psychiatric nurse practitioner private practice business plan

How To Set Up Private Practice As A PMHNP – (11 Simple Steps)

There is a significant need for great psychiatric mental health nurse practitioners (PMHNPs)—especially as the need for mental health services is growing. A recent study determined that 1 out of 5 adults live with a mental illness —and the aging and growing population, along with the current pandemic, play a role in the need for more PMHNPs. And while the need is there, there is a shortage of mental health providers to meet the needs of people worldwide. I can tell you from my own practice that there have been challenges getting appointments with behavioral health specialists due to many practices not accepting new patients. This further supports the demand for more nurse practitioners to open a psychiatric mental health practice. So, how do you set up a private practice as a PMHNP? Below, I will discuss 11 simple steps to set up a private practice as a PMHNP.

CAN A PMHNP SET UP A PRIVATE PRACTICE?

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How to Start Your Own Practice as a Nurse Practitioner

You may be thinking, “What do I need to do to open my own business as a nurse or nurse practitioner (NP)? How hard is it going to be? What support will I need?”

Opening your own business is not quite like nursing school or your first nursing job. It’s similar in that you will:

• Still need to put in a lot of work
• (Potentially) pull all-nighters
• Need a great support network

But like nursing school and that new job: In the end, it’s worth it.

We spoke with business owners Wendy Jules, RN, BSN, and Peggy Roberts, DNP, WHNP-BC, who know a thing or two about nurse entrepreneurship. Both opened their businesses during the COVID-19 pandemic!

8 Pandemic-Proof Steps to Opening Your Healthcare Business

As registered nurses (RNs), Jules and her cofounder Carla Nelson knew they had the skill set to open a healthcare business. Their education and nursing experiences gave them confidence.

Being passionate about the services or products you are offering is key, they say. If your passion doesn’t shine through, your clients won’t be passionate either.

Roberts also notes the importance of taking your time. Due to the pandemic, it took Roberts almost a year to open the doors to Trust Women’s Healthcare. Although this was a long time, starting a business is a huge responsibility. There are many risks involved, and you want to do it right.

“This isn’t a race; it’s a marathon,” Roberts says.

Ready to take the next step? Here are eight essential steps you need to take when opening up a new business.

1. Know Your ‘Why’

Although opening a business can be profitable, knowing your ‘why’ is even more important than making money. If you want to have a successful, scalable business, take some time and write down exactly why you want to be a business owner.

For both our nurse entrepreneurs, the ‘why’ behind their businesses hit home in personal ways, including representation, accessibility, and giving back to their communities.

Jules and Nelson noticed a major lack of representation of Black skin care providers in their community. This was when they came up with the idea of opening Fleur De Lis Beauty & Esthetics, a medical spa in Brooklyn, New York.

“Our goal was to provide easy access to corrective skin care,” Jules says. “We also wanted to create a beautiful space where clients can come, relax, and make self-care a priority.”

Roberts penned Trust Women’s Healthcare as a way to give back to her community. After completing her doctoral studies, she was astounded to learn the overwhelming healthcare disparities Black women face in the United States. Black women are 3.5 times more likely to die from complications from pregnancy than white women, prompting a need for advocacy for patients of color .

After seeking other leadership roles and talking to colleagues, Roberts decided opening a women’s health clinic was the best way to give back to her community. She also hopes to decrease women’s health disparities among women of color.

“I always believed if you are not invited to the table, you create your own,” Roberts says.

2. Have Your Paperwork in Order

You need paperwork to get your business off the ground. According to Jules, this includes:

• Choosing a name for your practice
• Figuring out how to structure your business (e.g., limited liability company, sole proprietorship, partnership)
• Getting an Employer Identification Number

There are many types of business structures you can choose from. First, you should decide which type of business will work best for you and your company.

Three Common Types of Business Structures

• Limited liability company : An LLC lets you take advantage of both a partnership and a corporate business structure. You must file your LLC with the state where you practice.
• Sole proprietorship : A sole proprietorship is when one person owns and runs the daily operations of the business.
• Partnership : A partnership is when two or more people own and run the business’s daily operations.

These business structures have pros and cons, so remember to research to find the best fit for your goals.

3. Know How You’ll Fund Your Business

You want to open your nursing business, but how will you fund it? There are many ways to fund your business. You can use the money you’ve saved up, or you can borrow from a bank.

Since Jules and Nelson opened their business during the pandemic, they encountered hurdles while securing funds. Many banks were not willing to support their business.

“We initially relied on our family, friends, and ourselves, emptying out our 401ks to fund the business,” Jules says.

Luckily, they partnered with Carver Bank, the largest African American managed bank in the United States, who helped them navigate the banking system through the pandemic.

To secure funds, it’s important to gather enough information to make informed decisions. This includes:

• Speaking to family and friends
• Calling several banks to find out which ones will work with you
• Consulting a certified public accountant (CPA)

Speaking with a CPA can save you a lot of time and prevent mistakes. The benefits of consulting with an accountant can help set up your business successfully, Roberts says.

4. Speak to a Healthcare Attorney

When opening a business, you may think all attorneys are created equal. They aren’t. A healthcare business is specialized. Roberts suggests seeking out attorneys who are fully versed in healthcare law.

“Really do your research and interview your attorney,” Roberts advises. This will help with any unforeseeable issues.

Also, make sure to budget for an attorney. They can be expensive. Roberts is based in New York, so her attorney came with a hefty price tag.

Make sure to do your research before meeting an attorney. Have your questions ready. The more prepared you are, the lower the price tag.

5. Obtain Certifications Your Practice Requires

If you want to open a medical spa, getting certifications will allow you to provide various services and attract more clients. Jules suggests getting the certifications your practice is going to require.

“For myself, we decided to do intravenous (IV) hydration, so I undertook certifications in IVs and injectables,” Jules says.

Build as much outside knowledge as you can to bring value to your clients and wealth into your practice.

6. Understand Your Business Partner’s Role

Opening up a business can be confusing and emotional if you have a partner. Personalities can clash. That can be draining and take away from your business goals.

Jules and Nelson are sisters, roommates, and business partners. “We saw each other every day,” Jules says.

To combat possible roadblocks, Jules suggests understanding your partner’s business language.

For Jules and her sister-turned-business partner, this meant separating their personal relationship from their business relationship. By doing this, there is less room for role confusion.

“If everyone is doing everything, it’s difficult to keep track of your success or your failures,” Jules says.

7. Research and Find Resources

You can’t start a business without doing research. You should use your resources for advice.

If you are an NP, research the practice authority in your state first.

Note that an NP’s scope of practice varies from state to state. Some states have full authority; some have restrictive authority. Be sure to know which level your state offers.

8. Network, Network, Network

In the age of social media, finding resources to help guide your path of nurse entrepreneurship shouldn’t be too difficult. Roberts suggests leveraging social media platforms like Instagram or LinkedIn to network and access resources available to you. You can get a lot of information from nurses and NPs who are opening similar businesses, too.

With endless access to advice on social media, it’s important to separate reputable sources from misleading ones.

If you are suspicious, Roberts suggests checking out the website or LinkedIn profile for the businesses or business owner you’re looking to take advice from. Follow them for awhile and see who else they follow. Finally, make a decision based on your findings.

Remember that you have many transferable skills as a nurse that can lend to successful entrepreneurial adventures. It takes making the first step to get to where you want to be.

Other beneficial resources to support you along the way include:

• Reaching out to your local Small Business Association
• Attending networking events for nurses and business owners
• Taking advantage of professional nursing organizations by becoming a member of a nursing or an NP association

Meet Our Contributors

Peggy Roberts, DNP, WHNP-BC

Peggy Roberts, DNP, WHNP-BC, is a doctoral-prepared, board-certified New York licensed women’s health nurse practitioner . She has extensive experience in preventative medicine for women, high risk pregnancies, and sexual medicine. Roberts’ passion and dedication to providing the utmost care to women has led her to her own practice, Trust Women’s Healthcare , which provides comprehensive and holistic care to women of all ages.

Wendy Jules, RN, BSN

Wendy Jules is a passionate aesthetic registered nurse and co-owner of Fleur De Lis Beauty & Esthetics nestled right in the heart of Brooklyn, New York. Before working in skin care, Jules traveled the world as a crisis nurse assisting people during natural disasters and casualties. Jules’ top goal at Fleur De Lis Beauty is to engineer skin care and wellness that will take center stage in the lives of her clients by providing a focus on beauty, self-care, and a healthy lifestyle.

