One of the first questions you will need to answer when setting up your own practice is, where?A number of factors need to be taken into account when you are first setting up, as these can directly affect your ongoing costs and how quickly you can build your client base. This section will guide you through the major decisions you need to make and will help you to cost the various options.Wherever you choose to locate you will need to consider the following:

Size Of Premises

Do you know how much space you require for your practice? If not, this is one of the first things you need to work out, as this will influence your search for premises and it will save you time and money if you know in advance the minimum amount of space that you need for your work.

A simple pen and paper exercise is all that is needed to work out the space you need. First, you will need to decide on the minimum amount of equipment that you require in order to be able to work effectively. Next, make a note of how much floor space each piece of equipment requires, for example, the floor space for the chairs you will use. Then, using squared or graph paper, cut out a template for each piece of equipment using an appropriate ratio or scale, eg one square = 10 cm². Arrange these templates into a layout which you might use for your work, for example, a massage couch in the centre of the layout with a few chairs at the side.

Make sure that you have allowed adequate space to move around the equipment with ease – one metre is a good standard to allow. Then try a few different layouts. When you have settled on what works best for you, calculate the total space you require (in square metres). If you lay the templates out on a sheet of squared or graph paper, it should be a simple matter to work out the minimum space required, and you can then work out what the best, or optimum, size and layout would be for your practice.

To make this task even easier you might like to check out some of the bigger DIY companies such as B&Q and Sainsbury’s Homebase. Both these companies produce catalogues for kitchen layouts which include a design grid. Even more helpful are those office furniture suppliers such as IKEA which supply business equipment catalogues that include both a design grid and also sticky labels sized to represent various pieces of office equipment (for contact details see Chapter 12).

Make a note of your space requirements here:

Minimum size =                                                        Optimum size =

Reception Areas And Waiting Rooms

You may be fortunate enough to operate from premises with a general reception or waiting area which you can use. If not, and you can’t afford the space for a separate waiting room, then you will need to make some provision for managing clients who arrive either early or late for appointments. And what about those clients who want to bring friends or family along to wait with them?

To get around this problem you could try investigating whether there is some general space within the premises where you could place a couple of chairs, where your clients can be away from the general flow of people through the offices, but close enough to where you are working to be manageable. Another alternative is to allow extra time at the end of each client session (in my experience 30 minutes is best). If your clients are punctual then you will have some welcome free time in which to catch up on your phone calls, take a short break, or have a quick snack – and if they are late, you have already made some allowance for this so the situation becomes less stressful for all concerned.