Alisa and Claus Clausen on tue 28 dec 99
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=3EWhat sort of regulations would we come under for doing such a thing? If
=3Ewe were located in a rural area, would we suddenly find ourselves
=3Edealing with some sort of commercial classification?
=3E
=3EWhat kind of insurance do we need to get, especially with stuff like
=3Ekilns and hazardous materials about? Do you get participants to sign
=3Ewaivers?
=3E
=3EI know it's a lot of questions, but I don't have a real good feel for
=3Ewhere to start. Thanks for any help that you can give.
=3E
=3EBruce and Lynne Girrell
Simarly, we have a warehouse in town that we are have discussed possibly =
turning
into
a learning center for ceramics and gallery (for lack of a better word, I =
will
call it a learning center and the people who are taught, =22users=22). =
Just for
examples, these are things that we would need to qualify if we opened a =
learning
center in our town. These are just examples,
specific to where we live, but they may act as a guideline for you and your
area:
I think you could start by talking to the appropriate personnel in your =
=22town
hall=22, with regard
to regulations to what the building requirements are for a place of =
instruction.
Perhaps each town or state has different guidelines. Just as examples, here
there are
specifications for square meters of space per =22user=22, ceiling heights,
ventilation, sinks, toilets,
fire escapes, days per year we can operate and much more.
If you begin a learning center you would probably need to be =
=22registered=22 as
such
and obtain an operating license. It was necessary for us to write up a
proposal, what we
would do in our space as well as a forecasted budget of expenses and =
earnings.
This
was eventually approved for my independent studio. Since we cannot yet meet=
the
building codes for the learning center, I have not received approval for =
that
yet. We hired
an architect to make the drawings, and are now awaiting the town authorities
approval
to go ahead.
We have an accountant because we had to become tax registered and report
earnings
and deductions. We need to pay tax on any income associated with the =
center.
For now I am paying tax only on the sales from my studio, because as yet I =
am
not operating as a learning center, only a studio with sales of items. =
Besides
paying tax on earnings, you receive tax exemptions which are really a plus =
with
start up costs and future material purchases, etc.
Here, depending on your educational background and degree, you are only
permitted
to say that you are a teacher and that you teach, only if you have a degree =
in
education.
A person such as myself with a BFA may say that I am an instructor and I
instruct or advise.
Here you cannot open a school and teach unless you have definite =
credentials. I
can open
a studio and instruct.
Again, these are details pertinent to our town in our country, but hopefull =
they
can give you
and Lynne an idea of what could be involved and where to find answers.
In short, opening the studio where I am the only employee and user involved
Approval from the town to be a business
Tax registration
(easy)
Opening a learning center with employees and users involves:
Operating license
Building codes
Government tax registration
Accountant
Architect
Business approval from city
Insurance (This must be different in Europe and the US)
(Harder, but going forward)
I think however if you begin with the town authorities, you will get a lot =
of
information.
Regards and good luck,
Alisa in Denmark
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