Working hours

[BPampered]

Hi lovelies, I'm hoping you can share your words of wisdom with me I'm currently really struggling to juggle work and life. I'm a mobile therapist and my business is only 18 months old. I currently have 60 hours a week in my diary dedicated to work. I'm not always fully booked, so when I have free time I spend it trying to better my skills and work on marketing. However this means that my relationship, social life and generally everything in life suffers, but I'm scared of reducing my working hours and not having appointments convent for my clients.

How do u all juggle this? Xx

 

[Steph86]

Are you fully booked most of the time?

If not, or even if you are...

You can reduce your hours! Its surprising how well clients fit in around what you offer them. If you didn't offer a Thursday they would take a Wednesday or Friday.

If you are fully booked & cramming everyone in, raise your prices. You may loose a client or two, but you'll be earning the same amount of money so working less hours.

Ive had to ask one client to wait a week & a half due to not having the set time available. She always leaves it til last minute to book, which is why I cant give her the desired time quicker, I offered an alternative which she didn't want. I could have offered her my day off, but I wont do. I need a life.

We work to live, not live to work. If it appears you have a quiet week, make the most of it. Give yourself a certain day off (or two) & a late start if you have a late finish.

My evenings book up really quickly, so I try my best to work backwards from there if I am booked up from 6pm Il offer the next client 5pm, then the next 4pm & so on. If I'm in a certain area & a client calls I will suggest the day I am already in the area.


As Ive grown my business, Ive had to become firmer. Otherwise I could be running round like a headless chicken trying to please everyone, Ive raised my prices & will cross out a day if its quiet & I fancy a day off.

If it is a quiet week I will make the most of my quiet time.

If it was a quiet month Id be worried

Xx

 

[BPampered]

Thanks for your reply love. I'm not always fully booked but always wanted to give clients choice and I think this is meant that I've become a bit of a push over. I give up my nights and days off far to easily can I just ask with your working backwards theory, I find people either want morning or evening appointments, so how would u do this and not end up with a break in the middle not big enough to do anything with? X

 

[Steph86]

Thanks for your reply love. I'm not always fully booked but always wanted to give clients choice and I think this is meant that I've become a bit of a push over. I give up my nights and days off far to easily can I just ask with your working backwards theory, I find people either want morning or evening appointments, so how would u do this and not end up with a break in the middle not big enough to do anything with? X

I always ask what is the earliest they can do, occasionally nothing can be helped some days. With my regulars I know what time they would like to book so look for a day when I have that time free in 2-3 weeks, or il say I can do that time but on.... (An alternative day) just so I'm not run ragged or going from one area to the next then back again.

Xx

 

[EmJ]

Make them work around you! You will never get anything done if you carry on. I made myself very I'll doing this. I went down from 7 days a week to 4 and guess what - they all fit in around me and I never offer appointments on my day off. I feel much better

 

[Bombalurina]

I completely agree. Tell your clients when you can see them, don't ask when they would like!

NEVER show your clients your appointment book either. If a client wants 7pm on Wednesday for example, I'll tell them I'm fully booked Wednesday but what about the following day at 7.30pm? Only I know I'm fully booked with a night in front of the telly with my husband and the cat! But my time off is so precious, I value it highly, and my clients don't. So to them, I'm fully booked. And you know what? They ALWAYS accept an alternative appointment.

Clients will get to know you and how you work. If you don't value yourself and your time off, why should they? Get tough! It's worth it!

 

[Missy106]

When i started out mobile i used to fit clients in when they wanted, it was hard work!!! Now i tell them what time i can do and you will be surprised how they will fit around you. X

 

[BPampered]

Thanks ladies, I'm going yo try and be a bit tougher from now on, very true that if I don't value my time off why should they. Do u find its best to sit to regular working hours, or have alternative days off? And how do you not show your clients your appointment book at the end of their treatment? X

 

[Steph86]

Thanks ladies, I'm going yo try and be a bit tougher from now on, very true that if I don't value my time off why should they. Do u find its best to sit to regular working hours, or have alternative days off? And how do you not show your clients your appointment book at the end of their treatment? X

I do my appointments on my phone calendar

I dont have regular working hours, I go around whats booked in but make sure I have weekends off & a late start if a late finish. & an early finish if possible

Occasionally I break my rule (not my days off unless I'm being extremely kind to a regular! & make a point of it not being a regular occurrence) I am also 'fully booked' if I don't wish to work that evening.

Don't get so busy making a living you forget to make a life. I like that quote.
Xx

 

[Bombalurina]

Thanks ladies, I'm going yo try and be a bit tougher from now on, very true that if I don't value my time off why should they. Do u find its best to sit to regular working hours, or have alternative days off? And how do you not show your clients your appointment book at the end of their treatment? X

Well, I like to try to have a Wednesday night off..sometimes it doesn't happen if a client can't do any other night then I will work. But I'll shift my night off to the Thursday, or the Tuesday, whenever I don't have clients booked already.

As for not showing my client my diary I now use my phone so it's much easier, but when I had a paper diary I used my couch as a kind of barrier..! So I'll pack everything up bar the couch, and stand on one side of it while my client was opposite me, while I booked their next appointment time. Sounds silly but it was second nature to me.

If you let your client see you "only have a night off" on that particular night off they will assume you are available for appointments!

 

[jiff!22]

Thanks ladies, I'm going yo try and be a bit tougher from now on, very true that if I don't value my time off why should they. Do u find its best to sit to regular working hours, or have alternative days off? And how do you not show your clients your appointment book at the end of their treatment? X

Just to add... If clients are looking directly at your diary and seeing there are gaps and picking and choosing appointments, keep the diary facing away and if they try to nosey, tell them sorry but you can't let them do that as it's a confidential document. If they question that tell them it's down to data protection, you can't them them reading al your other clients info, names, addresses, phone numbers, what treatment they're having, I'm sure they'll actually be happy that you would then be doing the same with their personal details. 😊

 

[BPampered]

Thank you, and sorry it's taken me a while to get back to you. I don't know if I'll ever be able to let go of my paper diary, but I will definitely try not to let clients see it, and I love the idea of data protection, and it's a very fair point in itself. All I've got to do now is put all your good ideas into practice and try to remember not to get so busy making a living that I forget to make a life. I like that quote to x

 

[Bombalurina]

Oh, another trick I've used previously when using a paper diary is to book in "Dorothy", "Mavis" & "Ethel" for a few massages and facials. If you know clients are likely to be peering over your shoulder and you feel you have to justify your need for a night off, then book some imaginary clients in. Then if your client asks, you're genuinely fully booked on that night. It's sneaky, but sometimes we have to be!

I should add that I don't use this now, I just tell my clients that it's my night off, but if you're struggling with that, then this is another thought for you! (Just remember to rub these "clients" out when it comes time to do your accounts...!)

 

[BPampered]

Thanks love, that's a fantastic idea! X