I love a statistic and particularly when it comes to hypnosis marketing and the business we are in. This post is aimed at all the women out there because I want you to understand how your gender is potentially impacting how much you earn even though as a hypnotherapist you are probably self employed. Currently the gender split in the UK for our industry is that 30% of hypnotherapists are men and the remaining 70% are women. It is a female dominated industry yet when it comes to earnings there is a shocking figure you need to be aware of. Women in the industry earn 40% less than men! These statistics are not made up, they are based on figures from the UK Commission for Employment and Skills (UKCES) and the Office for National Statistics (ONS).
Yep you heard me. Female hypnotherapists in the UK earn a whopping 40% less than their male counterparts. This isn’t because some faceless corporation is discriminating against you but because you have made it happen. Nobody has told you that you were worth less money, nobody has stopped you from building a great business yet almost every woman in the industry will earn significantly less than male hypnotherapists. If you are a female hypnotherapist then I hope this shocks you because I am hoping it will spur you all into action so that you do something about it.
So why does this situation exist? Well here are some of my theories:
1) Confidence – As a hypnotherapist we should be instilling this into each of our clients at almost every session yet many of the female therapists that I have met are lacking in this quality themselves. They are not sure if they are good enough, they doubt their ability to run a business. They see the odd client here and there but worry about increasing the scale of their business. Many are part timers or have incomes supplemented by their partners. How on earth are we supposed to help our clients to feel confidant when so many of us lack this basic feeling ourselves?
2) Risk Taking – Now I am not talking gambling huge amounts of money on business ventures that could ruin you. I am thinking about the fact that women tend to be more cautious and that means they are worried about investing to get a return. They are less likely to work in business premises, less likely to invest in training and materials and even less likely to spend much on their advertising. No wonder they earn significantly less.
As an example of this I will give you an illustration of where women make the wrong choices. As well as being a marketing and business development expert I am a hypnotherapy supervisor for the GHR. Over the years I have had a number of enquiries from women about using me for their supervision. Now I am not a cheap supervisor but then again the difference between my charges per hour vs another therapist used to be in the region of £20 to £30. Now many of the woman who asked about my services knew that I had the potential to bring them in significant amounts of business and revenue but most chose the cheaper service to save themselves cash in the short term. They were quite prepared to sacrifice their potential earnings so they could save a small amount of money in the short term fully knowing that the supervisor they were seeing would be unable to increase their business. Money they would have earned back with just one new customer in a year. Madness!
3) Business Knowledge and Skills – When was the last time you updated your business skills? I can almost guarantee that most of the female hypnotherapists in this industry have very little basic business and marketing skills to really drive clients their doors. Do you know how to create a simple website? What about your knowledge on SEO, Social Media? If the answer is no to the above then expect to earn less then your male counterparts because I can bet you that a reasonable number of them will be taking an interest in learning these skills.
4) Perceived Worth – Women tend to undervalue themselves. They look at what they think they should be charging and tend to underestimate significantly. Men do the opposite. That difference whether it is £10, £20 or £30 per hour soon adds up. If you have the good fortune to see 20 clients per week charging just £10 less than a male hypnotherapist means that you are earning £200 less per week, £800 less per month and £9600 less per year!
5) Undervaluing Skills and Experience – Many women look at their qualifications and the years of experience they have and underestimate what that knowledge is worth. I often see newly qualified hypnotherapists discount their services as if they were still trainees even though they have the qualifications to work at full price with clients. It is almost as if they are worried that they will be found out if they charge more.
6) Treating Their Business as a Part Time Hobby – Now I totally understand that sometimes a woman would like the choice of working flexibly when they are bringing up children. That is a lifestyle choice and that is not what this comment is aimed at. I am however less sympathetic to women who start a business with no real idea of where to go with it. Have you never heard of a business plan? Building a business takes lots of hours, hard work and dedication. You can’t just dip in and out of it spending time at the gym and having coffee with your mates and then doing an hour or two a day hoping that things will pick up. Women need to take their business seriously and that means understanding that in order to get your business off the ground you need to do some seriously hard work. That means sitting at your desk and working from 9 in the morning until late in the evening even when you haven’t got clients. You need to build strong foundations in order to grow a business and that is done by creating a strong business plan. If you don’t know how to create a great strategy for your business then find someone who will help.
My passion is working with all genders to help them with their hypnosis marketing and business goals. In my world there is no excuse for a self employed female to earn 40% less than the men in their industry. If you feel this is your situation then you need to get help now to turn the tables and earn exactly what you deserve. I offer business mentoring and coaching for therapists from all professions. and all genders. For the male therapists out there I can help many of you to earn more as well. Don’t let the statistics stick, buck the trend and earn a decent salary by getting professional help. The small investment in yourself and your business will be worth it.