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Developing A Business Plan for Your Mental Health Private Practice

Business plans act as the foundation for any type of business and are important for setting benchmarks to measure success. But how do you write a business plan for a mental health private practice? Valant takes a look at the components of a business plan and translates it into an easy-to-use framework for both mental health professionals looking to start their own private practice and those looking to expand their current practice. Check out our guide to creating an effective private mental health practice business plan below.

Mission Statement / Vision Statement:

As behavioral health providers, you all are in the business of saving lives. But what makes your services unique? What value are you bringing? Make sure when you are drafting your mission statement you answer these four questions:

• What does my practice do?
• How do we do it?
• Whom do we do it for?
• What value does your practice bring?

Description of your Practice and Service:

What is your service delivery model? What kinds of patients do you want to see, including age range and presenting problems? How many hours per week do you wish to work and on what days? What types of services will you provide (e.g. therapy versus medication management)?

Legal Framework:

The three basic choices for your psychiatric business entity are: sole proprietorship, LLC, and S corporation . The choice is based mainly on relative costs, tax implications, and general business liability (rather than professional liability). If you do plan to expand to a group practice, you should probably consider an LLC or S corporation so you have the option of continuing under the same tax ID number, but we recommend consulting with a local accountant and lawyer with experience working for other health care providers before deciding.

Mental Health Practice – Operations Model:

Operating processes can be broken up into four categories: facilities, front office, back office, and insurance.

Facilities refers to your plan for location, furniture, phone, internet, hardware, and any other tangible item or service that enables you to provide your clinical services.

Front-office refers to your plan for handling non-clinical patient facing interactions such as your intake process, administrative phone calls, reception and scheduling, eligibility and verification checking, handling of patient payments, no show and cancellation policies, and prescription management policies and procedures.

Back-office functions are dominated by medical billing but could also include transcription services and handling of documents.

Insurance refers to the package of insurance that you’ll need, including general liability, professional liability, or any other insurance you might want for you or your staff (medical, dental, and long and short term disability).

An electronic health record has the potential to influence and streamline all operation models, so it is important to have the right EHR in place.

Watch our product videos to see how Valant’s EHR and practice management system streamlines operations for mental health private practice

Team refers to internal staff and outside consultants such as a lawyer, accountant, bookkeeper and medical biller. We recommend developing a strategic employee incentive system that addresses benefits, compensation, appreciation, and recognition. One of the most costly expenses your practice can endure is staff turnover. Want to learn more including recruiting tips? Watch our webinar “How to Recruit and Retain Top Talent in your Mental Healthcare Practice”

Get a Personalized Live Demo

We would love to show you how Valant can help your practice.

Starting Your New Practice

Chart a Path to Start a Successful Practice

Developing A Business Plan for Your Mental Health Private Practice continued…

Marketing Strategy / Generating Patient Flow:

Especially for new practices, it’s important to dedicate a certain number of hours each week to marketing your private practice , generating patient flow, and supporting your practice’s capacity goals. Many practitioners find that word-of-mouth marketing and/or referrals are their most effective sources of new patients; in today’s saturated therapeutic market, however, establishing a digital presence may also be necessary.

Building A Website

With that in mind, building a website (or hiring a professional to build one for you) is the natural first step in promoting your practice online. Your website will act as the home base for all of your digital marketing efforts — meaning, every other digital marketing initiative you try should direct traffic back to your website. As the foundational piece of your marketing strategy, your website should be intuitive, attractive, and optimized for search engine visibility.

It will also be important to support your website with new, high-quality content once it is built out and launched. Starting an informative, active blog can be a fantastic way to highlight your expertise, reach engaged audiences, and support your positioning in search engine results.

Referrals & Directories

In most cases, the two most common means for finding new patients are to 1) utilize and nurture a referral network and 2) be on insurance contracts. This makes sense in practice; people trust other people to give honest referrals of a practitioner and their practice. They also want to ensure the provider is on their insurance network before moving forward.

With that in mind, you will need to develop referral sources to generate patient flow and to build the kind of practice that you want. Your referral sources will know your strengths and weaknesses and will refer accordingly.

In the online space, users often look to directories, insurance networks, and review sites to determine whether a provider is a right fit for them. Having active, complete profiles or listings on as many directories as applicable ensures you’re considered in the most relevant patient-provider searches possible. Additionally, directories and review sites act as an opportunity for current patients to leave reviews, providing invaluable feedback to support your practice’s long-term success.

A few examples of relevant, high-traffic directories you could sign up for include Google My Business , Psychology Today , GoodTherapy , or most social media platforms. Depending on the supply and demand characteristics in your area, however, being on insurance contracts and having profiles on insurance networks is sometimes all that is needed. 

Generating Patient Flow:

The two most common means for finding new patients are to utilize and nurture a referral network and to be on insurance contracts. Depending on the supply and demand characteristics in your area, being on insurance contracts is sometimes all that is needed. But, in most cases, you will need to develop referral sources to generate patient flow and to build the kind of practice that you want. Your referral sources will know your strengths and weaknesses and will refer accordingly.

Financial Model:

It is not necessary to have fancy financial projections to start and successfully operate a small psychiatric private practice, but it’s important to have an idea of what your net income will be and to understand the variables. Let’s break down the equation: net income = revenue – expenses.

Revenue Revenue = Average fee per face to face hour x hours worked It’s easy to overestimate this number by overestimating collections rates, fees paid by insurance for a unit of service, show rate, and patient flow. We recommend budgeting for 20% less than whatever you come up with in your plan, at least until you get validation from real revenue.

Expenses Expenses = Facilities + Front Office + Back Office + Insurance

A basic rule of thumb for expenses is that they represent anywhere from 15-30% of total revenue for a solo practice. If you employ staff or outside services for front office and back-office work, they tend to be divided pretty equally between the three. If you do not employ staff, then these expenses are more heavily loaded on facilities. Make no mistake, you are paying for those front office and back-office functions with your time. This is where the concept of opportunity cost applies. The cost of your time is dependent upon either the value you place on your time or the revenue you could generate by seeing patients during that time. However, opportunity cost does not explicitly appear in your financial statements.

If you would like to learn more about these financial metrics, we recommend reading our blog Financial Metrics 101

Behavioral Health Performance Indicators

20 Important KPIs for Private Practices

Private Practice Business Plan Template

Private therapy practice tips:.

• Don’t sweat excessively about location. You will probably move within 2 years. At that point, you’ll better understand your needs. You’ll also better understand the nature of your local market and the level of competitor saturation ; especially in areas where therapy is popular, it’s important to identify your niche and find an area where you can assert yourself as the local expert, rather than offer the same expertise as competitors in your neighborhood. Modern telehealth technology also makes the location of your practice less important. By offering virtual sessions in addition to in-person visits, you can reach a larger network of patients, regardless of their proximity to your practice. Learn more about Valant’s telehealth software .
• Networking always pays off in terms of building the type of practice you want. Start early since that is when you will have the most time.
• Most small business owners overestimate revenue, especially during transitions. Make sure that you have other sources of cash during your ramp up including other part-time work, savings, or a line of credit.
• Understand the opportunity cost. There are many things in life that you love and do well. If you don’t love medical billing, don’t do it. That time could be better spent elsewhere.
• Start with a behavioral health care focused Electronic Health Record. By using an EHR focused on your specialty, you’re eliminating spend on features and functionality that is not going to be pertinent to your practice, plus gaining efficiencies in having technology workflows that are intuitive for your discipline. It’s easier to build it into the fabric of your practice from the beginning rather than switching later.

At Valant, we’re focused on providing great technology — as well as the business knowledge you need — to help your practice run smoothly and profitably. Want to learn more about Valant’s EHR and practice management suite for behavioral health?

Visit us on Facebook , Twitter , LinkedIn

Related Resources

Mental Health Private Practice Business Plan Template

Written by Dave Lavinsky

Mental Health Private Practice Business Plan

Over the past 20+ years, we have helped over 500 entrepreneurs and business owners create business plans to start and grow their mental health private practice companies. 

In this article, you will learn some background information on why business planning is important. Then, you will learn how to write a mental health private practice business plan step-by-step so you can create your plan today.

Download our Ultimate Business Plan Template here >

What Is a Business Plan?

