Private Practice 101 (Week 3): What Type of Business Are You?

We are now in Week 3 of our “Private Practice 101” series! So far we’ve talked about determining why you want to start a practice (Week 1) and creating your business team (Week 2).

I encourage you to check out the comments sections of the previous posts. There have been some great questions and useful information provided by readers! A couple highlights:

• When you develop a therapy private practice, you are a small business owner, you are in private practice, and you are self-employed. Just in case that’s confusing (as it was for me initially).
• The initial meetings I recommended last week you set up should be free. Initial consultations typically are. I have never paid for one.

Now on to today’s topic…

What Type of Business Are You?

Today’s topic: a basic overview of different business structures, including (in my humble opinion) pros and cons for each.

Disclaimer: This is not legal advice. This information is for educational purposes only. You should consult with an attorney and a CPA to determine which type of business will best meet your needs.

The very first step before starting your own private practice is to decide what business entity best fits your needs. In the eyes of the law (and the IRS), a business is a separate entity that has it’s own taxes, rules, and laws–at least, most businesses. In this light, a business is, very literally, like your baby.

You have several options, each with pros and cons briefly outlined below:

1) Sole Proprietorship

This is definitely the easiest, lowest cost type of business to start. Basically, you are your business and your business is you. You file your business taxes with your personal taxes. There is no need for a separate business “social security number” (called an EIN, or Employer Identification Number). In the eyes of the law, there is no distinction between you and your business.

The main benefit of a sole proprietorship is that there is very little start up cost. I started with a sole proprietorship – it only cost me $15 to register my tradename with the state of Colorado (then, KMS Music Therapy).

Sounds straightforward, right? It is…but at a cost. Not a monetary cost, but a risk cost. You see, if something were to happen and you were to get sued, your personal assets would be at risk. Your home, your car, your retirement, your savings…all of it is at risk because your business is you.

And not only that, but it also has a tax disadvantage. There is a tax out there called the “self-employment tax,” a 15.3% tax similar to the Social Security and Medicare taxes employers pay. (I’ve given a basic overview of payroll taxes in 2 articles here and here).

Pros
Easiest and cheapest to start
Simple tax returns

Cons
Pay the self-employment tax
Increased liability
Not as credible

Partnerships
A partnership is just as it sounds – two (or more) people are in business together. This is kind of like a sole proprietorship for two or more owners. Like a sole proprietorship, a partnership is not a separate legal entity. The laws view the business as inseparable from the owners.

On the plus side, you get the advantage of working with another person. You can share the costs, share the profits, share the losses, share the work.

Beyond that, a partnership carries the same benefits and risks as a sole proprietorship.

Pros
Easy and cheap to start
Simple tax returns (each owner files with their individual taxes)
Shared start-up cost, shared liability, shared work

Cons
Pay the self-employment tax
Increased personal liability
Not as credible

Corporation (S- or C-corporation)
A corporation is it’s own business entity. In the eyes of the law (and of taxes), a corporation is it’s own “person” with it’s own “social security number,” or EIN. Any assets (e.g. property, instruments, textbooks) owned by the corporation belong to the company. They are not yours (and vice versa – any assets of yours belong to you and not the company). An incorporated business will include an “Inc.” at the end of the name, as in “My Music Therapy Business, Inc.”

Corporations have been around since the Romans. They were a way for people to protect their money and decrease their personal risk. People would invest in a venture together (for example, paying for a ship to sail to the Americas and look for gold), then share in the profits (receive a proportional “cut” of the treasure) and in the risk (don’t lose as much if the ship’s lost at sea).

So that’s the basics of a corporation: it’s a legal entity that people (or a person) invests money in so that one day they will make a profit on their investment. It’s also an entity that has to adhere by certain laws and has to pay it’s own taxes.

A corporation has it’s own structure. There are the owners of the corporation and managers. Most likely, as a small business, they will be one and the same for you, as they are for me. Here are the structural elements of a corporation:

• Shareholders/Stockholders: Technically, the shareholders own the corporation. They are the ones who have invested the money. A corporation can have 1 shareholder or millions.
• Board of Directors: The shareholders elect the board of the directors. The job of the Board is to act on behalf of the shareholders. The Board often includes high-ranking company managers (e.g. the CEO, CFO, etc.) and outside community members.
• Officers: These are the managers of the company, the people responsible for the day-to-day management of the corporation (and the people responsible for making sure the company makes a profit). Types of officers you may be familiar with include CEOs (Chief Executive Officer), CFO (Chief Financial Officer), CNO (Chief Nursing Officer), or COO (Chief Operations Officer).
• Employees: The employees are the nuts and bolts of a corporation, the people who make sure everything runs smoothly and is taken care of.

