This article has been written by Mike Schuil at SmartPA.
Many single practioners are faced with the issue of doing the work they love and fitting in lots of other tasks. This could be marketing, taking phone calls, giving advice outside of agreed appointments, and back office functions like submitting accounts and keeping track of expenses.
All the additional work that goes into running a practice can detract from the passion that made you pursue your dream of working in your chosen field. It’s a fact that running a small business is much less about doing what you are passionate about and more about supporting the business to keep it running.
Alongside running your business, you have other demands on your time. You have learning and development along with CPD requirements, holidays which are vital for long-term success and family and friends who need our attention. Not to mention the fact that you need some downtime too.
If you assume that you’ll need four weeks holiday a year (maybe not generous enough) and the same in leaning and development to make sure you’re performing at the sharp end of your profession. You’ll need to account for a few bank holidays and maybe a day or two sick and this leaves only 40 working weeks each year.
Just 40 weeks to see as many patients as possible, treat them as best you can with a view to retaining them or gaining referrals for a great service.
With only 40 weeks and with a view to using this time effectively, training and downtime are key. Without these, you can become stale and not as passionate or fulfilled as you could be.
Many of the leading thinkers in the last few decades suggest that focusing on what you’re passionate about and giving the rest of it to someone else can work best.
This sounds great but is it workable for a small business?
A growing number of solo-preneurs and small businesses are making use of an Uber-type model where skilled people offer their services on a part time basis to those who would like to make use of them but don’t want to use them all of the time. This could be for book keeping or marketing for example. This often develops into an ongoing part time relationship that allows both parties to achieve their goals.
If this is something you would like to hear more about, please respond to Mike Schuil at SmartPA on mike.schuil@smartpasupport.com or visit their website here.
How precious is your time?
