Working for Free...

[Abdel]

Massage Therapist (student or recently graduated OK) (san jose downtown)

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Reply to: [email protected]
Date: 2006-07-25, 10:19AM PDT


We are seeking a massage therapist, professional, student or a person who’s recently graduated, that is looking for leads and experience.

We are a Mortgage Lender and an exhibitor on a Mortgage Brokers Trade Show that is going to be held on Saturday August 5th, from 9 am to 4 pm in the San Jose Convention Center Convention Center (for info http://www.cambweb.org/event_assets/Convention/pdfs/06_regbrochure.pdf). We are running a campaign that is based on "Relax your mind PAMCO makes Alt-A easy". And we are looking for a massage therapist to offer free massages to the attendees in our booth. We want to offer you a service exchange.

The Benefit for you:
- You'll be expose to 600+ brokers (you can give away your business
cards or coupons and receive tips) Lots of leads
- Free for you! Don't have to pay for the booth (we are paying for it)

Benefit for us:
- Offer free 5-10 minutes massages to create traffic to our booth.

Send us an email if this is something that you'll be interested in.



Why does anyone work for free?

I doubt there is a mortgage broker on the planet that would handle your home purchase for free, in order to get exposed to 600 people that you know.

Mortgage Brokers earn a loan origination fee of 1% of the value of the loan - so every customer they get is worth THOUSANDS of dollars to them. Any customer the MT gets MIGHT be worth $200- and that assumes you believe Chair Massage turns into Table clients and that any reasonable % of people attending (this is a statewide convention) will turn out to live within driving distance of your practice

Give away your services and people will think it is worth very little. Yet I am sure they will find some sucker

 

[cadisneygirl]

Working for Free...

Why does anyone work for free?

I doubt there is a mortgage broker on the planet that would handle your home purchase for free, in order to get exposed to 600 people that you know.

Mortgage Brokers earn a loan origination fee of 1% of the value of the loan - so every customer they get is worth THOUSANDS of dollars to them. Any customer the MT gets MIGHT be worth $200- and that assumes you believe Chair Massage turns into Table clients and that any reasonable % of people attending (this is a statewide convention) will turn out to live within driving distance of your practice

Give away your services and people will think it is worth very little. Yet I am sure they will find some sucker

When I first got my license 13 years ago I worked for free doing chair massage at several health fairs with an acupuncturist. I have to admit that I did get some valuable experience, but in the end only managed to get one regular client that I ended up working with for several months afterwards.

Ten years I also did some volunteer work for the Pro Beach Volleyball tour and found that experience to be extremely valuable as well.

 

[keani]

A professional soccer team has advertised for volunteer massage therapists in my associations newsletter.

I don't really get it.

They charge entry to the match, the players, umpires, security guards, coaches, etc get paid, but they want massage therapists for free?

I personally will not work for free for the exposure, for the experience or for the priviledge of having my hands on an elite sportsperson.
I also believe it is a pretty ineffective marketing tool in that people do not value what they get for free.

When I gift or dicount my services it is to somone who cannot afford to pay

 

[eternalnirvana999]

The only time I have worked for free was in massage school and when I moved to a salon I gave the stylists one sample session so they could tell their clients about my work. (And this is something I would still do for another select professional one time so they would refer their clients to me.)

I have never given someone a free session in order to get them to be my client. And I never would. I would give volunteer massage, but not to get business.

Someone will probably take them up on their offer though. I have thought of it in the past, however.....getting a chair when I was at the salons and giving short freebies when I was not in session, but I never did. I was too busy having a good time in my off hours.

 

[Lenneth]

I was recently approached by someone in my local chamber of commerce to participate in their annual "health fair"....the cost is $150 for space (and that covers a year of membership in their group, which I don't even want) and they don't want me to charge. Sorry, but I learned that my time is worth SOMETHING....

I do have a couple of clients that I charge a very discounted rate to due to their financial situations, but even they understanding that I have a job to do.

 

[SASSYSNIPE]

I only "work for free" for an event like Relay for Life (i do take donations, but every dime goes to ACS) I agree, you give your services away, and people wont value them as much.

 

[pooh]

It is one thing if you decide to volunteer your time for an orgainization... but I can't stand it when people advertize looking for someone to be there for free, thinking that it will benifit them by handing out a few business cards. This is definitely a scam for them to give an incentive to people to stop by their booth. Sign up for blah blah blah, and get a free chair massage! They don't factor in $$$ for the chair, covers, cleaning supplies, what it costs for you to take a day off of work, gas, parking, tolls... etc... all for free, I don't think so!!!