A business plan provides a snapshot of your mental health private practice business as it stands today, and lays out your growth plan for the next five years. It explains your business goals and your strategies for reaching them. It also includes market research to support your plans.

Why You Need a Business Plan

If you’re looking to start a mental health private practice business or grow your existing mental health private practice company, you need a business plan. A business plan will help you raise funding, if needed, and plan out the growth of your mental health private practice business to improve your chances of success. Your mental health private practice business plan is a living document that should be updated annually as your company grows and changes.

Sources of Funding for Mental Health Private Practice Businesses

With regards to funding, the main sources of funding for a mental health private practice business are personal savings, credit cards, bank loans, and angel investors. When it comes to bank loans, banks will want to review your business plan (hand it to them in person or email to them as a PDF file) and gain confidence that you will be able to repay your loan and interest. To acquire this confidence, the loan officer will not only want to ensure that your financials are reasonable, but they will also want to see a professional plan. Such a plan will give them the confidence that you can successfully and professionally operate a business. Personal savings and bank loans are the most common funding paths for mental health private practice companies.

Finish Your Business Plan Today!

How to write a business plan for a mental health private practice business.

If you want to start a mental health private practice business or expand your current one, you need a business plan. The guide and sample below details the necessary information for how to write each essential component of your mental health private practice business plan.

Executive Summary

Your executive summary provides an introduction to your business plan, but it is normally the last section you write because it provides a summary of each key section of your plan.

The goal of your executive summary is to quickly engage the reader. Explain to them the kind of mental health private practice business you are running and the status. For example, are you a startup, do you have a mental health private practice business that you would like to grow, or are you operating a chain of mental health private practice businesses?

Next, provide an overview of each of the subsequent sections of your plan. 

• Give a brief overv iew of the mental health private practice industry. 
• Discuss the type of mental health private practice business you are operating. 
• Detail your direct competitors. Give an overview of your target customers. 
• Provide a snapshot of your marketing strategy. Identify the key members of your team. 
• Offer an overview of your financial plan.

Company Overview

In your company overview, you will detail the type of mental health private practice business you are operating.

For example, you m ight specialize in one of the following types of mental health private practice businesses:

• Cognitive Therapy : Focusing on psychotherapy that challenges negative patterns of thought about oneself and the world, cognitive therapy brings the patient to a better understanding of personal value in the world. 
• Behavioral Therapy: This therapy is one that focuses on retraining one’s reactions to stimuli, thus removing neurotic symptoms.   
• Holistic Therapy: A mental health private practice that centers therapy on a holistic platform is one that treats each individual as a multi-faceted being with all needs seen as equally important and in need of therapeutic healing. 
• Interpersonal Therapy: Treatment of mood disorders and difficult inter-relational issues is the main focus of interpersonal therapy.

In addition to explaining the type of mental health private practice business you will operate, the company overview needs to provide background on the business.

Include answers to questions such as:

• When and why did you start the business?
• What milestones have you achieved to date? Milestones could include the number of patients served, the number of cases with positive outcomes, reaching X number of clients served, etc.
• What is your legal business structure? Are you incorporated as an S-Corp? An LLC? A sole proprietorship? Explain your legal structure here.

Industry Analysis

In your industry or market analysis, you need to provide an overview of the mental health private practice industry.

While this may seem unnecessary, it serves multiple purposes.

First, researching the mental health private practice industry educates you. It helps you understand the market in which you are operating. 

Secondly, market research can improve your marketing strategy, particularly if your analysis identifies market trends.

The third reason is to prove to readers that you are an expert in your industry. By conducting the research and presenting it in your plan, you achieve just that.

The following questions should be answered in the industry analysis section of your mental health private practice business plan:

• How big is the mental health private practice industry (in dollars)?
• Is the market declining or increasing?
• Who are the key competitors in the market?
• Who are the key suppliers in the market?
• What trends are affecting the industry?
• What is the industry’s growth forecast over the next 5 – 10 years?
• What is the relevant market size? That is, how big is the potential target market for your mental health private practice business? You can extrapolate such a figure by assessing the size of the market in the entire country and then applying that figure to your local population.

Customer Analysis

The customer analysis section of your mental health private practice business plan must detail the customers you serve and/or expect to serve.

The following are examples of customer segments: individuals, couples or families.

As you can imagine, the customer segment(s) you choose will have a great impact on the type of mental health private practice business you operate. Individuals would respond to different marketing promotions versus families, for example.

Try to break out your target customers in terms of their demographic and psychographic profiles. With regards to demographics, including a discussion of the ages, genders, locations, and income levels of the potential customers you seek to serve.

Psychographic profiles explain the wants and needs of your target customers. The more you can recognize and define these needs, the better you will do in attracting and retaining your customers. Ideally you can speak with a sample of your target customers before writing your plan to better understand their needs.

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Competitive Analysis

Your competitive analysis should identify the indirect and direct competitors your business faces and then focus on the latter.

Direct competitors are othe r mental health private practice businesses. 

Indirect competitors are other options that customers have to purchase from that aren’t directly competing with your product or service. This includes psychiatrists, other healthcare providers, or members of the clergy. You need to mention direct competition, as well.

For each direct competitor, provide an overview of their business and document their strengths and weaknesses. Unless you once worked at your competitors’ businesses, it will be impossible to know everything about them. But you should be able to find out key things about them such as

• What types of customers do they serve?
• What type of mental health private practice business are they?
• What is their pricing (premium, low, etc.)?
• What are they good at?
• What are their weaknesses?

With regards to the last two questions, think about your answers from the customers’ perspective. And don’t be afraid to ask your competitors’ customers what they like most and least about them.

The final part of your competitive analysis section is to document your areas of competitive advantage. For example:

• Will you provide options for the uninsured?
• Will you offer services that your competition doesn’t?
• Will you provide better customer service?
• Will you offer better pricing?

Think about ways you will outperform your competition and document them in this section of your plan.

Marketing Plan

Traditionally, a marketing plan includes the four P’s: Product, Price, Place, and Promotion. For a mental health private practice business plan, your marketing strategy should include the following:

Product : In the product section, you should reiterate the type o f mental health private practice company that you documented in your company overview. Then, detail the specific products or services you will be offering. For example, will you provide on-call emergency therapy sessions, client referral incentives, or group behavioral therapy retreats?

Price : Document the prices you will offer and how they compare to your competitors. Essentially in the product and price sub-sections of yo ur plan, yo u are presenting the services you offer and their prices.

Place : Place refers to the site of your mental health private practice company. Document where your company is situated and mention how the site will impact your success. For example, is your mental health private practice business located in a quiet neighborhood office, a business district, or a standalone office? Discuss how your site might be the ideal location for your customers.

Promotions : The final part of your mental health private practice marketing plan is where you will document how you will drive potential customers to your location(s). The following are some promotional methods you might consider:

• Advertise in local papers, radio stations and/or magazines
• Reach out to websites 
• Speak in community forums or blog as an expert
• Engage in email marketing
• Advertise on social media platforms
• Improve the SEO (search engine optimization) on your website for targeted keywords

Operations Plan

While the earlier sections of your business plan explained your goals, your operations plan describes how you will meet them. Your operations plan should have two distinct sections as follows.

Everyday short-term processes include all of the tasks involved in running your mental health private practice business, including answering calls, planning and providing therapy sessions, billing insurance and/or patients, etc. 

Long-term goals are the milestones you hope to achieve. These could include the dates when you expect to book your Xth session, or when you hope to reach $X in revenue. It could also be when you expect to expand your mental health private practice business to a new city.

Management Team

To demonstrate your mental health private practice business’ potential to succeed, a strong management team is essential. Highlight your key players’ backgrounds, emphasizing those skills and experiences that prove their ability to grow a company. 

Ideally, you and/or your team members have direct experience in managing mental health private practice businesses. If so, highlight this experience and expertise. But also highlight any experience that you think will help your business succeed.

If your team is lacking, consider assembling an advisory board. An advisory board would include 2 to 8 individuals who would act as mentors to your business. They would help answer questions and provide strategic guidance. If needed, look for advisory board members with experience in managing a mental health private practice business or successfully running a small therapy clinic.

Financial Plan

Your financial plan should include your 5-year financial statement broken out both monthly or quarterly for the first year and then annually. Your financial statements include your income statement, balance s heet, and cash flow statements.

Income Statement

An income statement is more commonly called a Profit and Loss statement or P&L. It shows your revenue and then subtracts your costs to show whether you turned a profit or not.

