Does practising alternative therapies earn enough to live off??

[BroStaoeua]

Hi ladies and maybe guys,

Firstly apologies if this is posted in the wrong section. My name is Lauren and I am a single mum of 25 currently unemployed.

I'm thinking of going into alternative therapies but i was wondering do you think that it is an occupation which you could earn enough to live of. Basically i want to do courses of holistic massage, sports massage, diet and nutrition, reflexology and Aromatherapy and am willing to work hard at them and make my living. I think i am just looking for reassurance that it is possible to earn a good wage and be able to support my daughter as i don't want to work my arse off studying and then realise i should of done something else. So really what i'm asking is do those of you who do alternative therapies have other jobs too or are they your main source of income??

Sorry for the long post and thanks in advance
Lauren XxXxX

 

[Dj DREAMz]

Hi Lauren,

I believe so, and it's my living.

But you need business training too. There's loads of help through your local business link who will guide you through the process of starting up.

Good Luck,
Myarka.

 

[sledge250672]

Hiya

Maybe after a few years you could make enough to pay the bills, but I have to say that getting started is difficult in this day and age. I couldn't do what I do without my wonderful supportive husband providing for me. My advice would be, do it because you love it, you want to make a difference to people's lives, and because you believe it's what you're here to do: but don't do it because you think you'll make money out of it.

 

[judy.gideon]

yeah i do want to do it because i want to but at the same time i can't do something just because i want to, i need to be able to afford to pay my rent and cover bills and things otherwise at this stage in my life there's no point i might aswell train for something else and come back to this. That's the reason i have posted this to find out if it is actually possible to be able to live off what i earn from alternative therapies. I would love to do it as its what i am interested in but if i think it won't support me i will have to rethink. Maybe i would benefit from getting the training and working for someone in a shop or something rather than being independant at first? Anyways thanks for your replies so far, greatly appreciated...xx

 

[Pompal 09.]

You dont say where you live but it may be a good idea to find out how many therapists are in your area, what do they offer, maybe contact some salons or therapy centres for information.

 

[littlebit1349]

I was asked this (..."will I make a living"...) a couple of years ago by a girl who was doing a degree course in comp therapies. She finished the course last year and since then has worked in a pub in the evenings and for the local authority as a home carer - she does therapies for family and friends. I think akasha37 has given some good advice - ask around - see what is happening in your area. My young student friend had not looked into the business aspect of running her own clinic - she also applied to several local spas but was rejected at each one, basically as she was asking for too much salary.

Not sure, as a single Mum, that spa work would be much help for you, as it tends to be odd hours - much depends on the age of your kiddie and what you would have to pay for child-care. Have you contacted any local therapy centres? It might be worth having a chat with the therapy centre managers in your area, to see if it could be feasible to rent a room, and maybe consider working part-time initially - then you could do other stuff in between, until your client base increased.

When I started out 30 years ago, I did the training first, then worked part-time doing secretarial work, and part-time at my therapies - it was around 3 years until I had established a large enough client base to go self-employed, but even then, when I had 'lean months' I had to do temp work to pay bills. I can honestly say that it took many more years to get to the point where I could actually live off my earnings, as I do now - however, I don't have much left over after mortgage/utilities/insurance/stock etc etc have been taken out. Luckily I don't need holidays - pottering about in my garden is good enough R&R for me. I don't have a flash car, but the one I have gets me from client to client on my 'mobile' days.

 

[ryojnsou]

I have been practising massage professionally for 15 months now, part-time, and I'm still only just about breaking even. Which is already not bad I think!

I pay my bills through another part-time job that I do 3 days a week.

Like Jabba said, it will take a few years at least to get to the point where you could do it full time (or at least earn enough to make a half-decent living out of it). So don't expect to be able to launch into it full-time immediately after your training, unless perhaps you are lucky enough to be able to take over someone's existing client base.

And as most of us aren't physically capable of doing much more than say 20 hours of massage a week, we will never get rich.

The main thing is that you have to enjoy it. If you do and you work hard, you will ultimately be able to make it work and support your family. But it's definitely not a get-rich-fast thing: if you need a steady income now, you're probably better off looking for a "regular" job.

