Guest guest Posted June 13, 2012 Report Share Posted June 13, 2012 , Just a few quick thoughts on setting up a business: 1. Make sure you keep EVERYTHING separate financially - ex. get a business checking account and a separate credit card. Come tax time, you will be thankful that you did this. 2. Fees are difficult for me to estimate because that is such a regional thing. My work is with health care facilities so some is done at home (ie. assisted living facility menus) and other times I am working in the facility itself. 3. Please remember your personal safety if you are considering using your home for an office. In my case I decided I didn't want to have people coming to my own home. Also, I have a PO box which I use for all of my business related correspondence. 4. Check with your city/town to see if they require a business license. Also, check to see what they allow you to do from a zoning standpoint. My city charges me $50 yearly for a license. When I checked into what I could do I found I could use my home for an office as long as I didn't have " customers " (their words) coming to my home (so I could not have done this even if I wanted to...). 5. You may want to consider getting an accountant to handle the financial paperwork for you. Mine has been a great source of info and handles a somewhat tedious part of my business for me. 6. You may also want to consider forming a corporation. This could do several things including keeping your personal and business assets separate should a potential liability situation arise. 7. You mentioned malpractice insurance. Yes, definitely do this. There are several options for who to get it from, limits, etc. Your best choice will vary according to a lot of factors which is beyond the scope of this e-mail. I hope this gave you some things to think about. Feel free to e-mail me privately if I can help you in any other way. Anne Anne G. Jackisch, MS, RD, LD Consultant Dietitian Largo, Florida In a message dated 6/12/2012 10:38:04 P.M. Eastern Daylight Time, nicolerdld@... writes: Hello all, I am considering starting a private practice out of my home. My house is set up perfectly for a private office. I live in a rural area, though. I am trying to figure out what would be reasonable to charge for an initial assessment and a follow up. I am not going to accept insurance at this point. I just want to see if I can get something off the ground. I am concerned that not many people in my area could afford to pay out of pocket, but I don't want to charge too little. Any suggestions? Any marketing suggestions? I have a few thoughts already, but anyone who is already doing this may have some good insight. I know I will have to renew my malpractice insurance and will have to pay taxes, but what else should I take into consideration? Thank you in advance for any suggestions! In good health, RD, LD Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted June 13, 2012 Report Share Posted June 13, 2012 , Just a few quick thoughts on setting up a business: 1. Make sure you keep EVERYTHING separate financially - ex. get a business checking account and a separate credit card. Come tax time, you will be thankful that you did this. 2. Fees are difficult for me to estimate because that is such a regional thing. My work is with health care facilities so some is done at home (ie. assisted living facility menus) and other times I am working in the facility itself. 3. Please remember your personal safety if you are considering using your home for an office. In my case I decided I didn't want to have people coming to my own home. Also, I have a PO box which I use for all of my business related correspondence. 4. Check with your city/town to see if they require a business license. Also, check to see what they allow you to do from a zoning standpoint. My city charges me $50 yearly for a license. When I checked into what I could do I found I could use my home for an office as long as I didn't have " customers " (their words) coming to my home (so I could not have done this even if I wanted to...). 5. You may want to consider getting an accountant to handle the financial paperwork for you. Mine has been a great source of info and handles a somewhat tedious part of my business for me. 6. You may also want to consider forming a corporation. This could do several things including keeping your personal and business assets separate should a potential liability situation arise. 7. You mentioned malpractice insurance. Yes, definitely do this. There are several options for who to get it from, limits, etc. Your best choice will vary according to a lot of factors which is beyond the scope of this e-mail. I hope this gave you some things to think about. Feel free to e-mail me privately if I can help you in any other way. Anne Anne G. Jackisch, MS, RD, LD Consultant Dietitian Largo, Florida In a message dated 6/12/2012 10:38:04 P.M. Eastern Daylight Time, nicolerdld@... writes: Hello all, I am considering starting a private practice out of my home. My house is set up perfectly for a private office. I live in a rural area, though. I am trying to figure out what would be reasonable to charge for an initial assessment and a follow up. I am not going to accept insurance at this point. I just want to see if I can get something off the ground. I am concerned that not many people in my area could afford to pay out of pocket, but I don't want to charge too little. Any suggestions? Any marketing suggestions? I have a few thoughts already, but anyone who is already doing this may have some good insight. I know I will have to renew my malpractice insurance and will have to pay taxes, but what else should I take into consideration? Thank you in advance for any suggestions! In good health, RD, LD Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted June 14, 2012 Report Share Posted June 14, 2012 Anne,  Thank you for your thoughts. These are all important things to consider. As I mentioned to Jan, I am going to start slow and see if it takes off. If I can get some interest and a few clients, I will look into the business license, separate accounts, etc. I know my town requires one.  Again, thank you for your feedback.  RD, LD To: rd-usa Sent: Wednesday, June 13, 2012 9:49 AM Subject: Re: Private Practice  , Just a few quick thoughts on setting up a business: 1. Make sure you keep EVERYTHING separate financially - ex. get a business checking account and a separate credit card. Come tax time, you will be thankful that you did this. 2. Fees are difficult for me to estimate because that is such a regional thing. My work is with health care facilities so some is done at home (ie. assisted living facility menus) and other times I am working in the facility itself. 3. Please remember your personal safety if you are considering using your home for an office. In my case I decided I didn't want to have people coming to my own home. Also, I have a PO box which I use for all of my business related correspondence. 4. Check with your city/town to see if they require a business license. Also, check to see what they allow you to do from a zoning standpoint. My city charges me $50 yearly for a license. When I checked into what I could do I found I could use my home for an office as long as I didn't have " customers " (their words) coming to my home (so I could not have done this even if I wanted to...). 5. You may want to consider getting an accountant to handle the financial paperwork for you. Mine has been a great source of info and handles a somewhat tedious part of my business for me. 6. You may also want to consider forming a corporation. This could do several things including keeping your personal and business assets separate should a potential liability situation arise. 7. You mentioned malpractice insurance. Yes, definitely do this. There are several options for who to get it from, limits, etc. Your best choice will vary according to a lot of factors which is beyond the scope of this e-mail. I hope this gave you some things to think about. Feel free to e-mail me privately if I can help you in any other way. Anne Anne G. Jackisch, MS, RD, LD Consultant Dietitian Largo, Florida In a message dated 6/12/2012 10:38:04 P.M. Eastern Daylight Time, nicolerdld@... writes: Hello all, I am considering starting a private practice out of my home. My house is set up perfectly for a private office. I live in a rural area, though. I am trying to figure out what would be reasonable to charge for an initial assessment and a follow up. I am not going to accept insurance at this point. I just want to see if I can get something off the ground. I am concerned that not many people in my area could afford to pay out of pocket, but I don't want to charge too little. Any suggestions? Any marketing suggestions? I have a few thoughts already, but anyone who is already doing this may have some good insight. I know I will have to renew my malpractice insurance and will have to pay taxes, but what else should I take into consideration? Thank you in advance for any suggestions! In good health, RD, LD Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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