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Has anyone else left a Salon for office bldg suite

I have been renting a room at a salon for 6 years. I am interested in getting out of the salon environment and have found a room bigger than the one I am in for the same price in an office building. I'm not one to hop around, but the salon atmosphere is increasingly less desirable to me with the noises, smells and ocassional drama.

Has anyone out there left a salon or spa to go out on their own in a suite in an office buildg and how did it go?

Amy

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Permalink Reply by Rose Cook on May 2, 2016 at 1:29pm

I am just starting out in massage therapy and don't plan on going in to it full time straight away. This is one of the options I was thinking of so would also be interested to know.

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Permalink Reply by Deborah Peter on May 16, 2016 at 6:31pm

Amy I have never operated within the salon environment for the very reasons you have mentioned. I have had a practicd operating out of a professional building for the last 11 years. Six of those years I had my own office with a reception area and the therapy room. Since then I have rented my own room from other therapists who had a lease that included multiple rooms for rent outside of their own. Currently I am co-oping with 3 other therapists to share space. We each run our own business but we are all on the lease. The space has a break room, a lobby area (no receptionist as none is needed), and the therapy rooms. We share all expenses related to the environment equally. This arrangement has proved to work well - mostly because we all work well together. I'd be happy to answer any specific questions you may have regarding renting a suite in an office building. I say GO FOR IT

Deborah

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Permalink Reply by Howard Northrup, LMT on May 16, 2016 at 6:39pm

Yes, I did it and you'll be SO thankful that you made the move out of a salon! I worked at one for almost 6 years and found, like you did, that the drama, noise, etc. was unbearable and sometimes, pretty embarrassing to have to apologize for to a client. But I stuck it out because I was in the process of building a great clientele. Then, 8 years ago, I e-mailed a client who was an acupuncturist just a few miles from the salon, to ask if she knew of any rooms for rent in the area (rule of thumb: don't move more than 5 miles or you'll risk losing too many clients). She replied that she had one available in her office, which is in a professional building and has 5 treatment rooms. The majority of my clients followed me and I have to say that it is a MUCH better environment for giving our best to people who spend good money on our service. A stressed massage therapist just can't give as good a massage as a relaxed therapist! :-)