 

[Maz]

Good advice from Jabba and Akasha etc regarding checking out your local area as the advice will vary from therapy to therapy and area to area.

My therapies (different to yours) are near enough my only source of income, the only reason I say "near enough" as opposed to only is that I do get paid for acting work as well but don't really count this as income as it's my hobby which used to be unpaid in amateur theatres but has now developed into professional but is only in bits and pieces, mainly seasonal, so I don't count on the income from that at all.

My wife isn't currently working so my therapy income is the only household income for us apart from the other part mentioned and we manage to pay a fairly large mortgage and run our cars etc and have a lifestyle that we enjoy. In fact, a friend of mine emailed me the details of a job this week which is a salaried position at a university as a hypnotherapist and the position is not of interest to me as I prefer being self-employed.

In most areas/therapies, the answer would be yes you can make a full-time income. However, if you ask therapists if they really do then many will tell you they don't. I think a large part of the problem is that most courses just teach you the therapy, not how to run a business. No matter what your reasons for wanting to be a therapist, unfortunately business knowledge/experience is just as important as learning the therapy itself. Far too many complementary therapists seem to go into business with an idealistic "if I build it, they will come" attitude that is often followed by a rude awakening and the need to go back to what they were doing!

 

[Grumpy Mac]

I have only been qualified a few months and am getting two people a week as clients on average, sometimes no one and other weeks 5 people. I know it will take months if not years to build up a client base and so I work part time as well in another job. This seems to be quite normal when setting up initially and there are other people doing the same therapies as me nearby so i have competition. Lots of my business is word of mouth and i think if you love what you do and want to do it then you will succeed but you need to be realistic in this economic climate. You could train part time over a longer period and work part time as well to allow for more money comming in. Some of the courses would be subsidized if you were on a low income and you may get help with council tax too, your local coolege can help you with details. I know ITEc do lots of courses part time, so you can work and train.
Good luck with whatever you decide to do,
Jane.

 

[avissa]

Hi lauren

You seem to be going in the direction of learning many therapies and I believe that to get anywhere it is better to specialise in a particular therapy and become really good at it. Find one particular therapy which you are strongly drawn to and really go for it.

In this business networking is extremely important and making the right contacts can help you progress in your career.



I strongly agree with Chris Rams post above, I couldn't have said it better.
I believe in following your bliss and if this is yours then nothing will get in your way.

Good luck

Binah
xx

 

[eli]

I'd love to go full time and are focussing on next Spring to see if I can make the jump from part time to full time and give up my salaried role.

Couple of tips - speak to Business Link, they are very helpful. They can send you a voucher worth £130 which you can then redeem at any one of their suppliers who have registered with them to give business advice. You can then get a further voucher worth £70 to put towards marketing advice/courses/workshops etc.

Join a networking group. I have recently joined Women In Business Network (WIBN). We meet once a month for a networking lunch and I've already got business through it after just two sessions plus some excellent contacts for possible joint ventures.

Get good marketing advice - I went on an excellent workshop last year - PM me for the details - run by a leader in CAM and a marketing director of a leading agency. I'm getting one to two new clients a week, mainly for Bowen Technique, but after 2-4 sessions they are better and so don't need to return (maybe every now and then for some maintenance) so I always need to keep on top of marketing. I'm always on the look out for opportunities where I can get involved - eg I find out that the local area are holding an Eco Week so have offered to do my therapies then.

 

[gsnqbpai]

Some great tips there Sarah!

I have only recently started my training, but have no doubt I will be able to make a living (eventually) from this line of work. I've worked in finance and IT in London for over 10 yrs now so I have the business and marketing knowledge, and confidence, to succeed. I'm doing this more as a lifestyle change - it's not about money really, but about my desire to help people, and my desire to do something that I enjoy and get something out of (which I havent for a long time in my current job) - but at the same time I dont want to go from my comfortable salary to earning nothing - that would just be silly and impractical! My long term aim is to open my own independant health/health food store with therapy rooms included, be my own boss, and to enjoy helping people to be healthy and happy.