In developing your income statement, you need to devise assumptions. For example, will you see 5 patients per day, and/or offer group therapy sessions ? And will sales grow by 2% or 10% per year? As you can imagine, your choice of assumptions will greatly impact the financial forecasts for your business. As much as possible, conduct research to try to root your assumptions in reality.

Balance Sheets

Balance sheets show your assets and liabilities. While balance sheets can include much information, try to simplify them to the key items you need to know about. For instance, if you spend $50,000 on building out your mental health private practice business, this will not give you immediate profits. Rather it is an asset that will hopefully help you generate profits for years to come. Likewise, if a lender writes you a check for $50,000, you don’t need to pay it back immediately. Rather, that is a liability you will pay back over time.

Cash Flow Statement

Your cash flow statement will help determine how much money you need to start or grow your business, and ensure you never run out of money. What most entrepreneurs and business owners don’t realize is that you can turn a profit but run out of money and go bankrupt. 

When creating your Income Statement and Balance Sheets be sure to include several of the key costs needed in starting or growing a mental health private practice business:

• Cost of equipment and office supplies
• Payroll or salaries paid to staff
• Business insurance
• Other start-up expenses (if you’re a new business) like legal expenses, permits, computer software, and equipment

Attach your full financial projections in the appendix of your plan along with any supporting documents that make your plan more compelling. For example, you might include your 5-year office location lease or a list of insurance plans you accept.

Writing a business plan for your mental health private practice business is a worthwhile endeavor. If you follow the template above, by the time you are done, you will truly be an expert. You will understand the mental health private practice industry, your competition, and your customers. You will develop a marketing strategy and will understand what it takes to launch and grow a successful mental health private practice business.

Mental Health Private Practice Business Plan FAQs

What is the easiest way to complete my mental health private practice business plan.

Growthink's Ultimate Business Plan Template allows you to quickly and easily write your mental health private practice business plan.

How Do You Start a Mental Health Private Practice Business?

Starting a mental health private practice business is easy with these 14 steps:

• Choose the Name for Your Mental Health Private Practice Business
• Create Your Mental Health Private Practice Business Plan
• Choose the Legal Structure for Your Mental Health Private Practice Business
• Secure Startup Funding for Your Mental Health Private Practice Business (If Needed)
• Secure a Location for Your Business
• Register Your Mental Health Private Practice Business with the IRS
• Open a Business Bank Account
• Get a Business Credit Card
• Get the Required Business Licenses and Permits
• Get Business Insurance for Your Mental Health Private Practice Business
• Buy or Lease the Right Mobile Mechanic Business Equipment
• Develop Your Mental Health Private Practice Business Marketing Materials
• Purchase and Setup the Software Needed to Run Your Mental Health Private Practice Business
• Open for Business

Where Can I Download a Free Business Plan Template PDF?

Click here to download the pdf version of our basic business plan template.

Our free business plan template pdf allows you to see the key sections to complete in your plan and the key questions that each must answer. The business plan pdf will definitely get you started in the right direction.

We do offer a premium version of our business plan template. Click here to learn more about it. The premium version includes numerous features allowing you to quickly and easily create a professional business plan. Its most touted feature is its financial projections template which allows you to simply enter your estimated sales and growth rates, and it automatically calculates your complete five-year financial projections including income statements, balance sheets, and cash flow statements. Here’s the link to our Ultimate Business Plan Template.

Don’t you wish there was a faster, easier way to finish your Mental Health Private Practice business plan?

OR, Let Us Develop Your Plan For You

Since 1999, Growthink has developed business plans for thousands of companies who have gone on to achieve tremendous success.  

Click here to see how Growthink’s business plan writers can create your business plan for you.

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How to write a business plan for a psychiatry practice?

Putting together a business plan for a psychiatry practice can be daunting - especially if you're creating a business for the first time - but with this comprehensive guide, you'll have the necessary tools to do it confidently.

We will explore why writing one is so important in both starting up and growing an existing psychiatry practice, as well as what should go into making an effective plan - from its structure to content - and what tools can be used to streamline the process and avoid errors.

Without further ado, let us begin!

In this guide:

Why write a business plan for a psychiatry practice?

• What information is needed to create a business plan for a psychiatry practice?
• How do I build a financial forecast for a psychiatry practice?

The written part of a psychiatry practice business plan

• What tool should I use to write my psychiatry practice business plan?

Having a clear understanding of why you want to write a business plan for your psychiatry practice will make it simpler for you to grasp the rationale behind its structure and content. So before delving into the plan's actual details, let's take a moment to remind ourselves of the primary reasons why you'd want to create a psychiatry practice business plan.

To have a clear roadmap to grow the business

Running a small business is tough! Economic cycles bring growth and recessions, while the business landscape is ever-changing with new technologies, regulations, competitors, and consumer behaviours emerging constantly.

In such a dynamic context, operating a business without a clear roadmap is akin to driving blindfolded: it's risky, to say the least. That's why crafting a business plan for your psychiatry practice is vital to establish a successful and sustainable venture.

To create an effective business plan, you'll need to assess your current position (if you're already in business) and define where you want the business to be in the next three to five years.

Once you have a clear destination for your psychiatry practice, you'll have to:

• Identify the necessary resources (human, equipment, and capital) needed to reach your goals,
• Determine the pace at which the business needs to progress to meet its objectives as scheduled,
• Recognize and address the potential risks you may encounter along the way.

Engaging in this process regularly proves advantageous for both startups and established companies. It empowers you to make informed decisions about resource allocation, ensuring the long-term success of your business.

To get visibility on future cash flows

If your small psychiatry practice runs out of cash: it's game over. That's why we often say "cash is king", and it's crucial to have a clear view of your psychiatry practice's future cash flows.

So, how can you achieve this? It's simple - you need to have an up-to-date financial forecast.

The good news is that your psychiatry practice business plan already includes a financial forecast (which we'll discuss further in this guide). Your task is to ensure it stays current.

To accomplish this, it's essential to regularly compare your actual financial performance with what was planned in your financial forecast. Based on your business's current trajectory, you can make adjustments to the forecast.

By diligently monitoring your psychiatry practice's financial health, you'll be able to spot potential financial issues, like unexpected cash shortfalls, early on and take corrective actions. Moreover, this practice will enable you to recognize and capitalize on growth opportunities, such as excess cash flow enabling you to expand to new locations.

To secure financing

A detailed business plan becomes a crucial tool when seeking financing from banks or investors for your psychiatry practice.

Investing and lending to small businesses are very risky activities given how fragile they are. Therefore, financiers have to take extra precautions before putting their capital at risk.

At a minimum, financiers will want to ensure that you have a clear roadmap and a solid understanding of your future cash flows (like we just explained above). But they will also want to ensure that your business plan fits the risk/reward profile they seek.

This will off-course vary from bank to bank and investor to investor, but as a rule of thumb. Banks will want to see a conservative financial management style (low risk), and they will use the information in your business plan to assess your borrowing capacity — the level of debt they think your business can comfortably handle — and your ability to repay the loan. This evaluation will determine whether they'll provide credit to your psychiatry practice and the terms of the agreement.

Whereas investors will carefully analyze your business plan to gauge the potential return on their investment. Their focus lies on evidence indicating your psychiatry practice's potential for high growth, profitability, and consistent cash flow generation over time.

Now that you recognize the importance of creating a business plan for your psychiatry practice, let's explore what information is required to create a compelling plan.

Information needed to create a business plan for a psychiatry practice

Drafting a psychiatry practice business plan requires research so that you can project sales, investments and cost accurately in your financial forecast, and convince the reader that there is a viable commercial opportunity to be seized.

Below, we'll focus on three critical pieces of information you should gather before starting to write your plan.

Carrying out market research for a psychiatry practice

As you consider writing your business plan for a psychiatry practice, conducting market research becomes a vital step to ensure accurate and realistic financial projections.

Market research provides valuable insights into your target customer base, competitors, pricing strategies, and other key factors that can significantly impact the commercial success of your business.

Through this research, you may uncover trends that could influence your psychiatry practice.

Your market research may reveal that there may be a potential for increased demand for services related to mental health management for aging populations. Additionally, your market research may indicate that there could be an increased interest in services related to virtual or tele-psychiatry.

Such market trends play a significant role in forecasting revenue, as they offer valuable data about potential customers' spending habits and preferences.

