On this season of the podcast, we’ve been discussing everything you need to know in order to transition from self-employment to business ownership. In today’s episode, we’re talking about business scalability and sustainability, and how they both apply to the growth of a business.

For the context of this episode, sustainability refers to the ability to maintain or support a process continuously over time. In other words, we’re digging into the sustainability of you as the business owner. In today’s business environment, there is an astonishing amount of business models that aren’t sustainable in the long term. When you set out to own your own business and craft a business model that fits your business, your services, and your mission, it’s important to consider and factor in sustainability. 

Scalability refers to a business’s capacity to grow to meet increased demand. However, there is an important difference between growing a business and scaling a business. Business growth essentially means more of everything. Whereas business scalability is the potential to increase profits while overhead costs stay the same or decrease. 

The two primary aspects of building a sustainable and scalable business model are time and money.

• Time - Time is something that we can’t possibly create more of; it’s a forever depleting resource. But figuring out how to multiply time is how we can achieve freedom. For this reason, time management will be your greatest asset. 
• Money - For your business to be both sustainable and scalable, you will need to generate revenue and have a profit margin. Once a profit margin is achieved, money will need to be reinvested in the business. 

The evidence suggests that longevity in business ownership and career development allow for athletic trainers to continue impacting the patient populations they serve, and when we do that, we increase access to affordable healthcare services for the general public.

On this season of the podcast, we’ve been discussing what you need to know in order to transition from self-employment to business ownership. In today’s episode, we’re talking about the necessary legal components of running a business.

One of the benefits of owning a business is the ability to separate the business entity from yourself personally. Separating business affairs from personal affairs allows you to mitigate the risk associated with operating a business.

However, if you’re not tending to the legal aspects of the business, you won’t fully reap these benefits. If you move into business ownership without having all of the legal aspects set up and accounted for, you might be leaving yourself exposed.

Business legalities can feel daunting and looming, but this information is necessary and very straightforward. The more you know about business legalities before jumping in, the more you can prepare for and expect on your journey to business ownership.

Tasks that should be considered and completed at the onset of your business include:

• EIN - Employer Identification Number. This number operated as the social security number for your business. 
• Registered Agent - An individual or entity designated by an active company to receive service of process notices, government correspondence, and compliance related documents on behalf of the company. Basically, someone who is responsible and available to accept formal documentation and correspondence. This can be yourself, or another entity.
• Business Permits and Licenses - Secure all of the necessary permits from the city, county, and/or state that apply to your work.
• Trademarks - Ensure that you’re not infringing on another trademark, then consider if it’s the right time for you to file for your own trademark or not.
• Business Bank Account and Accounting Software - Regardless of entity status, this is required and will continue to help you separate business and personal affairs.
• Contracts - Determine which contracts you need to have set up and in place to conduct your work legally and in a way that allows you to protect yourself.
• Taxes - A legal requirement for your business that will be made easier when you have a business bank account and accounting software set up.

There are legal implications for not running your business in legal ways. You could face fines, penalties, lawsuits, or even the reality of your business having to close. None of these things are worth exposing ourselves to, and when you recognize the legal components of running a business you protect yourself. Your ability to keep serving your patients is reliant on sound legal practices.

IRS EIN Application

On this season of the podcast, we’ve been discussing the transition from self-employment to business ownership. In today’s episode specifically, we’re moving the conversation toward the tangible steps you need to take to start your business.

Before we jump straight into the tangible steps, we discuss the importance of having a “why” prior to starting your new venture. Starting a new business is a challenge, and it’s important to have a “why” that you believe in. When things get hard, your “why” will be the thing that helps you persevere.

The first component of starting a new business is to determine which entity type you will pursue for your business. There are two primary options to consider - DBA (doing business as) or LLC (limited liability company).

• DBA: When the business is conducted and presented under a name other than the legal name of the person or persons who own it. Those who are best fit for a DBA are those who have a low risk of liability and don’t have personal assets to protect.
• LLC: This is the type of business entity that provides its owner the liability protection. This is an entity that is entirely separate from the person who starts it, and the government views it as such. 

Once you determine which entity type is right for your business, you’ll start the second component of starting a new business - seeing if your desired business name is available. First, you’ll start by checking the Secretary of State website from your state. Next, you’ll check for name availability on the federal level through the United States Patent and Trademark Office. Finally, you’ll check for name availability on social media outlets and website domains.

In summary, we discuss the actual steps to take your business from concept to reality. By validating your business idea first, you can save yourself time and money while providing a tangible and practical business model from the very beginning. Having all of these stressors navigated and solutions provided for allows you to focus the majority of your work on clinical execution, thereby increasing patient outcomes. 

