Respectable and Worthy of Payment
Your Responses to "Getting Paid"

By Cynthia Bologna

My article, “Getting Paid: 5 Tips to Help You Avoid Working for Free,” appeared in the February/March 2007 issue of Massage & Bodywork (page 102). In it, I asked massage therapists who worked for free or at a reduced rate to reevaluate their motivations for doing so. Most have said they do it as a way to gain more paying clients. I made the case that many of us are overworking our bodies—the very tool we need to continue our careers—by answering the call from professionals in other fields, or friends and family, to work for free.

I also suggested what we do as individuals reflects upon our profession as a whole. When we repeatedly provide free or sliding-scale sessions, we undermine other bodyworkers’ abilities to earn a living. But if we, in fact, charge a fair and reasonable fee, “the public will view our livelihood as being respectable and worthy of payment.”

At the end of my article, I asked to hear from other bodyworkers about their experiences with this topic. And did I hear! Thanks to all of you who responded. It was fascinating to learn how prevalent a situation this is in our profession. Some of you have unbelievable tales of the lengths to which people will go to secure a free massage or make us feel guilty for wanting to be paid. Others of you offered wonderful suggestions as to how to limit the requests or tactfully decline an invitation to work for free.

More than a dozen of you wrote to say you agreed with the premise of getting paid your full rate for the work you do. Some of you asked me not to use your names or locations and have therefore not been included in this article so as not to run the risk of exposing your identity. And one wrote in disagreement to my argument, with some very valid points regarding the benefits of trades and sliding-scale practices. All in all, I was happy to see the diversity in our profession: from where we are located throughout the country, to the different types of bodywork we do, to our opinions on getting paid for our work.

One writer, Gail Russo, LMBT, from Cary, North Carolina, won the prize (but not a free massage!) for what appears to be the most unbelievable of all requests. She writes:

“I recently had a casual client, who only comes in a few times a year, actually call me to request that I come out to her office and give a free massage to one of her stressed-out coworkers. I couldn’t believe it É I told her I do not come out to do one free chair massage at office locations. I suggested she give her coworker my name/number for an office visit. I also sent two proposals for on-site chair massage—one for employer paid or one employee paid. I never heard back from this person.”

Gail went on to say:

“I do give free chair massages at our local Susan B. Komen Race for the Cure event each year, and it is appreciated by the survivors. I do charities only.”

Gail was obviously able to find a good balance in deciding for herself where she would provide free work and where she would not.

Another writer had a different, yet creative solution for working charitable events. Ron Arble, a teacher at the Institute for Psycho-Structural Balancing in San Diego, California, says:

“When charities approach me to do massage at their fund-raising events, I politely explain I don’t do free massage É However, I would love to attend their event, charge my rate, and have the proceeds go to the charity. Let us not forget that the word proceeds, by definition, means the amount after expenses. I remove a modest amount that I feel is minimal for my time, in consideration that this is a marketing opportunity, and then I write a check to the charity.”

While many of us have had good experiences working for spas, others I heard from felt a sense of exploitation working there, especially when the owner offers a discount to large groups and then deducts the discount from the bodyworker’s pay. Angela Lind, LMT, from Boca Raton, Florida, reports this experience:

“It’s a shame that employees have to pay for the products and also have to pay for the discounts of large groups. For example, the company gives 10 percent off when it is a large group, and the company takes out this discount from the commission and tips. Is that not tremendously unfair? Or, they hire too many therapists even if it’s slow, and they don’t care if each therapist has just one or two guests instead of four or five... And what about chiropractors’ offices where they want to pay as low as $12 an hour? Even if they pay $25, I think it’s not enough... That’s why I prefer working on my own.”

Earning a Living
Many of us make decisions every day as to whether it is to the advantage of our livelihood to offer free work or reduced fees. Most people who are drawn to our profession are kindhearted, in addition to being highly skilled. It may often be difficult to turn down a friend or colleague who is in need of a good massage, knowing that we have the talent to help alleviate their pain or stress. We want to be helpful. And for those of us who are teachers as well as practitioners, we also want to help our students get started in the business and may seek ways to help promote their skills. But we need to think about how best to do this, as this example sent to me from practitioner Jody Hutchinson from Pacific Grove, California, illustrates:

“I graduated from a 140-hour program about 20 years ago and was very interested in sports massage. I volunteered at many local events and jumped at opportunities to expose my practice—I took many of these hook, line, and sinker. After a couple of years, I discovered this didn’t do a thing for my practice, and I was getting contacted by events and individuals who wanted free sports massage. When I was an instructor at the local massage school, I wanted my students to do 10 internship hours as part of the class. Well, I forgot to suggest charging for this and lost 2 clients who found free was cheaper than me.