By incorporating these findings into your financial projections, you can present investors with more accurate information, helping them make informed decisions about investing in your psychiatry practice.

Developing the marketing plan for a psychiatry practice

Before delving into your psychiatry practice business plan, it's imperative to budget for sales and marketing expenses.

To achieve this, a comprehensive sales and marketing plan is essential. This plan should provide an accurate projection of the necessary actions to acquire and retain customers.

Additionally, it will outline the required workforce to carry out these initiatives and the corresponding budget for promotions, advertising, and other marketing endeavours.

By budgeting accordingly, you can ensure that the right resources are allocated to these vital activities, aligning them with the sales and growth objectives outlined in your business plan.

The staffing and equipment needs of a psychiatry practice

Whether you are at the beginning stages of your psychiatry practice or expanding its horizons, having a clear plan for recruitment and capital expenditures (investment in equipment and real estate) is vital to ensure your business's success.

To achieve this, both the recruitment and investment plans must align coherently with the projected timing and level of growth in your forecast. It is essential to secure appropriate funding for these plans.

A psychiatry practice might incur staffing costs such as the salaries of psychiatrists, psychologists, nurses, and administrative staff. It may also incur equipment costs such as computers, diagnostic equipment, and furniture. Additionally, it may incur costs for supplies such as medications, office supplies, and laboratory supplies.

To create a financial forecast that accurately represents your business's outlook, remember to factor in other day-to-day operating expenses.

Now that you have all the necessary information, it's time to dive in and start creating your business plan and developing the financial forecast for your psychiatry practice.

What goes into your psychiatry practice's financial forecast?

The financial forecast of your psychiatry practice's business plan will enable you to assess the growth, profitability, funding requirements, and cash generation potential of your business in the coming years.

The four key outputs of a financial forecast for a psychiatry practice are:

• The profit and loss (P&L) statement ,
• The projected balance sheet ,
• The cash flow forecast ,
• And the sources and uses table .

Let's look at each of these in a bit more detail.

The projected P&L statement

The projected P&L statement for a psychiatry practice shows how much revenue and profit your business is expected to make in the future.

A healthy psychiatry practice's P&L statement should show:

• Sales growing at (minimum) or above (better) inflation
• Stable (minimum) or expanding (better) profit margins
• A healthy level of net profitability

This will of course depend on the stage of your business: numbers for a startup will look different than for an established psychiatry practice.

The projected balance sheet of your psychiatry practice

Your psychiatry practice's forecasted balance sheet enables the reader of your plan to assess your financial structure, working capital, and investment policy.

It is composed of three types of elements: assets, liabilities and equity:

• Assets: represent what the business owns and uses to produce cash flows. It includes resources such as cash, equipment, and accounts receivable (money owed by clients).
• Liabilities: represent funds advanced to the business by lenders and other creditors. It includes items such as accounts payable (money owed to suppliers), taxes due and loans.
• Equity: is the combination of what has been invested by the business owners and the cumulative profits and losses generated by the business to date (which are called retained earnings). Equity is a proxy for the value of the owner's stake in the business.

Your psychiatry practice's balance sheet will usually be analyzed in conjunction with the other financial statements included in your forecast.

Two key points of focus will be:

• Your psychiatry practice's liquidity: does your business have sufficient cash and short-term assets to pay what it owes over the next 12 months?
• And its solvency: does your business have the capacity to repay its debt over the medium-term?

The cash flow forecast

As we've seen earlier in this guide, monitoring future cash flows is the key to success and the only way of ensuring that your psychiatry practice has enough cash to operate.

As you can expect showing future cash flows is the main role of the cash flow forecast in your psychiatry practice business plan.

It is best practice to organise the cash flow statement by nature in order to show the cash impact of the following areas:

• Cash flow generated from operations: the operating cash flow shows how much cash is generated or consumed by the business's commercial activities
• Cash flow from investing activities: the investing cash flow shows how much cash is being invested in capital expenditure (equipment, real estate, etc.) either to maintain the business's equipment or to expand its capabilities
• Cash flow from financing activities: the financing cash flow shows how much cash is raised or distributed to financiers

Looking at the cash flow forecast helps you to make sure that your business has enough cash to keep running, and can help you anticipate potential cash shortfalls.

Your psychiatry practice business plan will normally include both yearly and monthly cash flow forecasts so that the readers can view the impact of seasonality on your business cash position and generation.

The initial financing plan

The initial financing plan, also known as a sources and uses table, is a valuable resource to have in your business plan when starting your psychiatry practice as it reveals the origins of the money needed to establish the business (sources) and how it will be allocated (uses).

Having this table helps show what costs are involved in setting up your psychiatry practice, how risks are shared between founders, investors and lenders, and what the starting cash position will be. This cash position needs to be sufficient to sustain operations until the business reaches a break-even point.

Now that you have a clear understanding of what goes into the financial forecast of your psychiatry practice business plan, let's shift our focus to the written part of the plan.

The written part of the business plan is where you will explain what your business does and how it operates, what your target market is, whom you compete against, and what strategy you will put in place to seize the commercial opportunity you've identified.

Having this context is key for the reader to form a view on whether or not they believe that your plan is achievable and the numbers in your forecast realistic.

The written part of a psychiatry practice business plan is composed of 7 main sections:

• The executive summary
• The presentation of the company
• The products and services
• The market analysis
• The strategy
• The operations
• The financial plan

Let's go through the content of each section in more detail!

1. The executive summary

The executive summary, the first section of your psychiatry practice's business plan, serves as an inviting snapshot of your entire plan, leaving readers eager to know more about your business.

To compose an effective executive summary, start with a concise introduction of your business, covering its name, concept, location, history, and unique aspects. Share insights about the services or products you intend to offer and your target customer base.

Subsequently, provide an overview of your psychiatry practice's addressable market, highlighting current trends and potential growth opportunities.

Then, present a summary of critical financial figures, such as projected revenues, profits, and cash flows.

You should then include a summary of your key financial figures such as projected revenues, profits, and cash flows.

Lastly, address any funding needs in the "ask" section of your executive summary.

2. The presentation of the company

The second section in your psychiatry practice's business plan should focus on the structure and ownership, location, and management team of the company.

The structure and ownership part provides an overview of the legal structure of the business, who the owners are and how much each has invested and owns. If you are seeking financing it is important that the reader gets a clear picture of which legal entity is receiving the funds, and who controls the business.

The location part should give an overview of the premises from which the company is operating, and why that location is of particular interest (catchment area, accessibility, amenities nearby, etc.).

When describing the location of your psychiatry practice, you could emphasize its potential for growth and success. You may mention its proximity to a major metropolitan area, its access to transportation and its potential for drawing a large patient base from both the city and surrounding areas. You might also mention its potential for access to a variety of resources, both medical and non-medical, that could benefit the practice. Furthermore, you could highlight the area's potential for stability and growth, and its potential for good community relationships.

Finally, you should introduce the management team. Explain each member's role, background, and experience.

It is also important to emphasize any past successes that the members of the management team have achieved, and how long they've been working together, as this will help potential lenders or investors understand why they should trust in their leadership.

3. The products and services section

The products and services section of your business plan should include a detailed description of what your company offers, who are the target customers, and what distribution channels are part of your go-to-market. 

For example, your psychiatry practice might offer individual and group therapy sessions, medication management, and other mental health services such as cognitive-behavioral therapy and psychoeducation. These services are designed to help individuals manage mental health issues, gain insight to self-improvement, and gain access to resources to aid in their treatment. Additionally, it could provide access to in-person or virtual support groups, workshops, or classes to help people struggling with mental health issues become more informed and connected to others in similar situations.

4. The market analysis

When you present your market analysis in your psychiatry practice business plan, it's crucial to include detailed information about customers' demographics and segmentation, target market, competition, barriers to entry, and any relevant regulations.

The main objective of this section is to help the reader understand the size and attractiveness of the market while demonstrating your solid understanding of the industry.

Begin with the demographics and segmentation subsection, providing an overview of the addressable market for your psychiatry practice, the key trends in the marketplace, and introducing different customer segments along with their preferences in terms of purchasing habits and budgets.

Next, focus on your target market, zooming in on the specific customer segments your psychiatry practice aims to serve and explaining how your products and services fulfil their distinct needs.

