Desperate. Keep $? Tell Cts. I'm leaving?

[My Question]

I've been renting from a salon approx. 3 yrs.  I was the first renter and only MT he's had.  Because he is having financial troubles he is demanding that I go from renter to employee.  Work more hrs. and only 50% commission.  I've decided this will not work for me, but my dilemma is this.  Whenever gift certificates have been purchased I was given the money & paid my % to the salon owner.  Now that I'm leaving, I'm concerned that he will be asking for that money back.  It's a huge chunk of change and I would rather pay it back as they are used, since many never get used, or come back to do the massg.  He has already received his % regardless if they get used or not.     Also, is it unethical to tell all my cts. that I will be leaving, and to inform them where I'll be going?

 

[kshollywood]

I would say that since you are renting, then those clients are YOURS.  If the owner has already received a perceneforum.xxxe of the gift certificates, then he's been paid.  I don't think you owe him anything.  It would be prudent to send notification to all clients letting them know your new location and also letting them know that you will be honoring the gift certificates.  I don't think it's unethical that you let them know where you are going.  You are a RENTER.  The salon owner should have no say over your hours, your price structure or what you tell you clients. I don't blame you for leaving.  I would too under those circumstances.  As a business owner, I think that he had to make a decision and must have decided that the massage area was one where he could increase his income if he structured things differently.  I can't blame him for that, but it was a little short sided of him to think you would stay there under those conditions.  I wonder if he thought about what the ramifications would be if you left.  If you leave and many of your clients follow you, then even if he gets someone new and splits things 50/50, it will probably take a while to build the clientele back up.  He may have been better off trying to work something out with you.  I wish you the best. That's my 2 cents.  

 

[watchmeshineee]

Wow!  Sorry to hear this is happening.  It is a shame he is having financial difficulties and decided to take over your business to suit himself.  As a renter and business owner, IMO, the GC money is yours -- not his -- therefore he cannot ask for it back as it never belonged to him.Yes, I think it's appropriate for you to contact your clients and let them know you will be moving and to where.  I would also inform everyone that you will honor the GC's that were sold at the salon location.Best of luck.

 

[Ivon]

I'm confused as to why you think you'd have to "pay him back" for these gcs in the first place.  Are they your own personal gcs, or are they under the name of the salon?  Are they for any services at the salon, or specifically for massage?  If they are under the name of the salon, but are specifically for massage, then I suppose you could pay him for the price of the piece of paper it was printed on, but you certainly don't owe him more than that.  Contact all the people you have sold gcs to, give them your new location, and tell them that you will still honor those gcs.  Definately contact all your clients to give them your new location - you worked hard to build that clientele, and they came to see YOU, not the salon owner.  Good luck, and let us know how it turns out.

 

[Louise]

I can't tell you how much it means to me to get these responses.  What an encouragement.  The G.C's are for massg.  I will be talking to the owner tomorrow and wanted to be able to have good info if asked for the money back.  A yr. ago he raised the cost of massg. to reflect a $5 "salon fee" that I have to pay off the top, then my % to help with remodeling costs.  So my cts. think I chg. $50/hr. when in reality it's only $45.  But I wasn't going to explain all that to them.  I tried talking to the owner but he convinced me I owed him that money.  B/c of that encounter, I decided I needed to be prepared in case he thought I owed him GC money, too.  After all the good info, I'm ready to head off any confrontations and will let you know how it goes.Oh, by the way.  I will no doubt be replaced and that MT will only make 50% for massg., so if she should end up fulfilling a GC for me, would I owe her all the money that I received (minus the % already pd. to the owner), or just the 50% the owner would be giving her?  In short, my take would be $31.50, the new gal $25.  Would I keep the $6.50 difference?

 

[Jimminey]

Well, my effort and marketing is included in the % I paid for rent.  Is that what you mean?  As for fulfilling the GC's, what if the ct. doesn't want to drive out to my place since it's much further from town.  After all, they purchased it believing I'd still be at the salon.  Plus a hydro-tub is included at the salon.

 

[Tracy Max]

There are no exp. dates on the GC's....supposedly that is not legal.  I suggested that we at least say "pls. use by ____ so people wouldn't hang onto them forever, but it never was followed up on.  There are many GC's that were bought and the $ never ended up getting to me, those working the desk forgot, so I don't even know about those.  They do not have a very organized system.As for how many are outstanding....close to a $1000 worth.  It amazes me how many people do not redeem them.  I really like the idea of notifying all of my cts. to not only let them know I'll redeem them, but it will hopefully remind them to use it.Again, thanks so much for all the great advice.  My husband will be so relieved I have such support.  He is really struggling to not be angry about all this.  These people have been close friends of the family for a very long time and that adds to the dynamics.  My desire is to preserve the relationship as much as possible, but not by being taking advaneforum.xxxe of.

 

[2/20/2009]

I misunderstood the term "renter".   I guess I must be an independent contractor.  I pay $5 off the top of what I make, then another 30% each wk.The way he explained it to me was that he wanted me at the salon at least 3 days/wk. from 10-5 and would pay me $6/hr. or 50% commission, whichever was the highest.  Plus, pay for my products, and my massg. ins., and laundry (I wouldn't let them do my laundry...too picky).  That way he could control my hours so that I could be at the salon helping with answering phones, unpacking boxes, cleaning, etc.  The way I look at it is that I work WAY too hard for him to take half, and a great part of the reason I entered this business was to make a decent wage and not have to work so many hrs. a wk.  If I'm going to an hourly wage I'd pick a different career....salon work is not my idea of a career.The gift certificates do not have my name, they are only marked for the service they paid for and I'm the only MT.  Does my name HAVE to be on them in order to claim them as mine?  I'm concerned that if he does ask for the money and I choose not to give it back, he'll encourage the ct. to choose a different service.  We've allowed them to change their minds in the past and then reimbursed each other whichever way it worked out.I'll be dealing with this Thur. the 31st and appreciate all the info to help me with whatever turn the conversation may take.  If you have anything else I should be thinking of, I'd love to hear from you.