Simon Sinek TED Talk

Reframe The Game Podcast

Secretary of State Offices

United States Patent and Trademark Office

Namecheckr.com

In this episode, we discuss the relevance of performing market research and a competitive analysis for your business. We also discuss how doing so can help you determine the viability of your business, and give you a competitive advantage.

When starting a business, we have to weigh the factors. What type of time, energy, and money will it cost us? And what type of time, energy, and money will it afford us?

With any decision that involves walking into the unknown, it’s important that we examine the level of risk associated with it. When you’re aware of the potential risks, you can make the most informed decision for yourself.

In order to make your business idea viable and build yourself up for success, you need to be willing to make short term sacrifices and play the long game.

If you’re starting your own business, you owe it to yourself to build success into the plan you’re putting together. When you perform market research and a competitive analysis, you can account for business viability. Doing this requires that you create opportunities to collect necessary information, but if you do so, you will drastically increase the likelihood of success for your future endeavor. 

Resources From Episode:

Forbes Article: Three Tasks Every Business Owner Should Do Annually

In this episode, we discuss the various business entity types and which might be best for you.

What are the risks of continuing to operate as a self-employed person versus a business owner? With that information, you can decide on an appropriate next step for your self-employed work, based on an analysis of your individual situation.

Unfortunately, there's not a general standard for whether or not it's best to become a business. Ultimately, it's a complex decision and individualized to each person. 

However, I firmly believe all healthcare-related operations should be run through a business. With the prevalence of self-employed work in the profession, coupled with how litigious our society is, in my opinion, there is absolutely no reason why conducting your work under a business isn't happening. As athletic trainers, we are exposing ourselves to unnecessary risk when we have not established ourselves as a business, and the cost to do so is minimal.

There are many motivations for starting your own business, but regardless of what your motivation is, we can successfully pursue business ownership. The way that our brains are wired as healthcare providers translates really well into providing solutions in the business space.

Resources From Episode:

Per Diem Best Practices

Cost Of Starting A Business By State

In today’s episode, we explore the benefits of being a business owner. Two of the benefits include tax advantages and risk mitigation.

First, let’s touch on some distinctions about business ownership. All business owners are self-employed, but not all self-employed people are a business. If you are self-employed, you do business under your social security number. Whereas if you own a business, you are known as a sole-proprietor to the IRS, and you operate your business expenses with your Employee Identification Number (EIN).

By operating under that EIN number, you insulate yourself from personal liability. You can still potentially be sued, but they cannot come after your personal assets like your car or your house when that distinction is in place.

Research was conducted, and it found people who transitioned from regular work to self-employment experienced a healthy gain in both mental and physical health.

Business ownership is an opportunity to develop your career in a way beyond traditional norms and standards. Moreover, it can provide extreme flexibility in your schedule, coupled with an unlimited earning potential.

As a business owner the tax advantages increase significantly. We touch on several pandemic-related examples where small business owners received tax benefits, as well as personal ways we use tax advantages to our benefit with our consultant business. 

To truly take advantage of your standing as a self-employed person, whether that be for tax reasons or for risk protection, becoming a business owner has major benefits. 

We are kicking off season four of The Business ATvantage Podcast. This season, we will discuss the transition from self-employment to business ownership.

In this episode specifically, we will define what it means to be an Independent Contractor, as well addressing the liabilities, legalities, and benefits of self-employed work as a health care professional. 

Liabilities and Legalities of Working as an AT Independent Contractor:

1. Must Have Insurance: You must have insurance as a self-employed individual. At minimum, you must be identified as a part-time, self-employed person. If you don’t have that designation, you are practicing uninsured.
2. Standing Orders: The physician you work under must acknowledge you do self-employed work, because it may change their liability associated with overseeing you.  
3. State Practice Act and Concussion Laws: Make sure the population you are working with is permissible under state law, and that you have reviewed the concussion laws for that population. In some states, there is a difference between youth sport concussion laws and high school laws. It’s important be aware of these distinctions, and which population you are serving.
4. Get Everything in Writing: At minimum, you need to have an email with bullet points listing out what is expected, such as payment terms, a scope of work, supplies provided etc. This should all be in place prior to working.
5. Have Documentation: Have a form of documentation to notate what you see and touch while working in the event you are asked for records.

Benefits of Working as an AT Independent Contractor:

1. Tax Benefits: The opportunity to write off everyday expenses as a part of the cost of doing business.
2. Diversified Resume: Growing your network of clients and skillset.
3. Hedge Against Economic Turmoil: Having the opportunity to pivot based on your individual circumstances, or the world around you.
4. Flexibility: Take the shifts you’d like, live a life that provides maximum freedom and flexibility for yourself and family.
5. Upward Mobility: Name your rate, work where and when you want, not capped on your earning potential.

E-book Referenced in Episode:

Principles of Per Diem Liabilities and Legalities Ebook