Nevadans?

[americanvalkyrie]

OK so what business would you all start if you had a little capital to play with?

When I was going to massage school, we wrote out business plans. Mine was:

1st: start working as a self-employed massage therapist (doing right now)

2nd: rent a space with several other massage therapists beneath me, to start building clientele and a bit more capital. Maybe have a small storefront to sell soaps and lotions. Start using my kids as employees so I can monitor them and still let them earn money.

3rd: open up a "massage center" with at least 5 separate rooms, and a coffee bar in the front... one that offers something that accommodates all diets, whether religious, moral, health, or intolerance-based.

4th: expand to a "wellness center" that has at least 10 massage rooms, a yoga center/classroom, a storefront, a natural health consultant, a coffee bar, a special-needs bakery (gluten-free, kosher, halaal, vegan,etc.) and a private daycare room so my employee/moms can bring their kids and still earn a living. And I'd try to hire out of the single-mom and working-mom population as much as I can, even if all they can do is come bake for a few hours before their husbands go to work.

I think it could all work out, though one of the biggest problems in the "health and wellness" field is the economy. When people can't afford much, they either go for doctors or natural health, but not both. Spa-type stuff doesn't happen as often.

One thing I'd really like to do is have a center that allows employees to list personal traditions as reasons for requesting time off. I've worked in several places that let me have Christmas off, but a baptism or a friend's graduation was out of the question. Forget it if someone requests time off for Rosh Hashanah, Samhain, or Eid. I'd like to make an environment where you could take a certain amount of time for your sacred traditions, without having to reason with a manager because they're not his traditions as well.

 

[SunnyDawn]

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I've worked for companies that offered so many "personal" days a year. Usually in combination with sick leave or comp time. Makes it really nice but some employees take advantage. Having them fill out requests at time of hire sounds like a great idea! It can become a logistical nightmare during busy times but they did what they could.

When I was in management I was pretty lenient about this kind of thing but I always tried to hire folks that were very self-motivated. I am not a good micro manager and need employees that can get the job done without my having to babysit them. My employees have stated that my expectations are pretty high but I don't expect nearly as much from them as I give myself. I just think some folks expect work to be breezy when it's, well, work! I mean employers don't pay salaries unless they really need the extra help.

Anyway, I digress. I think your plan sounds great and I think you should start planning for it now! You just need to market it differently in a newly rebounding economy. We know these rebounds are never fast so it will take some time but use the new rules to market your business. Point out the vital need for what you offer and stress the long term health benefits your services can provide. Find articles that support these claims and post them around the outer office (or inner if they are scarce and framed/presented nicely).

Add things in slowly and let folks know you've added these services because of high demand! Your business will grow steadily and the vital "health" services can be your focus until things get better. And they are getting better! Don't let the negative folks tell you otherwise. You will make that business a huge success and you will be a part of helping our business community grow and thrive again!

BTW the gluten free, chemical trans fat free, etc, bakery is something I have been very interested in for awhile. Not because I am intolerant of gluten but because there is a huge need right now for this kind of thing since so many people can't have gluten and many others choose to limit it and other ingredients for health reasons. I've been working on recipes for a few years now and have had some huge successes! As long as it is managed well a business of this type would be a huge hit!

 

[VCfeathers]

OK so what business would you all start if you had a little capital to play with?

Well after we get the house finished, my plans for this place are to open a little farmers market for my eggs and vegetables. I love to come up with new recipies and home remidies. So maybe I'll make my own jams, relishes, and salves, shampoos, etc... Maybe put the industrial kitchen back in and serve lunch made from our own produce. I'd like to put in a small playground for kids, maybe a petting zoo as an excuse to get more pets lol. My honey wants to put in a SASS range.

 

[SunnyDawn]

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OMG! You are in good company here! Some of us talked about doing a farmer's market booth a while back. Then I found out that we can sell up to 30 days a year from home so it made more sense to do that than pay the fees for a booth. I always wanted to run an Inn/Gardens/Venue hobby farm where I would serve breakfast on Saturday and Sundays and do a wine and cheese hour Fridays and Saturdays. I feel like it is the only business that uses almost all of my talents (except I know nothing about wine and cheese so Steve has to take classes to learn that). Now that would be a blast!!!