I work on total commission, and am dependant on my manager to actually book sessions for me. I was told I had to go do a street fair, in the 103 degree heat a few weeks ago. I knew from doing them in the past, that I would not make even close to my commission. They figured that I would get a lot of people to sit in my chair, charge too little for it, and get a portion of what ever I pulled in. Do you know how many people stopped by... ZERO!!!

 

[killedbyapenny]

It is one thing if you decide to volunteer your time for an orgainization... but I can't stand it when people advertize looking for someone to be there for free, thinking that it will benifit them by handing out a few business cards. This is definitely a scam for them to give an incentive to people to stop by their booth. Sign up for blah blah blah, and get a free chair massage! They don't factor in $$$ for the chair, covers, cleaning supplies, what it costs for you to take a day off of work, gas, parking, tolls... etc... all for free, I don't think so!!!

I work on total commission, and am dependant on my manager to actually book sessions for me. I was told I had to go do a street fair, in the 103 degree heat a few weeks ago. I knew from doing them in the past, that I would not make even close to my commission. They figured that I would get a lot of people to sit in my chair, charge too little for it, and get a portion of what ever I pulled in. Do you know how many people stopped by... ZERO!!!

t082 t119 :

Yeah man!! Who would want to get a massage from you when:

A. You didnt want to be there.
B. They were picking up on your bad vibes.
C. Maybe they were a little scared of you even!!
D. They were hot and sweaty.
E. You were hot and sweaty.
F. All of the above.

t082 t119 :

Just kidding of course t082 t119 :

Night all,

Christine

 

[lilkat-ja66]

Extremely Valuable Work Experience

A professional soccer team has advertised for volunteer massage therapists in my associations newsletter.

I don't really get it.

They charge entry to the match, the players, umpires, security guards, coaches, etc get paid, but they want massage therapists for free?

I personally will not work for free for the exposure, for the experience or for the priviledge of having my hands on an elite sportsperson.
I also believe it is a pretty ineffective marketing tool in that people do not value what they get for free.

When I gift or dicount my services it is to somone who cannot afford to pay

I respect your opinion, but in my case volunteering some time to work with elite athletes ended up being an extremely valuable marketing tool. During the spring of 2001 I wrote letters to five Norwegian professional women soccer players who were getting in shape for their club seasons at the ARCO Olympic Training Center just south of San Diego.

I welcomed the players to San Diego and congratuled four of them for winning the gold medal at the Sydney Olympics. I mentioned in my letter my experience working with Olympic volleyball players and offered each of them a Nordic Touch sports massage session at no charge. One of the players called me at home the same day she received my letter and eventually I ended up working with four of the Norwegian players and am still in contact with the fifth player.

The first two players I worked with wrote me very nice testimonials that I could use to promote my business and they also spoke to their trainer about having me work with their New York based club whenever they played in San Diego. I ended up not only getting paid to work twice with the team in San Diego, but the GM also paid for me to stay in a hotel with the team when they played in San Jose. 8)

 

[Tony Touch]

Glad it worked for you Nordic, sounds like you had it very well targeted as marketing.
At the start of my career in massage I worked for someone else and he did massage and strapping for a local soccer team on a voluntary basis. This was an amateur team not pro.
I ended up doing about 75% of the season.
Not one of that team ever came to us for paid massage or AFAIK referred anyone.
So the idea of working with a team of paid players on a voluntary basis is not at all appealing to me.

 

[Perdie]

i edited their ad for accurate content t079

We are seeking a slave, that is looking for leads and experience.

And we are looking for a slave to offer free massages to the attendees in our booth. We want to offer you a service exchange.

The Benefit for you:
- You'll be exposed, exploited, and in the red for supplies, parking, and effort.
- Free for you! Don't have to pay for the booth (we are paying for it)

Benefit for us:
- Offer free 5-10 minutes massages to create traffic to our booth.
- We get our very own personal slave for a day.

Send us an email if this is something that you'll be interested in.

