If you’re committed to scaling your practice you’ll need to put key strategies into place now to ensure successful growth. It’s important to implement the right growth strategies and goals from the onset, so your business has the tools to flourish into the future.

“Only those who risk going too far can possibly find out how far one can go.”

T.S. Elliot

Here are 5 tips to prepare for growth and effectively scale your orthodontic practice.

Understand your business

It might seem silly to presume you don’t know your own business, but it’s important that you understand every aspect of your business to ensure it’s set up for growth.

When you make the commitment to scale your practice you need to have a clear vision of where you are now, and where you want to be in the future. Your strengths and weaknesses need to be identified in order to prepare for the future and minimise hidden obstacles.

This growth mindset also needs to include your business values and identifying what are your non-negotiables as your practice grows.

Prepare a growth strategy

A growth strategy can help you clarify your objectives and plan for the long term, along with creating a timeline of the significant milestones you’d like to meet along the way.

To develop your growth strategy you’ll need to have a strong grasp of your business model, and a comprehensive understanding of your patients.

Your growth strategy should accompany a mission statement which outlines and encapsulates the goals and objectives of your practice.

Invest in the right people

I am convinced that nothing we do is more important than hiring and developing people. At the end of the day, you bet on people, not strategies.

Lawrence Bossid

As a practice owner it can be difficult to let go of the reins and allow others to step in to carry out tasks within your business. When you’re used to having control over everything it’s hard to step aside and delegate.

The reality is, if you want to scale your business, then you’re going to reach a point where you don’t have time to do everything and are forced to delegate tasks to your team.

For this reason, to effectively scale your orthodontic practice it’s essential to invest in the right employees. A skilled, trustworthy team is the key to growth, as is a team that is working towards the same vision and a team that aligns with the culture of your practice.

Staff development and education will enable your team to grow as your practice grows, giving them the opportunity to upskill and feel empowered to rise with your business.

Establish processes

The way you manage your practice might work now, but these processes might not be as effective if your practice experiences increased growth.

To ensure you aren’t caught short and can effectively manage your practice from every angle, it’s important to establish processes and protocols within your business.

Establishing manageable workflow procedures throughout your practice will create consistency for both your team and your patients. No matter when they come onboard, employees can follow these procedures and ensure the patient experience is always the same. It will also impart a sense of autonomy for your employees, allowing them to carry out their tasks with confidence.

Prepare your infrastructure

When preparing to scale your business you need to ensure that your infrastructure can support growth. You many need to start investigating more efficient ways to manage aspects of your practice and invest in software or hardware to support your growth.

For example, right now you might feel that your practice isn’t ready to onboard a payment plan solution, however once your business starts to grow it may become necessary to stay competitive.

Preparation is everything. Preparing your practice now will ensure you won’t be caught out later down the track when your practice experiences increased growth. Scaling up your practice is a big task, but hopefully these few tips will help steer your practice in the right direction and give you some food for thought when it comes to planning for business growth. Get in touch if you’d like to know more about the payment plans available for your practice.