$1.00/HR For How Long?

[another therapist]

Hello Everyone,I'm new to this site & to bodywork courses & have to say that everything is very interesting & informative.I'm a recent grad (12/03) & I've been doing some research for the business that I want to start, which is chair massage.  I've seen alot of websites & read alot of articles (newpaper & magazine) that say that their fee for chair massage is $1.00/min.  Most of these websites & articles seem to have been written around 1998, 99, or even 2000.My problem is that I consider the work I do to be worth more than $1.00/minute.  If you bought something in 1999 for $1.00, it stands to reason that that same item/product would have at least increased by 50% in 5 years...at the very least.  Is this fee just something that you start out with, then raise it after a while, or is our business being undervalued? ???Is anyone out there actually charging $1.00/minute for chair (or even table) massage?Just something to make you go mmmmmmmm. :-/Thanks.

 

[scip779io]

$1.00/HR For How Long?

Hi, Lorkie:I really feel that price depends on the area in which you live. I have been doing regular chair massage at a few different businesses for 2-3 years and could very well raise my prices, but the employees pay, not the company, and I would be taking the chance of not filling schedules just to make a little extra. By regular, I mean:-2x a week, every week at one company-2x a month at another and-1x a month at still another-plus any special events that come upNow, what is that price? $10 for 15 minutes, or $30 an hour (5 minutes between appts). (Table massages at my office are more -- $30 for 30 minutes and $50 for an hour.) Would I still get chair massage business if I raised my prices? Sure. But I really believe that those people who come in every week without fail might come a little less often, and that would not be worth it to me. The prices were set by previous massage therapists at 2 of the places I go to, and it works well for me, and I don't think I'm undercutting anyone (I certainly hope not). I did some chair massage at a local health food store that wanted any massage therapists who worked there to charge $1.00 a minute, and that worked fine for that environment, where the decision to get a massage was spur-of-the-moment. Plus, I consider chair massage to have been my greatest marketing tool so far: 25% of the clients who have come to my office I first met on the chair, at paying "gigs".So, that's my long way of saying check in your area for the variety of ways in which people are doing chair massage, and how much they're charging. If you step into an established chair massage program at a company or other environment, my advice would be to stick to their current prices, especially since you're pretty new yet, and get yourself established as someone who's trustworthy and effective. Then see where it takes you!My $.02. Best of luck!Andrea

 

[Downtide]

$1.00/HR For How Long?

I charge $1.00 a min for chair massage, but I do alot of it for free as well. It helps to entice people to purchase an hour massage. I also do alot of free chair work at things like Relay for Life, March of Dimes walks, etc. I found out its not ALL about the money, but what we can give back to our community as well. As for you wanting to charge more for chair massage, consider any competition ion the area. What are their rates? Do you think people will come to you, or stay with them if they charge a lower rate? Just getting into the business, you may want to consider even trying to undercut your competition, until people get the feel for your work. Good luck!

 

[aladdinwa]

$1.00/MIN For How Long?

Lorkie,It's a dollar per minute in my current area... and in my area technically chair massage can also be done by cosmetologists and they charge $1/ per minute also... often giving 5 minutes free.I have however, seen brochures from salons in Madison, WI where the chair massage fee was $1.25 per minute.  That's the most I've seen. But I'm moving out of state in a few weeks... maybe I'll be able to give you info on that area too. LOL

 

[This is insanity!]

I was wondering the same thing.  We were charging $1.00 a minute for chair massage in our area back when table massage was going for $50 - $55 / hr.  Now table massage is up to $65 - $70 / hr.  So I'm curious if the price of chair massage has gone up also.  I haven't done much chair massage since 2000 (only an occasional promotion here and there), so I'd love to hear from someone whose table rates our comparable to the rates in my area.

 

[IcyLollies]

Thanks for the responses everyone.I guess it really depends on your location.  I'm in NY & the lowest I've ever paid for a 1hr massage at a spa was $90, and that really only gets you 50 full minutes of actual hands on.I've checked around with a couple of spas in the city & so far I found the average rate for chair massage is $75/hr for the 1st 3 hours, then $60 for every hr after that.I'm going to start marketing next month, so I'll see what I come up with.Thanks againLaurie

 

[alekssebasstrs]

I price it two ways, depending on who's paying.  If I'm at a company and the employees are paying, then it's $1/minute, but if the company is paying, then I charge $1/minute for the first 10 people, after that, it's $.80/minute to 20 and then $.70/minute thereafter, kind of an incentive for the company to pay and give them a break, plus, I'll usually get more people that way so they can get the price break.  Or, if I'm at a function for say, 3 hours, then I just charge a flat fee of $50/hour.  I figure this way, it will still be about $1/minute (with a 10 minute break each hour) and if I'm not booked the whole time, hey, just more money for less work!  I don't think I'll raise my rates more than this because as someone previously stated, $1.25 can get confusing with the math!  I don't know about you, but I hate math, which is why I do massage.  ;D

 

[Rum&Coke]

Reba,That's pretty funny.  I majored in math in college.  I guess that's why I'm being *Royal* about the whole thing.Thanks so much for sharing.Laurie.

 

[ellen<3]

Laurie, here's an idea.  Figure out how much you are making at $1.00/minute from all our your weekly/monthly visits based on number of clients.  Then figure out how much you would make at $1.25 or $1.50 (assuming a perceneforum.xxxe of attrition due to the price increase) and see if you'd make more, less or break-even.  Of course, the perceneforum.xxxe in this example is critical, so do it on the high side and low side and see where the numbers net out.   Good luck.  Joe E.  

 

[shellyannwalters]

I am so glad that read the original post before I  answered, I thought you were charging a dollar an hour!I certainly charge a dollar a minute for my sessions. On the other hand, you do need to see what other therapists are charging in thier practices as well. If you charge too much, you may not get many "gigs". If you charge too little, you'll get a lot of "gigs", but burn yourself out in the process, and probably be resentful of the others that are making more than you.I also do free sessions for charity, as well as gaining more clients. Check out your comptetition, and you'll make the right choices. You sound like you have a great head for business!

 

[Carla R]

Nia,Thanks so much for your response.  You know what's funny?  After all the times I've read & re-read my original post, I never noticed that the heading said $1.00/Hr.  Pretty amazing that your mind sees what it wants to see.Thanks everyone for your responses.  I will write an update once I get rolling.Embrace Life.Laurie

 

[SuzzHuzz]

$1.00/min For How Long?

If you even look up David Palmer's articles, for the most part the national hourly rate is about $1/min.  People who have problems shelling out our respective hourly rates, don't tend to blink at the chair massage rates. It's easier to stomach for those that don't know any better.I hope that you do well with this!  Let us know how you do!Good Luck!