Many practitioners talk frequently about “going to the next level” but sometimes find the idea daunting. But what exactly makes them hold back from “going for it”?
If you have been thinking that you should “take the leap” and go to the next level, the first thing to consider is: What does that exactly mean to you? There are many aspects of a practice that could fall into that.
Things to Consider:
- Do I sink more money into the practice?
- If I do sink money into it, will I recoup the investment long before I retire and sell the practice?
- Do I actually need to expand my premises or delivery space or is there a better way to configure or utilize what I have?
- Should I get an associate?
- Do I have enough business to have an associate and keep them busy?
- If I were to improve my scheduling and increase my marketing, can I handle it all by myself rather than hiring an associate?
- Am I short staffed or overstaffed?
- Is there a better way to utilize my staff’s abilities?
- Should I increase my fees?
- Should I cut out most of the discounts I give?
- What do I want and how big is “big”?
All are valid points and you need to find out the data before you can make a decision. You need to have enough data to evaluate as to whether this is really the direction you want to go.
Location, location, location
For instance, for some professions taking on more space is not a huge expense while in others it can be very, very dramatic. Before you even start to consider expanding your location, have you actually maxed your production within the framework of your existing practice? If you haven’t, then that would be the first thing to do. This doesn’t necessarily mean working harder … just working smarter with what you’ve got.
Staffing
Do you have enough staff to go to the next level? Could their functions be rearranged a bit to allow for more productivity without adding more people.
Scheduling
Frequently, practitioners and their staff benefit from guidance on how to better schedule their Ideal Days, and this can result in more hourly production without expanding anything.
Enough Marketing?
Are you doing enough marketing to generate enough new patients to keep you fully booked? And then, could you fill up an associate? Before you go expanding the operation, you first want to ensure that you are as fully booked as possible.
Mentor
“Take it to the next level” is more often saying, “I’ve grown it as much as I can and don’t know where to go next.” In that case, perhaps you need someone to mentor you and guide you in “outside the box thinking”. This should be someone with some serious management training and experience in your profession and in the most up-to-date and ideal ways to grow practices. Every great practice, just like every top athlete, has a coach to push you to new levels and standards.