For example, your target market might include adults aged 18-35 with higher-than-average incomes. These individuals might be working professionals who are experiencing increasing levels of stress and anxiety due to their career. Additionally, they could be looking for professional help to manage their mental health and would be willing to pay a premium for quality care and attention.

Then proceed to the competition subsection, where you introduce your main competitors and highlight what sets you apart from them.

Finally, conclude your market analysis with an overview of the key regulations applicable to your psychiatry practice.

5. The strategy section

When you write the strategy section of your psychiatry practice business plan, remember to cover key elements such as your competitive edge, pricing strategy, sales & marketing plan, milestones, and risks and mitigants.

In the competitive edge subsection, elaborate on what makes your company stand out from competitors. This becomes especially important if you're a startup, aiming to carve a place for yourself amidst established players in the marketplace.

The pricing strategy subsection should demonstrate how you plan to maintain profitability while offering competitive prices to attract customers.

Outline your sales & marketing plan, detailing how you'll reach out to new customers and retain existing ones through loyalty programs or special offers.

For the milestones subsection, outline your company's achievements to date and your main objectives for the future, complete with specific dates to set clear expectations for progress.

Lastly, the risks and mitigants subsection should address the main risks that could affect your plan's execution. Explain the measures you've put in place to minimize these risks, assuring potential investors or lenders.

Your psychiatry practice could be at risk of a data breach or an infection from a virus. A data breach may occur if an unauthorized third party gains access to your patient records or other sensitive information. This could result in patient information being exposed, leaving you and your practice liable for any damages. Additionally, your practice could be at risk of infection from a virus if your computers and other systems are not properly protected. This could cause your systems to be compromised, leading to a disruption in services and potential data loss.

6. The operations section

The operations of your psychiatry practice must be presented in detail in your business plan.

Begin by addressing your staff, specifying the main roles and your recruitment plan to support the anticipated growth. Outline the qualifications and experience needed for each role and discuss your recruitment strategies, which may involve using job boards, referrals, or headhunters.

Next, clearly state your psychiatry practice's operating hours, allowing the reader to gauge the adequacy of your staffing levels. Additionally, mention any considerations for varying opening times during peak seasons and your approach to handling customer queries outside regular operating hours.

The key assets and intellectual property (IP) required to run your business should also be highlighted. If you rely on licenses, trademarks, physical structures like equipment or property, or lease agreements, ensure they are well-documented in this section.

You may have key assets such as patient records and patient information, which could be protected as intellectual property. Additionally, you might have knowledge of clinical practices and proprietary techniques that you could also protect as intellectual property.

Finally, provide a comprehensive list of suppliers you intend to collaborate with, along with a breakdown of their services and main commercial terms, such as price, payment terms, break clauses and contract duration. Investors often seek insight into the reasons behind your supplier choices, which may include a preference for higher-quality products or established relationships from past ventures.

7. The presentation of the financial plan

The financial plan section is where we will include the financial forecast we discussed earlier in this guide.

Now that you have a clear idea of what goes into a psychiatry practice business plan, let's look at some of the tools you can use to create yours efficiently.

What tool should I use to write my psychiatry practice's business plan?

In this section, we will be reviewing the two main options for writing a psychiatry practice business plan efficiently:

• Using specialized software,
• Outsourcing the drafting to the business plan writer.

Using an online business plan software for your psychiatry practice's business plan

Using online business planning software is the most efficient and modern way to create a psychiatry practice business plan.

There are several advantages to using specialized software:

• You can easily create your financial forecast by letting the software take care of the financial calculations for you without errors
• You are guided through the writing process by detailed instructions and examples for each part of the plan
• You can access a library of dozens of complete business plan samples and templates for inspiration
• You get a professional business plan, formatted and ready to be sent to your bank or investors
• You can easily track your actual financial performance against your financial forecast
• You can create scenarios to stress test your forecast's main assumptions
• You can easily update your forecast as time goes by to maintain visibility on future cash flows
• You have a friendly support team on standby to assist you when you are stuck

If you're interested in using this type of solution, you can try The Business Plan Shop for free by signing up here .

Hiring a business plan writer to write your psychiatry practice's business plan

Outsourcing your psychiatry practice business plan to a business plan writer can also be a viable option.

Business plan writers are skilled in creating error-free business plans and accurate financial forecasts. Moreover, hiring a consultant can save you valuable time, allowing you to focus on day-to-day business operations.

However, it's essential to be aware that hiring business plan writers will be expensive, as you're not only paying for their time but also the software they use and their profit margin.

Based on experience, you should budget at least £1.5k ($2.0k) excluding tax for a comprehensive business plan, and more if you require changes after initial discussions with lenders or investors.

Also, exercise caution when seeking investment. Investors prefer their funds to be directed towards business growth rather than spent on consulting fees. Therefore, the amount you spend on business plan writing services and other consulting services should be insignificant compared to the amount raised.

Keep in mind that one drawback is that you usually don't own the business plan itself; you only receive the output, while the actual document is saved in the consultant's business planning software. This can make it challenging to update the document without retaining the consultant's services.

For these reasons, carefully consider outsourcing your psychiatry practice business plan to a business plan writer, weighing the advantages and disadvantages of seeking outside assistance.

Why not create your psychiatry practice's business plan using Word or Excel?

I must advise against using Microsoft Excel and Word (or their Google, Apple, or open-source equivalents) to write your psychiatry practice business plan. Let me explain why.

Firstly, creating an accurate and error-free financial forecast on Excel (or any spreadsheet) is highly technical and requires a strong grasp of accounting principles and financial modelling skills. It is, therefore, unlikely that anyone will fully trust your numbers unless you have both a degree in finance and accounting and significant financial modelling experience, like us at The Business Plan Shop.

Secondly, relying on spreadsheets is inefficient. While it may have been the only option in the past, technology has advanced significantly, and software can now perform these tasks much faster and with greater accuracy. With the rise of AI, software can even help us detect mistakes in forecasts and analyze the numbers for better decision-making.

And with the rise of AI, software is also becoming smarter at helping us detect mistakes in our forecasts and helping us analyse the numbers to make better decisions.

Moreover, software makes it easier to compare actuals versus forecasts and maintain up-to-date forecasts to keep visibility on future cash flows, as we discussed earlier in this guide. This task is cumbersome when using spreadsheets.

Now, let's talk about the written part of your psychiatry practice business plan. While it may be less error-prone, using software can bring tremendous gains in productivity. Word processors, for example, lack instructions and examples for each part of your business plan. They also won't automatically update your numbers when changes occur in your forecast, and they don't handle formatting for you.

Overall, while Word or Excel may seem viable for some entrepreneurs to create a business plan, it's by far becoming an antiquated way of doing things.

• Using business plan software is a modern and cost-effective way of writing and maintaining business plans.
• A business plan is not a one-shot exercise as maintaining it current is the only way to keep visibility on your future cash flows.
• A business plan has 2 main parts: a financial forecast outlining the funding requirements of your psychiatry practice and the expected growth, profits and cash flows for the next 3 to 5 years; and a written part which gives the reader the information needed to decide if they believe the forecast is achievable.

We hope that this in-depth guide met your expectations and that you now have a clear understanding of how to write your psychiatry practice business plan. Do not hesitate to contact our friendly team if you have questions additional questions we haven't addressed here.

Also on The Business Plan Shop

• How to write a business plan to secure a bank loan?
• Key steps to write a business plan?
• Top mistakes to avoid in your business plan

Do you know entrepreneurs interested in starting or growing a psychiatry practice? Share this article with them!

Founder & CEO at The Business Plan Shop Ltd

Guillaume Le Brouster is a seasoned entrepreneur and financier.

Guillaume has been an entrepreneur for more than a decade and has first-hand experience of starting, running, and growing a successful business.

Prior to being a business owner, Guillaume worked in investment banking and private equity, where he spent most of his time creating complex financial forecasts, writing business plans, and analysing financial statements to make financing and investment decisions.

Guillaume holds a Master's Degree in Finance from ESCP Business School and a Bachelor of Science in Business & Management from Paris Dauphine University.

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Nurse Practitioner Private Practice Business Plan

DEC.03, 2023

Nurse practitioners (NPs) are registered nurses with advanced clinical training and education who can provide various healthcare services to patients. NPs can diagnose and treat illnesses, prescribe medications, order and interpret tests, and perform procedures. Refer to our medical device business plan to learn more.

