Having trouble finding a room to rent.

[ChicJellyfishmisfits]

Having trouble finding a room to rent.

Since you've been seeing some clients at your home anyway, couldn't they continue to come there at whatever your rate is? And the other clients that are closer to the wellness place could either see you there (at their higher rate) or take a little more time to come to your home.

The hair salon doesn't sound all that great, to be honest. But if that works out better for you, try to negotiate with the owner. Say, you supply your products, table, decor and clean the carpet, and you want a 60/40 (or 70/30 or whatever split.) Just because an owner says this is the split doesn't mean it's written in stone or there is no room for negotiations.

I've got a few clients that come to my home and I intend to continue to see them, I'm just going to condense them into one day a week and one saturday a month. I've explained that to both of these potential employers and neither one is concerned about my running my own business from my home. They're both fine with that. That is nice.

I don't have any of my own clients located near the wellness center. If I ended up there, I would be starting over fresh, building a client base in my new town, which is certainly not a bad thing. The only advaneforum.xxxe to the hair salon is that I could regain and retain a lot of my old clients who aren't willing to drive all the way to my home.

I'm not really impressed with the hair salon either, but I'm not ready to write it off completely just yet. But, my initial impression of the owner and the establishment was not a great one.

 

[Buy]

Having trouble finding a room to rent.

"Do I forget my old clients and start over fresh in my new community, or do I travel the distance and hang on to those same old people I've known for 10 years?"

Something to consider with this decision (and you might have already considered it) is how far backward you're willing to bend to accommodate people who, even though you've known them for 10 years, are unwilling to travel to you. I don't know how far away you are to them now, but if it's an excessive distance/time issue for them then it's excessive for you, too. I just hope that if that's what you choose, you will charge them accordingly for your trouble. This could be an issue at the salon unless you convince them to raise the rates or give you a bigger perceneforum.xxxe like tranquilspirit2006 said.

 

[sexy mum43]

Having trouble finding a room to rent.

"Do I forget my old clients and start over fresh in my new community, or do I travel the distance and hang on to those same old people I've known for 10 years?"

Something to consider with this decision (and you might have already considered it) is how far backward you're willing to bend to accommodate people who, even though you've known them for 10 years, are unwilling to travel to you. I don't know how far away you are to them now, but if it's an excessive distance/time issue for them then it's excessive for you, too. I just hope that if that's what you choose, you will charge them accordingly for your trouble. This could be an issue at the salon unless you convince them to raise the rates or give you a bigger perceneforum.xxxe like tranquilspirit2006 said.

I know, that is one thing I've been asking myself. "If they're not willing to travel to me, why should I travel to them?" Also, house calls are exhausting. Especially trying to hit several locations in one day.

The salon charges a higher rate for their "therapeutic" massage. If I told my clients that this is the massage they are receiving then they would pay slightly more. The salon did say that after 90 days, if I've built a solid client base of either my old clients or new ones, they would consider a higher perceneforum.xxxe at that time.

I do have one more situation that I am on the fence about. Its a chiropractor's office that has an adjoining "spa" where they offer massage and skin care services. Its convenient to my old clients, but a long drive for me. The reason I haven't booked an appointment with these people yet is because they are looking for a "sub-contractor" (which means no payroll) but they don't "rent rooms"??? It just sounds like one of these situations where the sub-contractors are treated more like employees, not independent contractors. I've emailed them with more questions and I'm waiting to hear back, but if it is what I think it is, I don't want to waste my time running up there for an interview.

 

[Hally M]

Having trouble finding a room to rent.

I have no advice for you, Ellie-- but I will share our story with you.

When DH first got his "people license", there was a lady referred to him who had... some serious chronic issues that he was able to help. Since he had no office of his own, he did outcalls. She lived about 20 miles away from where we lived at the time-- no small distance. She was a good, regular client, though, during a time when we really really needed those. She was one of a small handful who actually kept us going (and fed!) during that time.

Then came the time when we were ready to move out of that rented house and into one of our own. By then, he literally had clients all the way from 20 miles in that client's direction, to 20 miles in two or three other directions.

