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Starting Up Your Small Healthcare Clinic

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StrategyDriven Entrepreneurship ArticleIncreasing numbers of people are growing tired of working for someone else. Sure, employed life has its perks. Your employer takes responsibility over your safety and well-being in the workplace, they have to guarantee contracted hours (ensuring you always take home a livable pay packet), and you benefit from paid annual leave, sick leave, and parental leave. But it does grow tiresome building someone else’s dream on their behalf and only getting paid a portion of what they are gaining for your hard work. It’s not all too surprising that many people are turning to setting up their own businesses. Huge numbers of employees are becoming self-employed and heading to the world of E-commerce. This is a good idea – selling consumer products online can be extremely profitable and is a relatively simple path to pursue, as long as you have an innovative product concept. But it’s important to remember that this isn’t the only option out there. There are plenty of other paths you can follow when it comes to setting up a small business. One idea that you could undertake is setting up a small healthcare clinic. Here are a few of the basics you’d need to follow to do this!

Hire a Consultant

It is highly recommended that you hire a consultant who has dealt with opening medical practices before. There are numerous pitfalls that could get in your way during the startup process, so it’s a good idea to have someone on your side who can warn you of different steps that you need to take to be granted permission to open and operate your business.

Invest in High-Quality Equipment

One of the most expensive steps of setting up a private medical practice or clinic is purchasing the equipment necessary to treat patients safely. This will range from medical supplies such as needles, syringes, intravenous lines and solutions to furniture that can organise these supplies like Medical Supply Carts with Drawers.

Invest in Software

You will also have to invest in software such as electronic health record systems, practice management systems, medical billing systems, medical transcription software, background check systems, and credit card processors. This will all allow your staff to monitor patients’ conditions, keep records, and process payments.

Taking On Staff

You need to be extremely vigilant when taking on staff of any kind to work in your clinic. Medical staff must be fully educated, trained, and qualified to practice – you will require proof of this. Administrative staff must understand patient confidentiality and data protection law.

Marketing

You will have to market your small practice a lot in order to draw customers away from their current service provider. It’s generally best to collaborate with professional marketing services who can conduct market research and find the best way to reach out to your target demographic.

These are just a few brief steps that you should bear in mind when getting started on this journey. While setting up a small healthcare clinic isn’t the easiest of tasks, it can make you a whole lot of profit in the long run!

Getting Started with Small Business Protection

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Safety is paramount to the success of your business, which is why larger companies dedicate entire departments to protective measures. Small business owners don’t always have that luxury, leaving them to handle unique risks without a massive amount of protective resources. That creates a real challenge, one that can often lead to digital, physical, and even legal issues most are unprepared to handle.

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So, what can you do? Before leaving your failsafes and security protocols to the wind, check out these tips to help make protection a top priority at your small business. From simple office rules to management tools, here’s the ultimate safety strategy.

Get Rid of Personal Devices

Step one to your plan of action should be eliminating personal or bring-your-own devices in the workplace. This reduces the risk of weak links in your security plan, helping to keep the lid tight on your operations.

While this isn’t always possible, there are workarounds to achieve the same result. Instead of removing these devices from your place of business, adopt a universal security package for your employees. The usefulness of managing and auditing your entire IT infrastructure’s user access rights with a tool like SolarWinds can’t be understated.

Malware Matters

As tight as security may be on your employee end, the world of the web is a malicious place. Malware protection is a vital safeguard for your business, manning the front lines while data enters and leaves your servers. It’s still important to train employees on security and safety measures, but this set-it-and-forget-it protection is something you can’t do without.

Unique Passwords

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While this 90’s rhetoric shouldn’t need restated in 2018, the number of hacks from even seemingly airtight corporations in the past few years suggests that it hasn’t set in just yet. With a single data breach costing upwards of $1 million on average, this is one area of security you literally can’t afford to overlook.

