I found a space to rent....now what???

[m.i.s.s.]

After much searching I finally found a room to rent!!



There were a couple of places that I almost took. The 1st one was perfect! They even already had an establishment license but I started getting bad vibes from the owner. They wanted to do a month-to-month basis rather than a lease and she was really pushing me to move in sooner than I was prepared to and she kept changing her requirements and her previous tenant had mentioned to me that the owner's business had been very, very slow......well, I was concerned that if she went out of business then I'd just have to start looking all over again and move. I'd rather find the right place and stay there.

So I looked at a room today and I go back on Friday to sign the lease!

It's not very big but it's do-able. It is located in the area that I want to be in and best of all, the rent is affordable. It is in an office complex with a shared lobby, conference room, bathroom and kitchen. My room is right next to the bathroom and is in the back of the building so I think it will be quieter.

I need to figure out what all to do next. I will apply for the establishment license as soon as I sign the lease. I know I need an occupational license.

I am going to switch over to the AMBP for my insurance. I notice that they also offer websites for their members. Does anyone use theirs? It's free so the price is right but I don't know how good the sites are.

I can't order any marketing materials until after I receive the establishment license so for now all that stuff is on hold.

I need to make decisions regarding having a ficticious name vs using my name for the business. Do I operate as a sole practioner or incorporate?

Do I need to open a new bank account or use my personal one?

I need to decide which credit card processers to use.

I'm sure there are many other things to think about. What else am I missing?

Help!
Angie

 

[swtchikku]

I found a space to rent....now what???

I need to figure out what all to do next. I will apply for the establishment license as soon as I sign the lease.

Either apply right away, or have the commencement date of your lease (when you start paying rent) tied to the date your establishment license is issued. NO sense paying rent when you can't legally operate

I am going to switch over to the AMBP for my insurance. I notice that they also offer websites for their members. Does anyone use theirs? It's free so the price is right but I don't know how good the sites are.

Be very specific -- perferably over the phone -- with what your insurance needs are. Slip and Fall and similar coverage is not always a given.

I can't order any marketing materials until after I receive the establishment license so for now all that stuff is on hold.

double check that especially as it relates to your next two questions. Spas don't have to publish their establishment license on marketing info, because you never know who you are going to get. If y ou incorporate, you might be able to do the same thing. gives you a head start -- again, why pay rent for a place you can't advertise

I need to make decisions regarding having a ficticious name vs using my name for the business.

Ficticious name

Do I operate as a sole practioner or incorporate?

Others may disagree, but I say incorporate. 1) there are tax advaneforum.xxxes 2) think big...if you go sp, you will just have to change when you hire your first employee!

Do I need to open a new bank account or use my personal one?

keep it separate

I need to decide which credit card processers to use.

Take convenience over price. The pennies you save in processing fees aren't worth the hassle of having to reconcile statments, etx.

I'm sure there are many other things to think about. What else am I missing?

Help!
Angie[/quote]

 

[Emi]

I found a space to rent....now what???

I agree it's a good idea to open a separate business account.
My first website was with ABMP. It's pretty easy to set up and change.
I got another website with my own domain because that was required to accept payments for gift certificates.
I found a local credit card processing company to work with, through my credit union. It seems professional and helpful.
I suggest you talk to an accountant about your set-up options.

Congratulations and much success.

 

[Soul Boogers]

I found a space to rent....now what???

Congrats on finding a new space Moogie!

I agree with getting separate bank accounts and think a fictitious name would be good if you can come up with one you like.

BTW, I believe that AMTA offers free websites now too... though I have not set one up yet so can not speak to ease of use.

And as R&R says you may need additional coverage for your business that is not covered by the AMTA or AMBP.

Best wishes on your new venture! t023

 

[Tysine]

I found a space to rent....now what???

I am going to switch over to the AMBP for my insurance. I notice that they also offer websites for their members. Does anyone use theirs? It's free so the price is right but I don't know how good the sites are.

AMTA does have free websites now, and it's very simple and easy. Let's be honest though, it's kinda pretty but otherwise not too great (what can you expect for free). I imagine ABMP's free sites have pretty much the same information, so if you want to take a look at mine, go to http://www.amtamembers.com/erinhanson.

As for credit card processing, I have never tried this myself but I've heard that you can just take down someone's CC# (assuming they're ok with it.. you know how some people are paranoid these days) and call a number (I don't know what it is or where to get it) and punch in the number, CVV code and exp. date and the charge. My clients usually pay with cash or check so I've never had to deal with CCs. When you go to open your business bank account, your bank should be able to give you more information =).

 

[RosaFam07]

I found a space to rent....now what???

Either apply right away, or have the commencement date of your lease (when you start paying rent) tied to the date your establishment license is issued. NO sense paying rent when you can't legally operate

The problem with this is that the State can take up to 74 days to issue the license once they receive the application. There's no way a landlord is going to hold a space for up to 2-1/2 months without being compensated and you have to have the space 1st in order to apply for the license. Hopefully it won't take that long.

Be very specific -- perferably over the phone -- with what your insurance needs are. Slip and Fall and similar coverage is not always a given.

