Risk vs Reward

[Soul_Patch]

So what would you do, and what is your line of thinking?


Option 1: 40/hr week job making $49,000 / yr. Not a whole lot of benefits to speak of, dont take the insurance because you use your spouses, no 401k, but it is steady guaranteed (unless the company fails) income.


Option 2: Monday Contract gig at 400 dollars for the day. Private business in which you would need to maintain about 12 clients (hours) a week to NET about $58,000 / year depending on office expenses. Plenty of room for improvement, taking on more clients. Possibility of complete failure, loosing the original 12 clients.


things on the line: Everything...Mortgage, car notes, toddler, etc...

[BacktoBasics]

I take option 1. Contract gigs are at an all time high for risk over reward. I take the steady pay because we're talking about less than a 10k difference. Steady money is where its at right now.

[Chingo Bling]

I would go with opchun number two. I'd put my bitshes out on the calle and I guarantee I would get more than 12 clients a day. Those pinche white boys love to get with the latinas.

[angel_luv]

I would take option one. More security.

Option2 is not a bad option if you are young and just out of college. But is too risky I think for someone who has a mortgage, car notes, and a baby.

[CosmicCowboy]

IMHO that's a lot of risk for the additional 9K.

[Soul_Patch]

Good points:

The aditional 9k is working 28 less hours a week though, and would be what you would make fresh out of the box.

If things started going as you would hope they would, that 12 clients would turn into about 30 clients...and that 58k a year would turn into about $110,000 a year.

Or, those 12 clients could vanish...and turn into $20,800 a year.

[BacktoBasics]

Good points:

The aditional 9k is working 28 less hours a week though, and would be what you would make fresh out of the box.

If things started going as you would hope they would, that 12 clients would turn into about 30 clients...and that 58k a year would turn into about $110,000 a year.

Or, those 12 clients could vanish...and turn into $20,800 a year.Normally you follow the money but it seems risky.

So really how risky is it? How steady can it really be. It takes time to build a client base so do they feed you right out of the gate?

If you take option 2 do you have a fall back plan that would protect your loss?

Now is not the time to be taking risks unless you can increase the % of the risk panning out.

[PM5K]

You need an option three, it's crazy that you make almost 50K a year and have no 401K.

[Soul_Patch]

Well here i the story.

Wife works for a fairly large, for profit Hospital here in SA as a mental health therapist. For the past 3 or 4 months her boss had encouraged her to start taking on her own clients, she also encouraged their care coordinator to refer clients to my wife after their stay at the hospital. She ALSO let her see these clients in her office there, and didnt make her pay a dime for it. On top of all of that, she let her take mondays off and go do this contract gig at another business...all while earning the same salary she always made there. Then her boss got very sick, and has been out of work for the past month. The place has had no boss really, so things have gotten out of hand. My wife is still getting referred clients and has maintained about 10 to 15 clients a week, feels she could do more if she didnt have the pesky "salaried job" lol...We both knew it was too good to be true, but her boss blessed it, so she had protection. She was basically getting paid 48k a year to run her own business out of their facility.

They sent a new "CEO in Training" out to her facility to sort of whip the place back in shape. In doing so, he baulked at her doing this private practice thing (obviously), citing that it was a conflict of interest to let her see private people in a facility that is run (partly) off of government money...bla bla..etc..basically what i thought would happen, should anyone actually find out about this little gig other than her immediate boss.

so now she is given the offer of either cease and desist and take the salaried job...or nothing...

She could probably keep the referrals coming, since she is in good with the care coordinator, but of course nothing like that is gaurunteed.

Hence the two options. She could take the momentum of her business thing and run with it, hopefully grow it into something big...or just take the less risky route, and keep the salary...everything tells me KEEP THE SALARY...but you dont become rich and successfull without taking the risk right?

Who knows if the place doesnt shut down her facility or have lay offs in the near future...then it is a lose / lose.

[Soul_Patch]

You need an option three, it's crazy that you make almost 50K a year and have no 401K.

I completely agree. A big company like that and they dont give a 401k...it doesnt make any sense.

[BacktoBasics]

If you're earning steady pay and the family could skate by for a few months on your pay if she flops out I'd take the risk. Especially since it sounds like she already has a built in referral system. Are they going to stop referring is now the big question?

[Soul_Patch]

If you're earning steady pay and the family could skate by for a few months on your pay if she flops out I'd take the risk. Especially since it sounds like she already has a built in referral system. Are they going to stop referring is now the big question?

