Olivia
Posts:13
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From Kate:
Well I've been a good business woman and put a thought of mine into
practice, and now they've bitten I'm in a bit of a panic.
Could anyone help me here? I have contacted organisations to see if
they're interested in having reflexology (and one is). I have also
been contacting therapists to sound them out.
I'm stuck when it comes to the nitty gritty. What do I stipulate? I'm
thinking about whether to request that the therapists wear a tunic,
use certain products etc or whether to let them get on with it however
they are happy.
Is my method of invoicing streamlined? What do I do about contracts so
they don't steal my clients? What about the organisation where I
requested they find 4 bookings but they can only find 2 so far (out of
a possible 16).
I am having a meeting on Thursday and hope to have spoken to some of
ther therapists before then but I am feeling very green. The
therapists are getting paid a certain amount and then I will charge
the organisation a higher fee. How much do I look after my therapists?
I don't want to be an employer, just a franchise owner.
Does anyone have this kind of expertise? Any help would be appreciated
please
Thank you :)
Kate
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| Posted: 30 Jun 2008 12:21 Back to top |
Olivia
Posts:13
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Hi Kate,
Wow,
congratulations on being the ace business woman and getting some of
your ideas out there! And you're obviously doing well at
it, which is why you're getting lots of interest, so give yourself a
well earned pat on the back!
You're right too, to consider the nitty gritty of contracts etc. Let's
take the points in the order that you bring them up:
1.
Should therapists wear a tunic?
Well, if you insist that they should, then you'll have to pay for and
provide those tunics, especially if you want a professional matching
look. (In my opinion, if they're not matched, the effect will be worse
than no tunics at all!).
Tunics would be a great way of promoting brand awareness of your
organisation - but of course, you'd need to make sure that the
therapists you hire on a freelance basis will give the right
impression. (And I'm sure they would...but I'm just exploring all
eventualities here! You don't want someone wearing your "uniform"
blowing bubble gum, for example!)
And again, if you stipulate that they must use certain products,
you'll need to provide them with those products, it's only fair.
However, doing so again means that the clients will all get the same
"experience", which can only be a good thing.
Is my
own method of invoicing streamlined?
As I don't know your current method of invoicing, that's a hard one to
answer. What I would suggest as a rule of thumb is that you would be
invoicing the corporate client and your freelance therapists will be
invoicing you. I suspect that you may need to be careful that you
don't end up with a cash flow problem.
Your therapists will probably be expecting to get paid immediately,
while your corporate client will pay you only after 30 days (if you're
lucky!). One way to at least alleviate the situation is to ask your
corporate client to pay a 50% deposit, which at least means that
you'll have some money up front.
And do remember, (it's obvious but not everyone does it!) that you
should be charging your therapists out at a higher rate than you're
paying them. THIS IS ONLY FAIR.
You're the one who's done all the work in getting the business, after
all!
Something else you haven't mentioned is insurance. If the contract is
between you and your corporate client, then if there is a problem, it
would be you that is liable as the contractor. I would suggest that
you seek expert advice on this from Towergate Insurance, and as a
Quantum member, you're entitled to discounted insurance.
How do
I stop my freelance from stealing my clients?
Ouch, this is a tough one. You'd like to think that nobody would...but
hey, not everyone shares the same values. You should of course
consider taking legal advice and get a proper contract drawn up.
Having said that though, this will incur additional expense and the
problem is that it can also be expensive taking errant therapists to
court!
I would include within a letter to each freelance therapist -
confirming their hours, what you expect of them etc - something which
makes it clear that every client they work with through you (whether
it's a corporate or individual client) remains your client. This will
be easier to enforce if they're wearing your uniforms and using your
products. You could put in a stipulation that says that they must not
approach any client for a period of at least six months after they
cease working with you. To be fair, these kinds of stipulations don't
always carry that much weight (especially if the people involved are
not fully employed by you) but it may at least provide a warning shot
across the bows.
Much better though, I think would be to do all you can to maintain an excellent relationship with your
clients! Make sure you stay in touch with them regularly - this
could be through phone calls (is everything going well for you? What
more can I do for you?), personal visits, emails, electronic
newsletters. In this way, you'll form really strong
relationships...and with those in place, your therapists won't stand a
chance if they tried to poach clients from you as those clients simply
wouldn't allow it! Forging and maintaining great relationships is the
way to avoid the legal hassle!
