
5 Tips for Growing and Managing Your Private Practice
Learn practical tips for effectively growing and managing your private practice, from demonstrating leadership to leveraging technology and delegating tasks.
Owning a private practice is incredibly rewarding, but it comes with its challenges. Practice owners are always hustling to stay ahead. Whether you’re starting out or seeking to strengthen a long-time practice, implementing these strategies aids in success. Here are five tips for growing and managing your private practice.
1. Delegate
Make employees feel valued by entrusting them with more responsibilities (and make yourself feel better by extension). Delegating allows you to concentrate on strategy and “big-picture” issues. At the same time, you build better and smarter workers by empowering them to make everyday decisions. Consider each employee’s strengths, then assign responsibilities accordingly. Provide clear guidelines, feedback, and what you expect. Delegating lightens your load while boosting productivity and morale.
2. Update
Technology is a great business partner. Upgrade tech that handles inventory control, client management, billing and sales, scheduling, and more. Make sure information is available to your team through cloud- and app-based systems. Even when they’re across the globe, employees will still know what’s going on and can help their coworkers and customers. Perform periodic audits to see how current systems are working out, upgrading your technology based on this data.
3. Find the Leaders
A strong management team is unstoppable. Identify employees with potential, offer mentorship and training opportunities to develop skills, and see how these team members react to challenges. Building a team that understands how your practice works means never having to micromanage. You’ll always have people in place who know what they’re doing. They’ll keep things chugging along, even when you’re not around.
4. Document Procedures
From onboarding new clients to handling billing to making purchases, write down how the private practice’s procedures should be properly performed. Step-by-step instructions ensure consistency and bring new employees up to speed. Make sure any basic questions about operations have an immediate answer, even when you’re off-site.
5. Plan for the Future
How does the future look? Plan for it so you don’t have to guess what will happen or what to do if things go poorly. A succession plan, for example, outlines who takes over certain roles (including your own) in case of retirement or if you have reasons to sell your private practice to someone who wants to keep the current staff. Draft contingency plans for every possible emergency or issue so employees know what to do.
Those are just five tips for growing and managing your private practice. Implement these suggestions to create a sustainable, thriving practice while gaining more time for strategic and personal growth.