Starting a business is a big step in our lives, and if it in the medical industry it is even harder due to the steps you need to take. The process of starting a business involves a ton of hard work, research, and coming up with a great idea.
The fact that more than 50% of small businesses fail within five years tells us that many people quickly jump into the process without doing too much research.
However, in this article, we will focus on starting a physical therapy business. It is a business that has constant clients and the trend will continue to rise since people nowadays don’t exercise as much as they need for a healthy life.
Let’s jump into the process.
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Market Research
It isn’t possible to start a business without thorough market research, and the same thing goes for starting a physical therapy business. There are a few things you need to pay attention to before you decide to launch your business.
First of all, you need to know your patients and the type of physical therapy do they need. You cannot base your business idea on global trends, since the situation in your location can be different.
You should also take a peek at your competition. You can learn a lot from already established physical therapy clinics such as this Miracle Physical Therapy Clinic in Michigan.
Additionally, you need to research your competitors and find a location that is great for your clients.
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Choose a Physical Therapy Niche
Since physical therapy involves many procedures, it is best if you focus only on one niche. This means that it is better to focus on pediatrics or geriatrics.
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Choose if You are Going to Launch a Cash-Based or Insurance-Based Business
Since you are starting a medical institution business, you need to decide how are you going to run it. Your first decision should be choosing whether you are going to go for cash services or insurance companies.
There are many advantages and disadvantages to both models and choosing the best only depends on the type of business, location, and type of patients.
Based on previous examples, the best way is to go for insurance contracts since you’ll get access to many customers that are redirected to your business from their doctors. However, running with insurance companies will decrease reimbursement rates, and lowers your income.
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Understand Your Legal Liabilities
The situation gets a bit difficult when it comes to HIPPA. Every country has different legal liabilities that physical therapy businesses need to fulfill before they start. The best way is to go for an attorney consultation, but if you cannot afford it, make sure you follow all the rules that are presented by your government.
Make sure you dig deeper into this process since it can end up costing you a lot more down the road.
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Make a Business Plan
Now since you got the right idea about your business, it is time to put that onto paper and find out how all the procedures will work. Making a business plan means that you need to highlight all the business procedures from start to finish. It is the only way to ensure that everything goes smoothly after launch.
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Secure Financing
Finding the necessary finances should be a part of your business plan. Securing the amount of money needed for your business is a crucial part of the process.
There are a few places where you can look for funding, such as:
- Angel investors
- Banks
- Friends
- Family members
Most businesses are financed by banks, but take the rate into consideration and make sure you can make profits while paying the interest to the bank.
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Hire the Right Staff
Now since you planned everything, it is time to find the right people. Even if you finished physical therapy education, you still need a couple of employees that will take care of other things in the company.
Make sure you go for quality over quantity. It is much better to find physical therapists that are good at their job, and pay them more money, rather than hiring someone that will scare away your customers.