Ensuring every member of your staff uses a strong password is crucial these days. Have them keep the word used unique, add numbers, and make sure they utilize symbols if possible for the best results. Also, it helps to have your employees change their password every six months to a year.

Physical Security

It isn’t something most business owners want to think about, but individuals within your operation can be just as dangerous as those on the outside. While it is important to trust your employees, it never hurts to utilize cameras and locks when possible. Plus, these tools are an excellent means of theft prevention.

Backup Your Data

From contracts to daily sales, today’s businesses record almost everything online. Technical malfunctions happen at the most inconvenient times, which is why backing up your data is essential. Instead of opting for pricey equipment, consider cloud storage as a frugal yet secure alternative. There are numerous cloud storage services available that can help you create “hard” copies of important information.

Insurance

Even if you’re in the earliest stages of operation, business insurance can save you an enormous headache. Depending on what your business entails, you may need varying types of insurance. Public liability, home business, and indemnity are a few popular examples. Regardless of which kind your business needs, protecting yourself in the event of a worst-case scenario is vital.
Other small business insurance needs include:

  • General liability
  • Professional liability
  • Errors and omissions
  • Owners policy
  • Workers compensation
  • Property
  • Home-based
  • Product liability
  • Vehicle
  • And business interruption

Physical Protection

No, not bodyguards. Physical protection and security come in a wide variety of forms. Each of which is equally as important as the digital ones you’ve set in place. A simple example would be ensuring that your brand is unique to avoid any litigation or legal ramifications.

Another example would be the use of physical documents for contracts and agreements. Aside from creating a professional look, it further protects agreements made between you, your employees, and your clients with a hard copy. Adding arbitration clauses to those contracts is another physical security measure that can prevent legal ramifications down the road.

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Finally, physical protection for a small business can be as simple as creating a safe work environment. Working to prevent accidents and encouraging non-discrimination as well as non-harassment policies might not be the first thing on your mind when the word protection comes to mind, but they are just as important as cyber security measures.

Protecting Your Business

Security isn’t something to take lightly in any business venture, but you don’t have to shell out your earnings on an entire department just to make sure your organization is protected. By following the tips and advice above, you can keep every aspect of your small business from digital to physical secure while keeping things affordable.

Common Disputes Between Business Owners

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StrategyDriven Entrepreneurship Article
 
It is perhaps inevitable that, at some point, commercial business owners will not see eye-to-eye with their peers.

After all, entrepreneurs are hyper-focused on their business. This tendency is usually positive, but can be problematic when it encounters the same level of hyper-focus from another business owner. Two individuals, with very different – but equally valid – points of view can collide, and the consequences of such disputes can be extremely problematic for both parties.

Below, we have outlined three key areas that tend to create conflict between two business owners, as well as pointing out how you can navigate such a scenario should you experience them over the course of running your own company.

Arguments over advertising

We’ve all seen adverts where businesses state why they are better than a competitor. Sometimes, the competitor in question is hinted at, using familiar language or catchphrases to make it obvious which competitor they are discussing. Occasionally, the reference to a competitor is far less subtle, and a brand will outright explain why they are better than The Other Business.

Let’s be honest, neither is ideal. While this type of advertising is seen as beneficial, drawing a direct comparison against rivals, it’s actually a tad reductive – and can create serious problems when the owner of the competitor sees the advice, and (somewhat understandably) is annoyed by it. To avoid this scenario developing, focus your advertising on your company and its benefits, allowing customers to draw their own conclusions about why your business is the best choice for their needs.

Arguments over land

The dividing line between where one business’ property ends and another begins can often be a source of aggravation between companies. This scenario tends to develop when boundaries between land are not clearly divided, and most companies operate on assumptions and agreement with their fellow business owners – which tends to work well, overall.

However, the issue is thrown into stark relief if you wish to expand your premises. Suddenly, the general handshake agreement of who owns what land becomes problematic, and can lead to arguments between business owners.

