January 7th, 2007 Julie Onofrio
One of the most difficult business decisions you may be faced with is whether or not you are an employee or a subcontractor/independent contractor for someone you are working for.
The IRS website states that:
“The general rule is that an individual is an independent contractor if (the person for whom the services are performed) has the right to control or direct only the result of the work, and not what will be done and how it will be done or method of accomplishing the result.
People such as lawyers, contractors, subcontractors, public stenographers, and auctioneers who follow an independent trade, business, or profession in which they offer their services to the public, are generally not employees. However, whether such people are employees or independent contractors depends on the facts in each case.”
I find that there are many businesses hiring massage therapists as independent contractors to try to save money when they really should be classified as an employee.
It is the person who is hiring that is responsible for knowing what is the correct status because they are responsible for paying taxes if they are an employer and may be required to pay back taxes if they are found to be negligent.
Some of the things to consider when going to work for someone are:
- who pays the taxes
- what are the duties and responsiblities of each part
- Who pays for advertising, massage supplies etc.
- Do you pay a flat rate per massage to the business owner or pay a percentage? It may be illegal to charge a percentage and may be seen as a kickback (for example the law in WA State RCW 51.48.280
Kickbacks, bribes, and rebates — Representation fees — Criminal liability — Exceptions..)
- Who collects the money from the client? If the business owner collects it and pays the person doing the massage does it mean they are an employee?
- Do you still get paid when a client doesn’t show up for an appointment?
- Do you have to be there at a certain time and day, wear certain clothes and do certain things? You may be an employee.
This is from the Washington State Guide to doing business:
“Business owners frequently get confused about
who is an employee and who may be considered to be
an independent contractor.
An employee is generally subject to your control.
Control exists when the employer determines the start
and end times each day, which days the employee
reports to work, what the worker will do on the job and
how they will do it.
Independent contractors are customarily engaged
in their own independent occupation or business, and
are registered or licensed with the appropriate state and
federal agencies. They usually advertise their services,
are in a position to realize profi t or loss as a result of
their services, and usually have a signifi cant investment
in their business. They also keep business records,
report to the IRS as a business and usually have a
place of business from which they operate. You can
expect an independent contractor to provide everything
necessary to complete their job.”
I am not a lawyer and don’t know the legal aspects of all of this, but each case is different and needs to be analyzed by an attorney and a contract drawn up to eliminate any confusion. I recommend having a contract whether you are an employee or a sub-contractor just so you know what the rules are.
From what I have read on the IRS site and the Washington State website, anyone who is told what times to work and what to do is an employee.
This is one of the reasons I think it is just easier to rent office space from someone and run your own business!
I would like to actually hear more about others experiences with this issue and see if we can get a clearer answer and some more definite guidelines to follow when considering going to work for someone.
Resources:
Peick and Conniff - Am I an independent contractor or an employee? (Two attorneys hired by the WA State AMTA to help us figure this out.
Independent Contractor, Employee, Booth Renter: Which Piece Am I? By Ken Cassidy Originally published in Massage & Bodywork magazine, December/January 2002.
Success by the IRSÂ By Dixie Wall, Contributing Editor Massage Today
Posted in News | 4 Comments »
January 7th, 2007 Julie Onofrio
I have been doing some investigating into various code of ethics statements from various associations and find them very interesting to read:
When you join an association you are agreeing to abide by their code of ethics.
A code of ethics created by an association can hardly be enforced and much is left to interpretation.
Ethics is the framework for building a successful massage practice. It is about creating policies and rules that you abide by so the client knows what you are doing and where you are at. It provides boundaries- a safe container for you to build and grow your massage practice to any level you want. The more committed you are to your code of ethics, the stronger your business will be.
For the most part all of the resources for learning about ethics and even enforcing code of ethics by various associations are focused on the textbook meaning of ethics. But ethics is so much more than that. Ethics is really the core to every relationship.
Living ethics is a different thing from understanding or agreeing to a code of ethics. Living ethics requires a forum for discussing and sharing your views so that you can create a solid boundary for yourself and your practice.
The way to do this is by starting or joining a peer supervision group. I believe that peer supervision should be required of every massage therapist and be a required part of every massage related association and even licensing.
Recently here in WA State a law was created that actually makes it illegal to date a client but there is no forum for helping massage therapist to understand why this is necessary or how to deal with the feelings that do come up in a therapeutic relationship that may include a romantic interest in someone.
I offer consultations by phone or in person on how to start, set up and run your own peer supervision group. I also am available to facilitate your groups via phone or in person (locally here in the Seattle area.)
To find out more about my services and start your own peer supervision group please contact me or you can also start participating in the free Yahoo! Group of mine where I do challenge people in a discussion format to start thinking differently about what they are saying and doing.
Peer Supervision Defined and Explained
Peer Supervision Consultations and Group Facilitation
Ethics from www.thebodyworker.com -learn about ethics and how to create your own code to practice massage and live by.
Posted in Ethics, Peer Supervision, Starting Your Practice | No Comments »
January 4th, 2007 Julie Onofrio
I know I am always promoting the Sitebuildit! Webhosting System, but may people are just not able to afford it yet especially if you are just starting out. While I could go into the issues about why wouldn’t you spend money if you knew you were going to be able to make more money thing…
There are other ways to build a website without using SBI and if you already have a website there are many ways to improve your current website (using some of the SBI way).
