a community of practitioners

Thought Du Jour On The Bottom Line

I hear this coment about certain spas: "oh its a good working environment, the ambiance is great, but the pay sucks." If an employer does not pay you fairly, other factors do not add up to anything. Spa work is not a spa vacation. You're not the one getting the massage. Find good work. Get paid. Go on vacation.

Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Darcy Neibaur on April 7, 2010 at 12:28pm

I did 2 massages last evening and made $86. Yes, we are paid minimum wadge to sit.

Donna C. Agrinsonis, LMT said:

So how much do you make at Massage Envy per hour on average? And what happens when you do not have clients? Are you paid for that also?

Permalink Reply by Stefanie Adams on April 7, 2010 at 1:33pm

Darcy, I appreciate you sharing your positive experiences at Massage Envy. Many of them provide decent jobs at fair wages for many practitioners. Not everyone has the skill set to operate a successful business (obviously you're not in that category) and ME can be a good option for some.

Do you know what is included with "full benefits" at your ME location?

How does the $19.50 from ME compare with the bottom line at your own business? I am thinking apples and apples - factoring in all expenses overhead labor associated with your own business. I charge $75 per massage and keep my costs low. I took a cost accounting class and did a detailed analysis of my business. My bottom line is $21 per hour of work, $28 per massage. Honestly, I missed a ton of expenses and didn't know how to calculate overhead labor before that class! $19.50 seems really good - not to mention much simpler to earn. I would not have thought that before costing my own business. Now I'm taking a tax class. Arggghhh!

Do you have a preference for ME or your own business, or is working both a good balance?

Darcy Neibaur said:

Pay for me at Massage Envy is Great. Plus I receive massages as often as I want at a 75% discount. What that comes out to be is $19.50 for a 1 hour massage. Free CE classes plus full benefits for those who work 30 hours a week or more. Plus discounts from many different companies for being a Massage Envy employee. I love it and am truly enjoying my experience with them.

Permalink Reply by Stefanie Adams on April 7, 2010 at 1:53pm

I see $19.50 is what you PAY for a massage, not what you MAKE. That's fantastic! I ran out of time to edit.

So the question is, how do your ME earnings compare with your own business earnings per massage?

Permalink Reply by Darcy Neibaur on April 7, 2010 at 9:37pm

I am making about $1000 a month from Massage Envy working 19 hours a week. My private business is not near that yet. The Massage Envy i work at offers a full benefits package to those who work 30 hours a week or more including health and dental insurance, paid vacation, etc, etc, etc. We also received discounts up to 15% from some companies like Verizon Wireless and a whole hots of other companies because of our employment with Massage Envy. They also offer an in house CE class of Hot Stones for 16 CE hours and a Certification in that modality. They also off free registration to the World Massage Conference as tehy are the Global Sponsor of that conference and Massage Evny employee get to attend for free and take as many CE class as they want. In November I attended 40 classes as tehy are on line. They will have another conference in June. We have a great clinic in Pensacola, FL with all the latest equipement of electric tables, all supplies provided, a computerized booking system etc. It is State of the Art. Our Owners are great. I understand not all Massage Clinics are a like. Receiving massage at a 75% discount is just one of the benefits we receive as employees. I try to get in once a week.

Stefanie Adams said:

I see $19.50 is what you PAY for a massage, not what you MAKE. That's fantastic! I ran out of time to edit.

So the question is, how do your ME earnings compare with your own business earnings per massage?