I got a really good question on the Ask Eileen page today. Brenda is a new therapist and needs your input. She’s moving to a new town and gets to decide between two opportunities.
Here’s what Brenda has to say:
I have been a massage therapist in KY for about 8 months and have a good job at a Day Spa here. I am moving to another city and just went to 2 interviews at the different Aveda salon and spas. My questions follow:
1. It’s a smaller business which is established in their hair and nail offered me the better commission. The only con at this place is that they have never had massage therapist before so they are planning to put a massage room at the basement in a small corner and no warranty how many massages I would get per week. They said tipping is usually good but no hourly pay.
2. The bigger business is good and very professional but they don’t pay commission, just $15 an hour. I have to sell the products without any commission and give complimentary hand, head and shoulder massage to the customers there. No tipping!
Where would be the place for me to work when I move to the new city?
My response:
Wow, there are a lot of elements to weigh here. So I have a lot of questions. Ready?
Here are my questions about the first place:
Will they market for you? How?
If they market for the business as a whole, how often do they do mailings/ads/flyers/etc?
If they do market, will they let you have some input on copy relating to your practice?
If they expect you to do your own marketing for your massage practice, do they offer any sort of office support (copying, posting, printing?)
Speaking of office support, are they supplying someone to do receptionist work for you?
Do they expect you to do walk-ins? How do you feel about that?
Do you like the basement room? Does it feel like a basement — damp, mildewy, mousey? If you feel like it’s something out of a Grimm’s fairytale? If so, don’t accept.
If you don’t like the space itself, you’ll spend the whole time apologizing to clients and feeling vaguely demeaned. That’s not a good way to introduce yourself to your new town.
If you do accept the first place, be prepared to do a lot of work to create a clientele. You can not sit around hoping one of the stylists will send someone your way.
Are you prepared to do a lot of marketing work to build your massage practice and your professional reputation?
If the space will work, AND you like the answers you give to my questions, then I’d go for the first place.
On the other hand, if the second place appeals to you, I’d ask these questions:
Can you live on $15/hour?
Will you be able/allowed to attract clients that will come with you when you move to a better place?
Are there any other perks other than a guaranteed hourly wage? Anything that would add to your professional/career development?
Why did the person previously in that position leave and how long were they there?
My final thoughts (for now):
I think if you are committed to building a career in massage therapy, neither of these places will keep you long.
If you weigh both places and they come up even in your mind, chose the one that will allow you the most professional opportunities. By that I mean, chose the one that will introduce you to the most prospective clients and give you the most opportunities to learn about running a business.
Invitation:
Brenda’s colleagues! What do you think?
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5 users commented in " MT Seeking Advice: Where to Work in a New Town "
Hi Brenda,
I agree with Eileen – neither one seems like a great option.
I can appreciate that you might need to lock in a job in order to make the transition to a new city. That’s perfectly reasonable. However, I do think it’s worth thinking through what you want things to look like one or two years (or more) down the road.
If you do want to build a business eventually, you’ll need to pick a place that lets you “own” your clients. That way, when you want to move, you can take them with you. You’ll have full right to take their contact information, and to encourage them to follow you to your new location.
Are there any options besides the Aveda salons? Another spa, or a chiropractor or other practitioner? If you’ve got time, it seems like your best bet might be to continue looking…
Okay, okay, I come out of my hole on to comment into the anonymous pool…
A) define “basement” – b/c in my book, just mentioning that “they are planning to put a massage room at the basement in a small corner” oozes some negativity – either you don’t like basement small corners; your potential clients don’t like basement small corners; or the “planning to put” a room in says the owners have absolutely nothing to lose by having you sit in a basement all day waiting for clients.
HOWEVER – if it’s not really a “basement small corner room” and more of a little nook downstairs, then GREAT. But your choice of words lead me to think…NOPE!
B) If you can answer YES to “can you live off $15/hour” then chances are you will also have a life or savings that allows you to build your own clientele at either the commission only place or some other “yet to be identified” office.
C) I hire independent contractors and actually expect them to pay ME for a flat fee (plus a per client fee) that covers reception, marketing, client referrals and office space – with still no guarantee of clients. In other words, I’m looking for people that buy into my business philosophy but are willing to build their own practices. For that, they take over 50% commission – clients are theirs to take should they move on.
D)If you need the quick job, take the $15/hour flat rate, buy some time and kick butt on the hand and foot massages while people wait with their hot neck wrap…and you’ll either find a better place to practice or realize HEY, $15/hour + tips with no other work to do after hours is pretty sweet.
In other words…all depends but my guess is you deserve a well lit room with steady clientele you don’t apologize to if they can’t make it down the stairs AND more than $15/hour.
But that’s just me…I’ll go back to redesigning my website now…cuz that’s what i do with my late nights as a bodywork clinic owner…
GOOD LUCK! VISUALIZE your dreams and don’t compromise!
Heather
Brenda,
I agree with the others who have posted here. Neither situation is ideal.
I am not keen on the idea of a basement location. But as others have indicated it would depend on the actual location. Does it smell damp or musty? Is it completely finished? Is there any evidence of leaking? How high is the ceiling and how noisy is it when the salon is busy… say on a Saturday or other busy day?
And the $15 per hour seems a bit “light”… but there are a lot of things to consider I am sure.
I am an administrator @ http://www.bodyworkonline.com and if you would like to join our forum and post your dilemma there I am sure you could get even more seasoned professionals to give you their honest opinions.
Either way, I wish you a smooth transition and much success in your new town!
Yes, Brenda — and everyone else with questions — go to bodyworkonline.com. It’s a great, responsive group of therapists. Go there for inspiration if nothing else.
And the more I think about it, the more I’m inclined to follow, well, everybody’s advice and look for other options.
Eileen
PS: Thanks Maestra. I think I owe you.
Thank you so much, everyone!
Eileen, thank you so much for your wisdom and great questions and suggestions here. My answers for your questions at the first place are “NO”. So I know that it’s not a place for me to go. Especially I feel like I would apologize to my clients every time when we start walking down to the massage room in the basement. For now it seems like the second place is a place that I would go though the pay is not good but for temporary.
Dan, I’ve been researched, Google search and read lots of reviews at different day spa, salon and therapeutic businesses here at the new town. I prefer to work at the day spa or salon because I would like to reserve Sundays for my family. My husband works 6 days a week and he’s in school too. Your advice is wonderful!
Heather, your comments have made me smile with your great inputs and humorous writing. I am going toward $15 for now and will do my best to introduce and provide professional therapeutic services there. They mentioned about the opportunity for me to grow at their place and promotion so I guess that it’s a good sign, right?
Maestra, thank you so much for the link. I will definitely put my post on there soon. Thank you so much for introducing me to your web/forum for professional massage therapist. I am very excited to found it and am looking forward to learn more massage techniques and get to know other massage therapist there. It seems like such a great community.
It’s so great to have people like all of you to share your wisdom and experiences to a newbie like me. I know that this journey has just starting and I have a long road to go. I feel like I’m not alone and feel more confidence on my new transition I’m taking because there are GREAT people like you! THANK YOU!
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