Hi to all Irish HP'ers, this forum is quiet isn't it:(. Is it a sign that people aren't getting much work or is the opposite and you are all so busy you don't have time to be on the internet? My friend and I have been working out of a complementary therapy centre since last May doing reflexology, aromatherapy etc. It was ok and we were building a small return clientele. However we came to the conclusion that in order to earn a living we really needed to incorporate beauty - waxing, nails, tanning etc in order to build a good base of clientele. We found a really good beautician and she has really improved the footfall over the threshold. Our prices are very competitive in order to get the clients to come in and the owner of the centre saw the people coming and thought we must be making money (not true, we are actually running at a loss) and changed the arrangements from 10 per hour to wanting a direct debit of 35 each (the 2 of us and the beautician we employ = 105) per week for 5 hours whether we had work or not. I understand that he needs to secure his income but we reckoned that in reality we would not be getting 15 hours for the 105 but more likely it would just be 5 as we would be there at the same time.
Here is the dilemma, do we try to get our own place, where we will have free run and be able to advertise ourselves the way we want to or do we suck it up and stay.????
Your advice and insight would be gratefully appreciated.
C
Do you have a contract with this centre owner? You may need to read the small print - if 3 therapists are sharing the same space (couch? chairs?) then he may be overstepping the mark and seeing you as a bit of a cash cow! I
In a local comp therapy centre (Scotland), I pay £8 per hour for use of a very comfortable room in a centre. There are other rooms available too, and invariably there are 3 therapists working at any one time - we each pay £7 per hour. However, the space is not guaranteed, so I have to book well in advance. In another centre, I used to pay £25 per week (monthly by DD), to cover a designated period - Friday from 1300 until I finished, which was somethings 2100. I used to try and see at least 5 clients. This arrangement worked well for me, and if I chose not to work on a Friday, then that was my loss.
If you three have the capital to invest in your own space, then it may be worth investigating - but make a list of all possible overheads first - you'd be amazed at just what gets added to the list!
Thanks for the advice Jabba. We didn't really have a problem renting the space from him but he did not want us to promote our own brand, he wanted us to promote his, which definitely was not the plan when we first went in. He also wanted all our calls to go through his phone which we felt was a bit restrictive/controlling whichever way you want to look at it. We have decided to give it a go on our own and see what happens and yes when you add up all the extra costs it is frightening. The complementary therapy business in Ireland does not seem to be as established as it is in the UK and people are really minding their pennies (as I am sure they are in the UK also). The new place is on a ground floor and is well placed on a main road into the town, so we will have a visible presence, which we did not have before. Time will tell:)
Dont have any advice for you Aroma but just wanted to wish you well on your new venture.
Linda
Thanks for the good wishes
C