to rent, or not to rent...

[Jill T]

Hello All! I have a bit of a tough decision to make. Ive been in the industry off and on for about 7 years now. Somehow, I had always assumed I would one day grow up and get a 'real job'. In the interim, I was having a lot of fun doing my massage practice. Seems Im pretty darn good & have on numerous occasions developed a loyal following at whichever place I may have worked. So finally, after trying my hand at the corporate thing a couple of times (failing dreadfully on both accounts) I had the epiphany that maybe massage IS my ideal career! So here I am, working a couple of days for a McMassage, a couple of days for a chiropractor, and a couple of days for myself (rent Free in the chiro's office). The problem is, his office (and therefore mind as well) is faaaaar away from a good marketing area. I have found a space to rent, in a great area of town, very affordable, Lots of folks to market to, but the room is itty bitty! Does this give a poor image for new clients? Should I just stay put in my big comfy room in the country? I may have a few clients that will follow me into the big city, but not enough to survive off of. Also, I don't have much in the way of savings, probably just enough to decorate, but I do get the first 2 months rent free. Surely that will help, right? I've pro & con listed and still seem to be at draw. Any advicevwould be very very very appreciated!
Sincerely,
K.Lindsay

 

[?? Kitty ??]

to rent, or not to rent...

Is the space affordable enough you could slowly transition from your two days for yourself at the chiro to two days at the new place, perhaps going down by half-days at a time over a month or so? Are there a lot of free or super low cost marketing opportunities in the city the studio is in?

If the room is large enough for a table at any angle, exercise ball or whatever you use for sitting, a small area to do intake/paperwork, an area to place a table to hold your music, stone warmer and other equipment, and has utilities included and a bathroom clients can access, I would be sorely tempted to go for it if you think the local market will bear another stand alone studio. Those are pretty much the criteria I used in deciding to go for the space I'm in the final seforum.xxxes of obtaining myself. I am co-locating in an existing esthitician's space. She uses it on an as-needed basis and I will be doing the same and only paying for the time I use it. If I could I would rent space in the same building this space is in but my budget won't allow it. If yours will and you can afford to 'test the waters' without getting into a long term lease, I'd go for it.

 

[tmatme]

to rent, or not to rent...

Thank you soooo much for your prompt response! I can easily dedicate at least one full day a week to the new place, and Should be able to drum up enough work to cover the rent. The nice thing is, even if I didn't do one single massage in the new room, I can still pay the rent at the new place w my income from my other jobs! I guess my main concern was the room. I think it is approximately 10x11. The bigger room may just have me spoiled.
K.Lindsay

 

[DolphinFan02]

to rent, or not to rent...

I think you can make a small room work fine. If you will be in a posh area, the nice (and most important) thing you can do to help retain those clients is to make sure your small room is done very nicely. You wouldn't want to have it thrown together or have items that looked worn or used, etc. in it, if your demographic doesn't function that way.

An example, I have a pretty high-end demographic, but my style is pretty down to earth. I keep everything clean & neat, looking new and with minimal clutter. I recently referred one of my clients to someone else, and they are not snobs (otherwise they wouldn't see me), but they absolutely refuse to return to this individual, because the space is cluttered and looks "old" - their words. You'd think the bodywork would be the most important thing... but, in this case, it just doesn't matter.

Two nice cross-threads with extra threads within them:

• How to make a smaller room work?
• Room size

 

[classicvince]

to rent, or not to rent...

Oh my gosh 10 x 11 is not itty bitty at all!
If you are organized you will be suprised at how much you can fit it there.
I don't think that size room is a turnoff for clients - I have gone to several places where the room felt like a closet! I should have measured, I was so appalled, but they were maybe 6 x 9.
I felt really claustrophobic in those and did not go back. LOTS of spas have tiny treatment rooms - less than 8 x 10.

My room is 16 x 16 - and now I am spoiled too.

But I have worked in MANY rooms smaller....not sayin' I liked it...

Let's see...I have worked in three rooms that were LESS than 8ft wide...barely 7 ft wide. In two of them I had to angle the table a little and it was sometimes a squeeze for me to work around the table. I often would push the table over (client and all) while I worked. Luckily they were smooth floors.

Check out those other threads that pueppi posted for more helpful info.

 

[PandaNinja]

to rent, or not to rent...

*** Imagining taking a ride on Squashy's mobile massage table ***

klind, you surely can make 10'x11' work! WHen my hubby was working solo, he managed everything into 10'x12' (I think-- that was by counting the tiles on the floor). He had a 2-drawer file cabinet for his client files (we still use it), and just enough space for everything else. The treatment room in our new office is about the same size as you mentioned (it's technically 10'x12', but one wall has cabinets all across it-- LOVING that part!), so that takes out over a foot. You can do it!

 

[bobjohnson]

to rent, or not to rent...

That's so funny - sometimes before I would move them I would tell them they were going for a ride! :

 

[magicbird]

to rent, or not to rent...

So I took my handy tape-measure to work with me yesterday, and if turns out my room at the McMassage is 8x11 and is plenty big enough! The one at the Chiro's is still pretty huge, bug its good to know I can easily fit into the smaller size!

Now I'm thinking about raising my rates to fit the new clientele. In fact, its a pretty nice area & if I didn't I could be seen as less desirable.

Do any of you have advice or experience with pricing in an upscale area?

K.Lindsay

 

[loz]

to rent, or not to rent...

Do any of you have advice or experience with pricing in an upscale area?

The best way to price is to get an idea of what others are charging in the area. Each city and state is so different, that you need to price as to what you feel is fair and what the market in your area will bear.

My area is anywhere from $75 - 95 / hour. I know people that charge $125 for ~ 1 hour and 15 mins.

I currently charge $75, with plans to move my pricing to either $85 or $95, depending on how I feel it will affect my practice. I take into acct. my rent, my location, my clients (and their preferences), if I will give a loyalty discount for the period of one year (new clients $95; and old clients $85 for a year to come)... and, if the market (at this time) will bear moving my pricing up at all. The economy is bad after all, I am am priviledged to still be in practice. I am not sure that even though people charge more around me, if raising my rates may cause me to have less clients or a drop in my practice. Although many of my clients are quite wealthy, it doesn't mean they are willing to part with their money easily. So, these are all things to think about.

That's my list. See what you think.