What do
I do when I suggest that I need 4 appointments but they've found me
only two?This is a tricky one. Strictly speaking, I'd
suggest that you stick to what you said. If you accept less, you
devalue yourself and your offer...and then that particular client will
know that in future, if push comes to shove, you'll back down. We
teach other people have to treat us!
Of course, I also understand that you don't want to pass up on
business. In your situation, facing the same problem, I'd probably
accept the two clients...and offer to do two for free (whether it's as
a competition or for staff or a reward of some kind)...on the basis
that the two "free" people provide you (not the freelance therapist!)
with a testimonial, providing of course that they enjoyed the
service!
When it comes to negotiating like this,
always make sure that we you concede something, you get something of
value yourself. Now a testimonial is of immense value to you
(it's like a third party salesman saying how good you are which means
that you don't have to say it yourself!) but is of no cost to the
client. So, you create a win:win situation.
There are some good articles about collecting great testimonials on
the Quantum site. They're worth reading because a great testimonial is
worth it's weight in gold...but there are a couple of errors that can
be made, which reduces their power.
I don't
want to be an employer, just a franchise owner...
Are you already a franchise owner? Or are you wanting to run your own
business along the lines of a franchise? Either way, I really, really
recommend that you read "The E-Myth Revisited" by Michael Gerber. It's
an easy book to read...and it will help you avoid a load of mistakes.
I wish I had read it earlier in my therapy career...and its lessons so
apply to every practice, whether or not you actually intend running a
franchise!
So....good luck with it all, fingers firmly crossed for you!
Warmest wishes, Olivia
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| Posted: 30 Jun 2008 12:26 Back to top |
Olivia
Posts:13
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Thank you so much Olivia. I am going to work through everything you
said (pretty quickly seeing as Thursday is coming up!) and no doubt
this will raise some more questions.
You may hear some more from me soon!
Thank you again
Kate
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| Posted: 30 Jun 2008 12:38 Back to top |
Olivia
Posts:13
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From Kate:
I'm still working on the info above but thought I'd let you know a bit
more about the situation seeing as I have the forum pretty much to
myself at the moment ;) I think people may be lurking shyly and here I
am, a relatively shy person just diving in!
I rambled my panic so quickly last night I'm surprised you understood
any of it! The meeting on Thursday is with a care home and the
reflexology treatments will be for the residents. I am currently
giving that service myself close to home and it is very well received.
So using my 'clout' having a background in care and education, and the
testimonial and I have now got another home interested, that's where I
want to insert a therapist for half a day, preferably with a min
booking of 4 clients, with treatments every fortnight. I am charging a
little more than my current price at the home where I work now but I
am paying the therapist less. Mind you, with a booking of 4 clients
he/she should still be very happy as they are short treatments, in one
building etc. I think it's a pretty good deal all round anyway.
I was hoping the therapist would have a tunic already but was going to
supply a name badge that would be my bit of advertising.
I am not saying I am the world's best person or therapist at all but I
am looking for therapists with the same values and that can be
empathetic with the residents and their families, remain professional
etc. I am hoping that they will see that the better work they give the
more likely we are both able to stay in business. So in the end I
would like slot therapists into many places. When I've finished with
care homes I have corporate plans in the wings too!
I think this will get lots of interest so I need to make my pitch
clear to both the home and to the therapist so I don't mess it up big
time. I'm sure to make mistakes but don't want to make big ones -
obviously.
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| Posted: 30 Jun 2008 12:43 Back to top |
Olivia
Posts:13
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I think you're onto a winning concept...and yes, great idea with the
name badges!
Remember that making - and keeping - relationships is going to be the
key to your success...with both the care homes etc and the residents.
The therapists involved will naturally form relationships with their
clients...so, this will be either your greatest strength or your
greatest ally.
I guess you'll also want to be working on creating great relationships
with your therapists too...after all, if they love working for you and
you get them loads of work so that all they have to do is focus on
what they like doing best - therapy - then you have indeed got a
win:win situation.
So, think up some incentives, or a small profit share...or a regular
celebratory get-together...let your imagination fly!
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| Posted: 30 Jun 2008 12:44 Back to top |
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