“As I struggled with this, it became clear that if I wanted to run a successful practice, I couldn’t do anything for free. I had to pay for electricians, plumbers, carpenters, etc., and these professionals wouldn’t work for free or give discounts. I soon stopped doing volunteer work in massage and watched my practice and self-esteem grow rapidly... I understand how difficult it can be for a male MT, and I think I’m doing great.”

One final example in this vein: What if you’re not a massage therapist but an energy worker? Does your work fall outside the realm of practitioners who should be paid for the services they provide? Is energy work somehow different? Aren’t you also trying to earn a living? Pamela Sourelis, reiki practitioner and animal communicator of Woodstock, Illinois, has this to say:

“I’m not a massage therapist, but I’m a reiki master, and I assure you that the expectation that we energy healers should give our work away is just as bad (if not worse) than it is for those in your profession. The rationale is twofold: it’s a 'gift’ that should be shared, and no one will pay for it, so you have to give it away.”

Other Side of the Coin
It seems as though there is a pattern here. Many of us have had to work hard at standing our ground about getting paid in order to maintain a viable living. We are also contributing to the perception that massage and bodywork (and energy work) are services worth their purchase price.

There are also those of us in the field who say they have benefited from giving away their work or reducing their rates. Tiffany Richards-Thibodeaux, owner of The Back Rub Company, LLC, in Phoenix, Arizona, presents the following reflection on my original article (also see her 5 Tips to Help You Realize Your Potential, below). Since she is the only one who wrote from this point of view, I have decided to include her response almost in its entirety:

“I wanted to write to let you know that I disagree with Cynthia Bologna’s article, 'Getting Paid: 5 Tips to Help You Avoid Working for Free.’” I have been a massage therapist since 1998, own a very successful workplace wellness firm in Phoenix, and have a team of fifteen.

“First of all, Cynthia asks, 'What other professionals are asked to work for free or even at a reduced rate?’ I can think of plenty. Many years ago, I sought counseling from a spiritual psychologist to help me realize my goals and get me on the right track. I didn’t have a lot of money to pay her, so she suggested a sliding scale. In the past, I have also seen naturopaths and acupuncturists at reduced rates and know many people who are also on sliding scales for certain services.

 “Second, I absolutely love to trade. Hey, we all need certain things, especially if we are in business for ourselves, and it’s great to know you have a reliable network of people who provide quality services you need and can barter for. I trade for almost everything—from haircuts to printing services to oil changes. And by the way, those trades in my network have led to many great paid referrals.

“As far as giving away massage at local health fairs and trade shows, it’s up to the individual, but I have always been successful. When I first started my workplace wellness firm, I was asked to provide chair massage for free at a company’s health fair. I agreed, and a couple of weeks later the company signed up to provide chair massages on a monthly basis for their staff. The company has been a client of mine for exactly two years now, and I generate a profit of $180 per month ($4,320 to date). I certainly think that was worth two hours of my time.

“To address the paragraph about the woman who went around town getting free first-time massages: maybe that was the fault of the therapists who offered free massage. I never give away a massage the first time. We have a $49 first-time massage offer. That way, if we never see the client again, we don’t lose out. I also have a friend who offers a free massage on the second visit and that works very well for her. By the time a client sees her twice, they’re hooked.

“Remember that everyone you meet is an opportunity for potential clients. I agree you should value your services, but don’t overlook the small things that could make your business a huge success.”

Finding Balance
The massage and bodywork profession encompasses an eclectic array of individuals. That’s what makes it one of the richest vocations. It is up to each of us to decide how much to charge for our services and whether or not to reduce some portion of our potential income.

If we find we are giving away more massages than those for which we are paid, we may want to start reducing the amount of free work we provide. If our practices are stalled with no new clients coming in, we might want to think about ways in which we can generate more business without overusing our bodies.

When we work in a session, attending to the needs of a client, we are trying, for the most part, to restore him or her to balance. To successfully earn a living, we must also find balance for ourselves in the amount of labor we are willing to give away. And remember: the things we do as individual massage and bodywork therapists have an effect on our industry as a whole.

Cynthia Bologna, MA, CMT, works extensively with clients who have dementia and other life-threatening illnesses. She is an instructor at the San Francisco School of Massage in California where she offers the course Massage for the Elderly: An Element of Compassion. She can be reached at Cmbologna@aol.com.

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