prices

[water_icia]

That's your choice. I am about to increase my price from £60 to £65 per hour, I have no problem with this. As I have built my business, the overheads have increased too. It takes me approximately (depends on the split between my locations) 20 sessions per month just to break even, as a self-employed person I don't earn holiday pay, sick pay etc, this is also worked into my pricing.

As you said, the work is related to helping people in life. So, how do you put a price on it?
At my current rates, a smoker spending £2000 per year on cigarettes quits with me for £180.
A fairly wealthy couple I treated for cocaine use were spending £65,000 per year between them. They did joint sessions at £90 per hour, after three sessions they stopped completely £270 to save their health and £65,000 per year.
Countless clients I have treated for depression/anxiety have lived with these problems for many years and then changed the rest of their life for just £180-£360.
A recent life coaching client has gone from earning £100,000pa to £175,000pa and works less hours, has a better quality of home life, better health, has quit smoking, reduced his drinking, lowered his stress levels - total cost £600, another bargain! At the other end of the spectrum, my first Borderline Personality Disorder client was on benefits when I treated her. She also travelled from Stafford to Manchester for her sessions so I treated her in double sessions to make better use of her time and money. At the rates I was charging back then, she spent £600 and, after 20 years of living with BPD (despite every therapy available on the NHS), was finally freed from this debilitating problem.

The list goes on and on........... people who choose their therapist based on price don't interest me, I want clients who want to improve their lives, not try something once and see if it works (the usual profile of clients who choose based on price).

My dentist charges me £25 for a 6 minute check up, that's £250 per hour. My solicitor charges me around the same and my accountant isn't much cheaper. Welcome to the real world.

When I needed to see a dermatologist, my Gp told me the waiting list for NHS was 12 months. I saw one privately at £90 per hour. Don't hate the prices, hate the fact the NHS doesn't offer these therapies so readily, the NHS is the only way to make these therapies available to all. No matter how cheap you go, there will always be some who can't afford it (even though many of these will waste more than £60 per fortnight on cigs, alcohol, drugs, junk food and any number of other things they would cut out to pay for therapy if they placed enough importance on it).

 

[Mughal]

Bannick...My dentist charges me £25 for a 6 minute check up, that's £250 per hour. My solicitor charges me around the same and my accountant isn't much cheaper. Welcome to the real world.

Why does everyone try to justify such high prices by giving other examples of rip of merchants in the world. This is what I meant before about two wrongs don't make a right. ' everyone else charges crazy prices, so I will '


When such high prices are expected for complimentary therapies, it gives the impression that they are only available to the elite who can molly coddle themselves. There will be so many people out there who need this type of thing and yet they will have to rule it out. Yes they should be available on the NHS but they are not, so come on be compassionate and remember what you are about.

 

[Shafiq Hud]

Jeannie, before you go referring to people as rip off merchants, do you think that perhaps you might want to think about how accessible therapies would be if we all spent 12 years doing them part-time due to charging too little to be able to make a full-time income, therefore reducing the number of clients a therapist can see? (of course you also have little or no overheads too when working part-time). If you want to play at it, that's up to you but to get all high and mighty and start referring to people as rip off merchants is way out of line, you have no idea what overheads therapists on here (or some of the other occupations listed) have because you've never taken the risk of being full-time therapist.

And for your information yes, I do remember what I am "about". I packed in a very highly paid career with a list of benefits as long as your arm to become a full-time therapist, a huge risk in order to do something I am passionate about. Of course, I could have kept that career and be treating three people a week from home in the evenings as could all the other full time therapists on here but as I said before, how accessible would complementary therapies be then?

 

[rosan]

We often use the analogy that people will pay large sums of money to fix their car, but do not perceive "fixing themselves" as money well spent.

