How much do you charge?

[Pompal 09.]

I am just starting out and have seen varying prices for peoples indian head massage that they offer ranging anywhere from £10 to £30! I dont want to charge excessively so was thinking around£15?

Just wondering what others think to this and what they charge?

 

[King Crimson]

Although the prices of your competition should be taken into account. You need to work out the cost of delivering your service, i.e. fixed and variable costs.

The best way to work out what you need to charge is by doing a business plan. This will give you a paper model of your business and will allow you to work all your costs and hence what to charge.

There's plenty of free information out there and the best place to start is your local business link, google will give you a link. For my business plan I used a Word Template from my bank that asked all the right questions.

I might sound like a lot to do, but there's nothing worse than workng flat out and not making enough to live on.

HTH,
Myarka.

 

[Lalala09]

I charge £18

 

[esolluscups]

I charge £18 too.

 

[Sarita]

See what others charge in your area, make sure you do not undercut them or you will not make friends with other therapists who could in future support you or even work with you. Do not charge too much or no one will come. I saw what others charged for the same service nearby, charged the same and have had clients, no one has ever questioned the amount i charge. You can offer incentives for first time visits to encourage people initially, but you have to make money from it, you need to eat and pay your bills.
I found it difficult treating friends/family and was never sure what to charge, and then it was pointed out to me i was losing money by not charging them enough, so I do charge them but not as much as new clients.

 

[jomonjimmy]

Good advice from myarka there - definitely worth doing a business plan and working out your costs. When I first started out I searched for all my competitots prices and length of treatment and did a spreadsheet and worked out the average cost of what people charger and then decied where I wanted to sit with in that range taking in to account my costs.

There is quite a range of prices being charged for a treatment but that is also because people do varying lengths of treatments - some only offer a 30 minute treatment while others do 45 minute or 1 hour.

I offer 30 minutes for £15 and 1 hour for £25. I am thinking of putting my prices up soon though as my prices are quite low now compared to others practicing locally. Will be changing them to £20 for 30 min and £30 for 1 hour.

 

[Snaitf]

I charge £20 for dry Indian head massage i.e. no oil over clothes, and £25 for using essential oils in a blend (I am also an aromatherapist),
hope that helps,
L of the V

 

[chrissy boy]

Thanks for all the answers everyone Very helpful!

 

[ClizenCortes]

Remember that your charge isn't just for the time actually spent performing/delivering your relevant therapy - how much time do you spend preparing, clearing up, traveling to/from a client (unless all your work is at home), administration, buying supplies etc - someone has to pay for that time, and it should be your clients.

I regularly see business plans from therapists who don't factor in all of their time spent on ancilliary business activities when calculating a rate per service and who are horrified to learn that the rate they have set actually gives them an effective hourly rate close to minimum wage!

 

[grable]

I charge £10 for a 20 minute session. I encourage clients to bring a 'friend' and give them a discount for 2 treatments one after the other- as I am finding a lot of my clients tend to like to bring sisters/mums/friends with them to try it out or generally have a nice pampering session.
I have the use of a local health spa and book the relaxation room out so people can swim, sauna, gym before they have a massage and then I charge £15 as I have to pay for the hire of the room, that needs to be taken into consideration if you arnt working from your own home.

Hope that helps x

 

[Prettyreathfhq]

Hi Angel_hales!

Rates for Indian Head massage in Surrey, where we both are, tend to be between £20-£30 for 30-40 minutes. If you're going mobile it's up near the £30 mark (as I charge) but if you're based somewhere like a salon, or working from home, it's rarely less than £20. If you charge less there's a risk that this is perceived as a reflection of the quality of the service. Mad I know but you often find that the best therapists charge a bit more because their time is in demand, and clients realise this.

Indian Head is often a difficult one to sell no matter what the price and it tends to be one of several services a therapist has in their goodie bag of treatments. I see from your website that you're considering studying reflexology which would be a good addition so all the best with that and your budding business!

 

[Robin donald]

I charge £15 for 30 mins with clothes on and no oils. It is not my biggest earner. I don't think it is very popular where I live and unless you go to a spa where they charge you a fortune.

Vickie

 

[Skylyn]

Less than a plumber, car mechanic, or hairdresser. Much much less than a dentist.