 

[June Dafina May]

Working for free

I'm with you guys and gals. Why are we always solicited to work for free and the person asking thinks it will boost our practice and give us "exposure?"
I remember doing lots of Sports Massage for free many years ago. I was learning and at first it was rewarding to get my hands on people at events and get experience. Well, I'm done with that.
It always amazes me when someone asks me to work for free. I have learned an effective way to deal with them is to ask them what they do for a living and would they do it on a weekend day, all day long? Most say no. This works well with event directors who are trying to get free massage for their 3 mile walk.
I just saw an article in Massage Magazine on Sports Massage with the author suggesting that volunteering at events is valuable. Well...I don't agree. I have never gotten clients from this, not a one. I got tired of people at events complaining that they had waited for 20 minutes to get their "free" massage and when would it be their turn. When you walk into a restaurant with a line, do you get seated right away? :x
Large companies can give stuff for free, Costco gives away free food all day. I'll bet they make more than me. This myth of "free" work will bring clients just doesn't pan out with massage. No one who has come to repair our house has worked for free. Could you walk into a store and get a free TV?
People will take "free" all day and go to the next "free" and leave. The same is true for discounts. :x I only give discounts when some purchases a package of 5 or 10 sessions.
Whew, that was a long Rant.
Cheers,
rubmyster

 

[ZeFishChick]

Working for free

I'm with you guys and gals. Why are we always solicited to work for free and the person asking thinks it will boost our practice and give us "exposure?"
I remember doing lots of Sports Massage for free many years ago. I was learning and at first it was rewarding to get my hands on people at events and get experience. Well, I'm done with that.
It always amazes me when someone asks me to work for free. I have learned an effective way to deal with them is to ask them what they do for a living and would they do it on a weekend day, all day long? Most say no. This works well with event directors who are trying to get free massage for their 3 mile walk.
I just saw an article in Massage Magazine on Sports Massage with the author suggesting that volunteering at events is valuable. Well...I don't agree. I have never gotten clients from this, not a one.

I have had a similar experience doing sports massage at events Rubmyster. Even when I was with the San Diego Sports Massage Team and we charged $1/min. I never ended up getting any regular clients from working at those early morning events.

Just out of curiosity, do you have a link to this Massage Magazine article? Other than getting some experience working with "weekend warriors" I'd be interested to know what the article says is so valuable about volunteering at events.

 

[Trini-HaitianGrl81]

There is an event in my area every March. It is a women's day of enrichment sponcered by a local hospital and the YMCA. Women can sign up for drumming lessons, home decorating, jewelry making, a yoga class, cooking classes, etc... as well as sign up for a 15 minute massage. I participated for 2 years in a row in 05 and 06. It isnt free for the participants, as they pay for their day with lunch included, but the MT's are not paid. TIpping is allowed, and most participants do tip at least $5. I basically went so I could chit chat and catch up with the other therapists. Well... I wont be going again. The event is always on a Saturday, and I do get lots of requests for Saturdays. I make more in one hour in my office than I can make all day sitting in that hotel. I had one woman come in for an office visit one time after the first time I was there. I cant believe anyone else had much better luck than I did. I was the one both years who had tons of info, brochures, coupons for new clients, and I even handed out copies of that Bodywork magazine from ABMP.

The first year I went I was in business for only 6 months, the second for 18 months. By March 07 it will be 2.5 years. I gladly hand off my baton at this event to another therapist. There are other ways to catch up with my collegues.

Christine

 

[mint frost]

I have GOT to remember that "what do you do for a living, and will you do it all day for FREE" thing!!! What a fabulous comeback for people trying to bully a MT into working for FREE!!

 

[Jedi Sapiens]

I have GOT to remember that "what do you do for a living, and will you do it all day for FREE" thing!!! What a fabulous comeback for people trying to bully a MT into working for FREE!!

I love that one, too! I'll have to remember that.

I love this whole "gain exposure" bit. That's supposed to be a perk??? I did volunteer chair massage twice, both times as a student. I did it for the practice, as I'd never done events before and felt I could use the experience. And in TX, students can't legally charge anything for massage, so it's not like I had much to lose. One of the events was half the metroplex away (about 45 mins NOT in rush-hour) and the other was very closeby, in the next suburb over. NOT ONE free chair massage client turned into a paying table client. Some asked if I did outcalls, and I said I would be in a month or so, but no one took me up on it (I think they were a little sticker-shocked, as they were getting "free" massage at the time.) I even held a drawing for a complimentary hour massage (at the local event) and I drew three winners (one even ended up living in my same city!) and NO ONE even made the effort to schedule their FREE MASSAGE. Amazing. Between those experiences and those of other ppl on this board (disorganization, lost materials, etc and the like) I simply don't do free gigs.

We really need to get the word out to ppl to STOP doing this free stuff, ks it's hardly worth any of the time or effort, it's not nearly as practice-building as it's been led to believe, and it only leads to quicker burnout.

Again, LOVE the "would YOU work on your day off for free?" line. When put that way, I hardly doubt anybody would say yes...so why should WE?

Just my ramblings
~Jyoti