NPs can also open their private practices, either independently or in collaboration with other healthcare providers, with the help of a Nurse Practitioner Private Practice Business Plan . This can be a rewarding and lucrative career option for NPs wanting more autonomy, flexibility, and control over their practice.

Pros and Cons of Nurse Practitioner Clinic

Opening a nurse practitioner clinic has many advantages, such as:

• Able to provide high-quality, patient-centered, and holistic care to a specific population or niche market.
• Opportunity to create a unique practice model that reflects the NP’s values, vision, and goals.
• Potential to earn more income and enjoy more financial freedom.
• Flexibility to set the practice’s hours, fees, policies, and procedures.
• Satisfaction of being an entrepreneur and a leader in the healthcare industry.

However, there are also some challenges and risks involved, such as:

• Comply with various legal, regulatory, and ethical requirements.
• Deal with the business’s administrative, financial, and operational aspects.
• Cope with the uncertainty, stress, and competition of the market.
• Invest significant time, money, and energy to start and sustain the practice.
• Balance business owners’ and healthcare providers’ professional and personal responsibilities and demands.

Nurse Practitioner Services

NPs can offer services in their private practice depending on their specialty, scope of practice, and state regulations. Some of the common specialties and services that NPs can provide are:

• Primary care services
• Acute care services
• Chronic care services
• Women’s health services
• Men’s health services
• Pediatric care services
• Geriatric care services
• Mental health services
• Specialty care services

Barriers to Entry for Nurse Practitioner Private Practice

To open a nurse practitioner clinic, you may face these challenges:

1. Legal and regulatory barriers – You must follow the state and federal laws and regulations for NPs. These include:

• Scope of practice
• Prescriptive authority
• Collaboration agreements
• Malpractice insurance
• Licensing requirements

2. Financial barriers – You need enough money and funding to start and run your clinic. You need to pay for:

• Rent or purchase of a space
• Equipment and supplies

3. Market barriers – You need to understand the market demand and supply of your services. You need to prepare:

• Market analysis
• Hospital feasibility study
• SWOT analysis
• Marketing plan
• Branding strategy

4. Operational barriers – You need to manage the business aspects of your clinic. You need to make:

• A business plan
• Policies and procedures

Sample Business Plan For Nurse Practitioner Clinic

To start a nurse practitioner clinic, NPs must have a business plan. This document describes the goals, strategies, and details of their clinic. Nurse practitioners’ business plans can help organize their ideas, plan their actions, secure funding, and measure performance. 

Here is a sample business plan for a nurse practitioner clinic based on a fictional example:

Executive Summary

Business name – Healthy Hearts Clinic

Business location – 123 Main Street, Springfield, IL 62701

Business owner – Logan Paul, NP-C, MSN, RN

Business description – Healthy Hearts Clinic is a nurse practitioner-owned and operated clinic that provides cardiology services to patients with heart diseases and conditions. The clinic offers diagnosis, treatment, management, and education for patients with hypertension, arrhythmia, angina, heart failure, and other cardiac issues.

Mission statement – Healthy Hearts Clinic’s mission is to provide high-quality and compassionate cardiology care to patients in Springfield and surrounding areas and to improve their health and quality of life.

Vision statement – Healthy Hearts Clinic’s vision is to be the leading provider of cardiology services in the region and to be recognized for its excellence, innovation, and patient satisfaction.

Goals and objectives – Healthy Hearts Clinic’s goals and objectives are to:

• Serve at least 5000 patients in the first year of operation.
• Achieve a patient satisfaction rate of at least 90%.
• Generate a revenue of at least $500,000 in the first year of operation.
• Break even in the first year of operation.

Company Overview

Legal structure – Healthy Hearts Clinic is a sole proprietorship owned and operated by Logan Paul. Logan is a board-certified nurse practitioner in cardiology with over ten years of experience in the field.

Services – Healthy Hearts Clinic provides the following cardiology services to patients:

• Physical exams and consultations
• Electrocardiograms (EKGs) and echocardiograms
• Holter monitors and event recorders
• Stress tests and nuclear imaging
• Blood pressure and cholesterol management
• Medication therapy and anticoagulation management
• Pacemaker and defibrillator implantation and follow-up
• Cardiac rehabilitation and education

Target market – Healthy Hearts Clinic’s target market is adults aged 18 and above who have or are at risk of developing heart diseases and conditions. The clinic focuses on serving patients in Springfield and surrounding areas.

Marketing Plan

Market analysis – The market analysis for Healthy Hearts Clinic is based on the following data and sources:

• Cardiovascular disease (CVD) remains the leading cause of death in the United States, accounting for 928,741 deaths in the year 2020. (Source – American Health Association )
• Every year, about 805,000 people in the United States have a heart attack. (Source – American Heart Association Report )
• Heart disease costs the United States about $239.9 billion each year. (Source – National Center for Health Statistics )

Marketing strategy – The marketing strategy for Healthy Hearts Clinic is based on the following elements:

• Product – The product is the cardiology services Healthy Hearts Clinic provides to its patients, including diagnosis, treatment, management, and education for various heart diseases and conditions.
• Price – The price is the amount Healthy Hearts Clinic charges for its services based on the market rate, the value proposition, and the cost structure. The price is competitive with other cardiology providers.
• Place – The place is the location and distribution of Healthy Hearts Clinic, which is 123 Main Street, Springfield, IL 62701. The place is central and accessible, close to major highways, public transportation, and other amenities.
• Social media
• Flyers and brochures
• Events and sponsorships

Operations Plan

Facility – The facility of Healthy Hearts Clinic is a 1,500-square-foot space located at 123 Main Street, Springfield, IL 62701. The facility has the following features and equipment:

• 1 Reception area
• 3 Exam rooms
• 5 Procedure rooms
• 2 Storage room

Staff – The staff of Healthy Hearts Clinic consists of the following members:

• Owner and operator – Logan Paul
• Receptionist – Mary Charles
• Medical assistant – John Rower
• Accountant – Robert Merry

Suppliers – The suppliers of Healthy Hearts Clinic are the following entities:

• Medical equipment and supplies – Medline Industries, Inc.
• Medications – Cardinal Health, Inc.
• Legal services – Smith & Jones, LLP
• Insurance – State Farm Insurance

Financial Plan

Startup costs – The startup costs of Healthy Hearts Clinic are the following items and amounts:

• Facility – Rent, utilities, security, and maintenance of the clinic’s space.
• Equipment – Purchase, install, and maintain the clinic’s equipment.
• Supplies – Purchase and inventory of the clinic’s supplies.
• Staff – Salaries, benefits, and taxes of the clinic’s staff.
• Marketing – Creation, distribution, and promotion of the clinic’s marketing materials.
• Legal – Fees and expenses of the clinic’s legal services.
• Insurance – Premiums and deductibles of the clinic’s insurance.
• Contingency – Reserve and the buffer of the clinic’s startup costs.

Revenue Projection

The revenue projection of Healthy Hearts Clinic is shown in the table below:

Expense Projection

The expense projection of Healthy Hearts Clinic is shown in the table below:

Profit and Loss Statement

The profit and loss statement of Healthy Hearts Clinic is based on the following formula and calculations:

• Profit (or loss) = Revenue – Expenses
• Profit margin = Profit (or loss) / Revenue

The profit and loss statement of Healthy Hearts Clinic is shown in the table below:

What to Do with Your Nurse Business Plan?

An NP business plan is valuable for planning, launching, and growing a nurse practitioner clinic. Still, it is not a static document that should be forgotten once it is done. A Medical Billing Business Plan should be reviewed, revised, and updated regularly, to reflect the changes and challenges in the market, the industry, and the clinic. 

A business plan for the NP should also be used for the following purposes:

• To secure funding – A nurse business plan can help secure the necessary capital and financing for the clinic from potential investors, lenders, or partners and showcase the clinic’s viability, profitability, and sustainability.
• To guide operations – A nurse business plan serves as a guide for the clinic’s daily operations, helping to set and achieve goals, allocate and manage resources, assign and monitor tasks, evaluate and improve results, and identify and solve problems.
• To measure success – A nurse business plan allows measuring and tracking the clinic’s success and progress by comparing the actual and projected financials and analyzing the strengths and weaknesses.

How Can OGSCapital Help You with Your Nurse Practitioner Private Practice Business Plan?

