Written by: Payton Gabaldon
Ever wonder why your mobile massage costs what it does?
I can’t speak for any other massage therapist and how they came to a decision on what they charge for their services. I can only speak for myself.
I’ve been practicing massage therapy since 2022. During massage school, I was required to perform 125 hours of massage on real patients while interning at a chiropractor’s office, after I had passed my basic massage training classes and while I was taking elective classes. These 125 massages, given to the general public, were completely unpaid. The clients were paying, but they were paying the chiropractor’s office, not me. On top of that, I was practicing techniques on friends, family and classmates several times per week, in and outside of school. All in all, I was doing a lot of massaging, none of it paid.
I quickly learned that performing a massage is hard work that deserves adequate compensation. During a session, an MT is working for that entire time. No breaks, no pauses until that allotted time is complete. Your MT is with you, physically and mentally, for that entire 30, 60, 90, or even 120 minutes that you paid for, and in my humble opinion, that presence deserves to be valued. No time to answer texts, no time for a quick bite, no time to scratch my butt. When my hands/arms/feet/(knees! shins!) are on you, they’re on you until our time together is up. 100% PRESENCE.
Fast forward to finishing school and getting certified, I worked for other people. I’ll say it straight up: when you work for someone else as an MT, you’re not making much. You are depending on tips to make a living and even with the tips, you’re still not making what you deserve. The owners of your workplace are the ones who profit, not you. They’re charging the client a hefty price tag, and lots of clients assume that we’re making a big chunk of that price tag, but don’t be fooled: most MTs make around minimum wage to about $25 per hour, at least in California. Hours and tips are not always guaranteed, and you’re usually only making more than minimum wage when you’re actually massaging someone (if you’re even making more than minimum wage at all). Clients cancel or don’t show up often. “You can go home early!” says the manager, popping into your dimly lit room. Those words may sound nice to the average worker, but for an MT, that means they just lost an hour of work, as well as that tip that they depend on because the owners don’t pay them enough. I could go on, and on (and on and ooooon, all night ’til the break of dawn)…
The point is: us MTs work hard, but we receive little back.
Working for yourself changes that.
A lot of people are drawn to the massage therapy career because they’re empaths and want to help people, and this is just my personal opinion so take it with a grain of salt, but I believe that is exactly why the massage industry gets away with continuing to pay their employees so low. Many empathic, sensitive souls will go to great lengths to help others at the expense of themselves. People who define themselves as empaths often lack boundaries, self-esteem, and value for themselves and what they do. They are so focused on other people and how they’re feeling that they can’t separate themselves from others and thus, lose their own identities in the process. They’ll keep working their asses off for little compensation in the name of self-sacrifice for the greater good.
This is the exact type of person who is easily taken advantage of. When you’re overly focused on other people, you’re too busy to realize that you deserve better. You don’t see your own worth and value, just theirs. You become a martyr in an expensive world, and that’s sad.
I know this because I used to be that person up until a few years ago!
But dear reader, you best be sure that I am NOT that person anymore!
I’m still a sensitive soul, and I still have empathy for others, but I have boundaries now, and I use them. I know my worth and value. I have healthy, high self-esteem. I know that other people’s feelings are not my own and that I’m not responsible for their feelings, just mine. I don’t go above and beyond to make anyone happy, because I’m not responsible for their happiness. I’m self-focused. I care about and enjoy helping and supporting others, but I don’t care enough to hurt myself in order to help anyone else. Period. I’m the exact opposite of someone who can be taken advantage of now. In my opinion, and this is all anecdotal, a lot of MTs haven’t realized that this can be them, too, and that’s why they continue to accept less than they deserve. There are many exceptions to this and VERY valid reasons for why people work for less (I had my reasons!). Shoot, I still work at a massage place on top of running my own business, but I made sure to find somewhere that at least pays me more than your average massage joint, allows me to work less for the same amount I would’ve been paid for working more, and treats me well! My current workplace was a hard find and the opportunity happened unexpectedly shortly after I made a decision to retire from the massage industry entirely because I was so sick of the shit that came with it (outside of The Fascia Heeler), but it’s a unicorn place. Most places are not worth it. With that said, I still would rather solely work for myself (you hear that, universe?).
So…Know. Your. Worth.
All this to say, I charge what I charge because it is hard. freaking. work.
I’m a one-woman show. I created this business from my own blood, sweat and tears (I’m clumsy so that’s where the blood came from). I run it all on my own. I didn’t and don’t pay a soul to help me (although two of my lovely friends helped me create the barefoot massage photos & other friends/clients allowed me to take video clips of our sessions for content purposes…the model in my traditional massage photos is actually my stuffed bison Auggie and some pillows…I took those pictures myself via timer and balanced the camera on my coat rack for lack of a tripod…can you see how creative I’ve had to be when doing this all on my own?!).
