as a male massage therapist should i have to charge less than a woman

[Lawrence Schmitt]

and if so how much?
to add to this in my area women charge $60-$75 and i get told if i charge $45 its too much
also to add more i also get told everywhere that they won't higher a male therapist because they can not get clients for them

 

[Damien]

Absolutely charge what you are worth. If you charge below that people will assume that is what you are worth. 45 dollars was the going rate for one hour with a qualified masseur in Australia in 1990. Sixty is a fair price now. The only reason to consider charging someone less is if they employ your services on a regular basis. You might then lower the price to 50 dollars because they are a faithful client, and you can rely on income from them, but I wouldn't advertise this. Now you are qualified this is your job, and friends should respect this also.

If you have been trained in professional behaviour, there is no reason a male should find it harder to attract clients. This is absolute frogsh.. ! I personally prefer a male therapist because they are generally stronger. Make sure you are registered with a professional body, as this will make you more attractive to prospective clients, and allows you to promote yourself more widely especially on government health practitioner websites. Get professional indemnity insurance. Get a table custom made to the correct height to save yourself from back problems. Then charge what you are worth and build good word of mouth.

I always prefer a therapist who is generous with their time so you don't feel rushed, professional and prepared, knows their technique, and how to create a relaxing environment. If you can provide this, you are giving value for money.

 

[massage therapist]

On the contrary, I'm a male LMT and I charge more than my female counterparts in my area. Not that I do it on purpose, I charge what I think my services are worth. Male vs Female has nothing to do with it.

 

[shaloola]

If you are as qualified as somebody else, you should be able to charge as much as them. Otherwise it's an issue of sexism. I think you'd be fine going with the going-rate for females.

 

[Marc]

You should be charging what you are worth! You have the qualification and professionalism to conduct yourself and deliver quality health care then you should get paid for it. Now there are some men who are homo-phobic and regardless of what you charge you will never have them as clients, so you might as well charge what you are worth rather than "seducing" the public with price.

If you charge the normal rate then you will be attracting those people to you that have a value for what you do. If you charge less then you are saying I'm not worth collecting what I am worth. This will set you up to have less and less. You may lose a few if you have the "normal" rate but you will keep the ones who value your service. I am a health care provider and I charge a little more than the surrounding area and in some cases a whole lot more, but i know that my patients are getting excellent care and they and I have a value for what i do. I help people and get results.

Best of Luck!