sorry for asking

[Phapydayfathe]

i was just wondering. i would like to set up my own business, full time. i cant find anything on the internet about what the average wage would be for a reflexologist/IHM, so i was wondering if anyone works full time for themselves and do they have a decent wage? (as i have just brought a house and me and my partner are planning on starting a family in the next couple of years) and was wondering, that if i gave up work to become a reflexologist would it give me the same earnings as full time work? (obviously would have to give it up/work part time when hopfully pitter patter of tiny feet come along).

but in the mean time i would like to give up my full time job to concentrate on complementy therapy. but am a little scared that i wont be able to pay the bills. do people find they have a lot of business?

blimey, sorry for all the gabble, hope it makes sense????

thanking you in advance.

sarah x

 

[Jessamina]

I have asked this question before and found it difficult to get hard and fast information! I guess no one likes talking about their income!!

I would say that it isn't easy to match a previous full-time wage. It takes a lot of time to build your practice and you may want to do it gradually by working part-time alongside it. It also depends what kind of wage you are looking for. I never earnt very much in my previous job (max £14K) so my expectations weren't too high, but I know that people who come from jobs earning £20K+ have a very hard time trying to match that income.

I charge £22 per treatment and with outgoings I estimate that I have £18 left to pay myself with, on average. It really depends how strict I am with outgoings (workshops and books on your favourite subject are so tempting!!). Therefore if I do 50 treatments a month I can earn £900, and this is about the level I am at now... but that is 3 years after qualifying. I'm sure I could have got there sooner if I knew then what I know now about promoting and marketing. HP has been a great help!!

As far as paying bills goes... When I started on this career I worked out the bare minimum I needed to survive (ie bills and food) and amde sure I earned at least this with guaranteed part-time work, so that I wouldn't be relying on the Reflex. Now I have regular clients I have been able to give this up. I never wanted to be worrying about whether I could pay bills or not.

I hope this has been of some help.

Sarah x

 

[PlotheAttible]

Hi Periwinkle

I'm surprised no one has replied yet, but this is my experience.

I wasn't working for a while before I qualified. I am not the main earner in our household and my money is not essential to keep us afloat.

If your income is essential you will need to build up a client base before you leave your regular jobs. This takes time.

I now average about 5 clients a week after four months working. I am hoping to increase this. I get new ones fairly regularly and many just keep coming back. You have to be prepared to work some evenings and weekends. I charge more for these, I also see people at home.

You need to put your name on lots of listings. I haven't advertised anywhere else yet, but will probably start to soon.


Best of luck

 

[Michelle =)]

Just adding to what has been said above, I too wasn't the main breadwinner, so money was never my main motivation. A lot depends on where you live and how many therapists are practising your treatments in your area.

I see probably on average 10-15 clients a week, but I probably have a broad client base of about 50-60, maybe more. Of those, many have come just once. Particularly working in a salon in a gym, I find that people are given gift vouchers, or just want to try the treatment and however, good your treatment is, they never intend to have more than one treatment. Then you have to consider that whilst you may get weekly or fortnightly clients, many will only come every three to four weeks, so you need an awful lot of regulars to keep you busy.

In my experience, very few clients have regular treatments over a long period of time. They have holidays, illnesses, family commitments, etc. and may not have treatments for a while and then come back out of the blue. Nothing is ever guaranteed, so you have to think how you would manage if the majority of your clients didn't turn up one week.

Hope I haven't dampened your enthusiasm, but for most therapists, the job satisfaction outweighs the financial benefits many times over...but of course, we still have to pay the bills!

Good luck.

Lesley

 

[Enrique Llanas]

I can echo all of the above. I moved to a different part of the country eighteen months ago so had to start again. Am now in a similar position to Sarah and earn about £1,000 on a good month, but my room rental comes out of this (about £200). I have to say this is in a good month, but probably 700-900 is about right. I don't spend much now, I only buy oils when I need them and have tried to stem the book habit as it is endless and costly.

I have only just qualified in reflexology but have found that people are coming back far more regularly than they do for aromatherapy treatments, which is very encouraging. I have already got quite a few regulars, it is definately easier to build up than aromatherapy.

I also was not the main breadwinner and couldn't have done it without support, but I am about to branch out on my own-some now and there is no way I would give up what I do coz I love it too much. It isn't great money, but if you think what you earn for the hours you do, then it is a lot better than some people earn. It is all relative. I haven't worked 'properly' since 1989 and I took home about 800 a month then, so not much progress has been made financially has it!!!!![&:] Ah well....don't care, would far rather do this than sit taking shorthand in some pointless business.

Good luck.