Creating and growing a medical practice is no small matter. Unless you know other owners who are willing to guide you on the journey, it’s difficult to determine the best course of action from prior examples. For physicians who regularly rely on peer-reviewed publications, this can leave something to be desired.
Accordingly, here are 4 of the more common obstacles to growing a medical practice and how best to move past them.
1. Lack of Belief
Whether you’ve gotten stuck before launching your medical practice or it’s off the ground but stuck in neutral, a fundamental lack of belief could be holding you back.
Search for examples of success that you’ve achieved in the past. Know that you can move ahead successfully. Appreciate that everything in life is uncertain – not just your business – and that it’s necessary to push ahead despite that. That’s what courage is.
Don’t be as hard on yourself over past failings. Strive to do better in the future. By looking at life through this lens, you avoid staying stuck and failing to take action on your business venture.
2. Fearful of Expansion
When you’ve begun a small practice in larger premises, but you’re constantly waiting to take on a bigger team, it’s a problem.
For one thing, you could have become a victim of your own success. People who have liked the service and recommended the practice to friends and family may have swelled the number of patients. When you don’t have enough medical staff, it could be causing unnecessary strain on the employees. That cannot go on forever before overworked staff will consider leaving.
Set aside your fears with working with other medical professionals. Trust in their professionalism and training to get them through. Take on the people that you need.
3. Doubts Over Multiple Practices or Repeating Your First Success
When your medical practice is running successfully but it has reached its maximum potential due to size constraints, it’s time to consider opening a second practice.
Fears of whether you can repeat the current success may loom larger. This may surprise you if you’ve had zero difficulties with getting the first medical practice off the ground, fully operational, and profitable. Nonetheless, doubling down on that early success is a new step.
Put trust in the fact that you’ve developed a successful formula. Ask some of the staff to transfer to the new practice to ensure established systems and processes carry across seamlessly. Doing so will ease the fear associated with expansion.
4. Securing Sufficient Funding to Proceed
One of the best ways to secure funding is to look for a medical business loan. These types of loans aren’t available from every lender. Banks traditionally will shy away from complex or alternative businesses that they don’t fully understand. This is where companies like AdvancePoint Capital can be beneficial in providing funding for medical practices and related businesses.
Taking out a business loan for a medical-related venture provides the funding but also clarity on the monthly repayment schedule. This makes financial planning easier than it would otherwise be.
Not all obstacles to starting and successfully running a medical practice relate directly to the operational side. Handling personal doubts, developing confidence in your actions, and following through on initial plans all play a part in contributing to the likelihood of future success.