Establishing a small business requires planning and strategy across different parts of a practice. Small business and healthcare practices need to have a clear plan when it comes to finance, marketing, software, product selection and crisis management.
For many small business owners and healthcare practitioners, clinic finance can often be one of the more challenging parts of operation. There are many different considerations when it comes to building a practice that is financially healthy.
On the outset, this might seem overwhelming but it does not have to be. We’ve gathered business tips across different areas to help you grow your small business and provide your clients and patients with the best care possible.
Business Loans: What you Need to Know
The government offers a considerable number of small business loans, but navigating through the bureaucracy maze can be tough.
Generally, The Small Business Administration (SBA) is one of the first routes. Their primary loan program is the 7(a) loan program, which offers a maximum borrowing amount of $5 million for startup and new business funding.
For equipment loans, banks offer specialized loans. However, with strict lending policies in place, it can often be difficult for newer practices to attain equipment loans, compared to established practices. You can also establish a business line of credit by using a business credit card for general expenses associated with your small business.
The key difference between the two types is while you are limited to using an equipment loan for specific equipment, a business line of credit does not have that kind of limitation. Business credit cards are the best option for general day-to-day expenses.
Depending on your credit history and professional standing, a business acquisition loan is also possible. This is an option if you have an established practice and are looking to grow through acquisitions.
Depending on practice needs, business loans are an important part of your long-term financial plan, you can find further reading on business loans by clicking below.
Read MoreMaximizing Profits Ethically
Once your business starts making profits, it’s time to consider how to effectively use revenue ethically for growth and long-term sustainability. One of the best ways to do this is to sell products that you believe in that you would recommend to your patients or clients.
By having extensive knowledge of the products you choose to sell and providing tailored advice for patients and clients, you can continue to provide excellent care while getting products out there. You can also provide samples so your patients can try the products before they commit buying.
Asking for feedback throughout the patient journey and providing recommendations of full-sized products can help extend care even further. Quick surveys and one-on-one discussions are effective ways of capturing feedback and understanding which products clients are gravitating towards, and why. Share these responses with relevant product development teams to improve their offerings so you can offer patients the best standard of products possible.
Product displays and brochures are also instrumental in helping clients connect with the products.
All of these business tips are important in maximizing your profits while still providing patients and clients with the best care and service possible. By making products more visible and starting an open dialogue when it comes to feedback and improvement on product offerings, you can improve revenue streams without sacrificing ethics or quality.
Ethical profit maximization will likely be a focal part of your healthcare practice. To learn more about this subject, please click below.
Read MoreTax Write-Offs That Can Benefit Your Business
Like business loans, taxes can also be a tricky part of running and operating a small business. Understanding how write-offs are claimed and considering what aspects of your practice or business qualify is definitely a challenge.
While this list should not be used as a replacement for working with an accountant or professional, this can provide some advice for small businesses for making the most of their tax filings.
Common tax write-offs for small businesses are all expenses related to operations. Advertising and marketing expenses or physical signs and displays are a part of this. If you operate a small business from your home, expenses relating to this can also be included. And if you decide to pursue further education in an effort to grow your business, this is also considered a tax write-off, as do licenses and certifications. Other tax write-offs include transportation, office supplies, insurances, memberships to professional associations, legal expenses, and startup and expansion costs.
If you’re not quite financially ready to work with a tax professional, there are many software options available for tax filing. As your small business grows and your revenue stream stabilizes, you can begin to work with an accountant to protect your business through correct filing and categorization of write-offs.
Taxes can often be one of the more stressful parts of running a clinic, so it’s important to have a strategy in place that ensures your healthcare practice can navigate through it.
Please see additional resources about tax filings by clicking below.
Read MoreIncome Diversification
Income diversification is an important part of your financial strategy for your small businesses. A common trait among top entrepreneurs is that they do not keep their eggs all in one basket. Instead, they have multiple ventures that run concurrently. This ensures that even if one revenue stream ends, there are others that continue to run in the background.
