Review and Renew Your Business Plan for Your Private Practice
Taking a look at the marketplace and your business plan for your private practice are paramount for your success.
The 2020 year has been tumultuous to say the least! We have now added a pandemic to our life history, an economic crisis and big governmental changes. Now you’re considering starting your own private practice on the list, or maybe you already have a practice and need to review or renew your services, goals, and marketing plan. Here are some things to consider before you start.
1 Engage in Market Research for Your Business
First, let us look at some crucial factors for starting and growing a private practice. Before you consider starting a practice, one must get clear with the ‘WHY?” Why do you want to start a private practice, why now, and what or who inspires you? Having these answers will keep momentum going and resource you when there’s a speed bump ahead on the road. Another crucial and extremely supportive factor is doing market research.
By engaging in research, you will have the opportunity to get a better sense of what already exists in the market and how you will fit in with your private practice. I strongly recommend this BEFORE coming up with your company name.
Here are some questions that you need answered for your successful launch and growth: Are you filling any gaps in the market with your services or product? Are there similar services or products currently out there? How successful are your competitors? How much does your service cost in your area? How many competitors already exist in the marketplace? What are the demographics of your ideal clients? Are you asking yourself, where do I get all these answers? Well, keep reading…..
Take a deep breath...most of this information is readily available and free! You can find some of your answers at the Bureau of Labor Statistics, and the U.S. Census Bureau to start. Another great and easy way to find some answers is to go to your trusted Google search. Type in keywords that your ideal client might use and check out other private practice websites and see how they approach their business. You will be able to gather tons of information like: what you like about their websites, services offered, price for services, marketing ideas, and how YOU will fit in. Take a look at their blogs and advertisements to see their approach. Even if you are already in business, staying current is important!
Secondly, you can lean on your trusted community of friends, family, and colleagues. They are great for gaining this type of information too! Ask them questions like: what would you pay for services? What kind of services are you looking for? What do you like about websites or pet peeves about websites? Once you start getting this information, you will be well on your way to putting your business plan together.
You might be thinking, “what if I already have my practice?” Market research supports you too! As mentioned previously, being current and staying competitive is paramount to being successful. So, if you are looking to add something to your business model, take a pulse of the market to support our decisions with launching your new service/product.This could be done annually to see where your practice stacks-up in the marketplace. Analytics is always a good thing!
2 Make a Business Plan for Your Private Practice
As business owners, yes, “that means you!”, we have the responsibility of taking care of our business, literally. There are parallels between the clients you work with and your business, you need to check in with both to find what is working and where improvements can be made. With that being said, there are additional things that should be on your checklist for the beginning of the year or the REVIEW and RENEW phase of business.
Taking stock and planning for the up-coming year are paramount for your private practice. One thing that gets overlooked are updates to your programs like firmware/software. Keeping these updated will help to keep you organized and on task. Are you using the right programs for your private practice? Are you using digital programs to optimize your business plan?
Some other questions that are part of the review process: Are you comfortable with your onboarding process? Could improvements be made here? What does your client's journey look like? Have you identified this? Are you using the right paperwork? Do you want to add a new service? Do you have required documentation for the new service? What kind of marketing plans do you have? What marketing objectives do you have and how do you plan to implement them? Do you have a filing system? Therapeutic and administrative processes are equally important. Your administrative tools will keep you organized so you can optimize your focus on doing what you love.
3 Take stock of Your Work/Life Balance
Just as important as everything I have stated above, you need to take some mental stock. How are YOU doing? When do you have time for YOU? Vacation? Family events? Some of us will agree that this is probably the most important aspect to work/life balance.
You matter the most!
How to organize all of this? Developing your SMART goals for your private practice will keep you organized with a clear plan of action and getting the results you want. Your clients get a treatment plan, so why shouldn’t your private practice? Accountability with clear steps gets you to the finish line! These short-term goals will help translate into long-term successes. If you’re not sure about SMART goals, see my blog post here: Setting SMART Goals for Your Private Practice
In your corner!
Francisca
Embark on a transformative journey with Francisca Mix, LPC, BC-DMT, ACS—an experienced confidence consultant in mental health and clinical leadership. With diverse expertise as a mental health private practice consultant, educator, clinical supervisor, and trauma-informed movement therapist, Francisca guides professionals through tailored group programs and impactful one-to-one online sessions.
Her mission is clear—to empower individuals in mental health and clinical leadership by building unshakable confidence, nurturing leadership skills, and rewriting healthy life narratives. Your transformation begins here.
Ready to reach new heights? Book a discovery call NOW and redefine your narrative with confidence and leadership.
