Advantages of a mobile therapist

It may be helpful if you tell us what your concerns/questions are? As they are many facets to being mobile.

The only one I can think of (and only because I've been thinking hard about ganering more clients for Ashley), is the fact that you'll never have no-shows, as the appointment is dependant on you turning up. Fair enough, you may have the odd client that cancels or has forgotten you were coming, but I'd imagine being on their doorstep is a far better position to be in to negotiate a call-out/cancellation fee!!

I'll be dropping back here to read other handy suggestions, as every little helps!

Don't forget to charge for your travelling time or mileage. You can understand people wanting a treatment in the comfort of their own home. Personally speaking its a bit of a fiddle packing everything, finding where to go, unloading and setting up and then feeling in a centred relaxed space to give your treatment.

Living in a city I always ask about parking, also how many flights of stairs I would have to climb with all my gear. I can remember doing one home visit and I arrived, parking no problem but it was an old mansion block in the East End of London and I had to carry my couch (no lift) up to the fourth floor. Never again.

Binah
x

There is the safety thing of course: are you comfortable going into someone's house alone, especially if they're male and you haven't met them before?

Thank you all for your replies. I'm still thinking of going mobile but haven't acted upon it as yet. Still weighing up to pros and cons! I only do beauty treatments on a part-time basis ie. evenings and weekends.
May put an add in my local newspaper next week and see how I get on. What percentage do you guys charge for travelling costs?
🙂

You would be able to claim 40p per mile when doing your tax returns at the end of the year, so make sure you are calculating at least that amount. Then consider your time as Binah said, because it will take you much longer not only getting there, but setting up, setting down, etc... It depends on what you feel comfortable with, but make sure aren't selling yourself short either!

Have you done some market research? Maybe you could find out what other therapists in the area you work in are charging for mobile work, then at least you have an idea what is right for your area.

Good luck!

Josey

How do you all manage to transport your wax pot in the car?

Hi there

I rented a room and also did mobile.

Being mobile means that if you offer lots of different treatments then you will have several bags full of kit to take around with you. You obviously can't forget anything either. You could just opt to do certain treatments on certain days not needing to take so much stuff, but it wouldn't always work out like that.

I used to have a portable massage couch too which I think was the lightest I could find but was still quite heavy.

If someone lives in a flat then you have to carry all your gear upstairs, unpack it all and then pack it all back up and carry it back down again, not only time consuming but tiring.

I used to have a client in a flat and she'd want a facial, and nails done and few other bits and bobs so had to take loads of stuff with me. It's ok if you spend a few hours and it's worth your while financially.

I once did a whole day of treatments for a lady and a few friends, it was nice money wise but had to leave early to get there and set up, do all the treatments and then pack up and get home. Was a long tiring day.

You may find you turn up and they are not there - so always confirm before you leave.

Try and make your appointments in and around the same area so you are not going back and forth using petrol. Don't forget your petrol costs too in the fee.

Hopefully the client will have a suitable room to set up in.

Waxing can be tricky, you need to allow time at the clients house for it to warm up. I did have a converter once for the car to keep the wax warm but it wasn't very powerful. Some people warm up the wax before they leave home to get it started. Make sure you have some sort of protection on the floor at the clients house.

Having rented a room, I think if I were to do it again I'd either have it in my home or rent a room. This way you have all your stuff set up and when you leave you just lock your door at night and forget about it.

The only way you'll know if you like it is to try it out for a while.

DebO

Hi Deb

Thanks for your informative reply. It is a really big help. I have just recently started to advertise a mobile service as I have been doing treatments from home for the past 3 years. The only thing I find awkward is transporting my wax pot as it is impossible to keep it very warm while travelling. I also tried getting something to carry the pot in while travelling to avoid spillage but couldn't find anything suitable.

Thanks again

Dollie-bird 🙂

Hi Dollie-Bird

That's OK.

The other thing I forgot to mention was that sometimes clients will have young kids and they can be a pain if they are aloud to do just what they want - touch your stuff, distracting client and making treatments take longer. Pets aren't usually a problem unless of course they bother you.

Cheers
DebO

I have done mobiles in so many different houses. One good thing about a mobile service is that you can sometimes make multiple appointments for the same place and give the hostess a cheaper treatment and if you can get this on a regular basis even better.

There are a few drawbacks to being a mobile therapist and that is sometimes they try to put you in a really tiny space which is unsuitable. You get there and find its on the 4th floor without a lift, with parking difficulties. So you need to ask a few questions prior to going.

The benefits are less overheads, i.e. rental.

Love Binah
xXx

Hi, I have worked mobile for 15 years. I have never worked from home so don't really know the other side of the coin. Most of the time I like being mobile, I enjoy the freedom and to be able to have that short gap of driving from client to client. Its nice to always be working in a different environment, no day is the same. The downsides are that people will mess you about because they are in their own home. They will just want to unload the washing machine or finish giving baby his breakfast. Or answer the phone and leave you standing there like a lemon (my personal pet hate) I do get odd occasions when a client has forgotten I am coming and is either not home or opens the door with a blank look. That seems worse to me than having a no show in a salon because you have got ready, loaded the car and driven all the way there. Or worse you have a full day of treaments and are now left hanging around in the middle of nowhere killing time till your next appointment. At least in a salon you can go and have a cup of tea! I have found over the years that I get fed up with humping all my stuff about. Portable couches are not as portable as they make out. I now refuse to carry a couch upstairs, my joints wont take it anymore. Some treatments I can perform on a clients bed which eliminates that problem.

I keep a seperate box or bag for each treatment so at the start of the day I just load up with whatever I need for the day. I make sure that each bag is kept up to date with whatever I will need. I heat the wax before I leave home. If I go to a client who is not having waxing but the next client is I take my wax box in and keep it warm there. No one has complained. I just say 'is it ok if I plug this in to keep it warm for the next lady?' I use roller wax because I found pots just spilled in the car. my towels go on top of the box to help insulate it.

As you start to get regulars things get easier because you will know where and how you will set up in their home and what you will need to take. For instance many people have a little stool you can sit on while doing pedicures which saves you carting one along.

I try and work out of my box as much as possible to save time and avoid clutter. My manicure and pedicure stuff is in a vanity case and as much as possible it stays in there rather than setting everything out. The wax pot stays in its plastic box with all the bottles and cotton wool (and extension lead...very important)

You will find yourself working in some wierd and wonderful situations. I have done pedicures in the garden, facials in the kitchen (that is actually really good) waxing on the landing. You also find yourself answering the door to delivery men, chatting to children/dogs and being shown a clients new curtains/decorating/garden. Just try and tactfully remind them that you have another lady to get to in 15 mins.

The only other advice I can think of right now is try not to travel to wide an area. Others may disagree with me here, I know that some therapists travel miles but I prefer not to drive more than about 15 mins between clients. Any more it just seems that you are driving all day and not earning plus it makes you more vulnerable to traffic delays which will mess up your timings all day.

Give it a go, if you don't like it you will not have lost anything but will have gained lots of experience!

Hi, i'm looking for some advice please, an increasing number of my clients have asked if I would do home visits. Could any of you guys that work as a moble therapist give me some advice please. I live in Ireland 🙂

You might have to change the thread title to
'Confessions of a mobile therapist!':D

Mobile beauty Therapist

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