to try to find someone who is looking to work opposite hours of yourself. i don't think it would be that difficult. finding the RIGHT person might take some time but i'm sure there's plenty out there. you can build a practice working those hours. i've done it before. you've got to be creative in your thinking on who to market to and how to do it. but it can definitely be done.

 

[Leigh [ex nihilo]]

That's kind of what I had in mind to share the space with another therapist who can work the 'afternoon shift'.

I can work the occasional afternoon but my husband is on call virtually 24/7 and can get called out on a moments notice so it's kind of hard to schedule a client knowing that I might have to cancel at the very last minute. It wouldn't take too many of those to really piss off a client. That's why I don't really want clients in the afternoon. Not necessarily cause I'm this devoted mother. :roll: Trust me, I cut the cord a LONG time ago.

 

[star42]

I can work the occasional afternoon but my husband is on call virtually 24/7 and can get called out on a moments notice so it's kind of hard to schedule a client knowing that I might have to cancel at the very last minute. It wouldn't take too many of those to really piss off a client. That's why I don't really want clients in the afternoon. Not necessarily cause I'm this devoted mother. Trust me, I cut the cord a LONG time ago.

I remember reading in a thread about therapists that were also doula's and would have to leave in a moments notice - the clients accepted it.
I would think that as long as you let them know about how your husband works - some may be accepting of it.

 

[Mister Diddlez]

The husband is in aviation. Owns a helicopter service and flys powerlines for Entergy. If there is a power oueforum.xxxe somewhere in the state he's gotta go.

Not quite the same altruistic reason for canceling at the last minute.

 

[Clo !]

I think you are right about the level of patience they would have between a doula and your situation. Instead, they may see you as not dedicated to your profession.

If there are no clinics in your town solely dedicated to massage, it should be a good opportunity for you. I imagine you could find someone else who is also interested in this opportunity. Maybe someone who has some other type of job and can only do massage in the evenings or on weekends.

You definitely will have to be selective about where you do your marketing. People are still going to ask for evening or weekend hours and it will be nice if you have someone to refer them to. I would caution you to be careful about the financial arrangement you have with them. If you are splitting the rent in the middle and then doing separate marketing and you are constantly passing clients to her and she is not passing nearly as many to you, it will not work out to be a good situation. So, it will require much thought before entering into an agreement with someone.

Keep us posted.

 

[gutter_fly]

This may be a little off topic here but I thought I'd put it in, bear with me. If it's totally in the wrong place let me know and I'll delete it.

I work at a fitness center where we offer child care for 2 hours at a time per day to our members (for children 6 weeks to 12 years old). If you are going out on your own, looking to specifically work days, and are trying to build clientel. Have you thought about offering some sort of service like this at your office? Obviously it comes with pros and cons. You might need a larger office and you'd have to have someone to actually watch the wee ones. But I know that having 2 toddlers at home myself, the thought that I could still go and get a massage without having to worry about my kids is nice. Our Kid's Zone is one of our major selling points.

Steph!

 

[norah]

I hadn't thought of that but it is a good idea. Not sure how you would or could keep the noise down so that the parent could thoroughly relax. Not to mention the other clients who don't have kids. It would have to be a much larger place though wouldn't it?

 

[Free Caledonia!]

True, true, like I said there are a lot of pros and cons!

Steph!

 

[Meagan]

I think you are right about the level of patience they would have between a doula and your situation. Instead, they may see you as not dedicated to your profession.

The husband is in aviation. Owns a helicopter service and flys powerlines for Entergy. If there is a power oueforum.xxxe somewhere in the state he's gotta go.

Not quite the same altruistic reason for canceling at the last minute.

I can agree with both your thinking.