a community of practitioners

Charging for Services

This is a post for opinions!! I have been informed by a client of mine; there is a place about 1.5 hours from where i live there is a place that has beach volleyball all spring and summer long. On the weekends they have tournaments. If it were you and you were looking for some extra cash on the weekend would you make that drive? If so how would you work your agreement with the facility; charge per person or charge the facility and take tips?

Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Frank J on February 21, 2010 at 8:30am

The time driving is my biggest delimma. But I really enjoy the athletic environment. There is not a venue here like that. There are 5k and 10k runs but those events only last about 2-3 hours total. There are some triathlons coming up in the area also. I have some work to do here also because the people here aren't use to seeing a massage therapist at these local events and some are reluctant to get on the table. I go to those on a volunteer basis although some people do tip me. But an all day tournament from about 9a-9p is another story. You do make a valid point about the profit for them, that is something i didnt think about. Chair massage is not my objective here. it is getting them on the table for some event sports massage.

Christine (Chris) Robinson said:

Hi Frank!

Hm. If you're doing it for extra cash, are there any other options closer to you for making extra cash? Considering that each trip you make, takes 3 hours out of your weekend, plus the cost of mileage, you'd have to have a pretty steady stream of clients once you get there, for it to be worthwhile if extra cash if your main need.

If you want to be paid by the facility, you'd have to make a pretty good case, that it benefits them in some way. Facilities look for ways to bring in more paying customers and increase their own income, and to avoid expenses that don't help them pay their own overhead etc. They need to make a profit, just like we do, or they can't stay in business. If you can't think of a good case for how hiring you brings benefits to the facility, I suspect you'd do better to just charge per person.

For charging per person: are the tournament players likely to have cash on them, or will their cash be in a locker or their car, less accessible? And will there be a constant stream of potential clients wandering around you, or will there be long periods where the majority of people are going to be busy in the tournaments and you'll have to wait for the next break?

Also, since the players are not accustomed to having chair massage available at the venue, and since they would be paying for it themselves, it would take a number of weeks or months for you to build your reputation among them and build a clientele. Initially, people won't even know you're there, and no one will be looking for you. It will take time for the players to become aware of your presence - good signage and an easily-accessible location would be really important. And then, enough folks need to have the experience that Frank gives a great massage, for you to become popular by word-of-mouth. I might do something like offering 5 minutes for free for new customers, because people would be reluctant to pay me if they don't know whether I'm actually any good or not. :-)

Those are all good things to think about, if your main objective is making enough income.

On the other hand, if you really enjoy that kind of environment, then it could be fun to go and hang out and make whatever cash you can. In that case, it's more for enjoyment, and income is secondary. There are a few jobs that I do like that every year: it's iffy whether I'll make enough money to make it financially "worth" the hours, but I enjoy the setting and the people, so on the days I don't make much, it's still worth it to me.

Those are just some thoughts to roll around in your head. Looking forward to seeing what others say. Please do post what you decide to do - and if you decide to go for it, let us know how it's going.