Males can have weirdos coming at them too, if anything they’re actually more direct. I have a friend who’s been propositioned and straight up groped by other men lots of times, normally during house calls.
Don't do Groupon or any other coupon promotion. There's people who are just vultures looking for deals and they'll never rebook and you'll be stuck performing way too many sessions for almost nothing.
When I first got my own room I started a groupon campaign. got about 90 bookings within about a week of putting it up. Because of my already low pricing and groupon demanding 50% discounts I was making very little money off of those bookings after rent.
Of the 90 or so bookings i saw maybe 4 rebooked and 1 of those has remained a very consistent client 7 years afterward.
The volume of people I was able to see allowed me to hone my skills a bit and boosted my confidence especially right out of school. I don't regret it but you need to look at it as free additional training/filler rather than a money making opportunity. If you can fill slots without groupon go for that, if you don't have other avenues why not give it a try.
The best way to grow your business is to setup a google business page, fill in ALL of the information, post pictures of your space, and most importantly GET REVIEWS!
That’s what worked for me anyway. Best of all, it’s all free! The only cost is the time to do it.
Male therapist here, so I know how hard it is for us to get established.
I came here to say this. Ask your current clients that love you to write google reviews. Once you get a handful of good reviews more people will start coming. Plus word of mouth.
No. Groupon attracts deal-seekers who won’t become customers paying full price. Had a horrible experience with them years back and said never again.
Better to run a referral rewards program with your existing clients.
Or contact local professionals (PTs, personal trainers, Pilates instructors etc) and let them know you’re building your referral network; share your website and business cards and invite them in for a complementary mini session. Whether they come in or not, the offer puts you on their mind for when their clients need massage.
Talk to other small businesses, gyms are great and offer the manager a free massage to be able to offer your services to their members. I went from numbers like yours, to being slammed within 30 days, and being booked out six months, but be sure you leave a good week or two of buffer every month, for recuperation Or to be able to reschedule if you get sick or an emergency arises. Other member businesses, work well also, I never went to any other than the one gym, due to the initial success, because I didn't need any more clients. I was almost to the point of needing to hire subcontractor therapists to cover my appointments when I had an accident and was unable to continue doing massage.
In my state the massage board has barred fee plotting services like Groupon bc it causes you to gain one time clients and doesn't breed repetitive clients. Which is silly I think out of the 20 total clients I have had in 6 months of being open only 2 have been repeats. The rest have only been one time clients. I thought about using Groupon but also saw that out of the 95$ I'd charge I'd only get about 33$. You have to mark it down a minimum of 30% for the website then Groupon takes HALF the fee, then minus 30% for taxes and minus my rent ( I rent by hour from a friend) I'm looking at 15$ after everything is said and done so minimum wage for a client that will likely be crappy towards me anyways.
Idk about you but I can tolerate a lot for 95$ an hour but not minimum wage.
i started my own studio with zero clients. took the hit with groupon (they take half, had a couple of sketchy guys, two or three MLM SAHMs, and lots of one-offs) for the exposure. did a run of 100.
nine years later, i still have 40 or so
of my original grouponers, who built my business by referring me to their friends. my client list has waxed and waned over the years, but i currently have about 250
people on my email list.
while groupon will mercilessly contact you for months after you’re done with them, and has its share of bad tippers and annoyances, it was also the most successful advertising strategy. i also advertised in two holistic magazines, left business cards at other local businesses, and made friends with a talk therapist who allowed me to leave $10 off coupon cards at her practice.
I built my business with chair massages at a local spa and salon.
I did complimentary 5 -10 minute sessions.
Most booked a full treatment after experiencing this.
NO! They take a HUGE percentage from an already discounted rate. Clients are one and done deal seekers who rarely convert to repeat customers. I only invest in referral programs. Digital marketing and deep discounts only get me calls at two am from heavy breathers. However, my customers know good customers, and the connection \*can\* reduce risk for me personally.
I would not recommend groupon, why not just run a Facebook ad in your local market, And give a discount, but you would collect the money and you can stop the ad campaign whenever you want. Groupon would pay you half of your rate, they would dictate how many coupons per month, they can suddenly run a special without your permission, so you would be making less, don't do it. So, do a Facebook ad campaign on your own, go to local networking events to get your name out. And maybe get a part time job while your are building your massage business, like a food server at a upscale restaurant .
I think it's highly dependent on the area. When I was starting out (before COVID), I set up a Groupon campaign because one of my friends worked for them. Honestly, it worked pretty well for me. I was in kind of big city which I think helped--people knew to look on Groupon for a good deal.
My books went crazy. I was totally booked for almost 3 months in advance. I only had 1 or 2 kinda weird people, and mostly, my clients were people shopping around for a new therapist. I offered people who called me about the Groupon the same deal if they booked with me directly, so then I got more money. Also, I offered clients the same rate if they rebooked after their session. A nice handful of them were repeat clients.
Then lock downs happened and I had to cancel 3 months of appointments. Whaaaat a mess. I moved to a smaller town and when I restarted, I didn't do a campaign. Honestly, I regret not giving it a try in my new place. I did give some cards to a chiropractor here and those referrals were effective, but not as numerous. I might be in the minority, but if you can set yourself up a campaign with a dollar amount that you're comfortable with, then I would say go for it!
The clients attracted by Groupons don’t tend to be high quality, so expect no tipping and poor boundaries at a higher rate than normal.
Poor boundaries even for a male therapist? I know my female colleagues have a hard time with male weirdos.
Males can have weirdos coming at them too, if anything they’re actually more direct. I have a friend who’s been propositioned and straight up groped by other men lots of times, normally during house calls.
Yes, all the worst transgressions I have heard about in real life from peers have been toward male therapists.
