Starting your own Private Practice can be scary, but you can do it with some business planning.
Are you not starting your dream practice because you are worried you will not be able to pay your bills and afford? I have been then too! I promise it’s ok to be freaking out and in this article I want to share a few tips I have learned on how to start your private practice and still pay your bills.
Exit Strategy
Let’s come at this issue as though you are thinking of leaving your full-time gig and wanting to go into private practice. Doing the who jumping in blind is beyond crazy. I will never tell you to leave your job, and I will tell you to do the math to see what it will take to leave your job. In the article I wrote a few weeks ago, we go over your Money Math and learn just what it will cost for you to leave your full-time job.
Now that you know the numbers start building up the buzz! After you chat with your boss and let them know your plans, don’t want to burn any bridges, start sharing. Let everyone you currently work with know your big dreams. For example, if you are working in a clinic tell all the staff, MD’s reps that come in, patients, etc. that someday soon you will be opening a private practice. Most people will share in your excitement and ask questions and want to hear about your journey along the way. People genuinely want you to be successful and want to help you get there.
Bootstrapping At The Beginning of Your Private Practice
Yes, we all went the pretty desk and a fully furnished office of our dreams. I had a Pinterest page dedicated to my dream office when I was in the beginning phases. You will get that dream office! And when first starting out, let’s be smart about money and not go for the $400 chair when you have a perfectly amazing office chair at home that can live in your office right now for FREE.
Start off sharing an office! That was the greatest and most cost-effective way of having an office I have found. It was a bit cheaper than renting an office by the hour. Next, see what are your 100% must-haves to start seeing clients. It might not be a huge list and it might just be a few things that you already have and with sharing an office with another practitioner you just might have everything covered.
The next biggest cost is your marketing budget. I have a whole series of marketing tips and how to fill up your private practice with clients, you can read the first article, Common Mistakes of Marketing to get started. There are tons of ideas and examples on how to market for free and how to get the word out about your practice to the right clients.
With a planned out exit strategy and keeping the costs down, in the beginning, there is NO reason you can’t start building your dream practice right now! This means you can start making money doing what you love.
And if you are feeling like you need more support join me on the Fearless Practitioners Facebook Page where you can ask questions, test out new ideas for your business and get support as you build your dream private practice!
Adrien Paczosa is a Business Strategist for Private Practice Owners and Dietitians and helps them grow and scale their practices to six and seven figures. She is the founder of Fearless Practitioners, the division of her business that offers business training and coaching to private practitioners, dietitians and wellness professionals.
Adrien is a Registered and Licensed Dietitian, owner of iLiveWell Nutrition, her private practice with two locations in Austin, Texas and the surrounding counties.
Learn the Foundations of a Private Practice, a mini course that walks you through the MUST HAVE foundations for starting a profitable private practice.