The career goal of many physical therapists is to have their own physical therapy (PT) practice. While these professionals can create a practice from nothing, they should consider acquiring an established practice. Learn why physical therapists should consider buying an existing practice instead of creating a new one.
Begin With an Established Brand Image
The immediate benefit of acquiring a PT practice instead of building one from scratch is you can step into an established brand. One of the most difficult parts of starting a new practice, and any business in general, is making a name for yourself with marketing.
While you may have a different idea of what you want your practice’s brand to represent than the previous owner, you don’t have to spend resources establishing yourself through marketing. If the practice has been successful in its community for several years, you don’t have to worry about marketing as much. Instead, you can focus on other aspects like customer service, staffing, or physical expansion.
Retain Instead of Recruit Clients
The best reason physical therapists should buy an existing practice is that it comes with a reliable revenue stream and a roster of loyal clients. Perhaps the most difficult part of starting a new practice is recruiting clients and establishing a steady cash flow as fast as possible.
With a list of existing clients, the new owner only has to work on retaining their customers instead of spending money and time acquiring new clients. Every small business knows retaining clients is easier than attracting new ones. Creating a loyal roster of clients and having a steady cash flow are some of the most difficult parts of starting a new practice. Fortunately, acquiring a practice gives the new owner a head start.
Trained Staff and Proven Internal Processes
Buying an existing practice also comes with the advantage of bringing along experienced staff and a proven organization. Assuming the practice has been around for a few years, the acquisition will include staff who know the business and how to succeed.
Hiring reliable staff is another significant obstacle for new practices and businesses, but acquiring a practice means the new owner brings reliable staff with invaluable experience. As a new owner, you may want to bring employees from your previous practice, and you should. However, keeping key staff members from the old regime ensures organizational cohesion and client retention.
Get Started Immediately
When creating a private practice, you must do a lot of work before you can even consider attracting new clients. When closing on a PT practice purchase, you can get started almost immediately. The faster you start serving clients, the faster you can make profits or pay off any financing debt acquired during the purchase.