Not sure the range goes with the farmer's market/petting zoo theme but 2 separate locations would solve that problem.

 

[HighNDryFarm]

Very ambitious goals! How long do you think it would take you to get to phase 4? How many employees do you plan on having and are you hoping to offer everyone benefits? To offer such liberal time off, you'd have to have a large enough staff to accommodate it. That could be a very expensive payroll. My suggestion to lighten that a bit (I use to have a nail spa), would be to rent space to the massage therapist (and make sure they carry their own liability insurance) and only payroll the scheduling clerk and sales staff.

So is your goal to work as a massage therapist or to run a business? By the time you get to phase 4 you will be working 24/7 running the business. A well known phrase in business is "if you're working IN your business, you're not working ON your business". And businesses are like hatching chicks, they require constant monitoring!

I own three businesses so I'm not trying to talk you out of this, I just want you to have a clear picture of what it would entail. A "be careful what you ask for, you may get it" type heads up!

I'm sure you'll be successful at whatever you do. You're smart to put together a business plan with this economy I wouldn't move too fast to jump in.

 

[SunnyDawn]

She's right there. When you own a large business you don't get to be a normal employee any longer. When I was an efficiency consultant I always had a hard time getting that throught the heads of the owners of the companies I came in to help. I worked with small businesses that were becoming medium sized businesses and needed help keeping up with the increaased workload. It's definitely doable, even in a slow economy, but it does take careful planning and great management. Keep building on what you are doing now and don't let fear stop you from moving forward.

Pam you know if I open the Inn & Gardens we will be picking your brain about the wine end of the business. Just to warn ya! We won't be able to afford a Certified Sommelier unless we hit the lotto and open a lot bigger Inn than we plan on right now. I think Governor Moonbeam needs to reverse that venue tax that the Governator put in place before we can do it though since we love a certain area in Cali for this project. He really killed a lot of businesses with that one!

 

[HighNDryFarm]

She's right there. When you own a large business you don't get to be a normal employee any longer. When I was an efficiency consultant I always had a hard time getting that throught the heads of the owners of the companies I came in to help. I worked with small businesses that were becoming medium sized businesses and needed help keeping up with the increaased workload. It's definitely doable, even in a slow economy, but it does take careful planning and great management. Keep building on what you are doing now and don't let fear stop you from moving forward.

Pam you know if I open the Inn & Gardens we will be picking your brain about the wine end of the business. Just to warn ya! We won't be able to afford a Certified Sommelier unless we hit the lotto and open a lot bigger Inn than we plan on right now. I think Governor Moonbeam needs to reverse that venue tax that the Governator put in place before we can do it though since we love a certain area in Cali for this project. He really killed a lot of businesses with that one!

CA is a tough place to do business that's for sure. And you are welcome to pick my wine and even cheese brain since we also sell gourmet cheese. In fact we have a very limited food menu right now but will be expanding the menu with gourmet soups, salads and sandwiches. Using food grown from my garden as well as local Farmers and bakers. Maybe we'll have something to share of food and

 

[americanvalkyrie]

Very ambitious goals! How long do you think it would take you to get to phase 4? How many employees do you plan on having and are you hoping to offer everyone benefits? To offer such liberal time off, you'd have to have a large enough staff to accommodate it. That could be a very expensive payroll. My suggestion to lighten that a bit (I use to have a nail spa), would be to rent space to the massage therapist (and make sure they carry their own liability insurance) and only payroll the scheduling clerk and sales staff.
So is your goal to work as a massage therapist or to run a business? By the time you get to phase 4 you will be working 24/7 running the business. A well known phrase in business is "if you're working IN your business, you're not working ON your business". And businesses are like hatching chicks, they require constant monitoring!
I own three businesses so I'm not trying to talk you out of this, I just want you to have a clear picture of what it would entail. A "be careful what you ask for, you may get it" type heads up!
I'm sure you'll be successful at whatever you do. You're smart to put together a business plan with this economy I wouldn't move too fast to jump in.

