I’ve been talking with GPs lately and it has come to my attention that our medical training and GP training sets us up to be caring, thorough clinicians. What it doesn’t set us up for is how to be successful business owners.
Some things that were being pondered in the pool of GPs that I was talking to were:
1. How do you make more money and have more time without seeing more patients?
2. Should you bulk-bill or privately bill?
3. Should you be an employee, sole trader or a company? What about trusts?
4. How do you establish a patient base when you’re just starting out?
5. How should you be running your General Practice so that it is a well-oiled money making business?
6. Where and whom do you go to, to get all this information?
I’ve been researching and studying how to build successful profitable General Practices because I believe we’ve invested a lot of our
time into medicine and we should be enjoying the financial rewards. After all, other professionals do so why shouldn’t we?
There are 3 key elements to being a successful business owner. I’ll expand on the first one and cover the other elements in the upcoming Webinar.
1. Make Money Your Best Friend
You have to be comfortable with money to make money. This is absolutely key.
When I started my coaching business, I had a lot of money issues to resolve. There were some core beliefs that I was holding onto about money e.g. money is hard to make; you only need “3 bowls of rice” so therefore be grateful for what you have and don’t take too big a risk; having money means sacrificing yourself. Some clients shared with me that they believed “money is the root of all evil” which impacted on them charging their customers appropriately.
Our beliefs and values about money affect how easy it is for money to come and go in our lives. I know someone who considers themselves a money magnet and sure enough, they constantly attract opportunities to make money. Whatever you choose to believe about money is true. When I decided to see money as an exchange for a service well done and started treating money like a friend, money started flowing
easily into my life and my business.
So, spend some time now reflecting on what your beliefs about money are. Do they move you forward or keep you stuck in your business? What would you be doing if money wasn’t an issue?
2. Change Your Mindset From Employee To Business Owner
Running a General Practice means you are no longer an employee. You are a business owner so you need to become a self-starter and start thinking laterally in your business. Who could you collaborate with to accelerate your business? How are you currently marketing your business? What other business opportunities are there for you?
3. Leverage Your Time
Being a business owner is about creating systems to leverage your time. Time really is money. We know that in General Practice because we bill based on time. What do you have in place now to help you manage your time more effectively? How could you be making money while you sleep?