 

[StopAdmin]

It’s an interesting subject. Specifically regarding reflexology prices, what Jeannie considers high prices tho, I consider fairly normal, and I’m certainly neither elitest, nor in the habit of mollycoddlying myself…

Prices are also relative to the area you live in, not just the amt of training and overheads you have. For example, down here in London, I would expect, and be happy to pay, a minimum of £40 an hr for reflexology (or a therapeutic massage, or acupuncture etc). There are obviously places that charge a little less (less experienced or mobile practitioners – I prefer to go to clinics myself), sometimes a little more (I think it is okay to charge more for specialist forms of therapies that require extra training/experience), and some charge substantially more – sometimes, you do get the feeling that for some outfits, making money is more important than providing a service that helps people. Up in Telford, Shropshire, my mom pays £20 an hr - which I actually think is vastly undercharging, tho clearly you would expect to pay less than in London, I think the lady should be charging around £10 more than she does, but for her, reflexology is a sideline to her more established hypnotherapy and life-coaching business.

When I start practising myself, I wont charge more than I would be prepared to pay myself, or more than I think people can afford - but obviously enough for me to make a decent living, pay off the cost of training and to justify also giving up my existing job - so I think the prices discussed in this thread are pretty realistic. I do intend on giving discounts to OAPs and to do my fare share of charity work too, as I already do, to make myself accessible to those who have less money available but still need treatment.

 

[Robbie]

That's a good way to look at pricing. There's not much point in setting yourself at a price that you wouldn't pay yourself but by the same token, if you're not charging enough to earn a living then you're cutting off your nose to spite your face.

It's also easier to offer discounts to certain people and do charity work if you're earning enough to be able to afford to spend the time on those things. Three friends of mine who charge the same level as I do all do one day per week in hospices free of charge. I'm currently on a government funded project for disadvantaged youths which, although not voluntary, I'm doing at a vastly discounted rate (due to the lack of budget) which I would never dream of charging a company for the same coaching (about 75% lower in fact) and with the travelling costs to the venue (one day per week for 12 weeks) I'll probably do little more than break even.

Thats is so true (unfortunately). People who will gladly spend the same amount of money on non-essential things are usually the ones who won't pay the same for their own health and wellbeing.

 

[umaryzyg]

As a therapist, I also consider that for every hour I spend with a client, I am spending probably another half an hour, prepping my room before treatment, clearing up, sourcing and purchasing oils and equipment, paperwork, including accounts, designing and printing forms, marketing, etc., clinical supervision and therapist meetings (for my work with cancer patients), research, studying and CPD, not to mention my laundry, heating and other overheads, none of which I get paid for.

Incidently, mobile therapists are not always the cheaper option (I do both). Having to travel from client to client and unload, set up, clear up and reload in between each client, I am able to see less clients, for the time spent in my work, so have to cost that in also.

 

[Wallace]

I am mainly a sports and fitness therapsit but I have trained in holistics, just so I can get a bit of extra money out of seasons (rugby and football). I also part time In a gym going full time at the end of June, so the money i earn is an extra for me ( I am also registered self employed). I am allowed to use the treatment room at work for clients, I also have a room at home which is especially equipment. I also travel to sporting events and clubs. which means I do not need to pay rent on room, bills etc.

The reason Im saying this, is because everyone (clients including) say I charge too little for my services. I have just my prices up, example I charge £20 for Swedish Massage (1hr) and £35 for 1 hr hot stone massage.

The reason, i feel, i charge so little is because I don't offer the full relaxing service that you would get in a spa etc, so I don't feel i should charge the same amount. i do play music, (depending on the treatment) but if im in the treatment room at work (the gym) I have the music from the workout area, plus people talking, if im in a sports clubs, the room is not always the cleanest etc. Plus, As im a sports therapist, i don't do they whole candle, scents thing which you would get at a spa.

Im not greedy, i feel that im just charging enough for the services I use.

Also, if people are stuggling to afford a treatment themselves, why dont they ask someone who provides treatments so they can give each other a treatment for free. or why not try the local colleges, they normally charge a small amount and they need the practice.