After you have finalised (or semi-finalised) your decisions from the first six steps, it’s time to put it all together in your business plan.
Your business plan should articulate your short and long term strategy, and have details on marketing, staffing, and patient retention plans, as well as how you will get your practice up and running and meet your financial forecasting.
This document demonstrates your organisational and planning skills to key stakeholders, and is essential to have if you intend to secure finance for your practice.
To complete everything you will most likely need to enlist some specialist input from accountants, financial planners, and legal advisors. Our suggestion is to surround yourself with subject matter experts, and reach out to other people in your network who have started and ran successful medical businesses for advice.
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There are many ways to create a business plan for your practice, and no two plans are the same. To get you started, we’ve collaborated with some of our practice owners to get their collective advice on assembling a business plan checklist for you. We have broken this checklist template down with the following segments:
Business Summary
Your business summary is something that is usually written last. It is a short overview of the information following in your business plan and should be no longer than one page. Many people write this piece last, after all the information in their business plan has been collated.
Here’s what should be included in your summary:
- Brief business overview
- Business owner/s biography
- Products and/or services offered
- Competitive advantage
- Operational performance
- Financial position
Business Profile
The Business Profile should include an overview of all the details about your clinic. It should include the why, where, and what.
- Vision, mission, values
- Location
- Trading Hours
- Services: in-house/onsite/other
- Service fees: Billing model, bulk billed/mixed pricing
- Accreditation
Location
This segment of the business plan outlines your practice location (either something you have already secured, or your ideal location. You might want to consider including floor plan and any other location based documents in your appendices section.
Outline the following:
- Location address
- Location description
- Buy / Build / Lease (what have you done/what are your intentions)
- Sub letting opportunities – are there any opportunities for allied, pathology, pharmacy
- Fit out and design plans and costs
- Parking: Patients, staff, practitioners
- Access: Public transport, foot traffic, disabled, ambulance
- Area demographics
- Area-based future developments
- Area competition
Marketing Strategy
The Marketing Strategy outlines everything from branding to advertising. How are you going to get new patients coming through your door? What is your branding strategy? Where do you sit in the market?
- Practice name
- Practice brand
- Logos
- Target market demographic (should tie in with segments of the area demographics)
- Unique value proposition
- Website
- Advertising and promotions (online, offers, affiliations)
- Launch plan
- Post-launch plan
- Marketing goals
Competitive Analysis
The competitive analysis section needs to demonstrate the depth of your understanding of the environment you will be opening a practice in. Your competitive advantage should also outline how your clinic is different and why patients will choose you instead of your competitors.
- Opportunity assessment
- Demographic review
- Supply vs demand
- Direct competition list (include services offered, location, pricing etc)
- Your competitive advantage
Business Structure
- The Business Structure demonstrates how the business is/will be legally set up and should indicate that you have ongoing legal expertise to ensure the stability of your practice.
- Ownership
- Growth flexibility (unit trust/partnership etc)
- Exit and succession planning
- Legal framework (Eg: Unit holder agreement)
Supplier Breakdown
In this section, outline the different suppliers you intend to form agreements with for your practice. Include an overview, details of goods, and basic pricing/contract arrangements.
- I.T. hardware and support
- PMS vendor
- Online booking system
- Medical equipment
- Medical consumables
- Stationary and amenities
- Legal
- Accounting
- Banking
Staffing
The Staffing section is an overview of the strategies you will use to attract and retain staff, practitioners, and list any key staff you already have on the team.
- How will you attract practitioners
- Practitioner remuneration (wages vs contractor and billing %)
- How will sessions be rostered
Insurance
Medical practices need very comprehensive insurance. In this section outline the cover you have for the piece of mind for your financiers and stakeholders.
- Public liability
- Professional indemnity
- Directors liability
- Keyman
- Workers compensation
- General insurance
Financial Planning
The Financial Planning section should demonstrate that your business is financially viable. Include comprehensive outlines and numbers for the following:
- Budgets: Setup and operating costs
- Funding needed/secured and sources
- Profit and loss modelling
- Tax planning
Phew! Still with us after all that? There’s a lot that goes into creating a solid business plan. Fortunately we’re the experts, and we can help you get things right from the start. Download our Business Plan Checklist or find out more about how HealthEngine’s suite of tools can help grow your new practice.
