You’ve qualified, you’re ready to start taking clients and now comes one of the surprisingly difficult questions:
How much do I charge?
So you look at what other therapists nearby are charging.
One charges £40.
Another charges £55.
Someone on Facebook is offering massage for £25.
You panic slightly and decide £35 sounds reasonable.
There. Pricing sorted.
Except… how do you know whether £35 actually works for your business?
Your treatment isn’t just the hour on the couch
This is probably the biggest pricing mistake new therapists make.
A client books a one-hour treatment for £45, so it feels like you’ve earned £45 for an hour’s work.
But that appointment may actually involve:
Preparing the room.
Completing a consultation.
Providing the treatment.
Allowing the client time to dress afterwards.
Taking payment and rebooking.
Changing linen.
Cleaning the room.
Completing treatment notes.
Washing towels.
Ordering products.
Replying to messages.
And that’s before we consider the time spent running the rest of the business.
That “one-hour treatment” might occupy considerably more than one hour of your working time.
Turnover isn’t your wage
This is another important distinction.
If five clients each pay you £50, you’ve taken £250.
You haven’t necessarily earned £250.
Your business has received £250.
From that may come room rental, products, laundry, insurance, card processing fees, booking systems, advertising, professional memberships, equipment, training and other business expenses.
And eventually tax.
What’s left contributes towards paying you.
When you’re deciding what to charge, your price has to support a business — not just look attractive on a treatment menu.
Being the cheapest isn’t a marketing strategy
New therapists sometimes deliberately price themselves well below everybody else because they don’t feel experienced enough to charge the same amount.
It sounds logical.
But it can create problems.
Very low pricing can make it difficult to increase your prices later, and it may attract clients primarily because you’re cheap rather than because they value what you offer.
It can also leave you needing to see an unrealistic number of clients simply to earn a reasonable income.
You don’t need to charge luxury-spa prices the week you qualify.
But you also don’t have to apologise for being newly qualified by practically giving your treatments away.
You have trained.
You have invested in your qualification.
You have professional expenses.
Your time has value.
Look at the local market — but don’t copy it blindly
It absolutely makes sense to research what therapists in your area charge.
It gives you an idea of the local market.
But two therapists charging different amounts aren’t necessarily offering the same thing.
One may work from home with very low overheads.
Another may rent a room in an expensive town-centre clinic.
One might include a lengthy consultation and personalised treatment.
Another might operate shorter, back-to-back appointments.
Experience, location, facilities, specialisms and demand can all influence pricing.
Use local prices as information, not as an instruction.
Work backwards
Instead of asking:
“What should I charge?”
Try asking:
“What does this treatment need to earn?”
Think about how many clients you realistically want to see.
Not theoretically.
Realistically.
If you’re providing physical therapies, eight clients a day, five days a week might look fantastic on a spreadsheet.
Your hands, shoulders and back may have a different opinion.
Work out the income you need, the hours you’re prepared to work and the costs involved in delivering those treatments.
Then see whether your pricing makes sense.
Don’t forget the invisible work
Therapists do an extraordinary amount of unpaid work.
Answering messages at 9pm.
Posting on social media.
Ordering products.
Doing laundry.
Updating client records.
Cleaning.
Managing appointments.
Completing CPD.
Bookkeeping.
Chasing payments.
None of those activities appear on your treatment menu.
But they’re part of running the business your treatment prices have to support.
This doesn’t mean calculating that you spent eleven minutes replying to Instagram messages and adding £2.73 to someone’s massage.
It simply means recognising that your treatment price funds more than the time your hands are physically on the client.
Discounts need a reason
There is nothing wrong with running an introductory offer.
It can be a useful way to encourage people to try you.
But be clear that it is an introductory offer.
If your normal price is £50, perhaps you launch at £40 for a limited period.
Clients then understand the actual value of the treatment from the beginning.
Constant discounts can train people to wait for the next offer.
And if everything is permanently “20% off”, eventually the discounted price is simply your price.
When should you increase your prices?
There isn’t a magic timetable.
But review them regularly.
Have your costs increased?
Have you gained substantial experience?
Are you consistently fully booked?
Have you invested in additional training?
Has it been several years since your prices changed?
A small, considered increase is often much easier for clients to absorb than avoiding the issue for five years and suddenly realising you need to add £15 to every treatment.
You don’t have to justify every pound
Price increases can feel incredibly personal in a therapy business because our clients know us.
Some become friends.
Some have been coming for years.
And it can feel uncomfortable to ask them to pay more.
But you’re running a business.
Your supermarket doesn’t send you an apologetic message explaining why your coffee costs more this year.
Your hairdresser doesn’t keep you on their 2018 price because you’ve been loyal.
Reasonable price increases are part of business.
Communicate them clearly and give clients appropriate notice.
You don’t need to write an essay apologising for them.
Sustainable pricing protects the therapist too
There’s another reason pricing matters.
If your treatments are too cheap, the obvious way to earn more is to see more people.
And there’s a physical limit to how much hands-on therapy one person can sustainably provide.
Your body is part of your business.
Pricing should allow you to work at a level that supports both your income and your wellbeing.
Because a diary packed with clients isn’t particularly successful if you’re exhausted, underpaid and wondering why you ever became a therapist.
The goal isn’t to charge the highest price possible.
It isn’t to be the cheapest either.
It’s to charge a fair price that your clients are happy to pay and that allows you to build a business worth continuing.
