Am I being too spoiled??

[Pompal 09.]

This is probably way too long, but I'd sure appreciate some opinions and maybe I'm kind of using y'all for a sounding board!

I appreciate the feedback y'all have left on the other thread where I asked about rents.

First a little background: I've been licensed (I'm in FL) 2 1/2 years, I'm married and have three children who are homeschooled. Straight out of school, I sub-let a room with an established MT 2 days a week. Due to personal stuff, as that year went along I HAD to know how much $ I'd have coming in each week. I couldn't afford the risk/luxury of building a business with that being my only income so I hired on part time at a PT clinic as well. End of that year, I let the lease on the sub-let drop. I didn't have time to adequately market it, work at the clinic and devote the necessary time to the kids & their schooling.

Fast forward to now. I am SICK of spending long hours working for barely-double-digit hourly wages. I DO now have the luxury of building a private practice as I now have a DH whose income pays the bills. I want to get back to a private practice, I NEED the flexibility for my kids & family scedules, it'd be too difficult to commit to working for someone else (spa, etc).

Problem is two-fold: 1) I don't have a chunk saved to cover opening expenses for an office of my own. 2) In FL a massage office must be inspected and granted an establishment license before you have clients in that office, a too-long process for me right now; the space must be ready to operate before you schedule the inspection which means paying rent until they come inspect. My home is not a viable option (see above notation of 3 homeschooled children... oh, yeah and a DH and 3 dogs too!)

So, I've started looking for spaces that already have an establishment license and that have an extra room I could rent full-time. I was doing pretty well marketing and building a clientele before but it seemed like everyone needed a time that the room wasn't available to me. I'd like the flexability to schedule as it fits the clients' schedule and mine, without having to work around a third party. I definitely lost $$ before due to minimal availability of the room. (I'm not comfortable doing housecalls unless I'm at least well-acquainted with the person.)

Problem is, the prices I've gotten so far are WAAAY out of my league or just not workable. Nicely-sized room in a cosmetic store... $800/month. A 3"exam" room, waiting room, business-office-room "suite" (former MD office)... $1300/month. Another room was $500/month. Now these were high-visibility, very high traffic sites. I'm thinking I don't need much exposure, it just needs to be easy to find. I was hoping to find ONE room, full-time, just for me, in an office already with an establishment license for around $250/month.

Am I expecting too much for too little money?? Acting spoiled?? Want to have my cake & eat it too?? Help! :wink:

 

[Biyonca]

Tropicmom, where in Florida are you?? I know several LMTs in the St. Pete area who have rooms to rent. They already have establishment licenses and the rooms are set up and ready to go.

PM me if you're in my area and I'll try to hook you up.

Good luck,
Angie

 

[Bradly]

I know a place in Naples that has space for rent too. (working with me :wink: )

Also if you are the only therapist in a location, you don't need an establishment license in Fl.

Rooms in this area either go by commissions, or $500 and up. Some places will allow discounted rents while you build up your practice too.

Good luck!

 

[uniquejason]

Also if you are the only therapist in a location, you don't need an establishment license in Fl.

Are you sure about this?? I know it's been a long time since I studied Fla law in school but unless they've changed it, my understanding was that all establishments had to have a license regardless of how many therapists worked there.

:?:

Angie

 

[Kung Fu]

Am I being too spoiled??

I was hoping to find ONE room, full-time, just for me, in an office already with an establishment license for around $250/month.

You're expecting an office to be available to you full time, for whenever it suits you, so that could be outside normal business hours, so lets just say you want an office available to you with a licence for 60hrs per week. Not sure what charge for a massage in your area, but assuming it's about $60 for a one hour massage, that means you want access 60hrs per week for the cost of one massage per week. I think the odds aren't stacked in your favour, but you may be lucky.

 

[Leahs mommy]

An establishment is considered more than one therapist. I tried to find the statue from the FDOH, but looking throught that made me a little t119

However, from the FAQ from the FSMTA website (please note, they are talking about establishment licenses...