There are two types of corporations, a c-corporation and an s-corporation. The difference between them is a tax difference, so you should consult your lawyer and accountant to figure out which option works best for you (my business, Neurosong Music Therapy Services, Inc. is an s-corporation).

Pros
Increased credibility
Tax benefits
Limited personal liability

Cons
Heavier start-up costs
More complicated tax forms

Limited Liability Company (LLC)
This is a very popular option these days. Business that are LLCs will have that designation behind there name, e.g. “My Music Therapy Business, LLC.” You will read the following descriptions about LLCs: 1) they are a very flexible option, 2) they are the newest business entity (only available since the mid-1990s), and 3) the legal system doesn’t yet always know what to do with LLCs because they are so new.

An LLC is a hybrid between a corporation and a sole proprietorship: it is taxed liked a sole proprietorship (technically, you have several tax options) but with the liability protection of a corporation. Many lawyers consider an LLC a more flexible option for a business entity (especially one with a single owner) for tax reasons.

Again, an LLC is it’s own business entity, with it’s own EIN, it’s own taxes to pay, it’s own assets, and it’s own liabilities. It also has it’s own structure, which is more flexible than a corporation’s structure:

• Members: The members own the LLC, just like shareholders own a corporation. The members are the ones who invest the money and the members are the ones who benefit from the profits.
• Management: Here’s a difference between an LLC and a corporation – the day-to-day management of an LLC can be run by either the members or managers elected by the members.

Pros
Increased credibility
Tax benefits
Limited personal liability

Cons
Heavier start-up costs
More complicated tax forms

Non-Profit
All of the business entities listed thus far are “for profit” companies. Their sole purpose is to make money for their stockholders, shareholders, members, and themselves. A non-profit, however, is a business entity that does not distribute profits to it’s owners, but instead uses the money for a cause, to provide some sort of public benefit.

The non-profit status is how a business is viewed in the eyes of the law. There are many names that can be used to describe a non-profit business: NPO (non-profit organization), charity, foundations, and endowments. NPOs are often eligible to apply for grants and people who donate money to an NPO can use that money as a deduction on their taxes.

Like a corporation or an LLC, a non-profit is it’s own business entity. And in general, you have people who own the NPO and people who manage it. But there are many options available. It would be best to consult an attorney to figure out what would work best for you.

Pros
Increased credibility
Tax benefits
Limited personal liability

Cons
Heavier start-up costs
More complicated tax forms

ACTION STEPS:

In some ways, this week’s action steps are a continuation of last week’s steps:

• During your interviews with various lawyers and accountants, ask each one for their opinion (after they have a feel for what you want) of which business entity would best meet your needs.
• Rules for how to set up a business vary state by state. Ask your lawyer or accountant (or dig a little around your state’s Department of Revenue website) to create a list of the requirements needed to set up a practice in your state. Or pay them to do it for you (which may be expensive. It cost me about $600 for my attorney to file incorporation papers).
• Submit (or ask your lawyers or accountant to submit) paperwork to apply for an EIN (not needed for a sole proprietorship or partnership).

NEXT WEEK: Next week, we’ll start digging into the fun stuff–getting paid!

P.S. I’m still accepting applications for a FREE month’s advertising space on the Music Therapy Maven. Applications are due by the end of the month. There are up to 4 spots available. For detail, click here.

P.P.S. It’s been an exciting week for me as a new blogger for Psychology Today. My blog is called Your Musical Self (you can find it here) and it’s dedicated to highlighting how you can use music to learn, heal, and live. The response to the first article have been overwhelming: PT highlighted the article as an “Essential Read” on their “Creativity” section last week and showcased it on their homepage all day yesterday. It’ll be fun to see where this journey takes me. Glad we’re on this ride together!

Tagged as: accountant, attorney, Private Practice, start a therapy practice, taxes, therapy business, therapy private practice