How to Start a Reiki Therapy Business - Practical Matters

Are you a Reiki practitioner who'd like to turn your interest into a business? If you've always worked for someone else, self-employment can be really confusing. If you don't have the slightest idea how to develop a Reiki practice, here are some tips about the practical aspects of the business.

Location
Where will you do your treatments? Well, here are a few options:
- Your own office - probably the ideal situation, but also the most expensive. You may be able to share space with another practitioner, or even rent space by the hour at some holistic health facilities.
- Your home - comfortable, and probably provides the most freedom and flexibility. But there may be local ordinances that restrict how you can run your business. Check with your local city/county administration or chamber of commerce for more information.
- Local businesses that offer "on-site" treatments, like natural food stores - great for short sessions or as a way to market your longer treatments.
- Your clients' homes or workplaces - you can always take your table or chair (see the "Equipment" section below) to the person you're treating, or just use their own furniture (like a chair or bed, if they can't get up). Reiki can be a very portable form of healing work.

Equipment
There are tables designed especially for Reiki, with room for your legs so you can sit in different places around the table - something massage therapists don't usually do. But a massage table and a small stool will work just fine.

A massage chair is also a good idea, since it lets you take your services to people, and that will bring you more business. Your treatments will probably be shorter, but sometimes that's all people need or can afford (in money or time). In fact, you may find yourself doing only shorter treatments. It really depends on how your practice develops.

Pricing
Setting prices can be hard, especially for people who've never had their own business before. A good rule of thumb is to base your rates on those of other Reiki or holistic health practitioners in your area. Be competitive, but don't undercut them (except maybe for introductory specials). This could come back to haunt you later (when someone undercuts *your* prices). Also, you may need to work with other practitioners occasionally, and stealing their customers won't make for good business relationships later on.

Payments
The more payment options you have, the more business you'll have. Cash and checks are the two most obvious choices, but don't forget credit/debit cards. Accepting cards can be expensive, because you'll be charged a fee for each transaction, but it may bring you a lot more customers. If you can't afford to take credit cards when you're starting out, at least take checks and cash and then see how things go. If you get a lot of people asking about credit cards then it's probably worth setting up this service.

Final thoughts
Having your own business can be tedious, but it's also very rewarding, so don't let occasional setbacks or the periodic required paperwork hold you back. Reiki is a wonderful form of healing that should be more available than it is. If you take your business one step at a time you'll be able to cover all the things you need to do to get started. Then you can get to what you really love - helping people with Reiki energy.