May have a job opportunity.

[sahtlover]

May have a job opportunity.

Joe E - I don't even know where to begin.No one is recommending anything. Seforum.xxxg has to figure out his priorities, his time table and his tolerance for the uncertain. All we are doing is providing perspective from our own experience.The split is not how 90% of the working world make their income. No one at GM worries about what % of a car they make goes to them. That is why it is called a salary.  Other businesses operate on a fee per service basis.The split mentality leads to erroneous decisions based on an equally misguided sense of fairness. Would you rather have 70% of a $65 treatment or 55% of a $80 treatment or $50 for every treatment? I have had several therapists turn down Option C - which is how we pay - because it is not "fair" compared to Options A or B which is what they currently work for. We pay a fee for every service - regardless of how much the client pays or even if the client pays on the idea that 100% of a free service means $0 to the therapist. We believe everyone should get paid for every treatment they perform. Our charity work yields the therapist the same hourly pay as our $150/hour clients. But I suppose that is further evidence of how we try to keep you down. Pay 'em a high wage, each and every time even if I don't get a dime - downright fascist of me.As for lawyers, their salary is pretty standard. It does, however, vary across firms in the same city. But each class of lawyers - regardless of their pedigree - have the same salary at each level of their careers. Can you imagine the discrimination suits that would result from lawyers having individual deals? HR is the largest admin function in a lawfirm for a reason. What lawyers do get is radically different performance bonuses based on their skills, growth and potential.For years, women have sued because of claims that equal work does not equate to equal pay. How can two therapists be paid differently for a Swedish Massage and the spa avoid a lawsuit when the world is ripe with precendent?Better therapists should have no trouble finding work at better spas and will earn more money. Aveda spas around here charge $80 or $85 while Elizabeth Arden and others start at $100. They charge more for different modalities, so the more you know the more you can earn.Perhaps you should investigate the economics of running a day spa before deciding who is running a business well and who is running one poorly. The average day spa does about $1M in sales a year. If you are not spending 10% of sales on advertising and promotion, you are in trouble. Do the math - you had better be spending thousands of dollars a month to hope to be succesfull.Your average day spa is 2,500 square feet, and upwards of $25 a foot in rent FOR THE NEXT 10 YEARS. If you fail, you are still on the hook, which means bankruptcy. Try running a radio campaign for the holidays - $100 for 30 seconds with a minimum buy of 20 spots, only 10 of which are in prime time. Check with your local glossy magazine for their ad rates. $1500 per month for a quarter page B&W. Then their are discounts. Free services for the irate client when the therapist decides not to show. Website creation, maintenance and advertising.

 

[Steve E]

Seforum.xxx, I think the last three posts are worth rereading several times...especially Joe E's.  I agree with his points about negotiating acceptable rates and not accepting substandard employment because you are in need of money.   IMO, to often MT's are incredibly willing to put themselves into low paying and demoralizing situations with chiro's, spa's and fitness clubs.  Then they wonder why they go nowhere, earn no money and get burnt out. *shaking my head*  While I have no doubt "Pat" has had her share of up's and down's with people working in her establishment don't forget that she chooses to bring in additional MT's and with that she must deal with employment issues (((Btw, each state defines a legal definition of the non-compete clause.  It is worth asking a local lawyer what is and isn't legal for your state.))).  "Pat" is doing her best to protect herself and her business, no more and no less.  That doesn't mean you can't negotiate nor does it mean she'll accept negotiation.  That is the wonderful thing about having your own business -- you get to decide what works for you.  FWIW, if her business has a high turn-over rate than I would see that as a problem with her policies and it would behoove you to give that considerable thought before working there in any capacity.Also, I must admit  I have a problem with your thinking Pat will never know if you continue your practice or do chair massage without telling her.  Regardless of whether she knows -- you know!!  I find your willingness to deceive her to be an ethical violation in the highest degree.  This may very well be the underlying reasons "Pat" has her non-compete clause and demands that you not have your own business when you work at her place -- she's probably been burned before by other MT's deceptions.  IMO, the best advice is to be up front and honest with her using Barefoot's idea:" I would be honest with Pat, saying that you had had poor feedback on her establishment from former employees. While you'd like give her the benefit of the doubt and form your own opinion, you are not willing to sign a contract up front."FWIW, I have mentored other people in their businesses and more often than not, when they hit a slump in their practices they immediately start looking for other opportunities to jump at rather than review their current business.  I always, always, always encourage them to stop and think about what it is they want, assess their current situation and see if they are on the business path they desire.  More often than not, they discover they wandered off some side-lying pathway to a dead-end.  Seforum.xxx, other than a need of money (which I'm not trying to discount) have you written an honest business plan?  Do you know who you like working on?  Do you know where those people are?  Do you want your own practice or would you prefer working with others or for another?  IMO, these are important questions to answer before you jump at "Pat's" opportunity.

 

[shadow95340]

May have a job opportunity.

~~~~UPDATE~~~~I went and had my first interview at Pat's this Wednesday. The interview lasted about 10 - 15 minutes and she told me she was not looking to hire any male therapists at this time. She said she already had a pretty full staff, and that she's already got a male working for her. So I had to drive 30 minutes to get to the spa, only to spend 10 minutes hearing her say she wasn't looking for a male. I asked her if she had many clients that look down on male therapists. She has the nerve to tell me "No, we try to let our clients know that a therapist is a therapist, and try to break that barrier of male or female." How ironic is that? This lady is a walking contradiction!I also had my friend call me later; she works at Pat's. She told me the owner was talking to the male therapist that works there, and told him she would most likely hire me on at the beginning of the year because she was impressed with my resume and interview. I just don't know what to think of this woman! Anyway, I guess we'll just have to wait and see how things turn out with the job, until then it's more word-of-mouth and as much other little-to-no-cost advertising I can think of.

 

[koala4poly]

Seforum.xxxg,All I can say is if there is ANY way you can survive without working for this Pat person, DO IT!  Be well,Jen

 

[Nana B]

May have a job opportunity.

Jen, I'm trying my best, lol. I'd rather not work for Pat at all, and from what I know about her, she would not hire me if she knew I was an atheist (she's a Christian that REALLY tries to push her beliefs on others), if she knew my sexual orientation, and if she knew that I smoked tobacco (she just doesn't hire smokers, whether they smell like smoke at work or not). She was asking me questions during the interview about my family and what type of relationship I had with them, which is none of her business, and other personal questions I really didn't feel that she needed to know. I dunno, just never had an interview like that before. *shrug*If by some miracle my business triples in the next 2 months and stays like that for good, then I won't have to work there, but reasonably, it looks like Pat's is the only other option. We need more day spas here!