5 considerations to make before starting a solo practice

Running your own solo business or practice has numerous benefits; you make your own times and goals, and are responsible for all outcomes. Although, before starting your own business there are a number of key considerations you must make. It is essential that you know the market you are entering and have some level of experience within it. You must have the financial security to get your business up and running and make sure you’re not breaching any laws. Last but not least, make certain that you are mentally prepared for the challenges that you will face. Here are 5 handy considerations to make before venturing into the relatively unknown.

Decide if you’re ready

It is essential to make sure you’re ready to start your own business. You’ll need to weigh up the costs and benefits, pros and cons. A major benefit involves being your own boss, being able to set your own tasks, goals and responsibilities. So ask yourself, “am I ready for this?” Because you’ll need to be able to self-regulate, and balance your time well to get everything done on your own. Costs other than the obvious finances, which will be covered later, are largely time based. If you currently have multiple obligations, it may not be the best time to start up your business, as it can be a time consuming process.

Do your market research

One of the most important things to do before starting a solo practice is market research. Having a good understanding of the market, the current leaders in the market and even past and potential changes, is a great way to find gaps you might be able to fill. Also searching for similar practitioners in your desired work area early on will be very important, use Google and White Pages as not all will have websites. In differentiating yourself, an example may be that if the market is all very business and authoritarian, it could pay to take a lighter spin and be the more accessible, friendly provider of your service or product. If you find that someone else had the exact same idea, you may be able to find flaws or gaps in their business, so you can come up with a more unique idea. Setting up a point of difference in the market for your business is essential.

Look at your experience

If you currently work in the industry that you plan on starting a business in that’s great! You can draw on your experience as a foundation to decide what can make your business better. Even if you haven’t been a manager you can observe your current or past managers and see what works for them, what fails miserably and how to deal with those issues. If you don’t have any relevant experiences as a worker, taking a consumer’s perspective is a good idea- what would you like in the industry? How would you like it done? What could there be more of? What could there be less of? These are great questions to help you start a business plan with only experience as a consumer.

Understand the financials

A business is a large investment; it is possible to start with no money though this is risky and not recommended. Producing your service ‘on demand’ is your best way to save money, make your practice available only when interest and appointments are in blossom and take advantage of sessional rental setups to avoid ‘overstocking’ your expenses. By doing this you can start the bulk of your business over the phone or on the internet where possible.

Know your legal limitations

All health professions will have some unique limitations so it is of paramount importance to understand your own. In general, if you plan on retaining a current job to supplement your initial practice efforts, or you are using a business idea that is  idea is very close to someone else’s, getting some legal advice on whether you’re breaching any conflict of interest or copyright laws is necessary. If you’re not sure, always seek legal advice, you don’t want to get in a lawsuit that could damage the name of your business (and bring in painful, unwanted costs) before even starting.

Need assistance getting the first ‘push’ for your business?

Starting a business is not all about costs and risks, one of the most cost effective and also cornerstone parts of running a practice will be your own branded website, which ensures new informed interest comes in. Psych Press and Career Exchange have assisted with the implementation of online platforms and websites for many years, and have experience in the planning, strategising, marketing, designing and most importantly – execution of effective websites. For a confidential discussion about your needs, call 03 9670 0590 or email info@careerexchange.com.au and we can discuss what we’re able to achieve for you!