Yes. That is the big question. One that will weigh heavily in our discussion tonight.

[Soul_Patch]

If she quit, then floundered on the business thing, could she turn around and file for unemployment a few months down the line? Or is there a limit on that?

[dimsah]

Why couldn't you do both? You're talking about 12 additional hours per week.

[BacktoBasics]

Yes. That is the big question. One that will weigh heavily in our discussion tonight.If the answer is no then where is she going to get the referrals from? Where is she going to work out of? Overhead would be a make or break issue too.

[Soul_Patch]

If she continues to work there, she will not be able to see their clients.

She would also have to be there 40/hrs a week, and not have time to build her own clientelle.

[Soul_Patch]

If the answer is no then where is she going to get the referrals from? Where is she going to work out of? Overhead would be a make or break issue too.

Found a few offices here in town ranging from about 250 to 400 a month. for 180 to 400 sqft.

She has gotten on 4 different insurances so far, and is in the process of getting on almost all of the rest of them. So basically if you are a person needing mental health therapy and check out your "locate a doc" thing...she would be on the list. Not sure how much that is going to pay off, but it would be a fairly large source i would guess.

It would also take marketing by her. going to places around town and trying to get in with their referral systems...not easy, but i doubt any private business is.

If she could keep referrals from her current employer in the bag, then add on the other stuff...it would be ideal.

[mrsmaalox]

Striking out into private practice is going to require a hell of a lot more than just 12 hours. Patient hours are not all she'll be working.

[lefty]

So what would you do, and what is your line of thinking?


Option 1: 40/hr week job making $49,000 / yr. Not a whole lot of benefits to speak of, dont take the insurance because you use your spouses, no 401k, but it is steady guaranteed (unless the company fails) income.


Option 2: Monday Contract gig at 400 dollars for the day. Private business in which you would need to maintain about 12 clients (hours) a week to NET about $58,000 / year depending on office expenses. Plenty of room for improvement, taking on more clients. Possibility of complete failure, loosing the original 12 clients.


things on the line: Everything...Mortgage, car notes, toddler, etc...


Option 1 FTW

Option 2 offers much less job security and more stress.

[BacktoBasics]

Found a few offices here in town ranging from about 250 to 400 a month. for 180 to 400 sqft.

She has gotten on 4 different insurances so far, and is in the process of getting on almost all of the rest of them. So basically if you are a person needing mental health therapy and check out your "locate a doc" thing...she would be on the list. Not sure how much that is going to pay off, but it would be a fairly large source i would guess.

It would also take marketing by her. going to places around town and trying to get in with their referral systems...not easy, but i doubt any private business is.

If she could keep referrals from her current employer in the bag, then add on the other stuff...it would be ideal.Marketing your business is a lot easier than people think. It just takes time and a shit ton of foot work. If she a has a big market that can use her and she can land some referrals then I say go for it. It would help if she could find one addition source of referrals before telling her 9-5 that she's going to stick with doing her private work. This way they'd be forced to fire her over her having to leave.

[Soul_Patch]

Striking out into private practice is going to require a hell of a lot more than just 12 hours. Patient hours are not all she'll be working.

Exactly, which is what has limited her to only taking about 10 to 12 clients a week in her current capacity.

If she went strictly solo, she could have time to take on about double that.

[bus driver]

So what would you do, and what is your line of thinking?


Option 1: 40/hr week job making $49,000 / yr. Not a whole lot of benefits to speak of, dont take the insurance because you use your spouses, no 401k, but it is steady guaranteed (unless the company fails) income.


Option 2: Monday Contract gig at 400 dollars for the day. Private business in which you would need to maintain about 12 clients (hours) a week to NET about $58,000 / year depending on office expenses. Plenty of room for improvement, taking on more clients. Possibility of complete failure, loosing the original 12 clients.


things on the line: Everything...Mortgage, car notes, toddler, etc...

wheres the poll?
anyways option 2! if your good at your job, the chances of failure should be lower, then tell your wife to apply for state support and life is good! (oh u may need to get a divorce to get state support)

[mrsmaalox]

Exactly, which is what has limited her to only taking about 10 to 12 clients a week in her current capacity.

If she went strictly solo, she could have time to take on about double that.

But that's only counting her work as a practitioner. She'll have double that much as a business owner---unless she's going to hire someone to run her office, keep the records and do the billing.

[I. Hustle]

Shit I'll run her office. She can pay me in sessions.