How to close my business?

[magul]

I know there is a thread about this somewhere but I cant seen to get into the archives.I have a business, for 3 years now.  I have worked hard to get name recognition and regular clients!  My fiance and I have been living 1.5 hrs. away and in different states for 2 1/2 years - we just got engaged ( ;D) in Feb.  yay!  I "put my foot down" that I was absolutely NOT moving b/c of my business (there are already 4 MTs in his small town alone and many on the outskirts - and I just didnt have a good feeling about that area)  SO after about 2 years of both of us being stubborn as all get out - he agreed to move to my area.  (What a good man!)  So fast forward a little and we havent found any good jobs here for him (ugh - small towns)  so he has started applying in the next city over - (too far to drive to keep up my business) and has some great leads and optimistic interviews.  SOOoooooo....my problem is this - What am i supposed to do with my business!?  I have worked too hard to just let it go to waste!  I know for sure I will be contacting many MTs and MT schools letting near-graduates know that I have a place all set up for someone willing to move - I would love to GIVE someone else the opportunities I had and I just couldnt leave my clients with no where to go (nearest MT is over 40-50 miles away)     but I have many people in my life telling me to sell the business.   (I will need to set up another office in the city so that will cost $ too) So thats my problem - Here is my question - Can I sell?  I rent all of my office space (main office has an appartment over it where i live) so obviously i cant SELL that,  and is it ethical to sell my clients address'?  If they continue with my business name and same phone # - which would be beneficial since i have put lots of $ advertising it, They would have professional signage,  and professionaly printed advertising (I am on those city magnet things distributed far around my areas)  ect. ect.  I would host an open house meet and greet thing with the new MT, I would do a large mail out introducing the new MT and provide that person with all of my contacts that I have made over the years plus offering on going support if they ever had ?s or  slumps or anything.  All of this as I said - I dont have a problem GIVING it to someone worthy - but its going to cost me a lot of $ to get set up in my new place, so is it reasonable to get some profit from it?  Sorry - this is long and I hope I havent made it hard to follow.  Just stressed about seeing all my hard work possibly go down the drain only to pick up and start again.    (I do have a business plan for the new city that I am very excited about though - so that takes *a little* of the stress out of it!)Thanks for any input, opinion or experience!Dori

 

[Kevin K]

Leaving my business

Just an update - He got the job!  I will be moving.  I have a little over/under a year to get this whole thing situated, phase out gift certificates and packages ect. :'(  

 

[answer man]

Oh Thank you so much!  They are wonderful ideas - I was just so lost on the whole thing, I had NO IDEA where to start or what to do!  Thank you for your insight!

 

[DanC]

Hi...18 months ago while looking for a MT job in the paper, I came across an ad looking for someone to take over a sublease, to take over the business since she was going to have twins soon.  So, I had to interview with the chiro several times and meet with the MT as well.  I wound up with the biz, a dozen or so clients, and a "Job" doing chair massage in the chiro office.  I didn't have to pay for any of it, just takeover the rent, etc.  Long story short, turns out that the chiro and I didn't like each other and he decided to not lease to me when the sublease was up.  I tell you all this because it is a similar situation, but in a town of 80-90,000.  A year later I still have several of the clients.  Good luck.  mick

 

[nick O]

How to close my business?

You could give it to me and I'll move, lol. I think it's perfectly ethical to sell your client base, though not all clients will go to the other MT. You may want to put out an ad without your name on it, and basically make a deal with a MT. Tell them that you're having to leave, etc, but you will talk the other MT up to your clients, telling the clients how great she/he is, and that you're moving, but they will be taking your place. When I was leaving the school, some of my clients told me they have been going to the school for so long, etc, and wanted to know who was taking my place. I told them who, but I also recommended the clients go see another lady that worked in the school, as she was better IMO. Your clients will listen to you.

 

[Gemma]

How to close my business?

Whatever decision you decide to go with, I'd recommend you 'test the touch' of the other/new MT. That way, you can honestly say (s)he has a great touch and you feel confident in her/his abilities. You'll probably lose a couple (even in a small town), but that shouldn't be too bad. Congratulations and good luck!

 

[Aviram]

Hey Seforum.xxxg - its yers! آ C'mon up here to ND (dont forget your parka!) and Ill hand it all over! آ ;DThanks so much guys, I didnt know if I was being a horrible person thinking to sell my client list or not! آ I dont have any leases here, no legal commitments - Its just kind of a verbal agreement trust thing with my renters that I wont run out on them one day! آ  (See guys - doesnt this sound like a nice place to live.....want to move here?) I definately have had it in mind to be sure to find someone capable of giving my clients a quality massage! I understand that not everyone will trade over.    I would want to be the one to introduce a new Mt to my clients, they are special to me and I would want them to know that I PICKED this person.  The towns have been So supportive of me, I wouldnt feel right just leaving and being like "alright - heres the new girl/guy!" I'll start gathering my info, pictures, stats about the towns and whatnot آ and this fall head out to the MT schools in the state and put up information about what I have to offer, talk to students and whatnot. آ Ill prob. post it on a few websites JUSTinCASE and see if I get any bites. آ  I have realized that the worst thing that could happen is nobody goes for it and I simply have to leave, Ill let people down but I have a life too. آ آ Thanks for the support and opinions everyone - talking (typing) about it with people in the business saying "yes, thats okay - here are some ideas for you" has really relieved some of this STRESS!! *whew* Im not quite alone in this! آ Do I give all my SOAP notes with the files? آ Isnt that too personal? آ There addys for contact I can understand - but SOAP notes? آ And to tell the awful truth I have been lacking in the note department the past while- my 1st office and was lost in a building fire so after that losing all my files i was just kind of "eh" about it! آ then the building my 2nd office was in went up in flames (along with ALL files and records, again) less than a year later -yea hows THAT for luck! Not a pyro I swear!- so then Ive been really lax about it.... آ  okay - starting to ramble - Ill stop now آ - thanks again!dori

 

[Hurdy]

Hey Dori,  I purchased a business from another mt in november. We worked out a perceneforum.xxxe deal so the price will end up being based on the # of clients that stay (so far all that have come in have stayed) and new clients since she had just paid for a couple of yellow page listings.I think this has worked well for us because we have similar styles of massage and business standards.However...as far as records go... lets just say from her whole client base I was only able to put together about 20 full names with addresses (some I had to look up in the phone book--one benefit of a small town!) and I now have over 3 times that from new clients.So anyway, thats something to think about. Feel free to pm me if you want to go into more detail. there are some things I would do differently if I had the chance, but no real complaints.Kirsten

 

[??A Sohma at heart!??]

How to close my business?

No, do not give SOAP notes unless you have a SIGNED contract, with written permission from the client allowing the next therapist to look at the SOAP notes. That is confidential client information. Even a doctor cannot share their files with other doctors without permission of the client.

 

[Angel S]

That is totally what I thought!  But I have never sold a business before - so like I said before Im totally lost on the whole thing.   Thanks for reinforcing that.

 

[HELP! i lost my keys!]

How to close my business?

;D Glad to help!