Moving my home based practice out of my home
I started my massage practice in my home following graduation and after 18 months I decided to move into an office. When I made the move I was asked often why I decided to change my office setting. Seeing as I had a thriving business and a quiet, soothing space in my home that didn’t cost anything it seemed like an unnecessary move to some. But for me, it made sense.
About a year into my home practice I started to think about what it would be like to have an office. My first sign that change was near. I loved working out of my home and truly, there was nothing negative about the situation but there was something inside that was curious, I decided to listen. For a few months, I took in the detail of other offices I visited, asked therapists how they liked working in their space and researched the pros and cons of renting. At the time, I was content with working out of my home and for me, times of contentment are always a good time for change. I’ve never been one to wait for burn out or frustration to set in, instead I listen to the voice within and trust my intuition even if it doesn’t make sense in the moment.
One day, a few months later I decided to look for space, just to see how much it would cost. Later that afternoon, I signed a lease and have never looked back. It took me a few years to find my home but alas I have settled into a beautiful wellness center that is ideal for my practice.
It wasn’t until I had started practicing in my new office that it became evident to me why I moved. Having a dedicated space outside of my home has allowed me a concrete separation between work and personal life. It has also helped me hold boundaries on hours of operation and days that I am practicing. I really enjoy time between sessions for self care as opposed to throwing in a load of laundry, a quick vacuum or bill paying. Being in an office outside my home allows me to focus on my work with little distraction. Sure there’s a cost involved but it’s been a great tax write off and since my bookings and marketing is done from my home office I am able to deduct that space as well.
So if you are looking for an office to practice massage I recommend taking the following things into consideration. Parking for your clients, accessibility/location, other businesses in the building, temperature of the space and ability to control that, security, size of the space and of course, cost. Other than that, the most important tip I can give you is to always follow your intuition it will never lead you in the wrong direction.
JessG
