Apartment living

OK, I hate living in an apartment sometimes.
Working from your home is a benefit that most bodyworkers enjoy. It definitely has it's perks. No commute, saves money on renting a place of business (most massage salons take half of your money off the top), you can dress or undress as you please. ;-)
Now the ideal is owning your home, however most of us do not make that good of money to accomplish this so we rent. When working from your apartment the issues are numerous.
First, you have no control over the neighbors. In my building, the noise bleed from one apartment to the next isn't too bad but anything that happens in the hallway can be heard pretty clearly. So when the neighbors come tromping up and down the stairs, I hear it, as does my client. When they slam the doors (why do so many people slam their doors?) we hear it, when they continue their conversation or fight into the hallway, we hear it. If your neighbors decide to sit outside your building, drink beers and smoke cigarettes - there is little you can do to control it and it leaves a bad impression on your client which means you have to work that much harder.
Or there is the situation I am currently in. Maintenance. Our building is OK with letting you know when they are dropping by, but not great. Yesterday afternoon a sign went up on my door saying they were coming by today (Friday) to paint my bathroom. The paint in my bathroom has been peeling for sometime now and I have been bugging them to do something. I would have done it myself but we are not allowed. So the two appointments I had scheduled for today I had to call up and cancel, never good for business. Both are clients who have only seen me once before and it is not a good way to build a good client/therapist relationship. Now the issue with the bathroom is that the last time it was painted, they didn't prime it properly so the paint peeled. I wanted to be around to watch that it is done right this time. I figure if they show up early in the AM and prime, they can paint in the afternoon and be done. So I get up early and take everything out of my bathroom and even take the cabinet off the wall so that is all set for painting, and I wait. I figure that the earliest they would be here is 9AM. I start calling at 11AM. 2PM I am told they will be here shortly. At 3 they show up and say this is a bigger job and they will mud today and prime and paint on Monday. So they spend 15 minutes smearing mud over the walls and leave. I put back a few things to make the bathroom somewhat usable for the weekend but now I will loose Monday as a work day as well. If they could have told me approximately what time they were showing up today, I could have got at least one client in and because I will loose Monday, that is potentially another 2 clients I won't get.
Of course it is still not as bad as the time as the guy next door had a clog in his sink. they had a plumber come over and use a snake on his kitchen drain. What occurred to no one was that his kitchen sink and mine share a drain. So I am naked worked on a client doing some sensual work when I start hearing noises coming from my kitchen. It sounds like someone is banging on the sink. Then I hear what sounds like dishes breaking. Then all is peaceful for a while and the noise starts again. This pattern repeats for about 10 minutes until I excuse myself to check what is happening. The pipe snake had come up through my sink and found a dishtowel which was now wrapped around the end so it could not go back down in the sink. It had also knocked a few of my dishes out of the dish strainer (that's what I get for not emptying it right away). The snake was still flopping around with the towel on it and I was standing there naked watching it. I grab it and pull to let the owner on the other side I got it. He pulled back but not too far. I unwrap the towel and push on the snake to let them know I was done. They pull back on the snake and try to twist it back through. I walk back naked to  the table and briefly explain to my client what was happening and offer him a discount for the interruption. We laugh about it and then he looks at me seriously, "they won't be coming over here will they?" I assure him that it is unlikely, but should they ask to be admitted, I will give him his clothes and towel and send him into the bedroom so he can dress in private. There would of course be no charge for the work done up to that point.
So these are some of the hazards of doing massage work in your apartment. Definitely think about these things before you go into business for yourself! Have fun! - Jack