How to Create a Private Practice Business Plan in 6 Easy Steps

If you’re planning to open a new private practice, you definitely need a solid foundation to get started.

And without a doubt, the best foundation is a detailed, action-focused private practice business plan.

That’s because a private practice business plan outlines the most important elements of successfully opening and growing your private practice, from your mission all the way to the actions that will help you achieve your business goals.

If, however, you haven’t written a private practice business plan before you might be unsure where to start or what to include.

Well, worry not - we’ve got you covered!

In this article, you will learn everything about creating an effective private practice business plan, including:

• Starting a New Private Practice: Why Do You Need a Business Plan?
• 6 Key Elements to Include in Your Private Practice Business Plan
• Private Practice Business Plan Sample

And more!

Starting a New Private Practice: Why Do You Need a Business Plan?

Your private practice business plan acts as a strategic tool that defines the steps you need to take to grow your private practice and helps keep you focused on your business goals.

If you aim to establish and manage a private practice effectively, understanding the legal foundation of your business structure is crucial. For those planning to set up in Texas, here's a comprehensive guide to starting an LLC, covering all necessary steps from selecting a registered agent to creating operating agreements.

For this reason, having a clear and detailed private practice business plan is vital to starting a successful private practice.

Essentially, a private practice business plan can help you to:

• Define your private practice’s mission and values
• Determine and achieve your business goals
• Create an effective growth strategy
• Identify your business’ strong and weak points
• Make strategic business decisions
• Plan and track your finances

Not to mention, a well-written private practice business plan can also help you attract investors and get a small business loan.

6 Key Elements to Include in Your Private Practice Business Plan

Your private practice business plan should be tailored to your medical practice, so there is no single right way to create a private practice business plan.

That being said, here are the 6 most important elements that should be included in any private practice business plan:

#1. Mission Statement

Your mission statement is a key element of your private practice business plan that defines your practice’s purpose in just a sentence or two.

As such, a clear mission statement can help you stay focused on your mission, especially in the face of setbacks and professional challenges.

So, here are some questions that can help you define your private practice’s mission:

• What motivates you to start your private practice?
• What do you want your private practice to be known for?
• How will your private practice help others?
• What personal values guide you towards your mission?
• What sets you apart from your competition?
• What medical issues and concerns do you help people with?

For example, if you’re starting a physical therapy private practice, your mission might sound something like this:

“My physical therapy private practice’s mission is to provide outstanding patient care and help my patients to heal and recover after sudden injuries in a safe and compassionate environment.”

#2. Private Practice Business Description

The next essential step of your private practice business plan is to come up with a business description.

Essentially, your business description provides a general overview of your practice, which includes the following details:

• Your general medical practice area (e.g. physical therapy)
• Your niche as a practitioner (e.g. sports physical therapy)
• Your treatments and approaches (e.g. aquatic physical therapy)
• The main demographic groups you work with (e.g. athletes)
• The number of weekly patients you’d like to see
• The number of your current patients (if applicable)
• The number of staff members (if applicable)
• Any special skills that you use in your practice, such as foreign languages

Of course, make sure to customize your business description and include any other details that may be relevant to your private practice.

#3. Business Goals

Defining your business goals is perhaps the most important element of your private practice business plan, as it helps you to plan your future growth.

It’s best to define your business goals for a specific time period, such as a year, to make sure you don’t lose focus and meet your deadlines.

Here are some ideas to help you define your goals:

• Financial goals, e.g. “Generate $20,000 in profit by January of next year.”
• Client goals, e.g. “Expand my current client base by 15% by next January.”
• General business goals, e.g. “Start providing telemedicine services by November.”
• Professional goals, e.g. “Pursue continuing education in special needs physical therapy.”

Generally, it’s a great idea to use a checklist to help you see whether you’re moving towards your goals.

When it comes to financial and client goals, however, your best option is to track your business’ performance with healthcare KPIs and metrics.

#4. Financial Plan

Another key element of your private practice business plan is a financial plan that outlines your expenses and estimates how much revenue your private business should generate.

Here are some of the costs you might want to consider:

• Office rent and utilities
• Equipment price
• Software fees
• Salaries
• Marketing expenses
• Office supplies

Calculating your expenses will help you determine your monthly and annual expenses, allowing you to estimate how much income your private practice has to generate each month.

This will also help you to set financial goals and determine the minimum number of clients you should aim to see each day.

For example, if your financial goal is to make $150,000 per year and you charge $125 per session, here’s how you’d calculate how many clients you should see in a day:

$150,000 / 12 months = $12,500 per month

$12,500 / 4 weeks = $3125 per week

$3125 / 5 days = $625 per day

$625 / $125 (charge per session) = 5 sessions per day

Now, you’re likely to run into unexpected expenses or take a few days off of work, so this calculation isn’t entirely accurate.

Nevertheless, it gives a rough ballpark of how many clients you should see in a day to reach your financial goals.

#5. Marketing Strategies

Effective marketing is crucial for your private practice’s success as it helps to attract more patients.

For this reason, it’s important to map out your marketing strategies in your private practice business plan.