This gave over to a time of serious contemplation for us. DH mentioned several times that he thought we should "consider the location of our clients" when making our decision. I said, "WHICH clients? The ones who live over that way? Or perhaps you mean those who live ...^... up that-a-way, or ...v... down there? He thought about that and considered the people who gave him the most work (the initial client in this story). Problem was, "that area" was way more expensive than we could have afforded, and was not the sort of environment in which we wanted to raise our children (and having 9 of them, that was a BIG consideration. Not that it's any more important to us than to someone who has only one or two; it's just that our kids enjoy being outside, so a BIG YARD was necessary, LOL!).

I shook my head. Nope. We should NOT base our entire future around one person, no matter how good a client she may be. We need to base our future on where we WANT to be, and the clients will follow... or not, and new ones will come. He thought on that, and eventually agreed. We bought a house, on 1/2 an acre, in "this little town between here and there". About 10 miles further from "Mrs. Initial Client", and 10 miles closer to certain others.

"Mrs. Initial Client" has indeed come to see us in our new area (new *place* actually opens later this month, after 2 years at the "old office" across the street. Ah, it's confusing. Even to me.). Not nearly as often as we would like to see her, nor as often as would benefit her body. But that isn't our concern. Bending over backward to get or to maintain one or a handful of clients, we have learned through this, only puts us in the position to miss other opportunities-- opportunities which, we have found, are much more golden and certain than that initial handful which kept us going for so long. We base this on the *groups and type of people around us* now, not *individual clients*. Out of that initial handful, six or seven of them have indeed continued to come see us.... but far less often than "before", I don't think that's because we moved, so much as because "that's the way it is" with most people.

I've learned: no matter what anyone says, every client will only come when and if it suits them. Price-wise, location-wise, time-wise, or other-wise. I can't tell you how many clients have told us "You are my massage therapist for LIFE-- you can never move away because I NEED you. You're STUCK with me forEVER!"

And three months later, they drop off the face of the Earth.

Clients are like everyone else: they're fickle. They won't truly appreciate your bending over backwards to accommodate them. They'll *think* they do, and they'll certainly TELL you that they do, but in the end, they will always make their decisions on when, where, and whom to see based on their own set of personal criteria. And that is exactly as it should be.

But it has also taught me that *I*, too, should make my decisions based on *my* own personal set of criteria.

If you moved to your new area because you like it there, or because it is a better "fit" for you, or why-ever you did, you are now *there*. Why not take the opportunity to do some networking, meet some new people, and build a new practice? If your old clients *want* to see you, they will find a way to make that happen. But what about all the new clients-you-haven't-met-yet, in your new area, who would be missing out on your unique, excellent work, because you keep looking backward?

Alternatively (you may have mentioned this and I missed it-- if so, then I apologize), if you liked the "old area" so much, why did you move? (I'm not trying to be snarky, just asking.)

 

[the chubbster]

Having trouble finding a room to rent.

Thanks for the story! That's very helpful to me for putting things in perspective.

You are right, clients are fickle and thinking back now, I can recall several who swore their undying loyalty to me at one point or another and have since then disappeared. I do feel like I'm looking back, way too much. It really is time to move on. Its just so hard once you're in that comfort zone, you know?

My old area was much more metropolitan and I had access to a lot more people in general. Now I'm in a more rural community, which I love, although the population is smaller. I don't miss my old town at all. Especially since the crime rate is out of control and I was never a city person to begin with. I'm so glad to be gone and shouldn't really even be thinking at all about going back. We moved so that we could have 14 acres and horses.

We didn't base our relocation on my husband's job either. Actually I remember saying to him that he might change jobs some day and we'd be better off more centrally located in case other opportunities arise, rather than basing our whole lives around this one company. I think I'm craving the sense of self worth that I had when I used to be so busy. I was the bread-winner, putting my husband through graduate school and my clients kept me busy and I paid all the bills. Now I spend most of my days with horses and goats and in the gardens. Its wonderful, but I don't feel like I have much to offer these days? Hmmm, maybe that's why I keep 'looking back'?

I do think its time to move ahead, no more looking back. I don't owe my old clients anything more than the years of service I have already given them. I'd really like to persue equine massage and massage for the horse and rider. That's really all I can get excited about these days. I guess the task of starting over and building a business from scratch just seems so daunting. I think that is what I need to do though.