My website www.thebodyworker.com and this site is hosted with a company called ez-web-hosting.com. I have been with them for quite awhile. You have to either have Front Page or another web design program or you can use their template system which will do but is somewhat limited. What they do have is an easy way to set up a blog just like this one. Blogging helps build traffic which is important to the search engines and your readers.
Some of the things to do can be found in the free Ebook I have written on Creating a Website that works that you can download for free at www.thebodyworker.com
Some tips to begin with:
- have your contact information on every page.
- choose a domain name that indicates your location and what you do -like massageseattle.net
- create 100 pages of content writing about the real benefits of massage as this SBI owner has done : www.deservingbodymassage.com
- Name your pages with keywords that are relevant to what you do and where you are -(See the Ebook for more details)
Posted in Websites for Massage therapists | No Comments »
January 2nd, 2007 Julie Onofrio
But to do that you need to know where you are at.
The new year is a good time to sit down and do a through financial report that tracks your current assets, last years income and your debt. It is also nice to track how many days you worked and how many days of vacation that you had so that you can compare it to the other years. The idea is to work less and play more - like my new website will be talking about www.workless-playmore.com . ( I just started it using the Sitebuildit System that I am always talking about. )
When you have that in place you will then be able to focus on making money and not just paying the bills. So often we get caught up in working and doing things that we don’t see the changes on a daily basis. In 6 months go back and do the same thing to see what extra income you have made or if it is less you can see that what you have been doing isn’t working yet. At that time you can reanalyze what you have been doing and decide if you want to stay on that track or make some changes.
Following a system will also allow you to learn more and become more aware of what you are doing and what needs to be done. I highly recommend “The Science of Getting Rich” that I have talked about before here or something like “Unstoppable” which is a book with a 30 day plan that covers such things as creating your vision and mission statement.
“The Science of Getting Rich” is a free Ebook that you can download and read that is written by this guy Wallace Wattles in the early 1900’s. It is really interesting that he is saying some of the same things as the authors today such as in the book “The Law of Attraction” by Esther and Jerry Hicks and “The attractor factor” by Joe Vitale.
They also have an online “Practical Geniuses Course” where you can actually choose your own tuition and pay only what you can afford at the time. I started doing the Science of Getting Rich online class awhile ago and am getting back to it again and going through it more thoroughly. It really brings the free ebook to life and really helps to be doing the steps with others. If anyone wants to start talking about how to apply it to a massage practice we could start it here or in my discussion group at Yahoo! Groups.
The thing they talk about is having a “Clear Mental Image” of what you want and “the depth of feeling behind it”. When the feeling is lacking, it is usually being blocked by our unconscious thoughts and beliefs about money and success. They are those little thoughts that tell us we aren’t good enough or not smart enough or not deserving of all that we want.
I also have some information about creating a clear mental image or vision on the website
So developing a “Clear Mental Image” requires that you start seeing just where you are as far as what you think and believe. Following a system such as “the Science of Getting Rich” will help you do that.
Posted in Starting Your Practice, Websites for Massage therapists | No Comments »
January 1st, 2007 Julie Onofrio
Now that all the holiday festivities are over, it is time to start planning for whatever you need to be doing for your practice.
If you are just starting out or even if you have an established practice knowing who your ideal client is will help you to plan the rest of the things you need to do. You may not be sure who your ideal client is or what your ideal massage business looks like. One of the best ways is to start looking at and finding out what you don’t want. It is one of the best ways of finding what you do want.
I for one am tired of the low pay from the insurance companies and until I can figure out what to do to get them to pay more, I am phasing out my insurance work. I also wanting to charge more and have people who are more serious about their health. I may have to turn people away but it is a decision I must make. I am just trying to follow the feeling I get when I work with certain people. I once had an instructor tell me to work only on nurturing clients. I didn’t always do that because I needed the money. Now I am paying for it in the long run. I also worked with the idea that I had to work on everyone or else I would starve and would take clients that just weren’t compatible with my philosophies on health and healing thinking that they would change. But just like in relationships, expecting people to change just doesn’t work. I now know I don’t have to work on everyone and the clearer I get about who I do want to work on , the easier they find me.
I actually am in the process of doing this for myself as I restructure my business and move it closer to home.
My ideal client understands alternative health and is working with a naturopath or other alternative medical professional.
My ideal client is one who is working on becoming more conscious and aware and is willing to look at their thoughts and feelings in the process.
My ideal client pays me $100 per hour of work and comes at least every other week or once every three weeks or once a month.
My ideal client is willing to engage in the session to get the most they can out of the process. Massage is not something I just do to them.
I also am planning on taking a few classes - one in particular that uses focusing to help clients become more aware of their bodies. I haven’t taken any technique classes in over 10 years for various reasons and am also going to be studying up and learning more.
Who is your ideal client?
What do they value?
What solution do your provide for them?
What is your vision for your practice in 2007?
Posted in Building Your Practice | 2 Comments »