They cover slip and fall as well as professional and product liablity. They also cover fire damage but not theft, so that's something I need to find elsewhere.

double check that especially as it relates to your next two questions. Spas don't have to publish their establishment license on marketing info, because you never know who you are going to get. If y ou incorporate, you might be able to do the same thing. gives you a head start -- again, why pay rent for a place you can't advertise

The State of Florida is quite clear-cut on this. ALL advertising MUST include the establishment license number. The establishment license is for the entire building (space, practice) not for specific therapists. I can probably get away with doing some massage on the existing clients that I already have without the license (unless one of them snitches on me) but advertising without the license # is a good way of getting fined.

Ficticious name

Now I just need to come up with a name.

Others may disagree, but I say incorporate. 1) there are tax advaneforum.xxxes 2) think big...if you go sp, you will just have to change when you hire your first employee!

I just spent 18yrs in a multi-therapist clinic. If there is one thing that I learned it is that employees are a PITA! No Thanks!

Thanks for your advice, I'll probably have more questions as I go along.

Angie

 

[LLD]

I found a space to rent....now what???

Congratz on your space, Moogie!! Nothing like having your own

We went through this about 8 months ago (wow, has it been that long??) This was our first time renting space. Ours is an independent suite in a professional office building (restrooms are shared down the hall, but we have our own reception area and lobby).

We lucked out. Our landlord took care of everything we needed in order to get our suite ready for our certificate of occupancy. They started our lease on the day we GOT the certificate; like R&R said, they (the landlord) didn't think it made sense to charge us rent on a place we couldn't legally occupy/operate out of. The economy is stale and during the boom times a few years ago, they overbuilt on commercial property, so there's a LOT of lease space available; use that to your advaneforum.xxxe! The landlord may NOT charge you rent; they know they're about to rent the suite out to you, and they also know that it would've sat vacant otherwise, so starting your lease on the day you can occupy your space wouldn't be any skin off their back.

We batted around the idea of going incorporated vs sole proprietors with our (not MT, but similar in spirit) practice, and we sought the advice of some seasoned people. One doc we knew said don't even bother, until you get big, at least in TX. You have your malpractice ins, your building ins, etc. Not only that, but in TX, they can't take your house or your car - about the only thing they can take is your equipment, and they really don't WANT to because it's not like it's worth much. The attorney we asked said the risk of a lawsuit is minimal as long as you're observant and not grossly negligent or inappropriate. To even bring a serious suit against you, they must be able to prove 3 things: that you knew there was a problem, that you didn't do anything about it when you could have, and that there was a real injury as a result. The expert CPA I polled (who stood to make about 3x the $$ per year if we DID incorporate) said it's overkill to do so; it costs a LOT more to operate per year, there are extra rules you have to follow, and (after the CPA works his magic) the remaining tax bill has to be paid either way--the government is going to get their pound of flesh - as an employee of a corporation, you still pay regular income taxes at regular rates without any personal write-offs. It's not the pass-through for taxes people think it is. So, in the end, we decided to keep it simple and be sole proprietors. (Yes, sole proprietors can be plural under the same assumed name IF the sole proprietors are a married couple - it's a special type of SP.)

AVOID hiring employees at all costs, if you can! PITA laws and EXPENSIVE. Contractors all the way! It's kind of a win-win that way

Now, about that name...my brain is flatlining LOL

 

[Deckard]

I found a space to rent....now what???

Congrats on your own space! How nice it is, but I know your also now feeling the 'omigosh, so much to do in so little time!'

Business name would be your priority right now. If your going to make marketing materials and open a DBA(doing business as) bank account, you'll want the business name. Keep it simple, come up with a few ideas and post them on here so people can help you with some angles you might not have thought of. Also keep your future business growth in mind. In my case, I'm aiming to eventually have a yoga studio offering massage services and reflexology. I came up with Lotus Life Massage and Yoga because it goes with both yoga and massage, and conviently my name also starts with 'L' so it kinda makes it all come together well. Just flip those ideas around and apply them to your own name and plan.

Websites. I'm an AMTA member and didn't care much for what they were offering (thought when I signed up the website wasn't free which might have influenced me). I ended up going with vista print for mine, it was easy and I pretty much paid $120 for one year, so like $10 a month. I set it up myself and that was also pretty easy, but I especially liked that I could taylor it to my colors and images. I also get my business cards, brochures, and other business-y stuff from vista print at a fair price and its all matchy-matchy. If your thinking of brochures and stuff and are still stuck on your business name you could just put your real name on them and keep them in your office, that way anyone who's got one already knows your business name and you'll have them printed in time for you to open.

Watch out for the credit card companies, I was going to go that route as well and it didn't work out so well. I do have a business paypal account so if anyone wanted to use a CC I could have them do that prior to their appointment, but until I get alot of people wanting to use CCs I'm not going to bother with it.

I would also suggest you write up your policies now, such as bounced check fees, cancelation policies, and all the unpleasant stuff that may come up that will put ou in a bind.

 

[Ryce :)]

I found a space to rent....now what???

Now, about that name...my brain is flatlining LOL

This has been my biggest problem too. I have some ideas for mine, but I feel like I need to take into consideration whether it's going to sound hokey to the super conservative/religious area I live in that is (in my opinion) quite close-minded to the "new-agey hippie crap" :