1.Q: I am an LMT who practices alone and no one owns any part of my practice and I do not file any health or PIP insurance claims, I only perform massages for cash; must I be licensed?

A: No. The clinic licensure statute amended in 2004 includes the exemption for licensure for massage practices wholly owned by LMTs or together with other LMTs or their spouses, parents, children or siblings



2. Q: I am an LMT who has a massage therapy practice which I solely own and I file for health or PIP insurance reimbursement for some or all of my massage therapies, must I be licensed?

A: No. You are exempt from licensure. Any health care practice (clinic) which is wholly owned by a health care provider alone or in conjunction with other health care providers or in conjunction with a spouse, parent, child or sibling is exempt from licensure. However, it is highly recommended that you apply for a voluntary certificate of exemption from licensure.

Here's the link:

http://www.fsmta.org/about-fsmta/about-fsmta_legislative-issues.php

 

[The Origin of Species]

Clinic licensure is different than an establishment license. They are two very different things. Clinic licensure refers to any medical establishment who bills for insurance. This was a new regulation that went into effect in 2004 and caused our clinic to no longer accept insurance.

Establishment licenses are for making sure that any massage facility meets the requirements set by the Board of Massage. They check for such things as proper local permits, liablity insurance (on the property), running water, bathroom facilities, separation of clean and dirty linens, sanitation procedures etc............

These requirements are for all massage facilites regardless of number of therapists who work there.

I can see where the terms clinic license and establishment license could be confusing, but they do refer to two different requirements.

Angie

 

[syco2236]

This is directly from the Chapter 480 rules concerning establishment licenses:

The 2005 Florida Statutes

Title XXXII
REGULATION OF PROFESSIONS AND OCCUPATIONS Chapter 480
MASSAGE PRACTICE View Entire Chapter

480.043 Massage establishments; requisites; licensure; inspection.--

(1) No massage establishment shall be allowed to operate without a license granted by the department in accordance with rules adopted by the board.

(2) The board shall adopt rules governing the operation of establishments and their facilities, personnel, safety and sanitary requirements, financial responsibility, insurance coverage, and the license application and granting process.

(3) Any person, firm, or corporation desiring to operate a massage establishment in the state shall submit to the department an application, upon forms provided by the department, accompanied by any information requested by the department and an application fee.

(4) Upon receiving the application, the department may cause an investigation to be made of the proposed massage establishment.

(5) If, based upon the application and any necessary investigation, the department determines that the proposed establishment would fail to meet the standards adopted by the board under subsection (2), the department shall deny the application for license. Such denial shall be in writing and shall list the reasons for denial. Upon correction of any deficiencies, an applicant previously denied permission to operate a massage establishment may reapply for licensure.

(6) If, based upon the application and any necessary investigation, the department determines that the proposed massage establishment may reasonably be expected to meet the standards adopted by the department under subsection (2), the department shall grant the license under such restrictions as it shall deem proper as soon as the original licensing fee is paid.

(7)(a) Once issued, no license for operation of a massage establishment may be transferred from one owner to another.

(b) A license may be transferred from one location to another only after inspection and approval by the board and receipt of an application and inspection fee set by rule of the board, not to exceed $125.

(c) A license may be transferred from one business name to another after approval by the board and receipt of an application fee set by rule of the board, not to exceed $25.

(8) Renewal of license registration for massage establishments shall be accomplished pursuant to rules adopted by the board. The board is further authorized to adopt rules governing delinquent renewal of licenses and may impose penalty fees for delinquent renewal.

(9) The board is authorized to adopt rules governing the periodic inspection of massage establishments licensed under this act.

History.--s. 12, ch. 78-436; ss. 13, 15, 25, 30, 34, 54, 62, ch. 80-406; s. 2, ch. 81-318; ss. 6, 12, 13, ch. 85-280; s. 4, ch. 91-429; s. 156, ch. 97-264.


Please note that there is no exemption for sole practioners.

I'm not trying to hijack this thread, I just want to make sure any misunderstandings are cleared up.

Angie

 

[Roger Dodger]

- - -

However, from the FAQ from the FSMTA website (please note, they are talking about establishment licenses...

