My hope is that this last part of this series will help you see a light at the end of the tunnel, if you made mistakes in your private practice. Some mistakes may be causing your business to grow a lot slower than you would like. Other mistakes may cause you to fear that you will have to close your business doors. There are many problems that could happen in a business. Let’s look at a few fixes for a variety of private practice problems.
Example Problems:
Losing money because you don’t really understand how to bill insurance
Clients come but they don’t seem to stay
Started a new private practice but no idea how to get clients to find you
Bought a second practice location before you could really afford it
Hiring the wrong professionals for your team and it’s causing your business reputation to suffer
Example Fixes:
Breathe and Focus
You can get into such a state of worry, about how you will fix your problems, that you only increase your stress and confusion. You can’t concentrate on problem solving strategies because you are too focused on everything that seems to be going wrong. Sometimes the worry is paralyzing and gives way to the idea that you can’t do this after all. None of this is productive. Sure, it is natural to acknowledge that you made some missteps that seems to be creating business challenges, but now is not the time to stand still and do nothing. Inhale, exhale, and reset.
Use a Life Line…Get Help
If you find yourself in a bind because of your business missteps, this is probably a good time to get help from a professional. Depending on your business challenge, this could be using a training course, accountant, billing company, lawyer, marketing strategist, or a different type of professional.
I know this is a very straight forward fix but so many professionals struggle at this point. I have heard many reasons why someone could not get help. Many of these reasons came down to financial strain. If the main reason you are not getting help are financial reasons, this is really a time to re-assess what you are willing and able to do as a business owner. Getting help doesn’t always mean tons of money but don’t neglect the fact that at certain times you will need to spend money in order to make money.
Look at every line of your spending. Do you see any place where you can cut something out of your budget and reallocate the funds to help you get the business help you need?
The People On Your Team
Sometimes clinical passions change and clinical skills, when not kept fresh, wane. Sometime the challenge is in your customer service practices. Customer service and clinical practices are reflected through client retention rates. If you notice that your once successful business has started to lose clients, take a look at the team of people working in your business, including yourself, to see if there are any noticeable changes in the way things are being done. Choosing the right professionals for your team can take time. Removing the wrong professionals takes confidence.
Moving On
“You’ve gotta know when to hold ’em, know when to fold ’em, know when to walk away, know when to run…” Who remembers this Kenny Rogers song? Well Kenny wasn’t talking about running a business but there is a nugget of wisdom in that part of the song.
If you are totally honest with yourself, do you see yourself doing this for another 5 years? What if you could make this a success with just 1 more year of hard work? Are you still all in or are still not impressed? Last question, when you think about working for someone else, retiring, or starting from scratch with something new, do you light up with joy?
In some cases, the fix is treasuring the good times and allowing yourself to walk into the next season of life.
In case you missed it –
Part I Private Practice: Foundation, Services, and Fixes
Part II Private Practice: Foundation, Services, and Fixes