Q:

What is the difference and should I consider an associateship, independent contract or 
become a partner in an office that I have worked for the past six months. I am unable 
presently to afford going on my own.

A:


Thanks for your e-mail. I wish I had a perfect answer for you. I wasn't clear what your 
question posed but I think you are questioning whether an associateship .. IC or 
partnership is best. Since you have little captial now to open your own clinic you need to 
look to the future and place a timeline when you can be a sole owner. What would be best 
to accumulate wealth and establish credit to be on your own. If this is the case .. then an IC 
would be best if the numbers are right. An IC literally rents space in a DC office and pays 
either a flat monthly fee or a % of the collections. If the numbers are good let's say you 
keep 60 and they keep 40% up to $5,000 to $10,000 collections and the rest is yours and 
you are aggressive about building your own practice and the office can handle it  .. it is a 
win win .. $2000 or $4000 for the owner DC and the rest is yours. Obviously .. you want 
to build a practice so that you can accumulate and profit. But many IC's have a fixed rental 
fee like $1200 a month with ther rest going to the IC or a small % of collections to $5000 
going to the owner. Be creative here. The advantage of the IC is to build a practice without 
overhead problems and move on. An associate is an employee with a fixed income and 
some bonuses built in. Again no overhead problems and like any employee in any industry 
if the money is okay then it is a great idea .. no overhead headaches etc. As far as salary .. 
you have to look at the owner's books and decide what he or she can afford and build in 
profit sharing upon growth. A partnership is tricky and has many built in problems. Who 
earns what .. what if the other partner does little and the other one works more .. what if 
one partner wants out and how do you manage the malpractice issues and advertising etc. 
You need an attorney to draw up papers never with just a friendly handshake. As far as 
which to do .. you decide. As far as what the money should be .. you must dicuss this 
openly with the owner and do what you think is fair. I have little sage advice beyond this