Resources for the Self Employed Music Therapist or Private Practice Business Owner
I recently had the privilege of presenting to students at my alma mater about business and finances. One of the comments the professor made is that private practice is the largest growing area in our field. I haven’t personally seen statistics, but it wouldn’t come to a shock to me. I shared a list of resources with the students when I presented of tools, sites, and programs that I’ve used in getting started AND growing my company. The people of Instagram have asked, so I’m sharing the list of resources here with you!
Getting Started
When I was getting started launching my business, I ran into multiple legal steps that I had no idea I would encounter. These are all the things I didn’t know about registering a business, setting up a tax identification number, etc. To be clear, I am not giving you legal advice and am not responsible for how you use the following information, but these are the websites and steps I went through to get started for your reference!
**Some of the links are examples for Indiana or US specific, so you may have to search for these steps and websites for your own state/country.
The first thing you have to do is come up with a company name! You’ll need this to start legally establishing your company, I didn’t want to take too long doing this. I came up with a list, narrowed it down to two or three, then sent these ideas to several friends and family members to get their preferences. It was important to me to get others’ feedback because your company name will be seen by the general public, so I wanted a test group for the reaction of others.
Search for company name availability to make sure someone else doesn’t already use the name you want- I did so for Indiana here.
Once you have a company name, register your business with your state and form a business entity - you can do this through a legal service like Rocket Lawyer for any state. I formed an LLC after consulting my accountant - this is the most popular business entity.
Set up an EIN with the IRS to separate your company from your personal Social Security number - you can find the link for this here.
Open a business bank account (I use PNC for both personal and business)
Buy a Domain:
Through Google (which is what I did, so that I had ownership of the website no matter the host) - you can do this when setting up Workspace or buying a domain separately
Use code FRIENDSOFDOMAINS for 25% off a new domain/transfered in domain
Through Squarespace when building website
Website:
Squarespace (What I use & recommend!)
Wix (Another popular website hosting service)
Set up an email / documentation system. I use Google Workspace for all of my communications, client files, organization management tools - it’s basically the backbone of my documentation and business organization. It’s worked well too as my company has grown because I can share folders with my employees to keep all of their documentation, host team meetings through Google meet, keep track of their schedules using Google Calendar, etc. You can find more information and registration here and get 10% off your first year with the following:
10% off Google Workspace Business Starter Plan - use code: G966WLWV4HPU6RR
10% off Google Workspace Business Standard Plan - use code: NAFGVADFN47C9XY
Having an online, HIPAA compliant system for clients to sign annual paperwork and release forms has been a huge help for me and my clients. I use the silver plan on Jotform, where I can easily upload my own paperwork or you can use their templates to create forms.
Make sure you have Professional and General Liability Insurance. Without a company over you, you’re the one responsible for providing this! I’ve worked with a couple of different companies, but currently work with CM&F Group - I’ve had a good experience and they’ve been able to get me all the additional insureds I need (which some contracts require!) without an extra charge. You can find their website here.
You may want legal advice - whether that’s reviewing contracts and documentation or later setting up an employee handbook, etc. You can search for “Small Business Legal Services” to find a professional near you or an online company.
Find a business accountant! You may be able to do a lot of this on your own, but it’s nice to have someone to ask questions, give advice, and help with taxes if you need. My accountant only charges me when he works on something, so this may not be a lot of cost upfront unless you need their help.
Finances
Once your company is up and running, it’s important to budget for all the things you need to run your business. Here are some tools and suggestions that can get you pointed in the right direction. Again, I want to make clear that I am not a legal or financial advisor and you should reach out to a professional for more help, but these have been helpful resources for me!
It’s important to track expenses during the year to make tax season easier for everyone and ensure you’re including everything as a write-off. As an individual business owner/contractor, I didn’t want to pay for an extra subscription service to do this, so I kept track of everything via an Excel Spreadsheet. You can find a downloadable Spreadsheet in my Finances Bundle here.
I understand that although I love numbers and math, I don’t know everything. It’s helpful to have other wise professionals, such as Jaycie with Music Therapy Mastermind, to receive advice and resources from. She’s very friendly and often sends out free materials to her email list!
I URGE you, please pay quarterly taxes. I submit an estimated amount to both federal and state at the end of each quarter (usually the mid April, mid June, early September, and early January - dates can be found online). This will keep you from having to pay thousands at the end of the year in self-employed taxes. I always estimated about 30% because I’d rather over pay during the year and get a return on my taxes, but your accountant should be able to give you a more accurate amount. The US Fed Estimated Tax payment can be submitted here.
When taxes are due, I’ve been able to file my own taxes (until this past year when I had new employees, COVID assistance, etc). I did this for FREE through Credit Karma, which is now Cash App Taxes, where they help you walk through inputting your Schedule C’s, expenses, and manage deductions.
Growing Your Company
It’s exciting to have a growing business, but adds some extra responsibilities to a business owner’s plate. Here are some additional resources, that again want to make clear that I am not a legal or financial advisor and you should reach out to a professional for more help.
As my company grew, I was encouraged by Jaycie to stop relying on my Spreadsheets for expense tracking and start using actually accounting software. This has helped me track mileage, connects with my account and automatically records my expenses (that I then have to go in and approve/categorize), and you can also bill clients through. I have one of the more basic online accounts, but you can pick a subscription that works best for you and your company. For 30% off of your first six months, you can use this link.
I also needed to figure out how to structure employee benefits and salaries. I created another spreadsheet to determine what I could afford and offer to my employees, while making sure I’m sustaining my company and maintaining their jobs. I’m including the Excel template for this as well in my Finances Bundle here.
My FAVORITE resource for bringing on employees has been my payroll company, Gusto. Not only has it been helpful for paying employees and contractors, but also in filing hiring paperwork, provided tax paperwork at the end of the year, and setting up BENEFITS. It makes my life so much easier to have several benefits, including 401k and medical insurance, streamlined through our payroll system. If you use this link to register, you’ll get $100 after the first payroll processes.
It’s helpful to have someone to reach out to as a business mentor whenever questions arise. I encourage you to find someone in your state who understands the market or find someone who’s a respected business owner in the music therapy community to establish a relationship with. It’s worth paying for a mentor at the beginning to set yourself up wisely for a healthy business. Plus, you’ll have someone who knows a little about your business when you have questions later on.
I’ve really enjoyed owning a business, but it comes with it’s learning curves and ups/downs. Hopefully these resources will get you pointed in the right direction and best of luck!
*For full disclosure, I may benefit from links in this blog. I’ve only included resources I’d actually recommend or have used. I try to update the links, as necessary, but some deals may not be applicable as time goes on.
