Wow! Sometimes things can turn on a dime

[Tom]

I got a call last night from the therapist I helped out last summer while she was on the mend from surgery. The relationship has continued to be very good and she has allowed me to continue working on my clients from her office/room for a perceneforum.xxxe. The arrangement was on the down low and off the radar of the potentates of the club. Pretty sweet deal for someone in their first year of practice.

So anyway, I got a call from her last night saying that her business partner wanted to get a massage from me and we needed to discuss business prior. I'm thinking, uh-oh! Turns out she is thinking of retiring (10 years in the biz and her wrists/hands are shot she says). Basically, she is wanting me to take over/buy? her business/customers.

Here's the set up. She has a studio/room that she rents for cheap from the local country club. Her contract is up for renewal in June. The contract goes up before the board of governers then (all men, all big egos, all golfers).

So what kinds of things do I need to be thinking about? Right now, everything is kind of swirling in my head without any order to it. Last summer she said she was seeing about 10-15 clients a week (more than I care to see in a week).

She said to be thinking on it and to bring to the meeting some marketing ideas and some questions.

My concerns are:

I don't want to do that many massages in a week for physical and family reasons.

I've got 2 small boys (9 & 6) that will be out of school come June and no plans to put them in childcare. Summer is sacred around here.

Husband is self-employed and summer is slow season but because of the nature of his work, he might have to leave on a moments notice to go fly. (Pilot) This could leave me in a bad position if I have a client scheduled and he has to go.

The club's relunctance (or what I percieve to be relunctance) to have other therapists available. If I could be a contract worker for the club and have sub-contractors/employees this could be workable. I pick and choose clients and times and have helpers to take care of the rest. Then there is a trust issue. The clients that are seen there are all country club members and they tend to stay with the club. So I don't think any helpers would/could steal clients.


Okay, what else do I need to be thinking about?

 

[kaleb segal]

Don't walk. RUN! AWAY!

This doesn't work for you.

And definitely don't "buy" anything. She has nothing to sell.

 

[VINTAGE MUSIC]

Since her arrangement is with the country club, she cannot turn around and charge you to take over when she terminates her contract. This amounts to a bribe, (from you to her,) not a purchase. If she is turning over the contract to you, the only problem I can see with this is if the CC does not want to either split the position with you, or allow you subcontractors.

Talk to them, find out what they are willing to do. It sounds like it has potential, just make sure you are clear on what you want out of the arrangement before you arrange a negotiation meeting.

 

[Billys]

Massagerelated. Could you explain more what you mean? Why should I run away? I've worked with this woman for several months and she has shown herself to be reliable and trustworthy. I'm pretty doggone certain she isn't out to screw anyone.

As for this not working for me... still not sure what you mean by that? The family, maybe? This is something to be worked around like any family situation.

As for having anything to sell... her recommendation of me to the club President (whom she's very good friends with), the board, her clients (many of whom I've worked on already), a furnished space (many of the upgrades/renovations she did). Granted the contract isn't hers to award but she could pave the way to my getting it.

Or... maybe you were being sarcastic and it just didn't transfer into cyberspeak! : :wink:

 

[AlwaysBored]

It was just a first impression.

But to look at it more closely, you said you don't want this much work, you won't have child care, summer is sacred, your husband can be called away on short notice, the contract is up in june, the club is reluctant, etc. etc. etc.

As for having anything to sell, a sole proprietorship typically has very little in physical, tangible assets of real value. Everything else is "blue sky". It's worth whatever you think it's worth and are willing and able to pay for it.

Her recommendation is "blue sky". The upgrades and renovations are not hers to sell unless she could remove and take them with her. Otherwise they belong to the club and you would get them anyway if you get the contract. "Paving the way" is more "blue sky". You decide. It's all about you now and your sense of this opportunity.

 

[Christen]

Thanks massage. You gave me some things to think about.

I'm not saying that she has anything to sell other than the furnishings in the room.