To avoid such a scenario, proper planning is everything; always ensure you work with specialists such as Cochran to map out exactly where you have permission to build, so there’s no room for argument from your neighbors in future.

Arguments over exterior frontage

If one entrepreneur works hard to ensure the exterior of their business is in the best possible condition, they will expect others to do the same. After all, the look of every business influences the aesthetics of an entire area. If one business isn’t keeping up with the overall presentation of their area – perhaps their paint is chipped, or their awning is torn – then it can feel like they are letting the side down.

If there is a business in your local area that is missing the mark on exterior presentation, you can make a few friendly suggestions on improvements – but the key word here is friendly. Try to keep in mind the fact that you don’t know what the finances of that businesses are like; they may be well aware of their poor exterior frontage, but don’t have the funds to rectify the issues. Instead, focus on your own business, and hope that customers will be inclined to do the same.

In conclusion

As the points above show, with the right attitude, and effective planning, many disputes can be avoided. By focusing on preventing arguments, you save time, hassle, and stress – and are even able to focus on fostering positive relationships with your fellow business owners.

7 Things to Consider When Expanding Your Business

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StrategyDriven Entrepreneurship ArticleThere is a small dilemma that most businesses face at some point, and that is whether or not to expand. If you try to expand too soon, you will end up failing to meet the increasing demand which can, in turn, harm your reputation. However, if you decide that you’re not going to expand just yet, it could lead to your competitors moving above you and gaining the ground that you were looking at yourself.

To stop your business from collapsing, you need a sturdy foundation. There are many ways to build this. Here are 7 points to help budding business owners expand their business for added growth.

1. Assess Your Key Performance Indicators

One way you can assess whether you’re ready for expansion or not is to check out your key performance indicators. These indicators help to tell you whether you are meeting your financial commitments and whether you are making enough profit to survive.

If you think you’ll need additional investment to expand your company, then these targets will also be something investors will look at when they decide to offer you money or not. If you find these targets are not being met, then you need to think about the long-term for expansion rather than right now.

2. Cash Flow

Expansion can be expensive, so you need to know that you can afford to do this while still maintaining the profits you need to survive. There are many ways you can fund your expansion. For instance, you can ask investors for additional cash, or you can plow your own profits into it. Whichever you choose, you need to make sure that you’re taking small steps. If you don’t, then you could run the risk of overstretching yourself and finding cash flow difficult.

After each period of expansion, you need to sit back and assess the outlook to make sure that your profits are still good. After a couple of months assessing your cash flow, you can then proceed to the next level of your expansion. Remember, be the tortoise, not the hare when it comes to business growth and expansion. Too quickly, and you run the risk burning out too soon.

3. Assess Your Needs

Before you can actually begin your expansion, you need to know what you’re looking for. This is where it can be very helpful to come up with a plan of action. In this plan, you can think about how you are going to expand, how it will take shape, and what you’re looking to achieve. You also need to have a set period of time set aside for this expansion, otherwise you could find yourself spending far longer than you should. As an example, if you’re looking to expand into online sales, then you need to know where your audience is and how you can attract them to your website.

Have a customer persona so that you know who you are targeting. Also, have the steps outlined so that you know the pathway to successful expansion. If your business needs extra labor, then be sure to spend time and money in this area, for example.

4. Logistics

With expansion should hopefully come growth, which is exactly what you want. However, this growth can sometimes cause you to have logistical issues. For example, if you’re making more sales, then you will need to have warehousing and shipping available that can accommodate this improved growth. One alternative is to visit companies such as those on this website where you can get other companies to arrange shipping and storage for you. Not only will this avoid the task having to find larger storage, but it will also mean you don’t need to hire additional staff.

Another option is to piggyback with another supplier so that they can store your products for you. This can often work well when you are considering a partnership with another company as part of your expansion plans.

