14/04/2026
Post copied and pasted from another Holistic Therapist - sometimes it’s good to outline and be transparent about how self employed business works… 🌈
So I was chatting to a friend about pricing and business structure, and I mentioned that I currently try to average treatment costs at around £45 per hour.
They laughed and said,
“Wow… I’m in the wrong job. Wish I got £45 an hour.”
It made me realise how many people understandably assume that if a therapist charges £45 for an hour treatment, that means they’re earning £45 an hour.
The reality is… it’s not even close.
That £45 isn’t wages.
It’s business turnover.
(Some charge less and some A LOT more)
From that £45, a whole load of things need paying for before the therapist even thinks about paying themselves.
For example:
Room costs, heating, electricity
Insurance, professional memberships, ongoing training
Oils, products, laundry, towels and blankets, cleaning products
Booking systems, website, card payment fees, marketing
Etc etc…
So straight away somewhere around £20 of that £45 for most of us is already gone.
That leaves roughly £25
Then comes tax and national insurance, which can easily take another 20–30%.
So that £45 treatment might realistically leave the therapist with something like £15–£22.
This is all before we talk about time, because a “one hour treatment” is rarely just one hour of work.
There’s the consultation, preparing the room, cleaning and resetting afterwards, washing and drying sheets and towels, replying to enquiries, admin and bookkeeping…. Each 1 hour of treatment time often represents 90 minutes to 2 hours of actual work time.
Which means the real hourly income can land somewhere around £10–£15 per hour.
Many massage therapists also can’t physically do more than 40 hours of treatments a week.
It’s demanding on the body. Most therapists cap out around 25 hours of treatment time and another 25 hours of everything else if they want their own bodies to last! (Especially the likes of me who’s also a mum and housewife as I know may of us are… the ‘work’ doesn’t stop after ‘work)
If someone did even 20 hours treatments in a week at £45, that’s £900 turnover.
Once business costs and tax are accounted for, that might realistically land somewhere around £350–£450 take home for the week….
THEN there’s the other reality of being self-employed.
No-shows and last minute cancellations.
That hours you kept free for someone?
Often, if they don’t turn up, you don’t get paid.
There’s no sick pay, no holiday pay, no pension.
Also when you run your own space, you’re never really “off”.
Messages come in late at night, early mornings, weekends, and because it’s your livelihood… you often answer them even when we kind of know we shouldn’t.
So when you pay for a treatment with a small independent therapist, you’re not paying their hourly wages.
You’re supporting a whole small business, and someone using their hands every day to help people feel better in their bodies…. Most therapists aren’t doing this because it’s a goldmine, we’re doing it because we genuinely care about the work, but the reality behind the scenes is very different from what people often imagine. I do love my work but also see how it’s often misperceived and under appreciated.
I suspect massage therapists aren’t the only ones…
Hairdressers.
Beauty therapists.
Nail techs.
Tattoo artists.
Tradespeople.
Pretty much anyone self-employed!