As for the amount of massages I give that can be pretty much up to me. If (and it is a big if) I am able to work a deal with the club that I provide a service, whether that be me or 'helpers' could change how I feel about it. Yes, summer is sacred, I don't have child care but I sure as heck don't want to spend the entire summer 24/7/365 with my kids. Love'm but... In the past with a day's notice or so the husband unit can adjust his schedule to accomodate a couple of hours for my professional aspirations. Another message board that I posted this same topic on suggested that maybe the club has some childcare available. It's a thought.

As for her assets. I'm not even sure if she is suggesting that I 'buy' her business. It may be that she is more wanting someone to turn her clients over to. I don't know. I'll know more on the 13th.

 

[Mister Hat]

I got a call last night from the therapist... she has allowed me to continue working on my clients from her office/room for a perceneforum.xxxe. The arrangement was on the down low and off the radar of the potentates of the club. Pretty sweet deal for someone in their first year of practice.

...I got a call from her last night saying that her business partner wanted to get a massage from me and we needed to discuss business prior. ...Turns out she is thinking of retiring (10 years in the biz and her wrists/hands are shot she says). Basically, she is wanting me to take over/buy? her business/customers.

Here's the set up. She has a studio/room that she rents for cheap from the local country club. Her contract is up for renewal in June. The contract goes up before the board of governers then (all men, all big egos, all golfers).

So what kinds of things do I need to be thinking about? Last summer she said she was seeing about 10-15 clients a week (more than I care to see in a week).

She said to be thinking on it and to bring to the meeting some marketing ideas and some questions.

My concerns are:

I don't want to do that many massages in a week for physical and family reasons.

I've got 2 small boys (9 & 6) that will be out of school come June and no plans to put them in childcare. Summer is sacred around here.

Husband is self-employed and summer is slow season but because of the nature of his work, he might have to leave on a moments notice to go fly. (Pilot) This could leave me in a bad position if I have a client scheduled and he has to go.

The club's relunctance (or what I percieve to be relunctance) to have other therapists available. If I could be a contract worker for the club and have sub-contractors/employees this could be workable. I pick and choose clients and times and have helpers to take care of the rest. Then there is a trust issue. The clients that are seen there are all country club members and they tend to stay with the club. So I don't think any helpers would/could steal clients.


Okay, what else do I need to be thinking about?

...I've worked with this woman for several months and she has shown herself to be reliable and trustworthy. I'm pretty doggone certain she isn't out to screw anyone.

... her recommendation of me to the club President (whom she's very good friends with), the board, her clients (many of whom I've worked on already), a furnished space (many of the upgrades/renovations she did). Granted the contract isn't hers to award but she could pave the way to my getting it.

I'm not saying that she has anything to sell other than the furnishings in the room.

As for the amount of massages I give that can be pretty much up to me. If (and it is a big if) I am able to work a deal with the club that I provide a service, whether that be me or 'helpers' could change how I feel about it. Yes, summer is sacred... In the past with a day's notice or so the husband unit can adjust his schedule to accomodate a couple of hours for my professional aspirations.

As for her assets. I'm not even sure if she is suggesting that I 'buy' her business. It may be that she is more wanting someone to turn her clients over to. I don't know. I'll know more on the 13th.

Hi. I'll try to answer this as best I can with the info you provided.

Here are the things I would consider thinking about and a little background when it seems appropriate.

You mention you don't know if she actually wants you to "buy" her business or take over. I'd say for now that you think about it in the realm of "take over" and don't even consider thinking about the possible "buy" thoughts racing in your mind. It will keep things less cluttered.

I am a bit at a loss in understanding much about the business partner of this therapist. Does the business partner have anything to do with the set up? Is there a specific reason why the business partner was brought up or is this person more like "general conversation" in the whole original post? - If the business partner has something to say, then you will have to think about what the business partners place is in all of this.

