April 25, 2009
How much should i charge for a massage in clients home?
jerrywwe asked:
Hi. i am a newly licensed massage therapist. i plan to find employment at a spa but for now want to make some extra money doing massage at the clients home. it would be people i know such as friends, family, and referrals from them. (therefore i wont know the referrals personally but they are from a trusted source). how much should i charge. i am from Connecticut. most places charge about $65 for a massage or $85 for home visits. but since i am entry level wondering should i charge less. if so how much?
Deanna
Hi. i am a newly licensed massage therapist. i plan to find employment at a spa but for now want to make some extra money doing massage at the clients home. it would be people i know such as friends, family, and referrals from them. (therefore i wont know the referrals personally but they are from a trusted source). how much should i charge. i am from Connecticut. most places charge about $65 for a massage or $85 for home visits. but since i am entry level wondering should i charge less. if so how much?
Deanna
Comments on How much should i charge for a massage in clients home?
Rigoberto
i think you should charge a little cheaper at first
defanitely less for yuor family (or none) :]
Heather
I’d say go with around $65.00. Call it a “grand opening discount” or something similar. Make up little cards with your contact information on them and the discount offer. (You can buy business cards at Staples or the like and print them out yourself.)
Good luck!
Aylin
Hi there — Good question!
I am a Licensed Massage Therapist in New York City and came across the same dilemma out of school. And, here, they were charging about $150 per hour for a home visit with a table. I ended up starting off charging $70 per hour which was just way too low…
Here’s the dilemma — if you charge too high straight out of school, you may come across arrogant or … you might not feel comfortable, etc. If you charge too low a price, eventually, it will be difficult to up your prices with your customers and you might start to resent going to them. If you resent working on them, it will, ultimately, be bad for the client because it will come across in your hands — you know — energetically — at least, it did for me.
So what to charge? Don’t lower yourself too much even though straight out of school, is my opinion. It still takes effort to schlepp a table, do a massage — and sometimes, a person who is new at this work is more careful and more focused than people who have been doing massage for years…
Since you say the rates are $85 for home visits, what about charging something like $70 to $75 to start — and then after you establish yourself and build clients you can raise your fees to the appropriate level. Believe me — also my experience — the people who can afford for you to come to their home — can afford the extra $10 or $15 when you raise the fee!
In the end, you must do what feels right in your heart. I raise my fees to an amount that feels right and based on my expenses. Do what’s right for you or you will resent it in the end.