Using your resources to the fullest can provide some steady cash flow. Automating processes and investing in technology can help cut out significant amounts of admin work, allowing your business to grow rather than get swallowed up in manual tasks.
The actual process of income diversification means different things for different small businesses. For some, it’s about investing in new sales and products. As your client and patient base grows, it’s still important to seek out new demographics. Not doing so can hinder business from growing because it doesn’t allow for new revenue to enter.
But what’s the most important way to diversify your income? Asking clients for feedback and opinions can help you identify market trends, gaps, and emerging issues that you can potentially address. By being proactive and maintaining client feedback, you’ll find that you learn more about what people want and adjust your offerings accordingly.
Income diversification is important for your practice’s financial stability and helps ensure that you have a viable practice that can continue to run long-term.
More information about income diversification for your practice can be found by clicking below.
Read MoreSoftware to Streamline your Business
One of the best business ideas to emerge in the last few years for healthcare practices is software for clinical work and billing. Easy to use, these types of programs allow healthcare practices to reduce manual work and provide quick and easy service to patients and clients.
Clinical software, for example, can be used for a variety of reasons to make administration and booking easier. The software allows clients to create appointments, automate reminders, and in some cases, provides the option to add the appointment to calendars. Patients and clients are far less likely to miss or forget appointments, while staff can reduce time spent doing administrative work and focus on other tasks.
There is also clinical software available to automate accounting and billing. This will allow your business to set up invoices and payments online, process insurance claims, and provide information on products and medications sold. Paired with analytics software, you can have a valuable window into patient or client behavior digitally and how you can improve your services to match their expectations.
Marketing software, such as CRMs are great for creating personalized advertising such as sending out tailored emails, newsletters, and promotions in a timely manner across clients.
More information about software, particularly clinical software and their usefulness in the healthcare settings, can be found by clicking below.
Read MoreMarketing Tips
Getting your business or healthcare practice seen through physical and digital channels is vital for the success of your small business. Social media is one of the most powerful tools for small businesses looking to grow, and there’s a reason successful entrepreneurs flock to these platforms.
Some social media tips for small businesses include a laser focus on Search Engine Optimization (SEO). By using keywords selectively, you can train Google to better recognize your page and bring it to the top of the results. Combining that with the power of social media platforms is the perfect way to draw clients in and provide valuable content.
Efforts can include leaving reviews on recommended products, joining online forums and groups for social media marketing, creating a social media presence for your practice, creating content such as videos and blogs for patients and hosting webinars.
Platforms like Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram are perfect for connecting with clients and patients and providing a central information hub. This, in turn, helps the platforms prioritize their algorithm with your small business or healthcare practice so that your ads are visible to more.
Marketing is an essential part of your business that will help draw patients in, as well as helping maintain a consistent level of patient retention for your healthcare practice.
You can find out more by clicking below.
Read MoreDigital Networking
Another important business tip: Do not try to skip networking. Networking is an absolutely essential tool for creating new client bases, connecting with other industry leaders, and growing your professional connections. Additionally, you can do a great deal of networking digitally online.
The easiest way to do this is either through joining relevant associations for your profession, or a general business owners association such as Business Network International (BNI) to meet people with similar backgrounds and interests. Websites related to your field also provide important research and connection tools to meet others in the same profession.
Social media websites such as LinkedIn can be an important resource for networking. You can learn more about the industry, provide advice, gain resources, and meet potential business partners and collaborators. Facebook also offers similar industry professional groups where you can read case studies, see firsthand examples of successful entrepreneurs and small businesses, and learn about small business ideas and trends.
Twitter and Instagram tend to be better for content, rather than networking. You can follow trend leaders and important people in the industry as well as news to learn more about current developments and research.
Once you’ve established these connections, keep that momentum going. Regular phone/Zoom calls and emails are a good way to get industry professionals together. It’s a great way to collaborate and learn, while still growing your business and understanding the experience of others.