In a very good economy, I think taking 5 years to reach phase 4 isn't an unrealistic goal. But I got my massage license at the beginning of the downturn, and 4 years later I'm still a self-employeed person who makes barely enough to justify staying home to raise kids and have a mini-farm. It's a choice, and it always has been in my life: take care of my family as I feel I need to, or earn money as I feel I need to. Thankfully, I currently have a husband to take care of most of the money issue, though it hasn't always been so. This very traditional drive that I have to be a mom and super-awesome wife really gets in the way of business potential.

I would rather have massage therapists on sub-contract than as employees. The therapists themselves make more money that way, and there is less discontent because they're responsible for getting their own clients. Basically, if they fail, only so much of it has to do with the management of the center itself. Of all the places I've worked, I've noticed that sub-contracted therapists are happier, and better at their jobs, than employee therapists. (Note to everyone looking for a massage!!!

)

There would be a lot of issues that I'm happy that I don't deal with right now. Massage board and health board inspections for the kitchens and the rooms. Those bad/lazy employees that drag the place down when everyone else is trying. Benefits, definitely! At least something to offer the moms who don't have husbands bringing in benefits, even if it's not the best insurance in the world. Been there, done that... it's scary. And I realize, of course, that a center this big would involve giving up my initial job as a massage therapist. To be able to go home at night and sleep? Yeah, I'd be leaving something behind.

Being low-stress at the end of the night is such a huge priority now, after working so many jobs that left me manic. I'd go back and be manic again if I had to, but family quality plummets. So there are a lot of goals and dreams that have stayed up in the clouds for that reason. Plus, I'm the queen of good ideas that just never happen! Sometimes I wonder if there's a place I can submit my ideas so someone else can run with them and profit.

Eventually, as my kids become teens, I really want to at least have someplace where they can work for me and make a wage. Where my son can work, with his disability. They could always choose not to work for me, but it would be nice to have something that would allow us to bond as a family and allow me to monitor them as they go through all the angst and stuff.

 

[SunnyDawn]

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That's great! I didn't realize you sold gourmet cheeses too! Yes California is a very tough place to go into business these days. Nevada is much friendlier unless you carry a lot of inventory. They tax you hard on what you carry in inventory and even fixtures. But that venue tax in CA would really do us in since the majority of our business would be the events. You can't really make money on the rooms when you run an Inn. At least not much and it's a lot of work to try to do so for not a lot of return.

Nevada does not work well for these types of businesses either since the casinos are very hard to compete with. They offer rooms and venues at such cheap prices because they make up that revenue in gambling. The gambling does not appeal to me at all! Even if I did have the connections and the revenue. Oregon has outrageous property taxes so that would not work. Now it's much further from the kids but New Mexico is a great place for this kind of business! So is Ecuador! lol

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Yes you need to follow your passion. If you are torn about putting your business first then it would be a miserable life. One of the reasons I liked the Staging business is that I could work with family. Steve and I put in long hours and our youngest DS has logged quite a few hours as a stager as well. His back is going already though so not a good business for him to stay in but he was a huge help while it lasted. Even my Dad would pitch in when we got terribly overloaded.

Hiring independent "contractors" was my choice as well but there are definite advantages to having employees and we were well past the point that we should have hired some. Steve really wishes he had given in on this since we would still have been able to keep the business going when my back got worse. But this was really his first experience of owning a formal business and while he had no trouble making money he had a real problem putting money back into the business. You just can't stay in business that way for long. But he learned a valuable lesson that will carry over to the next business and my designer skills will come in handy there as well.

Don't let the economy stop you from pursuing your dreams though. There are always two sides to every coin and the benefits of a bad economy are there too. It is much cheaper to get into a commercial property right now and folks are hungry for work! I have run businesses in good times and bad and trying to find decent employees in a booming economy is a huge headache in and of itself. A lot of the roadblocks we perceive in our own minds are just ways of paralyzing us into inaction. Yes you need to consider the economy and no I wouldn't pour a bunch of money into a new Spa in this economy but there are businesses that are doing well and marketing your product/service correctly so it is seen as a need instead of a luxury is key. Taking your time and growing slowly is always a healthy strategy.

 

[NevadaRon]

Those bad/lazy employees that drag the place down when everyone else is trying.

This line reminds me of an excellent essay, written in 1899, but still relevant today, on finding good employees and what to look for. It's called A Message to Garcia. It's a quick read, only one page.