No, Talenyn, unfortunately for tropicmom, they are not talking about establishment licenses.

They are talking about clinic licenses, from the Agency for Health Care Administration (AHCA). Clinic licenses are required generally when healthcare services are reimbursed (usually insurance). A new law was passed adding exemptions to the clinic licensure requirement. The FAQ from the FSMTA website was discussing the exemptions for wholly owned massage therapy practices. The clinic license costs $2000. There was a lot of pressure on the Florida legislature to add exemptions.

- - -

 

[Pompal 09.]

Also if you are the only therapist in a location, you don't need an establishment license in Fl.

I rented office space for myself - in my own separate location - I was the only therapist/practitioner, and was still required to have an establishment license (but no clinic license, as I did not bill out insurance). This was in 2004 (in Florida ). The inspector has to come in and and inspect the premises, then if all items on the "checklist" are in order the establishment license is issued.

 

[HEY LIBS]

Thanks for your responses.

I am actually on the other side of the state from both of you; I'm in St Augustine.

I know the price I'm hoping to find is low, that's why I asked. I can't go into debt to get started, but I'm hoping to find just an unused room/closet in an existing office, not even a "primo" room, but something workable. The seach continues....

thanks

 

[Nekomimi 13]

Well, keep your desire & see what comes your way. If a monthly amount is quoted you, and you can't seem to wrap your mind or budget around it, ask if they would accept a weekly instead of monthly for the first 3-6 months. You always end up paying more if done weekly, but there's a psychological edge for some when they don't have to come up with a huge chunk of change. Break it down into how many therapies a week you'd have to do to "make your nut". When I first started renting in Gilbert, I had a room that was $180 a week. That blew my mind until I broke it down into 3 massages per week - that helped alot. And to make a long story short, I never was in the red there; not even week one.
Good luck!
jill/sagetherapist

 

[Kevin G]

Thanks for the correction... For some reason I had it in my head (from school) that a sole massage therapist in a office did not need an establishment license.

I've looked through my notes etc, and can't seem to find where I got that information from.

 

[nani poo]

Tropicmom,

Maybe the thing to do would be to find another LMT who already has an office set up and see if they will rent to you either per day or per massage?? That way you wouldn't have any start up costs and could even possibly gain by taking on any overflow that they have from their practice.

It's something to look into.

Angie

 

[I got a muffin!]

Thanks for the correction... For some reason I had it in my head (from school) that a sole massage therapist in a office did not need an establishment license.

I've looked through my notes etc, and can't seem to find where I got that information from.

That's ok....sometimes it's hard to keep up with all the beaurocratic rules/requirements whatnot.

I know for me the most confusing part is when they've made changes to the laws but never notify LMTs of the new changes. I mean....it's not like they don't know our names/addresses. A heads-up every now and then would be nice.

:roll:
Angie

 

[Yamilea?]

Thanks for your responses.

I am actually on the other side of the state from both of you; I'm in St Augustine.

I know the price I'm hoping to find is low, that's why I asked. I can't go into debt to get started, but I'm hoping to find just an unused room/closet in an existing office, not even a "primo" room, but something workable. The seach continues....

thanks

You may want to check out the area phychologists offices. Sometimes they have a room that can be utilized.

 

[SDP]

I'm in St Augustine.

This is where I lived and was most recently practicing (I'm now back in my area of birth, New England)...I would be happy to pass on some contacts to you...maybe if they don't have anything, they will know of someone who does.

 

[Whipass Chick]

I'm in St Augustine.

This is where I lived and was most recently practicing (I'm now back in my area of birth, New England)...I would be happy to pass on some contacts to you...maybe if they don't have anything, they will know of someone who does.

I'd appreciate that

thanks!

PS I love your "bahn" reference!

 

[Froggies angel]

I'd appreciate that

thanks!

PS I love your "bahn" reference!

I am going to send you "pm" as soon as I'm done with this post.

It's amazing how easily and quickly one can revert to a prior accent...when I'm with family or friends, it's like I never left, LOL! :