It’s natural to enter the final year of residency and begin wondering what you should do next. Many medical students contemplate whether to gain further training, join an established surgery practice, or enter into the world of academia. There are a plethora of options, so it’s important to evaluate your own personal values, goals, and career mission.
If you feel that you are fully engaged in your passion for cosmetic and reconstructive surgery and want to make a difference in patients’ lives you may consider starting your own practice.
Here some are key considerations and tips if you’re thinking of beginning your own plastic surgery practice.
Create a Vision That Matches Reality
Becoming the successful owner of your own private practice takes a massive amount of time, patience, energy, and money. Do not underestimate how difficult it will be. Achieving your goal will take time and it’s vital that you have a good support system in place. Do the numbers and consider your finances. Are you single or do you have a spouse who works? Do you still have a lot of medical school debt? Are your fresh out of school or have you gained experience and become established?
The vision that you create must match the reality of your situation. Do not expect something as significant as starting your own private plastic surgery practice to happen quickly. When you set your goals make sure that you have put them into five-year and ten-year plans.
Make an Airtight Business Plan
Once you are certain that your vision matches reality to map out a realistic timeline that includes expenses such as marketing efforts. Draft an executive summary that will be the framework for your business plan.
Basics of a business plan for a plastic surgery practice include the opportunity, target market, services offered, and sales initiatives. While the aesthetic industry has grown wildly popular, you’ll need to have an idea of how your practice will be different from others like it. Is there a niche market to capitalize on? What is the demographic of your area?
Make sure that you’ve researched how many other plastic surgery practices are in your area to get a handle on the competitive landscape. How can you build brand awareness based on your community?
No matter what the industry is, starting your own business comes with its own unique set of risks, however, the rewards can be extraordinary. Do not begin on the road to starting your own private plastic surgery practice unless you are confident that you have the patience, persistence, and business knowledge to bring you long-term success.
To learn more about Dr. Kenneth Hughes and bodylift surgeries. To see before and after pictures of bodylift patients.