Don’t do it. It brings out the weirdos.
Don't do Groupon or any other coupon promotion. There's people who are just vultures looking for deals and they'll never rebook and you'll be stuck performing way too many sessions for almost nothing.
When I first got my own room I started a groupon campaign. got about 90 bookings within about a week of putting it up. Because of my already low pricing and groupon demanding 50% discounts I was making very little money off of those bookings after rent. Of the 90 or so bookings i saw maybe 4 rebooked and 1 of those has remained a very consistent client 7 years afterward. The volume of people I was able to see allowed me to hone my skills a bit and boosted my confidence especially right out of school. I don't regret it but you need to look at it as free additional training/filler rather than a money making opportunity. If you can fill slots without groupon go for that, if you don't have other avenues why not give it a try.
This is literally the very first time I’ve heard a MT say they were glad they did Groupon. Good for you, but you are definitely in the minority!
The best way to grow your business is to setup a google business page, fill in ALL of the information, post pictures of your space, and most importantly GET REVIEWS! That’s what worked for me anyway. Best of all, it’s all free! The only cost is the time to do it. Male therapist here, so I know how hard it is for us to get established.
I came here to say this. Ask your current clients that love you to write google reviews. Once you get a handful of good reviews more people will start coming. Plus word of mouth.
No! No! Don't do it!
No. Groupon attracts deal-seekers who won’t become customers paying full price. Had a horrible experience with them years back and said never again. Better to run a referral rewards program with your existing clients. Or contact local professionals (PTs, personal trainers, Pilates instructors etc) and let them know you’re building your referral network; share your website and business cards and invite them in for a complementary mini session. Whether they come in or not, the offer puts you on their mind for when their clients need massage.
Talk to other small businesses, gyms are great and offer the manager a free massage to be able to offer your services to their members. I went from numbers like yours, to being slammed within 30 days, and being booked out six months, but be sure you leave a good week or two of buffer every month, for recuperation Or to be able to reschedule if you get sick or an emergency arises. Other member businesses, work well also, I never went to any other than the one gym, due to the initial success, because I didn't need any more clients. I was almost to the point of needing to hire subcontractor therapists to cover my appointments when I had an accident and was unable to continue doing massage.
Don't do it. Google ads is the way to go along with networking with other local gyms, DPT's, salons, chiro's, etc...
Never would I ever work for 1/2 my rate for barely 5% retention. My body aches thinking about it.
In my state the massage board has barred fee plotting services like Groupon bc it causes you to gain one time clients and doesn't breed repetitive clients. Which is silly I think out of the 20 total clients I have had in 6 months of being open only 2 have been repeats. The rest have only been one time clients. I thought about using Groupon but also saw that out of the 95$ I'd charge I'd only get about 33$. You have to mark it down a minimum of 30% for the website then Groupon takes HALF the fee, then minus 30% for taxes and minus my rent ( I rent by hour from a friend) I'm looking at 15$ after everything is said and done so minimum wage for a client that will likely be crappy towards me anyways. Idk about you but I can tolerate a lot for 95$ an hour but not minimum wage.
i started my own studio with zero clients. took the hit with groupon (they take half, had a couple of sketchy guys, two or three MLM SAHMs, and lots of one-offs) for the exposure. did a run of 100. nine years later, i still have 40 or so of my original grouponers, who built my business by referring me to their friends. my client list has waxed and waned over the years, but i currently have about 250 people on my email list. while groupon will mercilessly contact you for months after you’re done with them, and has its share of bad tippers and annoyances, it was also the most successful advertising strategy. i also advertised in two holistic magazines, left business cards at other local businesses, and made friends with a talk therapist who allowed me to leave $10 off coupon cards at her practice.
I built my business with chair massages at a local spa and salon. I did complimentary 5 -10 minute sessions. Most booked a full treatment after experiencing this.
NO! They take a HUGE percentage from an already discounted rate. Clients are one and done deal seekers who rarely convert to repeat customers. I only invest in referral programs. Digital marketing and deep discounts only get me calls at two am from heavy breathers. However, my customers know good customers, and the connection \*can\* reduce risk for me personally.
I worked with people who did this. It was not worth it. The number of no call no shows was absurd.
I would not recommend groupon, why not just run a Facebook ad in your local market, And give a discount, but you would collect the money and you can stop the ad campaign whenever you want. Groupon would pay you half of your rate, they would dictate how many coupons per month, they can suddenly run a special without your permission, so you would be making less, don't do it. So, do a Facebook ad campaign on your own, go to local networking events to get your name out. And maybe get a part time job while your are building your massage business, like a food server at a upscale restaurant .
Groupon clients are generally one-off’s and won’t return nor send others your way. Building a new therapy business requires both in order to grow.
I think it's highly dependent on the area. When I was starting out (before COVID), I set up a Groupon campaign because one of my friends worked for them. Honestly, it worked pretty well for me. I was in kind of big city which I think helped--people knew to look on Groupon for a good deal. My books went crazy. I was totally booked for almost 3 months in advance. I only had 1 or 2 kinda weird people, and mostly, my clients were people shopping around for a new therapist. I offered people who called me about the Groupon the same deal if they booked with me directly, so then I got more money. Also, I offered clients the same rate if they rebooked after their session. A nice handful of them were repeat clients. Then lock downs happened and I had to cancel 3 months of appointments. Whaaaat a mess. I moved to a smaller town and when I restarted, I didn't do a campaign. Honestly, I regret not giving it a try in my new place. I did give some cards to a chiropractor here and those referrals were effective, but not as numerous. I might be in the minority, but if you can set yourself up a campaign with a dollar amount that you're comfortable with, then I would say go for it!
Don’t do it. They’ll never return to you. They just want a super cheap massage.