Since she has a studio/room that she rents from the local country club and the contract is up for renewal before the board of governers (all men, all big egos, all golfers) - I wouldn't worry too much about them. Who cares if they have egos or are "big men"? They have her there to provide a service and obviously she has done a good job if she's kept the contract for this long. One thing to seriously consider is she "under contract" to stay there for an amount of time... or has she just signed a contract that she re-news every year if she wants to consider staying in that room as the years go by?

Another thing to think about is "how many clients you want to see in a week". What is your limit? Will the club let you bring in a second therapist to take the overflow or can you split days with another therapist and both share the room?

You mention you feel the "clubs reluctance". Why do you feel this? Something to think about. According to what you wrote, I don't see any club reluctance. So there must be a reson you feel this way. She already said she was going to recommend you to the President, I just can't imagine why you feel they won't want you. They have to have someone, and who better to take than the person recommended by the MT who is leaving.

Other things I see you may want to think about:

Summers are "sacred" to you. You'll have to make peace with how you will re-structure the summers and the children.

Who will you get to watch the kids if you have a scheduled massage and your husband has to leave on business? You'll need a back up plan.

Do you even need to purchase her furnishings? Do you want/like them, or do you want your own "new toys"?

Those are the ones I can think of right now, with what you mentioned. Hope it helps!

Good luck! It does sound quite promising!

 

[Omega]

Thanks Texas,

Okay, the deal with the partner, I think, is that they share the rent. The partner has another job and only uses the room at night (most of the time). The partner has some equipment in there as well. A pregnancy massage setup that I have used with her blessing.

The relunctance that I mentioned. I guess I should've explained that a bit better. When I started helping the therapist "Sandy" with her clients after she hurt herself, she told me I could use the room to see my own clients but to keep it "off the radar". In other words, don't flaunt my clients, or otherwise make a big show. The reason for this is the country club members like to think of the membership and services offered as 'exclusive'. After all, they are paying big bucks to be a member. Some of the members might get their panties wadded if they knew that a non-member could come get a massage at 'their' club. The relunctance I mentioned may not be applicable to the big boys. I did ask her one time exactly how many therapists are using that space including herself and me. Four. Three of us are "off the radar".

The reason that I would want to buy the furnishings is that to replace them would be costly. I like them just fine. "Sandy" has a set of rocks (which I need), a paraffin bath (not sure who it belogns to & I already own one), sheets out the wazoo, and decor that is very compatible with my tastes.

The number of clients I would want to see in a week. During the school year I could see more. The number of clients she's been seeing and the possibility of me having someone to pull the slack is one of my questions for her. Considering that there are 3 therapists that the club doesn't really know about I don't see this being a huge deal.

I think my taking over the business is more about the formality of it. In other words. I think it has to do with someone being responsible for the rent.

So many questions.

 

[Pompal 09.]

Everyone has pretty much covered it. I'll just say one thing, that you already know. Summers are short and kids are young for an even shorter time. I have from ages 15-26 so I know first hand how quickly it goes. I have always had your attitude the summer is a special time where lots of memories are built. Please don't do anything that will make you regret giving up that very, very fleeting time of our lifes. I choose to believe that deals DO come along that fit US. I know you are thinking hard on it. Just wanted to remind you of that one piece of the puzzle.
Best of luck

 

[JustJules]

Since my kids started school I have been adamant about having to be done with massage by 2:00. This will not change. With the summer, I should be able to schedule around hubbie's schedule so I don't foresee a huge problem. I also don't massage on weekends regular like. An occasional one on a Saturday but that's it.

While my kids aren't my life, they are a huge part of it. They will only be mine for a little while. There will be time for a full-blown career later. It's about balance.

 

[ADEE]

From what you said with multiple therapists in the rom, it sounds like a pretty nice deal to me. As long as people have been "working under the radar" for a while and there hasn't been a problem, as long as you continue with the non-club patrons this way, I do see a specific problem UNLESS the President says different. It really sounds like you should be able to work 'til 2:00 pm like you want and keep the hours down.

Sounds good if she'll sell the fixtures and sheets to ya too. Less to go get.

Let us know what happens!