$20 a hour massages to pay for school

[iamcrazyy]

$20 a hour massages to pay for school

This seems to me a marketing issue rather than an ethics issue.

I have this idea... what if I were to sell my massage services at $20 a hour. Assuming they came once a week or bought a booklet of like 5 massages.

Your marketing strategy:

• You want to attract clients within 20 - 25 minutes of your treatment room.
• You want the price to be affordable because in addition to your altruistic nature you also know there is a market for people willing to pay $20/hour for a massage.  They know they aren't getting all the thrills normally associated with a regularly priced session.  
• You are looking for young athletic types who on occasion overwork themselves while working out but are generally in good condition.  
• Most likely graduate students or people who just graduated from college/trade school.  
• "Up and Comers" who are on the edge financially but who are loyal and will continue with you as their financial picture improves.  
• They already take decent care of themselves or are just now earning enough money to eat regularly.  
• They aren't attached to a "spa" style treatment.  
• They will be interested in educating themselves on the products you are selling.

This did work very well at this spa I worked at. We charged $30 if you came consistently (At least once every two weeks). I believe massage therapy is worth $60 a hour. However... at this point i'm more focused on quantity of services and not profit per massage.

I find this a rather odd statement to say the least.  If the spa booked consistently at $30 a pop why would you take $10 out of your own pocket?  While being altruistic is a wonderful plan, why exactly are you willing to give away your work when you obviously need the money to pay for school (the title of this thread Re: $20 a hour massages to pay for school?

The school I went to offered a one hour massage really cheap because students worked on them. Obviously students aren't master massage therapists and the chance of somone just starting out in school doing better work then experienced MTs is very unlikely, but... there were always new people coming in to get a massage, it didn't matter who it was from.

This is true.  People go to school clinics for this very reason.  They know they take their chances each time they come in and sometimes they will find a truly talented practitioner and more often than not they will get a mediocre massage.  The one thing you offer these people is consistency.  If you don't mind my curiosity how long you have been out of school?

Another reason why my MASSAGE services are cheap... because they will see me quite often they will find that I have at least some knowledge of holistic health  :-D   I would be able to explain to them that they should start taking vitamins (which I sell), try acupuncture (which I will be learning), use reiki to work on the body's energy system (which massage can't do as well). Stuff like that.

It sounds as if you are expecting the retail end of your business to provide a large part of your regular income.  

Does anyone have any ideas on things I should change or add? I'm pretty flexible on most things. I just want to keep the idea of low prices for regular visits.

I believe your biggest obstacle is going to be getting the word out to the people your altruistic nature wants to extend this special to in hopes they will eventually become loyal customers of yours.

Retail sales tend to build rather slowly, therefore it is important to be very selective on the products you stock.  They will need to be quick movers, well priced and things your clients aren't able to get anywhere else.  Otherwise your money will be tied up in stock sitting on your shelves.

I'm ambivalent about your pricing strategy.  While I agree there is a group out there that fits this bill I happen to agree with Joe in much of what he has said.