5 Tips to Start Executing your Business Plan

“Vision without Execution is Hallucination” – Thomas Edison

Every practitioner I have met in the last four years has had a pretty specific vision, either for their practice, or the type of role they would like to play in a bigger team. With the growth of interest in integrative and holistic medicine, many practitioners find themselves in a position where they can see colleagues being successful around them, but are struggling to make significant progress towards their own vision. Many of these practitioners have even written out a full business plan, a necessary first step. But implementing with confidence is crucial for forward progress, and here are a few tips to make it work.

1. Book time in your schedule to wear your manager hat. Practitioners lives are typically very full and busy, so booking time to be “the boss” and not “the doctor” is a crucial first step. This time of year can be crucial, patient volume might be down, use it to be constructive with your business.

2. Set micro-goals for the first quarter. To overcome inevitable speed bumps along the way, gain momentum by setting short term goals (daily then weekly) so you can start to get used to forward progress. This momentum will give you the confidence to take bigger and bigger steps.

3. Initiate systems for your team to implement. How could your current staff be used creatively to grow your business? Most practitioner see their front desk as a necessary part of infrastructure, but with an effective script and a call list (ideally generated by warm leads from you e-newsletter) could be a easy way to get more from your current resources.

4. Make connections. If your vision includes other practitioners, start looking for those people now. If you can surround yourself with the right people it gives an opportunity for collaboration and synergy, two powerful forces you really want on your side. Share your visions, they are inspiring! One of our clients, Dr Ellie Campbell, started a group of integrative practitioners in the Northern Atlanta suburbs with the specific goal of finding quality practitioners and enthusiastic “groupies” to be part of her expansive vision. It was my pleasure to be guest speaker at their 7th monthly meeting yesterday, and it was great to see like-minded people looking to make a difference.

5. Get some support. Your patients need a guide to venture out of their comfort zones and that is your job. Implementing will take you out of your comfort zone, so make sure you have someone who can help on hand. Make sure those whom you ask for help have the experience and empathy to be able to really help you. Our team at HPd would love to hear from you.