Self employed please give me a telling off!

LJD1_2

Hiya
Just wanted to say a huge thanks for all your fab advice and support. I'm making a list of all the things I'm going to do when they go back to school next week. I AM going to be proactive so I can report back to you with how well it's going!
Thanks again, it means a lot to me.
xx

david_hellier

Could you do a deal with local health centres or hotels, hairdressers, local offices, where you visit them in a hired room? Or offer the hotel a discount to their guests to visit your clinic.

tawnyowls

shayshay wrote:

Local press! Get yourself either on the phone or into the offices of your local papers

Or even on the local news? Maybe you're offering a new or different kind of treatment? Or there's some sort of human interest angle to your story? Your charity day would have been the kind of thing they'd probably have gone for. Any chance you might be doing something like that again?

Sallys_Savings

I'd definitely get a magnetic sign for your car....it has lots of advertising appeal (but make sure you're car is clean etc. as I saw one once advertising wedding cakes and it was filthy. I know that they arent making the cakes in the car lol but it really would put me off calling).

We have been having lots of pamper evenings in our area for charity. You could organise your own if there isn't one about. I know its alot of hassle but you could ring the local newspaper and advertise the event and your business will be in the spotlight too.
If you've never been to a pamper night raising money for charity, its quite easy to organise.....
you need to hire a hall, and contact local beauty/relaxation businesses/bodyshop/avon (obviously noone in the same line as you), perhaps gyms etc. and they hold a stall (donating £x to charity). People buy tickets and usually have a free drink of wine on entering and perhaps a free raffle ticket (donations for raffle from stalls or smellies etc.)
Put up posters in shops, businesses who are coming on the night, library, company boards, hotels, doctors, clinics (mum and baby), playgroups, schools, etc. Some people on the stalls give samples of their work for a nominal fee...i.e. 5 min head massage etc. and give the money to the charity involved.

Do you offer a special package for a bride? ......or a mum and daughter (great christmas pressie because you get one too ) or how about a new mum package for after the babies born?


Good Luck!!

Dr.Shoe_2

Why not see if you could persuade a few blokes to have beauty treatments and then get the local paper to do thing about it?


Sorry, that weed has to go!!!

Smashing

Dr.Shoe wrote:

Why not see if you could persuade a few blokes to have beauty treatments and then get the local paper to do thing about it?


Sorry, that weed has to go!!!

Yeah, one of those sponsored leg/chest waxes...are you volunteering?

LJD1_2

That had me laughing....who'll do the sponsored chest wax then!

jesster_2

Getting free advertising on local radio is always a good idea. I work in radio and one of our presenters is really into beauty treatments and complementary therapies, that sort of thing. She has various local therapists who have become 'friends' of the show and do monthly features, or if she wants to do an item on men's beauty or something, those are the people she turns to. Have a listen to your local mid-morning or aftenoon programmes, then call the presenters or producers directly (ask by name) and just introduce yourself and say you'd like to go on their contact list in case they ever need a beauty therapist for any of their features. If there's something slightly unusual that you can offer, or you're involved in a local charity or something, tell them that too as they're always looking for ideas to include in their programmes. In my experience media types love to get a free treatment or something in exchange for featuring you (I am one so I should know!) The exposure can be invaluable. (This counts for BBC stations perhaps even more so than commercial as they need to fill 40% of their air time with speech features rather than music.) Do the same with local magazines, and newspapers as has already been mentioned. If you're prepared to play the game with them a bit and offer to be photographed or recorded doing treatments or go into their studios, then you should be onto a good thing.

Also - are their any hospice charities near you? My mum does complementary therapies from home, and she also does them for a couple of hours a month at a local hospice, on a voluntary basis. Obviously the volunteering doesn't earn her any money BUT, when the hospice are short of volunteers, which happens quite a lot, if you've already done your voluntary stint for the month then they will pay you per hour, and it's pretty good money too. It's worth a try?

Also, I absolutely second what everyone's said about Yellow Pages. I never look in there, always online or at leaflets or adverts in the local paper. But it matters where you get your leaflets from. I'd respond to one that was brought into my work, or was in my gym, or particularly that i found on my hairdressers' counter. But I wouldn't respond to one that came through my door. My OH is self employed (builder, not beauty therapist) but he's found the same thing: yellow pages rubbish, leaflets through door rubbish, local papers ok, but cards left in builders' merchants (cost: nothing) have been really successful.

Good luck

Dr.Shoe_2

Smashing wrote:

Yeah, one of those sponsored leg/chest waxes...are you volunteering?

Actually, why not?

You could do my legs and arms as well if you like, all proceeds to the MSE board and the debt advice charities?