Yes, You Really Do Need a Business Plan

This article is Part 1 in my series on writing a business plan for your private speech, physical or occupational therapy business.

In this article I’m going to convince you that you need to write a business plan and then in Part 2 I’m going to show you how to write one.

The 5 Key Components of Your Private Practice Business Plan

Writing a physical, occupational or speech therapy business plan will help you envision the future as well as the steps needed to reach your goals.

Getting the following aspects of your practice down on paper will help you achieve your goals:

• Develop a vision. Think about what your practice will be like when it’s up and running. What will your daily life be like? Will you have your own office space or see private clients in their homes? What kinds of patients will you treat?
   
• Conduct market research. Is there a high need for your services in your area or the types of services you provide? Perhaps there are many private schools in your area that don’t offer therapy services. Or maybe you know that the predominant health insurance company in your area doesn’t cover a certain disorder.
  
  
• Analyze your competition. Pretend you’re a patient looking for services to help you figure out who your competition is. Who are the other clinicians practicing in your area? What are their specialties? Try to find out how much they charge and what kind of reputation do they have. You can find this out through a Google search, perhaps making some calls and asking around.
   
• Set financial goals. Set bench marks for yourself in terms of how much money you want/need to make. How many billable time slots do you have available and how many clients will you need to take on to reach your goals? Remember that you’ll need to include expenses in your calculations (office space is expensive- if you’re planning to rent space- you’ll need to see a lot of patients!)
   
• Create a marketing plan. Many therapists are afraid to market themselves. Marketing is not bad or dirty! You need to focus on building relationships with other professionals who will refer to you as well as getting your name out to the public. You might want to focus on developing your website, sending out postcards, doing some guest speaking engagements or free screenings to help build your client-base.

Here’s the deal with a business plan:

You need to write one.

It doesn’t matter whether you’re asking for money or not, showing it to anyone or just doing it for yourself: it’s a great exercise in building a firm foundation for your business and future success.

Just do it; it’s not that bad.

Better yet - I’m going to teach you how to write one next week. Stay tuned.

“How to Write a Business Plan: A Guide for PTs, OTs and SPLs” will feature on PutMeBackTogether Tuesday, March 15^th. 

About the Author: Jena H. Casbon, MS CCC-SLP spends her days treating adults with cognitive-communication disorders and her nights helping fellow speech, occupational and physical therapy providers start and grow their own private practices. Her company, The Independent Clinician, seeks to provide information, community and a confidence boost to those who want to get started treating privately but don’t know how.

Jena’s first book is available now: The Independent Clinician Guide to Private Patients. She is also finishing her second (yet untitled) book for SLP/OT/PT therapists on building a web presence (websites, social media and more) to grow their private practices.

Click here to read more about Jena Casbon, MS-CCC-SLP