5. Prepare for Additional Staff

It is likely that almost any expansion will require additional staff at some point. You need to think about this in advance, so you can make preparations for hiring additional staff and providing for their salaries. Alternatively, you could think about hiring freelance staff to take on some of the additional workloads. While this can be a good idea in many cases, you need to assess whether these types of workers will be beneficial to you in the long run. For example, although freelance workers will be a good idea for certain admin tasks or IT solutions, they may not necessarily work if you need people on site.

6. Do Your Market Research

While you may have the money to expand, you need to think about whether you have enough of the market to do so. To find this out, you need to do your market research and see if there are enough customers there to warrant an expansion. Look at your website analytics, for example, and see if you have more hits to your website than you can cope with order wise. Are you experiencing delays with your orders? Are you having to set up waiting lists for some of your products? If this is the case, then you have a good idea the expansion will work for you.

7. Marketing Adaptions

Once you’ve made this expansion, you need to think about attracting the customers to those areas of your business. If you’ve decided to expand in your horizons into the international markets, then you need to adjust your marketing to correspond with it. It means seeing where your international customers are, and how you can reach them. For online expansion, you might need to think about adding social media marketing to your strategy. These adaptations should have already been thought out during the planning stage, so you can also see how much you need to add to the marketing budget. This is also a good time to assess whether your competitors are also moving into these markets. If they are, and you may need to consider choosing different areas instead.

There are many things you need to consider when expanding your business. However, if you can plan your expansion properly and know your financial outlook is strong, then there is no reason why you can’t push ahead with the expansion plan.

5 Business Tips to Help Orthodontists Get More Clients

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StrategyDriven Online Marketing and Website Development Article, 5 Business Tips to Help Orthodontists Get More Clients

Whether you are a new orthodontist opening a dental office or want to increase the number of patients you see, implementing new marketing strategies will boost your revenue and growth. With so many dental clinics popping up, it is also an excellent way for dental specialists to stand out from the competition. Here are five business tips that will help orthodontists get more clients.

1. Build a Visually Pleasing and Informative Website

Did you know that about 90 percent of consumers visit websites before going to a local business? It is the best indicator as to why businesses need to pay attention to the aesthetics and engagement of their websites. Most especially in the healthcare industry, there is not enough consideration placed on website aesthetics even when it is the most significant avenue businesses have to convert their website traffic into patient sales.

A great example of such a website built for patients is Baum Orthodontics as the website is aesthetically pleasing and provides patient tabs that make navigation accessible.

2. Use Strategic SEO to Rank on SERP

When Google updated its search engine results page (SERP) algorithms, search engine optimization (SEO) was no longer an easy process as there are now more than 200 factors that web pages are scored. Optimizing pages using a variety of keywords is now a critical component to ranking which depends on authoritative backlinks, content variables, keyword clustering, user experience and page load speed. A local SEO strategy will also promote conversion rate optimization, which will boost your traffic in your local area.

3. Use Google My Business

As you are a local business, you must use Google My Business as Google Maps only displays the top three businesses in one-mile radius as there is a push for mobile accessibility. You want to claim your free listing and use location-specific keywords that show location like city or neighborhood dentist, long-tail SEO services like ophthalmology or specialty service and contact information that target customers searching for services.

4. Use Word-of-Mouth Advertising

Word-of-mouth marketing is one of the most influential advertising tools available whether it is from your patients or from comments on your social media page. Nine out of 10 consumers will trust a recommendation from a friend or family over another form of advertising. Their testimony will also convert a customer faster because of experience, which is something you would not be able to do in just one conversation. Set up a patient referral program to build your clientele as it will convert to sales quickly.

5. Use Pay-per-Click Internet Advertising

Pay-per-click advertising, such as Google AdWords, is a valuable tool that allows your keyword specific ads to appear on the same page as organic search results which helps if your page is not ranking because of SEO. You also do not have to buy the ads but rather pay a click-through-rate when a potential customer clicks on your advertisement.

Many of these marketing tips are affordable and easy to implement in-house. Even if you must hire a website or SEO specialist, the new patient return-on-investment potential is worth the investment.