Opening your physical therapy clinic is exciting, but the process of starting a business can be full of pitfalls. Making too many mistakes can tank your physical therapy clinic before it even has a chance to get off the ground.
That’s why we’ve created this list of common pitfalls. For a better chance of having a successful business, avoid these eight mistakes when opening your physical therapy clinic.
#1 – Failing to Have a Good Plan
How can you reach your goals if you aren’t clear on what those goals are or how you’re going to get there? Starting with a solid business plan is not just a good idea – it’s a crucial tool. Ensuring your physical therapy clinic can weather the first two difficult years that it typically takes for a new business to get off the ground.
Another important aspect of having a business plan is that it needs to be able to change and grow along with your business. Make it a point to go over your plan at least every six months to a year. Update it whenever it’s necessary to keep your physical therapy clinic on the right track.
#2 – Thinking Like a PT Instead of a Business Owner
You don’t want to forget everything you know as a physical therapist. However, as a business owner, you must have a completely different mindset and thought process. If you go into your new physical therapy clinic thinking only like a PT instead of a business owner, you are setting yourself up for failure.
In addition to being an exceptional physical therapist that your clients can trust, you also need to think about things like:
• Ordering supplies
• Marketing
• Managing your employees
• Following local and national regulations
• Budgeting
#3 – Paying Others to do Work You Can Learn How to do
While it may be tempting to pay experts to handle things like payroll and billing, the fees you pay for those services can add up quickly. How much more money can you invest in your physical therapy clinic if you learn how to do those things yourself instead of outsourcing those tasks to others?
The sweat equity you put into learning these tasks and doing them yourself can accelerate the success of your business. You can spend that extra money on things like marketing and updating your equipment.
#4 – Not Hiring the Right People
Whether it’s a receptionist, other physical therapists, or renting out space to people with complementary services like a massage therapist, every person your patients come in contact with is a representative of your brand. Hiring the wrong people can tarnish your brand in a way that’s difficult to recover from.
#5 – Not Putting Customer Service First
The amount of money you put into marketing or new equipment is irrelevant if your patients aren’t happy enough to keep coming back. Every time you interact with somebody in a professional manner – whether it’s a client, a doctor, or another person referring patients to you – make sure they leave that encounter with the best impressions of you and your physical therapy clinic.
#6 – Spending Too Much on Equipment
When you first open your physical therapy clinic, it can be tempting to buy all the latest equipment and focus on having the most up-to-date clinic around. Unfortunately, starting a business is an expensive endeavor, and spending too much money before your clinic even opens is a recipe for disaster.
Focus on getting equipment that is multifunctional when possible and considers buying lower-end or even used items to keep your initial costs down. As your physical therapy clinic becomes established and starts making a profit, you can invest some of that profit into upgrading your equipment.
#7 – Not Managing Your Money Properly
This is a no-brainer. Mismanaging your money is the easiest way to destroy your physical therapy clinic before it has a chance to get off the ground.
If you set up automatic payments for things like your internet, business insurance, or phone lines, monitor your bills so that you aren’t caught off guard by rising payments. Know how much you’re spending on things like office supplies and other consumable materials and talk to your suppliers to see if you can get better deals — every dollar matters.
#8 – Getting the Wrong Business Loans
The wrong business loan can set you up for inevitable failure. There are many different loan options these days. Choosing the right loan can be challenging to figure out what loan will be the best choice for your physical therapy clinic.
First Union Lending is here to help. They have nine different loan types and would love to talk to you about which loan is the best choice to help you start your physical therapy clinic.
Click here or call 863-825-5626 to talk to one of our loan specialists and start your business with the loan that’s best suited for your business needs.