working alone in an office

[DTCTown]

i would love to lease an office space to start-up my massage therapy business. one of questions i am struggling with is this....is it a safety issue for me to be alone in the office with a client? how do you handle this for those of you who work alone? i dont have anyone who could stay in the office with me, and i dont know if this is something i should be concerned with or not.

 

[Pavlovs Dogma]

I am nervous about this myself, mainly because the others that have offices within the building are their sporatic as well. Because of this, I hesitate to advertize, and work only by referrals.

 

[Bronzewall]

I work alone and have since I started two years ago. I never worried about it. I know that doesnt make the potential problem go away, but really, I never wasted much time worrying about it.

I will only see an unrefered male client during the day. There are more people in the building then, and if I would start screaming, someone would come to check on me. Very seldom do I get a male client that will make the hairs on the back of my neck stand up. If I get one of these, and they behave, I have learned that i need to pay attention to my gut instinct. Sometimes they test the water and behave for a few sessions, then BAMMO!! They turn on their inner weirdo and I have to figure out how to get rid of them. I am in the process of handling a weirdo situation now. He comes back November 7th. Oh boy, I can hardly wait. :roll:

If I worried about all the bad stuff that could happen (in and outside my office), I might as well stay home and lock myself in my bedroom.

I dont want to sound like a hard a**, but if you fear male clients, it shows and the kooky ones can pick up on that. If you find yourself always worrying about the bad male clients, limit your practice to women only.

 

[Annorofah]

ditto.

since i began private practice two years ago, i haven't worried about it at all. it's funny - in the spa environment, there were many more clients who had other ideas... in private practice, i feel more protected. i don't even get the goofy calls (and i have a yellow pages ad)!

there is another woman who works in my office a few days a week, but we work at different times, so i'm usually alone. one thing that we both do is leave music playing in the other tx room with the door closed. it gives the appearance that someone else is there in session.

amanda

 

[Mighty Saints!!]

Amanda,

I also advertise in the YP's and dont get weirdo calls. THANK GOD!! Anyway, I really feel for those that do get those type of calls. Yuck!!

 

[carmenlafond]

When I first started my private practice (right out of massage school) I chose to rent a room in an acupuncture clinic. One reason was safety - I was nervous about starting out alone. My other reasons were networking (the potential for referrals from the acupuncturist), peer support (having someone to talk to), and budget (renting a room was cheaper than renting a separate office). This worked well for me for the first two years, and I had a strong clientele by the time I moved into my own space. Now I LOVE having my own office, but I wasn't ready for that in the beginning. Just another avenue you might consider.

 

[alllllly]

working alone in an office

i would love to lease an office space to start-up my massage therapy business. one of questions i am struggling with is this....is it a safety issue for me to be alone in the office with a client? how do you handle this for those of you who work alone? i dont have anyone who could stay in the office with me, and i dont know if this is something i should be concerned with or not.

I've always had my practice designed so that there is an outside door, and then the waiting area, with an internal door that everyone has to go through before going into a massage room.

I keep the outside door unlocked when I want, but the internal door always stays locked until I want to let someone through it.

It's not going to keep someone on your table from being a problem, but it is going to keep someone from getting on your table if something fishy occurs when you first meet them.

I can't say I've ever had that problem though. I have had a few people who after meeting them, I felt like I would not be able to work with (for other reasons). I explained this too them in detail and sent them off with a referral or to find someone else. But that is a bit different.

I was in an office by myself for 7 years and it was never a problem.

 

[nextGREAT1]

Thanks for the idea Pueppi!! This sort of thing had been bothering me. I am in the process of setting up a new spot with two entrances. Currently the space is a big hole with the addition of a hallway. I was uncertain about that hallway, but in the current state of the spot, it could be made to have the hallway lead to the area where my waiting room will be instead of the area where the treatment rooms are, as it currently leads to.

 

[Monkey Cheese]

Here are 2 examples of the double door system in working offices.

I used http://www.bhg.com/bhg/category.jhtml?categoryid=/templatedata/bhg/category/data/arrangearoomtest.xml to build the examples I have here (not exactly to scale, but it gives you the layout idea).

The bottom one is my friends' office and they have a multi-type practice also. The neat thing is that she used a closet (took off the door and put a chair and mirror in there). It is still part of her room, but gives a feeling of privacy.

You can also google for "room planners", but some only let you build one room and not a whole array.

 

[Desk3Bound]

Wow, Pueppi. You are the Internet Resource Master!

 

[MikeE]

I also work alone in an office for 3 years now. It's never been a problem. Some of the other professionals in my office suite work evenings and weekends, so there is often times people there during "off hours", but not all the time. I do most of my work by referral, but not always. I am careful not to accept new male clients too late in the evening. I always keep my cell phone and car keys handy, so that if I need to I can grab them and run. My husband always knows when I have a new client, especially a male, and he keeps and eye on the clock.

I think it's important to be careful what part of town your office is in and what other businesses are surrounding it. If you have a go-go bar on one side and a tattoo parlor on the other, you are most likely not going to be attracting your ideal clientele. And, as always, it is important to pay attention to the way your attire, your make-up, jewelry, visible tattoos, etc., as well as the decor in your office. It's important to have a professional and commanding attitude as well. Of course, you don't want to intimidate your client, but you do want to give the impression that you are in charge of the office. Yes, the session is to address their muscular issues and in that sense, they are in charge....but your professional and commanding attitude will help to deflect requests for "extras" and also cut down on the people who are going to ask for discounts, etc. With an "in charge" attitude, you will find that your clients will have more confidence in you and are likely to listen to your after care suggestions, as well as will rebook when you suggest it. It's all about confidence.

 

[Vamp]

i've been working in an office alone too for 2 1/2 years now. i've never had any trouble. i think the thing that i sometimes worry about more than something happening with a client is something happening while i have a client (ie someone coming in and "disturbing/harming" us). if i'm not expecting anyone else, i lock the doors so that no one else can get in.

if i do have someone new who i don't know (or sometimes just because) i put a phone under the table. i figure if something were to ever happen, i'd end up on the floor so that's where i put it.

 

[ann_svit]

i think the thing that i sometimes worry about more than something happening with a client is something happening while i have a client (ie someone coming in and "disturbing/harming" us). if i'm not expecting anyone else, i lock the doors so that no one else can get in.

This post reminded me to clarify something about the double door system.

When in session, both doors are always locked unless another therapist is in house.

If you leave the outside door unlocked while in session, you are likely to get someone who comes in and starts yelling "Helloo----oooooooo".

The double doors are more as a security for people not being allowed to get into your portion of the office without your ok. If in doubt, they stay out.

 

[Pedy123]

doesnt seem like being alone is a problem, i appreciate everyone's input.

locking the outside door is an excellent point, and thanks for the office layout ideas and website suggestions...

 

[orly]

HI. Just a thought,... I know that in my situation, I am in an office setting and there are ppl (my bro) who lives upstairs. This helps alot with my peace of mind. Now, we also have a policy in the office that my brother, the Doc, MUST have someone in the office area while he has a female patient. This is to prevent any harassment (or worse) allegations. It is not only a safeguard, but a professional courtesy to the patient as well. This way, THEY are at ease as well. If YOU are thinking about it, chances are the CLIENT had it cross their mind that they would be alone, vulnerable, (and naked) with YOU. And like some one else stated - you can't worry about everything that "might" happen, but it's always more relaxing to me when I am comfy and feel safe!