You Don’t Need Doors On A Go-Kart!

I was reflecting on the ‘How to Grow Your Private Practice’ meeting that we had recently and thinking about how I could improve things.

We spent the morning talking about the most cost-effective way to get more patients and then in the afternoon we went through the importance of setting goals and having brand values and priorities that encapsulate what your practice stands for.

I thought that I could perhaps tone down the part about the goals and values.

You see, this is an area that I have spent a lot of time working on in my own practice, but that is because I want to develop a national brand and to grow my practice in to something that is bigger than myself.

However, I realise that this is not for everybody.

There are many surgeons who just want a more efficient and slightly busier private practice so that they can perhaps drop some sessions in the NHS, or maybe pay off the mortgage or send the children to private school.

Whatever the reason, they are quite happy to continue to be a sole practitioner and have no intention of having a significant number of staff or being in charge of a large team.

So, I though that perhaps my time spent on goals and values could be cut short and we could spend more time on the getting more patients bit.

However, my brother made a good point.

He said

it is like building a car

You can show people how to make wheels and doors and an engine, but you need to start off by deciding what sort of car you want to build.

Do you want a family saloon or a racing car?.  Because the parts necessary to build each of these are very different.

I mean, you don’t need to bother with doors if you are building a go-kart!

You need to decide what sort of practice you are trying to build.

If you are happy being an individual surgeon and are comfortable with what you are doing at the moment but just want a little more, then maybe you do not need to think too much about engaging in social media or developing referral partnerships with allied services.

However, if you want to leave the NHS and focus solely on building your private practice, then you might need to think more carefully about how you can develop and open up these other referral sources and avenues.

You reap what you sow

And the more time and effort that you put in to building your car, the more it will be worth when you sell it.

If you have the chassis of a mini with the body of a 4×4 and a motorcycle engine, don’t be surprised if no one wants to give you much money for it when you come to sell.

If you are interested in coming to the next meeting where will talk about how to go about systemising and streamline your private practice, then click here to join the Priority List and I will make sure that you know the details before anyone else and get the opportunity to take advantage of priority registration.