Issue link: https://www.massageandbodyworkdigital.com/i/867515
24 m a s s a g e & b o d y w o r k s e p t e m b e r / o c t o b e r 2 0 1 7 LS: OK, I'll admit—these responses were a little surprising. And disturbing—over 40 percent of respondents had never raised their rates! A friend of mine in the field had great advice: "If your practice is full, the first thing you should do is raise your rates." Why? Because your clients are telling you they value your work, and that, in essence, you're a bargain. Think about everything you buy—what, if anything, is staying the same price? Just about nothing! I can only think of two areas that may not be getting more expensive—technology is one (think about computers, TVs, etc.). And in their case, they may not be getting cheaper, but rather just getting better at the same price (faster, bigger, leaner). The other example is ABMP membership—no change in the Professional membership fee since … EVER! But I don't want to brag. But the rest of the world is subject to inflation, or basic supply and demand. Been to a concert lately? Holy smokes. And more mundane items like coffee, food, rent. If you have a service people value, do not be afraid to charge an appropriate, fair price. TRUE OR FALSE: YOU KNOW THE BALANCE IN YOUR BUSINESS CHECKING ACCOUNT OFF THE TOP OF YOUR HEAD. 72% True 18% False 10% Are you kidding? LS: You shouldn't feel bad if you don't know this to the penny, but you should probably know within $50 (especially if you have less than $50 in it). And what this leads to, of course, is you should be using some type of money-management or personal finance software that can help keep this info up to date. Quicken, Mint, or my personal favorite, Banktivity, are all good options. TRUE OR FALSE: YOU PAY OFF YOUR CREDIT CARD BALANCES EVERY MONTH. 57% True 43% False KC: I think we can all agree that paying interest on credit card balances is one of the most frustrating ways to spend money; think of all the other, much more exciting ways you could spend those dollars! Something I did during a particularly lean time to make sure I was spending within my limits was to transfer money weekly to my credit card instead of waiting for the big lump sum that was due at the end of the billing cycle. That way, I kept up with my weekly spending, and I was much more aware of how purchases were adding up throughout the month. Look at the big picture of your finances and evaluate all the interest-paying loans and balances you have—car, credit card, student loans, etc.—and focus on paying off the loan with the highest interest rate first. Also, consider consolidating your loans. As challenging as it may feel, setting financial goals to reduce the money you're spending on interest payments and then working toward those goals every month will really pay off (cheesy finance pun intended). TRUE OR FALSE: I KEEP A SAFETY CUSHION IN A SAVINGS ACCOUNT TO MAKE SURE I CAN HANDLE ANY UNEXPECTED EXPENSES. 68% True 32% False LS: Nearly 7 in 10 therapists keep a financial cushion in a savings account; I thought that number was pretty good—of course, we'd like it to be 100 percent, but that may not be realistic. What was really cool was what people shared about that cushion. I wasn't able to crunch the numbers because of how the question was answered, but it appears the average amount was probably between $1,000–$2,000, with a wide degree of variance. If you compare this to the September 2016 GOBankingRates survey (www.gobankingrates.com/personal-finance/data-americans- savings), massage therapists stack up pretty well. That survey indicated that 69 percent of Americans have less than $1,000 in savings. MTs are the inverse—7 in 10 do have that. So, good job, people. Building up a cushion is hard, but critical. DO YOU HAVE A RETIREMENT PLAN IN PLACE THAT YOU CONTRIBUTE TO REGULARLY? WHICH OF THE FOLLOWING COMES CLOSEST TO HOW OFTEN YOU RAISE YOUR SESSION RATES? 7% Every year 30% Every three years 19% Every two years 44% Never 61% No 39% Yes