Forming an alliance with other practitioners.

[Stoic]

I have recently had an idea that came to me when I met a MT who calls his business the ______ ______ "Institute". It makes him sound like a large facility with several practitioners, but really he's a one man show (not to say he won't take on collegues some day). Sort of like the founder of "geek squad", he was just a one man show in the beginning but called himself "squad" and his business grew like mad.

Anyway, I've been thinking of perhaps collaborating with other practitioners, either other MT's or practitioners of other modalities to for a virtual "institute or center, or alliance" for health, wellness, massage etc etc.

We would share one website, one "brand" name, one logo, share advertising and marketing costs, share booths at health fairs etc, but we would all be independent practitioners.

My ideas I've had so far: An "Alliance of Massage Therapists" who each specialize in something different from one another, or who cover different regional territories. "Call so-and-so for sportsmassage, call suzy for reiki, call steven for neuromuscular etc. and include links to their individual websites for more details.

An Alliance of holistic health practitioners, each practicing something different (one MT, one Chiro, one personal trainer, one reiki master etc etc) so as to avoid direct competition, also links to individual websites and details.

An Alliance of Equine holistic health practitioners, once again each practicing different areas of horse health and wellness so as to not compete with one another (the other idea I had for this scenario is actually calling my farm the "center for holistic equine health" in case horse owners want to trailer in their animals for treatment, I have more than enough room for not only work on horses, but also conducting workshops and seminars.

I'm liking the idea of several practitioners sharing one brand and one website and helping cross market one another. It would cut advertising costs for all involved and give everyone an image of legitimacy and professionalism.

What do you think and any input would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Rodeo64]

Forming an alliance with other practitioners.

This is very similar to the situation I am in right now. I rent my space from the business owner (it's a sub-lease situation, he pays rent for the entire suite) as do 2 other therapists and a yoga instructor. We work under the same logo, share just a few costs, and all maintain our own business license/insurance/etc. as sole proprietors. The place has been open for just over a year, and while I really like the idea of working together and helping each other out, there have definitely been some snags along the way.

First off, be very clear on what is expected of everyone. Our original agreement was that the owner of the main business would cover all advertising costs for said business and any self-promotion is our responsibility. Somehow, we've all ended up paying a lot of extra money for ads that seem to have done us no good! So if everyone is going to be expected to split marketing costs, either make sure that there is an impartial person taking calls to make appointments or that you take "shifts" taking calls so that everyone can get a few clients. What has ended up happening is that the owner has been taking all the calls and scheduling all the clients with himself.

Along the same lines, be clear on what duties might be expected of you as well. The bare minimum that was laid out to me when the business started is that I just needed to pay rent and come to weekly meetings to share in ideas. I've gone well above and beyond that with maintaining the facebook page, creating and sending out an e-newsletter, cleaning the waiting areas as well as my treatment room, all sorts of stuff. When I wasn't getting any clients, I decided that I needed to focus more on promoting me, not just the business as a whole, and stopped doing a lot of those things. Unfortunately, I think I created an expectation because the owner recently complained of all the work he's having to do now.

You're smart to make sure everyone has a specific niche to fill too, because two of our therapists are still somewhat new out of school and haven't quite found their "specialty" yet, so it's hard to know exactly who to schedule people with. I consider myself to be very good at pain management and rehabilitation, which is unfortunately the same thing that the owner does. He has 11 years experience over my 6, and as much as he says he has enough clients and wants the rest of us to be busy, I've always felt like there's a bit of an insecurity issue which makes him feel the need to prove that he has more experience, leading to a lot of subtle competition. That's just my perception though, and don't know if that's the reality of the situation so all I can do is assume.

Overall, I think the whole project is a lot bigger than he ever anticipated. As stated above, I took on a lot of projects to help out that he didn't realize and is overwhelmed with now having to "do it all", as well as not realizing, then complaining about, how much money he's having to put out. I can't let that be my problem though, because all that was originally expected of me is to pay rent.

 

[Asha]

Forming an alliance with other practitioners.

Great advice and information.

I am actually leaning toward more of a "virtual" center and collaborating with practitioners who do all on-site services so there wouldn't really be an actual office to maintain, rent or support. For instance personal trainers who make house calls and gym calls, yoga instructors who do one-on-one yoga sessions, MT's who make house calls. That's one reason why I was leaning toward the equine services, since nearly all calls are farm calls, its very rare that anyone trailers in a horse for treatment.

I like the idea of everyone being on one website, one brochure, ad etc. It seems to give more legitimacy when its under a name like "Center" or "Institute" etc etc. I'm just having a hard time deciding what niche to go with?

All MT's with different specialties? MT's who service different territories (to avoid overlapping client demographics), various different sports therapists, various different holistic practitioners, or a practice of holistic animal practitioners? I just can't decide which direction I want to go?

 

[dog]

Forming an alliance with other practitioners.

I'm not sure if this place does something similar to what you are interested in, but I saw them online about 3 months ago. They call it a bodywork and massage co-op.


It may be a place you can get some ideas from.

I love the idea of a co-op, but like anything, someone still has to be in charge. In my case, I'd rather be in charge of myself than to be the one making sure the lease space is filled and the rent is paid each month. Since I want and need to work, if I am dependent on others to come up with their part and they end up flaking out, it ultimately affects me. I am not willing to let go enough to allow the potential for that occurance. Which... is also why I am still not an employer (I can't imagine if I had one or two therapists working for me and they didn't show up for their appointments but the clients did. I would really take that personally and be very upset if I couldn't fill the void. --- And, of course, I ony have two hands, so there would be a problem. Nope, so far I can't do it. But, hats off to those who can.)

I hope it works out for you. I do llike the idea.

 

[eee]

Forming an alliance with other practitioners.

Interesting idea. I like the idea of aligning yourself with a variety of practitioners. On a daily basis I am referring my patients to chiropractors, nutritionists, etc. It would make me somewhat nervous to form such a formal alliance with the same website, logo and so on. Being under the same umbrella involves so much risk in my opinion. I suppose I am just a huge control freak!!

 

[Baby]

Forming an alliance with other practitioners.

Interesting idea. I like the idea of aligning yourself with a variety of practitioners. On a daily basis I am referring my patients to chiropractors, nutritionists, etc. It would make me somewhat nervous to form such a formal alliance with the same website, logo and so on. Being under the same umbrella involves so much risk in my opinion. I suppose I am just a huge control freak!!

I know, I thought of that myself and its the main reason I'm hesitant.

 

[Adulthood]

Forming an alliance with other practitioners.

At the end of the day the savings on a logo, website and extra referral do not out weigh the risks.

As well I have never had success at expos/trade shows. I have never broken even!

 

[basement dweller]

Forming an alliance with other practitioners.

Set up a massage center and hire employee MTs. Don't worry about the variety of expertise. Instead, hire people with the people and massage skills needed to be successful. Help them succeed and the owner becomes successful, too... if they are smart and really work to promote the business.

Oh, and PLAN PLAN PLAN PLAN PLAN PLAN PLAN PLAN PLAN PLAN PLAN PLAN PLAN PLAN PLAN PLAN PLAN PLAN before launching whatever business model you choose.