Real life vs what they tell people in school

[arman]

my school did a pretty decent job. We used the Business Mastery book as well. The problems I had were 1- the instructor pushed SP status, schedule C as the best/only right way to go, and 2- we didn't really discuss things in real terms. She assigned readings from the book, but the exercises she had us do were from other places, like the Secret DVD, nothing actually related to how to form our business plan, real-life marketing or even obtaining lines of credit.

 

[blaquebb]

I guess good advice to give to up-n-coming students is to read up on small business topics. That is what I'll tell anyone who asks me anyway.

 

[Mc.Zee]

my school did a pretty decent job. We used the Business Mastery book as well. The problems I had were 1- the instructor pushed SP status, schedule C as the best/only right way to go, and 2- we didn't really discuss things in real terms. She assigned readings from the book, but the exercises she had us do were from other places, like the Secret DVD, nothing actually related to how to form our business plan, real-life marketing or even obtaining lines of credit.

Ouch. Sounds like that instructor had a very narrow perspective on how to run a practice, and little grasp of how to go about setting one up in real life.

Sole Proprietorship may be appropriate for some, but for plenty of others that is NOT the best way to go. I'll be incorporating under Subchapter S, as it is the best option for the way my practice is expected to develop in the near future. If not for the S Corp. option, I'd get set up as a Limited Liability Company (LLC).

In real life, it's important to DO YOUR DUE DILIGENCE and understand the nuts and bolts of WHY you set your business up a certain way, rather than simply hope you picked the right option. There are distinct advaneforum.xxxes to different options depending on the nature of your practice.

Business plans don't have to be super-complicated, but IT IS IMPORTANT TO HAVE A PLAN. In drafting a plan, you should do your homework on the area you'll be practicing in, and figure out ways to bring in business while keeping costs down. By the time your plan is ready, you should have a solid grasp of what you need to do to break even, and some specific goals and actions to pursue to become profitable ASAP. Marketing should never be ignored. The best MT in the world will be penniless if clients don't show up.

Obtaining credit is a mixed blessing. The good news is that there are literally hundreds of ways to go about it. The better news is that you don't necessarily have to get it from a bank. If you do want to get a bank loan, you'd better have a good business plan that shows in reasonably concrete numbers how your business is going to become successful. No plan, no bank loan. I recommend looking up small business advisory/development programs in your state to see what kind of free guidance is available for prospective small business owners. These programs can be invaluable sources of expertise and insight.

 

[Leslie]

the exercises she had us do were from other places, like the Secret DVD, nothing actually related to how to form our business plan

The number of times I have heard students lately tell me that their business-building education had large portions of the frickin' Secret in it, it makes me want to scream! Anybody can pop in a feel-good DVD that tells you you deserve a lot of money. It takes a responsible and informed teacher to show you the steps of writing a business plan. (Instead of doing what my biz "teacher" did -- give the assignment "write a business plan" and then hope we would each figure out what that meant and how to do it. Seriously - no instruction or even a definition, at all.)

Frankly I would almost rather a massage school skip the business portion of the curriculum altogether, than to give it such short shrift as it gets in some (otherwise good) schools.

 

[BING]

JasonE, thanks! That was some fabulous information.