dumb idea to lease?

[Katelyn]

i found a nice office space to rent. month to month, $500/500sft, all inclusive.

is it really stupid of me to consider this? i graduated 2 years ago..havent worked for anyone (at massage), only work on family and friends..

i have 2 other therapist friends who would pay me to use the office space, but they too are new and have few clients.

do you think we could get enough clients to cover the rent? or have i left the planet...feel free to jump all over this one :

 

[M and E !]

$500 for a month, would be $115 per week, if you can split it evenly 3 ways you're up for a bit less than $40 each per week. If you can get one client each per week you can cover the rent.

Can you make your business visible? Is it in a reasonable location? If it's on the top floor of a 3 storey walk up with people sleeping in the doorway of the building and it looks like a battle zone outside, it's probably not the best location. If people are standing it the street muttering "I need a massage now and there isn't a massage therapist for 100miles" it's probably a great location.

Would you all be prepared to contribute to the effort of setting it up? Would you all be comfortable committing to the first massage each week is for rent/bills?

 

[SteveC is a Level2]

$1 per square foot, all inclusive isn't a bad deal. Depending on how it looks, where it's located and what your landlord is like, along with if you and the friends can afford it - I'd put it in the consideration box.

 

[Alihaa]

The thing that jumped out at me most about this question was the negativity. It starts in the subject and then continues through the entire message.

I do think the rent sounds like a very reasonable amount. As others have indicated, you need to consider the location, but I think the biggest thing you need to consider is your attitude going into it. It appears to me that you are already setting yourself up for failure. It seems that you have decided that it's a stupid idea because you and your friends aren't experienced with a lot of clients. This way of looking at things is sure to set you up for failure, no matter how perfect the location, the amount of rent and also your skills. You have already decided it's not going to work.

Now that you have seen a few responses that it's a reasonable rent, I would be asking a few more questions:

* Do you REALLY want your own office, and if so, WHY?
* How successful do you want this business to be?
* How are you going to achieve these goals?
* What marketing techniques are you going to employ?
* Are you willing to put the work into it?
* Are you in a financial position to be able to ride the highs and lows of the business?
* Can you withstand the slow times when you are just starting out?
* Have you considered all the negatives that go along with having your own office and are you truly willing to do what's necessary?
* Does your town have any restrictions, registrations, etc. that you will need to adhere to?

I know from experience that it's absolutely possible to open an office with few or no clients and still be successful, even if you don't have the most ideal of locations. Yes, there is reason to be nervous and maybe a little apprehensive. No doubt about it, it is a big step. I think the most important key is to start with a POSITIVE attitude and be asking the right questions.

If you ask "Is this a stupid idea?", you must already think that it is and people might very well think so too. "Is this a good idea?" is a better question.

Saying you and your friends don't have many clients, is certainly stating the facts, but you need to follow it up with something positive about how you will be attracting new clients.

I think there are two possible reasons for the negativity: the first is that this might be the way you approach many things in life and the second is that you might already know in your heart that this isn't a good idea for you and it may not have anything to do with the amount of the rent. Only you can examine yourself and truly come up with the answer.

Good luck. The board is filled with tons of ideas for getting started. Keep in mind that not all marketing efforts will work the same for everyone. A lot depends on what you are comfortable with, what type of clientele you are seeking, the kind of area your practice is in and the time of year.

It IS possible to be successful. It IS very rewarding. You can do it if you want to. Be careful in your planning. Be realistic in your goals. Be enthusiastic with your effort.

 

[AtYourService]

kneadedmassage's post is perfect. can't be stated any better!

my vote is give it a whirl! (as long as you've got good answers to/for the above questions)

 

[the hackmaster2013]

i appreciate your candid replies as well as the discussion on possible causes for my negativity.

i am actually really excited this opportunity presented itself, but i also feel afraid to go for it. i have been planning for my own office for about a year. i have a business name, cards, brochures and am brimming with marketing ideas..as i stated, i do lack money and clients.

i have a full time job. the massage work is planned to be part time work in afternoon, evening and weekends. due to my financial situation, i am unable to leave my full time job, although the future plan is to work part-time at both jobs.

having no clients and no back-up money was deemed a failure waiting to happen in the opinions of others i had asked. i've read a few books on start-up business and had some help from a coach through SCORE.org. these people feel it is important to have a solid business plan in writing (mine is only half done), 3-6 months back up income and at least a few clients. their opinions were more in line with some posts in other topics that the best way to start would be to sub-lease a space, build some cliente and experience and then have my own office. this does make sense to me too.

however, i feel ready for my own office...i am confident in my ablities, but this doesnt mean clients will be showing up week after week, or even once, and that's the part that is holding me back.....knowing that others have succeeded in a similar situation is helping me decide to take the step and not be aftaid to try it. i needed to hear if experienced therapists thought this could work or not. all your opinions matter to me. i've learned so here.

thanks.

 

[MommaYoga]

That is so good to hear that you've been planning this for so long. I think I understand where the negativity is coming from.....fear that other people have planted in your head.

When you are doing this part time, you will still be working at your other job the same amount of hours you are doing now? And bringing in the same income? IF you can handle that amount of physical work, then, really all you have to do to start is to have enough clients to make your rent. If you do share the space with the others, this shouldn't be too difficult. I would be making sure they are committed to this journey and that they have a way of making their rent, should they not have the clients for some reason.

Certainly, another option is to sub-lease from someone else. It might be less expensive for you.

I have a friend who rented an office. This was what she wanted, and had goals to move into a bigger space within 6 months. She still needed to be working her other job to make it a go though. Problem was, she didn't really have the time committment to make this office work. I think she eventually realized that and gave the office up.

I think the questions now are:

* Are you committed to making this work?
* Are you willing to make the time to do what's necessary?
* Do you have the physical and emotional stamina to do a good job at both?

When you are figuring the amount of time you have and the time you will be massaging, I think you need to have double that amount of hours available to devote to the business. For instance, if you have time to do eight 1 hour massages a week, you need to have at least 16 free hours to devote to your business. You need this time to include the basics of set-up, sheet washing, and paperwork, but also marketing. It would be my suggestion that in the beginning, you devote all the free time to marketing. Example: you have looked at your schedule and have decided that for now you have 8 hours available to massage clients, so you are going to devote 16 hours to your business. But let's say you only have 2 one hour clients for the week. You need to devote the other 14 hours of allotted massage business time to actually doing massage business.

It's a big decision and you need to make the decision you are comfortable with. Only you know the risk that you will be comfortable with and the drive you have and the committment to making it work.