Here are some marketing strategies you should consider:

• Paid advertising, such as Google Ads and Facebook Ads
• Healthcare SEO
• Weekly newsletters
• Collaboration with other relevant local businesses (e.g. if you’re a physical therapist, you might want to collaborate with local yoga studios, gyms, pools, etc.)
• Traditional marketing, such as client referrals, programs, radio and TV advertisements, and print advertising

#6. Action Plan

Once you’ve decided on your marketing strategy, you can create a tangible plan that outlines the steps you need to take to implement it successfully.

If you’re focusing on digital marketing, for example, the action plan in your private practice business plan should look something like this:

• Create a website and set up a blog
• Create a Facebook page
• Brainstorm content ideas
• Plan a content calendar
• Write a draft of your first article
• Review and edit the article
• Post the article on your blog
• Promote your article on your Facebook page
• Boost your Facebook post with Facebook Ads
• Track your marketing campaign progress

If you don’t have experience with marketing, however, your best option would be to hire a digital marketing agency.

This ensures that your marketing efforts will be effective and help you save time, so you can focus solely on your patients.

Similarly, you can also use an action plan to outline the steps you need to take to achieve your business goals.

Private Practice Business Plan Sample

Here’s a private practice business plan example that contains all of the key elements mentioned above as well as some additional details:

Private practice name:

Bright Smile Dental Clinic

Location:

New York City, NY

Website:

www(dot)brightsmiledentalclinic(dot)com

Date of this plan:

February 22, 2024

The mission for my private practice:

My mission is to provide top-quality dental care to children in a relaxed environment and inspire them to lead a healthy lifestyle that helps to maintain excellent oral health.

My private practice business description:

My general medical practice area is dentistry and I specialize in pediatric dentistry. I practice a holistic dentistry approach that focuses on the relationship between oral health and general health, diet, and lifestyle.

I mainly work with children under the age of 12. Although I currently see 20 patients per week on average, ideally I would like to see 30 patients per week.

I am also trained in special needs dentistry. Besides English, I can provide dental care in Spanish and Portuguese.

My business goals:

• Expand my current client base by 30% by the end of the year.
• Write an eBook on children’s dental care by January next year.
• Generate $70,000 in total income by March of next year.

Financial plan:

My monthly expenses include:

• Office rent and utilities - $2000
• Software fees - $250
• Marketing expenses - $2000
• Office supplies - $150
• Accounting/legal - $500

Total expenses: $4900 / month or $58,800 per year

To cover up my monthly expenses, I need to earn $245 per day (or see 5 clients each day):

$4900 / 4 weeks = $1225 per week

$1225 / 5 days = $245 per day

$245 / $50 (average charge per visit) = 4.9 visits per day

To reach my financial goal of $70,000 in total income, I need to earn $291.66 per day (or see 6 clients each day):

$70,000 / 12 months = $5833.33 per month

$5833.33 / 4 weeks = $1458.33 per week

$1458.33 / 5 days = $291.66 per day

$291.66 / $50 (average charge per visit) = 5.82 visits per day

Marketing plans:

My marketing efforts will be focused on:

• Digital marketing, including dental healthcare SEO and paid advertising.
• Networking with local schools and kindergartens.
• Networking with other pediatric practitioners in the area.

Action plan:

To achieve my business goals, I will:

• Invest in digital marketing to expand my client base and boost my income.
• Network with local education facilities and businesses to attract more clients.
• Start writing my eBook on children’s dental care.
• Write one chapter each month.
• Publish my eBook on Amazon.

To implement my marketing plans, I will:

• Hire a digital marketing agency to update my website and social media accounts, manage healthcare SEO as well as paid advertising.
• Reach out to local schools, kindergartens, and other local pediatric practitioners for networking and referral opportunities.

My strengths as a practitioner and a private practice owner:

• 8 years of experience in pediatric dentistry.
• Foreign languages, including Spanish and Portuguese.
• Trained in special needs dentistry.
• The holistic dentistry approach sets me apart from my competition.

My weaknesses as a practitioner and a private practice owner:

• Little digital marketing knowledge - need to hire an agency.
• Basic accounting knowledge - might need to hire a freelance accountant.

Opportunities for my private practice:

• There is 1 kindergarten, 1 primary school, and 2 middle schools in the area where I could advertise my services.
• There is just one other local dentist that works with children.
• There are no other local dentists who speak Spanish, Portuguese, or have training in special needs dentistry.

Threats to my private practice succeeding:

• Parents may be discouraged by my holistic dentistry approach - might need to educate the public about the benefits of the holistic approach to dentistry.
• Might be difficult to attract clients as the other pediatric dentist in the area has been in business for over a decade.

Practice Management Software for Your New Private Practice

Looking for the best all-in-one practice management software for your new private practice?

Medesk is an easy-to-use integrated practice management software that combines all the essential medical tools you need to manage your private practice, such as:

• EHR - conveniently and securely store, organize and manage your electronic patient records.
• Medical billing - effectively track and manage all patient payments, produce invoices, handle claims, and create automated financial reports.
• Reports and analytics - generate reports and track your private practice’s performance directly in your PMS.
• Consultation form templates - upload images directly into the patient record, easily send digital prescriptions, and take consultation notes faster than ever before.
• Medical CRM - improve patient satisfaction, reduce appointment cancellations, and provide an excellent patient experience.

And many more!