On the day of your appointment, I first have to load my incredibly heavy massage table into my car. Real talk: at the time of writing this, I live on the second floor, so I have to haul my table down a flight of stairs, load it onto my dolly, roll it outside, go down some more stairs, then roll it two streets away to my car, cartwheel it into my backseat (small car!), load any other equipment into the trunk (sheets, oil, bolster, barefoot massage supplies, etc.), drive to your home (which takes time and costs money due to gas and wear/tear), unload everything out of my car, roll and carry it all to your doorstep, set up my table/supplies in your house, ask you intake questions, wash my hands, PERFORM YOUR MASSAGE, leave the room, wash my hands again, breakdown the table, put everything away, load the table back onto the dolly, roll/carry everything back to my car, reload my car, drive back home, unload my car, roll/carry it all two streets back to my home, go back up the patio stairs, take everything back up to the second floor, sanitize everything, launder the sheets we used, and sometime after, refill my gas tank. Oh, and imagine that there’s no AC in my home, it’s 100 degrees outside during this whole bonanza, and I’m covered in sweat as soon as it all starts, even though I just took a shower 20 minutes before.
By the time it’s all over, I’m physically, mentally, energetically, and spiritually pooped! (I actually felt dizzy writing that previous paragraph & was struck by phantom back pain when thinking about how heavy my table is, lol). Let’s not forget that aside from all of that, it also takes time for me to coordinate your appointment, send you forms and aftercare instructions (all of which took me a long time to create), read your completed forms, update my website, and so on.
I’m not complaining at all. I love having my own business, and I love doing massage therapy. It’s the perfect job for me, seriously. If you knew me on a personal level, you’d understand why! It’s a physically-active-introvert’s paradise.
But after simply reading about my process, aren’t you tired, too?
The mobile massage that you pay for isn’t just the massage itself. It encompasses what happens before, during, and after it.
When you pay for a service, you’re paying for everything that it entails. I’m not just working for that 60 or 90 minutes; I’m working for however long it takes for the entire process that I mentioned above to be completed.
Plus, I know I’m a great massage therapist. Listen, I live with a growth mindset; I’m obsessed with learning new things, and I want to improve at literally everything I enjoy doing and be the best version of myself, always. There are an infinite number of ways that I could improve at massage and will improve, in time. But there’s no reason to be shy: right now, I’m pretty damn good at what I do! At least, that’s what many people have told me. Because I’ve worked for other people’s massage businesses, I’ve had the opportunity to massage huuuuuuundreds of different people from all walks of life. In short, I’ve had a lot of practice. Thousands of hours of practice. When you’ve had that much practice doing the same thing over and over, you tend to get good at that thing.
I’ve heard countless times, “That was the best massage of my life.”
“You healed me. I feel so much better.”
“You have magic hands.”
“WOW! You are AMAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAZING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!”
…all while making minimum wage, or close to it, and sometimes receiving no tip (hey, I dislike tipping culture too. If owners paid their employees fairly, I wouldn’t feel as pressured to partake in it either unless I really felt it in my heart to do so, but this is the world we live in right now, so tipping your MT who works for someone else makes a huge impact on them).
Money isn’t everything. It’s not even close. But money is necessary to live and take care of myself (and yourself, too), so what I earn needs to be in alignment for the effort that I put out, and it’s gotta help me live.
That’s my boundary. That’s why I charge what I charge, and I don’t really keep that entire thing. I put 30% of what I make away for taxes and another percentage for my own retirement, health insurance, emergency fund, PTO, rent, bills, car maintenance, etc. You catch my drift. I’m not spending what you pay me to buy myself luxury items, despite what you may assume when you first see the price. I’m using it to make a living and survive in a world that is increasingly more expensive to live in.
You might respect high-end designers because they don’t have clearance sales and sell an endless supply of the same item. You may like them because they set their value high, and they don’t budge. Perhaps you want what they’re selling because it’s high-quality, scarce, and hard to attain (so you treasure it when you do). Humans instinctively value scarcity, not endless supply. We value those who know their worth and believe in themselves, not the opposite.
I’m not in endless supply, I don’t budge on my service prices, I know my worth, and I believe in myself. Therefore, you could say that just like Chanel or Chrome Hearts or whatever brand you think is cool, I’m a high-value business providing a high-quality service that, by the laws of nature and with an understanding of all that I just wrote, should harbor the same respect.
There will always be a cheaper option for you when it comes to massage. Always. But just know that the cheaper option comes at a price. Sometimes that price is paid in terms of the low-quality work you receive, but even if it’s not, that price is ALWAYS paid by the massage therapist performing that cheap service for you. A lot of the time, they’re struggling in more ways than one, and/or they’re blind to their worth, even if they’re not conscious of either. *Side note: I understand that massage is expensive and not everyone can afford it, but a lot of people need it, so I understand going to a cheaper place…once again, this is why tipping is important. Tip your therapist accordingly when they work for someone else; you’re truly making a difference between a good paycheck and a bad paycheck for them.
As for me, I won’t struggle anymore if I don’t have to, and I sure as hell won’t be blind!
This one is dedicated to someone I met awhile back who thought I was “amazing” and made them feel “so much better” after years of dealing with chronic neck pain, but wanted me to give them a 40% discount and match their franchise membership price.
-The Fascia Heeler ❤
The Fascia Heeler 