Please click the button below to learn more.
Read MoreThe Benefits of Combining Aromatherapy with CBD Massage
By enhancing the effects of treatment through a combination of aromatherapy, naturally-derived analgesics, and the skin conditioning benefits of CBD, you can create a holistic treatment that soothes the mind and body.
Massage therapy is an important part of holistic treatment. Massage oil can provide a variety of benefits for mental wellbeing. It can help to calm and relax your clients, especially if combined with aromatherapy. Additionally, massage oils with plant-based analgesics can greatly assist with pain-relief.
Both aromatherapy and CBD massage therapy are examples of services that you can offer alongside your regular work. They are an added value that can help clients and patients feel their best while also providing the physical bodywork they need.
Ultimately, the purpose is to provide a personalized experience.. Helping them feel their best, both through your work and through additional services offered. With each service, consider how they will benefit both in the long-term and the short-term. A diverse selection of products and services can yield benefits for your practice.
You can find more information about the topic by clicking below.
Read MoreChoosing a Line of CBD Topical Products
Another important business tip is to make sure to do your research when working with partners. There are a lot of companies out there – some with better track records than others. Doing your due diligence before choosing partners ensures that you are not only protecting your clients and patients but also doing what is best for your practice.
Some questions you might consider include:
- What is listed on the product? Is it extensive, or does it seem a little too short?
- What kind of client services do they provide? Are they easily accessible? What is their communication like?
- Are they guided by a strong ethical code?
- What kind of expertise do people in the company have? What are their professional backgrounds like?
- What kind of vendor relationships do they have, and how far back do these go?
- Do they have a consistent research and development project in place?
- Do they have a commitment to sustainability?
While this isn’t an exhaustive list, consider this a short guide. This can help in the vetting process and can give you more confidence in the partners you choose.
With any product, especially massage oil and topical pain-relief products, it’s important to have trust in the business relationship. To have confidence that patients and clients will love the products provided and that you can recommend them with no doubts whatsoever. These questions can help in establishing that business relationship and understanding what value they will bring.
To learn more about choosing a partner for your business click below.
Read MoreChoosing the Right Pain Relief Products
When deciding which topical pain relievers to use in your practice, selecting products that have proven efficacy is incredibly important. Products need to have effective active ingredients that can deliver effective results for patients and clients seeking pain relief. But with many brands and ingredients to choose from, pickling the right pain relief products can be difficult.
Generally, there are three rules that can help your small business in overcoming this challenge.
These include choosing pain relievers that contain naturally-derived ingredients so there is no risk of unwanted side effects, are manufactured according to FDA quality standards, and that are exclusive to health and wellness practitioners.
Having this criteria as your guiding principle is the best way to choose a product you feel completely comfortable providing to patients and clients seeking effective pain relief.
Learn more about choosing the right CBD partner here. And to understand more about the process of choosing the best topical creams for your clinic, and what considerations need to be made, please click the button below.
Read MoreCreating an Emergency Plan
And lastly, as COVID-19 has demonstrated, having an emergency plan in place is necessary. This will look different for small businesses and healthcare practices depending on the region, client base, and services. However, there are basic guiding principles you can consider.
Your emergency plan should cover how employees will be briefed and transitioned depending on changes, what kind of services you’ll provide to clients and how you’ll provide them, and how best to mitigate damages in the short-term to ensure you remain operational.
Some of what your emergency plan should address includes:
- How to open your business safely, cleaning procedures and how staff will be distributed.
- What products and services can be taken online and how they can be offered.
- Determining emergency cash reserves and situations where they will be used.
- Identifying administrative work that can be transitioned to be done remotely, and what tools will be needed.
As events like COVID-19 have shown, it’s incredibly important for healthcare practices to be nimble, flexible, and embrace digital options where possible.
You can learn more about the subject by clicking below.
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