 

[lilmouseketeer]

I am confused, trying to follow exactly how your business was integrated with the salon.  If you don't mind clarifying...When the client paid for the gift certificate, did the money go to YOU or to the Salon (or, in other words, who was the check made out to)?You also stated that you were paid an hourly wage for the time you were in the office & not doing massage - when you were paid, were taxes taken out of your check?  Did you recieve a W2 or a 1099 at the end of the year?

 

[Sunshine!]

No I don't mind you asking how my business integrated.  The owner has a salon, hair and skin care.  He asked me to do MT and we agreed on me paying a perceneforum.xxxe of what I make.  I have my own room.When GC's were sold the money was supposed to go to me.  If the check was made out to the salon the owner paid me.  The system is not the best and many times I don't get paid if the person at the desk forgets to put the money in my drawer when I'm not there.I was never paid an hourly wage.  That is what he wants to change it to.  $6/hr. or 50% commission whichever is the most.  And to control my hours so I am at the salon helping the other girls when I don't have cts.Hope that helps clear things up.  Thanks for asking.

 

[tahco]

Hi there - me again, still want to try to clarify things better.  It sounds like things were not that consistent, but how was the money handled most of the time - did your clients pay you directly for services, or did they pay the salon?  How was the money usually handled for certs?  The same way?  Paid directly to you?

 

[Buffy]

Ok.  It may be a little late but at least you'll know better in the future.  One thing to do is look into the laws regarding Independant Contractors...that is what you are.  In most states you have set rights and there are laws that must be followed on your landlord's part or else you are considered an employee.  Check into the laws in your area as they may be different from mine or somewhere else.First of all, as a renter, you do not owe your landlord anything but rent for the space.  Ultimately, it is your business and you are merely renting space from him.  Think about it...when a business rents space they don't have to pay their landlord based on what they charge or a percentance of anything.  It should be a flat rental fee, not a perceneforum.xxxe.Ideally as an IC, you SHOULD handle everything for your business.  Marketing, laundry, money collection, appointment booking, sales (including g.c. and you hold on the the g.c. money until it is redeemed), set your own hours and prices.   You can pay your landlord "per hour" of rent you use the space or you can be paid a set fee for each service.  If he was handling anything than you can be assured he was charging you somehow (maybe the $5 salon fee?).  So, that money you got from the gift certificate sales is yours...and if you really think about it you DID NOT have to pay him his portion before you did the work...THAT MONEY IS YOURS, and you basically gave it to him for him doing nothing on his part.So, you can tell him that... or you can tell him that you will pay him his perceneforum.xxxe as they are redeemed to the new therapist (minus a $5 "service fee" on your part...after all, it is your business so you can make the rules), or you can tell him to go jump in the lake and see how it washes out.  If the clients are going to him to use the g.c. then he could either have the new MT do the massage (and take a loss on his part because he has to pay the new MT, unless you decide to pay him per redemption) or he can refer them to you.   If they come to you, you can do the massage and owe him nothing since you already paid him.Regarding your clients, if you are an IC they are yours and you can let them know where you are going, especially if there were gained through your marketing efforts.  So start letting them know...maybe do a mailing and a display ad in the local paper for a couple weeks once you find your new space.If you wanted to you could be quite mean about this situation.  If you do not meet the requirments as an IC and the IRS determines that you really were an employee of the salon due to the way your boss wanted you to work and ran the business, your status would then change.  In effect, your landlord would have a HUGE problem on his hands.  If you reported him to the IRS for investigation into this, he would get audited (as would you...but he doesn't have to know that), and if it is determined that you are in fact an employee and not an IC, he would owe back taxes for the time you were there plus penalties/fines.  Not only for you but any "IC" working there that they found to be an employee.  You could let him know that this is an option you're prepared to look into if he continue to jerk your chain.  That alone may be enough for him to let you go on your terms.  The ideal situation would be to extricate yourself as simply as possible and concentrate on building a new business in a more positive environment.   Please...if you're going to run a business, educate yourself regarding the laws and find out your rights.  Take some business classes...they are a write off.  Protect yourself with contracts, agreements, etc. as best as you can.  Set your boundaries and present yourself as a professional.  There are many mean people out there that prey on others that are nice and trusting...don't be a victim if you can help it.  Not everyone may have your integrity.  Afterall, this is YOUR business, YOUR livlihood, and YOUR passion.  It's success and failure is all up to you...but don't let the jerks discourage you.  Best of luck!

 

[pure bliss) :O]

I talked with the owner today and it went rather quickly and smoothly.  He was glad that I wasn't staying b/c in hindsight decided he needed someone full-time instead of the offer he made to me of 3 days/wk.To clarify: The GC's have the name of the salon on them, and all the services listed.  We check the box for which service they want, MT, facial, etc.  Sometimes they are left blank with only a $$ amount written so the person can choose services, or products.  I'm paid for all the ones that people request MT for.  Sometimes the customers pay in cash, sometimes check (sometimes are made out to me, sometimes not), or credit card, which is under the salon.   He said that he will give the GC receipient the choice of having me fulfill the GC or the new MT.  If the new MT does the work then I have to reimburse.  I told him that I'd contact all my GC cts. and let them know that I'm willing to fulfill them.I so appreciate all the good advice.  I felt very confident going into the discussion today b/c of everyone's help.  And you are right, I need to take a business class.  I have until the end of April before I leave.  I know there will be more questions before this is over and I will seek your wisdom as it unfolds.  It is nice to have such support.