If you’re hiring your own remodeling contractors, the industries you will be dealing with have a reputation for not being dependable. Try to get a referral from someone who is as forthright as you would like the contractor to be; generally people draw their own ilk, especially as they mature. Check the contractor’s references and check out their workmanship. If they are currently working on another job, visit that job site as well.

Get copies of the contractor’s insurance, license and worker’s compensation insurance. Obtain binding commitments; have a written contract. Make sure everything is in the contract exactly. Make sure the contractor pulls permits where required. Otherwise, you could have a problem down the road. You may have to redo a shoddy job or the contractor may have mickey-moused in something that could become dangerous. The following is a home example but a similar thing can happen in a business. A contractor installed a stove without a permit. Four years later there was a gas leak in a rusted line under the foundation. Two problems: the contractor had not vented the gas line to the outside as he should have and the line was in contact with the soil which it should it not have been, causing the line to rust. Essentially it was a bomb and would have exploded if I had not sniffed it out in time and turned off the gas.

Installing work without getting permits could result in a Pandora’s box. Sometimes if a city finds out work was done without a permit, partial demolition is required so a complete inspection of the work can be done.

Pay in stages as work is completed. Do not pay for work in advance. If you absolutely must pay for materials in advance, deal directly with the supplier and make sure the materials are delivered to your unit.

Sometimes a contractor is doing several jobs at one time or just sleeping in. Remember the squeaky wheel gets the oil. Be persistent. If they don’t show up, call them immediately. Make sure there is a deadline agreement in the contract with a penalty if the work is not completed on time. The penalty should have a back-out clause. If they have not completed the job within a certain period of time, you get to back out and they are penalized part of the money they would have gotten for work already completed. This is reasonable because of the time lost waiting for them to perform and having to find another contractor.

Look for hidden expenses. Renovation triggers requirements that were not imposed on preexisting structures, such as compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). If you install a shower, for example, it will need to meet the ADA. The ADA was signed into law in 1990 to provide equal access to people with disabilities. The law requires new public accommodations and facilities being remodeled to be accessible to the disabled. Existing buildings need to have barriers to disabled access removed if readily achievable and to provide auxiliary aids and services. Even if it is “just little-o-you”, the accessibility provisions apply regardless of the size of the massage business. Any alterations trigger the necessity to be fully compliant with the ADA. Make sure you have the space and can afford the construction. Using the shower example, you may need to put in a shower that is large enough to meet the ADA requirements and be wheel chair accessible. You would need to make sure you have the space to accomplish this.

Don’t go all out. Aside from certain renovations, live with the place as it is for a while so you will not end up making unnecessary changes and wasting money. It is better to use the money you make from the business to make improvements than to use savings. The quality of your work will be the real draw and, of course, cleanliness.

Remember, when you do improvements, the work should be isolated from the clients, preferably done when the clinic is closed. This avoids the possibility of freak accidents, not to mention disturbing the client and appearing unprofessional.

Be sure to take some before and after photos (even if you’re not doing alterations.) Not only is it fun to do comparisons, it also shows the condition the premises were in when you took possession.