I want to open my own massage business. what do i need to know?(other than being certified to massage...duh)?

Question

i'll be opening it with my cousin. we'll both be certified massage therapists soon.

Answer 1

You'll need at least a business license, and you should have a name for the business.  You may want to form an LLC or a corporation to shield you from personal liability.  If so, contact the Secretary of State or Department of Corporations in your state.  You'll need an Employer Identification Number regardless of the business structure, especially since there will be two of you; otherwise you have to file tax reports under your personal SSN.

Now... WHERE do you plan to locate your business?  DO NOT operate out of your home(s)... probably illegal anyhow.

Before you go any further, I STRONGLY recommend you contact the Small Business Development Center (at your local community college) and talk to them; the counseling is free.  

Then sign up for the NxLevel Entrepreneurial program...  it's a 12 session course that walks you through the ins and outs of starting or growing your business, and as part of that you will write a business plan.  At the end of the class your plan will be reviewed by a lending professional, and will be critiqued, telling you the strong points of your plan AND the weak points.  There is a cost for the NxLevel program but it’s a lot cheaper than losing your investment.

Even if you hire a professional to write your plan, you should still take the NxLevel course.  It saved me from going into a business that would have failed within a year or so, taking my investment with it.  I realized by the third week of the class that I could not afford the business I was looking at and changed directions in the middle of the class.

Business plans may be a pain in the butt to prepare, but without one, your business is doomed to failure.  To start with, you won't know what your startup costs are going to be, what kind of income to expect, what your ongoing expenses are, who your competition is, and even whether or not you can make a profit.  Without a GOOD business plan, you will not be able to get a business loan to get your business off the ground.