If you are confused about how to start a nurse practitioner private practice, our experts at OGSCapital can help. We have over 16 years of experience developing customized, high-quality business plans for various purposes and industries. Our team of experienced and qualified business plan experts can help you with your business plan needs, such as market research, financial analysis, strategy formulation, and presentation design. We also offer multiple revisions, fast turnaround, competitive pricing, and a quality guarantee.

Contact us to learn more about our services, portfolio, and testimonials, and schedule a free consultation with us. You can also refer to our Hospital Business Plan here.

Download Nurse Practitioner Private Practice in pdf

Frequently Asked Questions

How do i market myself as a nurse practitioner.

To market yourself as a nurse practitioner, you must identify your target audience, unique value proposition, and messaging. Using various strategies and channels to promote your services, such as a website, social media, referrals, and networking, would be best. A Medical Business Plan usually includes such information.

What is the full practice authority for nurse practitioners?

Full practice authority (FPA) is the authorization of nurse practitioners (NPs) to evaluate patients, diagnose, order, and interpret diagnostic tests, and initiate and manage treatments — including prescribing medications — under the exclusive licensure authority of the state Board of Nursing.

Can NPs open their own practice in NY?

Yes, NPs can open their own practice in NY, but must meet certain requirements. NPs must have at least 3,600 hours of experience, practice by written protocols and a written practice agreement with a collaborating physician, and undergo peer review by the collaborating physician.

OGSCapital’s team has assisted thousands of entrepreneurs with top-rate business plan development, consultancy and analysis. They’ve helped thousands of SME owners secure more than $1.5 billion in funding, and they can do the same for you.

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How to Launch Your NP Private Practice in 2024: A Step-by-Step Guide

For many Nurse Practitioners (NP), starting their own private practice represents a pinnacle of professional achievement.

The autonomy and potential rewards can be compelling. However, it’s important to remember this is a marathon, not a sprint. The process requires careful planning, attention to detail, and an unwavering commitment to meet stringent requirements.

That’s where NPHub steps in. We’re here to guide you through your journey of launching your private practice as an NP in 2024.

This comprehensive guide covers everything from legal prerequisites and scope of practice to credentialing, business planning, marketing strategies, financial management, and more.

Your dream of owning a practice can become a reality. We’re here to help you make it happen.

Navigating the Legal Requirements

Each state has its own regulations regarding licensure, certifications, and permissions to operate as an independent healthcare provider. Spend time researching these prerequisites carefully to avoid potential pitfalls.

Moreover, consider malpractice insurance. Although it can feel like an additional burden, it’s vital for protecting yourself and your practice against potential legal claims.

Your state’s laws governing private practices will guide the type and amount of coverage required.

Determining Your Scope of Practice

Some states grant full practice authority to NPs, while others offer reduced or restricted autonomy.

Understanding your professional boundaries and privileges is crucial in defining your practice’s services.

Remember, the scope of practice isn’t static. As healthcare regulations evolve, there may be opportunities to expand your services.

Keep up-to-date with legislative changes in your state to ensure you’re maximizing your potential as an NP.

Acquiring NP State Licensure

State-specific licensing requirements can differ significantly, making visiting your state’s Board of Nursing website essential.

Stay informed about educational qualifications, examinations, and other state-specific requirements.

Being licensed means you’re legally eligible to practice and signals to patients and peers that you’ve met the high standards expected of healthcare professionals.

While this process may be lengthy and challenging, it paves the way for your successful private practice.

Managing Credentialing and Enrollment

Getting credentialed and enrolled with insurance companies can seem daunting, but it’s critical to ensure your practice’s financial viability. The process involves:

• Gathering necessary information about your qualifications and experience.
• Researching various insurance companies to understand their specific requirements.
• Completing detailed applications.
• Regularly following up on the process to ensure smooth progress.

Creating a Business Plan

Creating a robust business plan is more than a regulatory requirement. It’s the blueprint for your practice’s success.

Start by defining the services you’ll offer and identifying your target market. This should be followed by:

• Creating a financial plan detailing the projected revenues, costs, and profitability.
• Setting competitive yet profitable prices for your services.
• Defining a marketing strategy to attract and retain patients.

A well-executed business plan can help attract potential investors or secure loans and act as a roadmap guiding your practice’s growth and development.

Considering NP Practice Operations

Consider which tasks you’ll handle personally and what you’ll delegate to other staff. Be it administrative tasks, patient care, or billing, efficient workflows can enhance your practice’s productivity and patient satisfaction.

Outsourcing specific tasks can free up your time for patient care, where your skills and training truly shine.

However, you’ll also need to oversee and manage these outsourced functions to ensure they align with your practice’s standards and objectives.

Growing Your Practice with Marketing

Marketing is key for your NP private practice growth. Today’s digital world offers many opportunities to reach potential patients. Your marketing strategy might include the following:

• An optimized website to make your practice easily discoverable online.
• Effective search engine optimization (SEO) to boost your visibility in search engine results.
• Digital advertising to reach a larger audience.
• Online reputation management to build trust and credibility.

Remember, marketing is an ongoing effort. Keep refining your strategy based on feedback and performance metrics.

Managing Financials

Managing financials involves more than just tracking expenses and revenues.

A healthcare financial dashboard provides insights into charges, claims, and cash flow, guiding your financial decisions.

By closely monitoring these financial metrics, you can identify trends, spot issues early, and make informed decisions to ensure the financial health of your practice.

Establishing Your Practice’s New Internal Systems

An efficient practice requires several internal systems, such as electronic health records (EHR) software, payer contracting and billing, and telehealth software. Establishing these systems from the start can streamline operations and improve patient care.

A well-integrated EHR system can securely manage patient data, scheduling, and billing. At the same time, an effective telehealth solution extends your practice beyond physical boundaries, reaching more patients and reducing missed appointments.

However, implementing these systems requires careful planning, training, and ongoing management.

Choosing an EHR System

A suitable EHR system is crucial for modern healthcare practices. When choosing your system, consider factors such as:

• Compatibility with your practice size.
• Secure interfacing with medical labs.
• A user-friendly patient portal for easy access to health records.

Payer Contracting and Revenue Cycle Management

Effective billing and contracting systems are essential for your private practice’s financial health. These systems ensure you’re reimbursed appropriately for your services.

Always ensure your providers are appropriately credentialed and leverage revenue cycle management tools to maximize reimbursement submissions.

Implementing a Telehealth System

A well-integrated telehealth system extends your reach, reduces missed appointments, and improves patient satisfaction.

When setting up your telehealth system, look for a solution that integrates seamlessly with your EHR system for a smooth patient experience.

NP Telehealth Considerations

While telehealth offers many benefits, it also introduces new considerations. These might include:

• Mobile video app portals for patient communication.
• Optimizing EHR system integration for improved efficiency.
• User-friendly interfaces to reduce tech-related stress.

Undoubtedly, setting out on your journey to establish a private practice as a NP is challenging.

There are countless requirements, decisions to make, and obstacles to navigate. But with careful planning, determination, and the proper guidance, you can reach your goal.

Remember, this journey is worth every effort. The satisfaction of operating your own practice, contributing to patient health, and making a difference in your community are rewards unparalleled.

There’s never been a better time to take the leap and start your private practice. With this comprehensive guide from NPHub, you’re equipped with the knowledge and resources to make your Nurse Practitioner entrepreneurial dream a reality.

Let’s embark on this exciting journey together.

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10 Steps to Starting Your Independent Nurse Practitioner Practice

This article is a synopsis of an article I wrote that was orginally published in Advanced for Nurse Practitioners . It has since been updated and can be found at NPBO.

1. Develop a support system.

None of us operates in a vacuum. It is essential that you develop a team of professionals to assist you. That team may starting with an business attorney and CPA in order to start you out on the right foot both legally and financially.

You will also want to network and mastermind with other NP Business Owners who have already traveled this road. It will likely save you time, money and frustration.

2. File the necessary paperwork.

The paperwork alone will keep you busy! You will need to file for the necessary business licenses and permits. You need to get an NPI number, which should correlate with your new Tax ID number. As soon as humanly possible, if not before, begin the credentialing process with Medicare. That one will take the longests. File the others as soon as you can.

3. Find an affordable location.

Where you want to locate your practice is an important decision. Consider how much space you need now and for futuer growth. In your mind, walk through your space to determine what you think you will need. Make sure it feels good as well as make good financial since. Considerations including leasing a medical office, buying and remodeling a space as well as building from the ground up.

4. Research budgetary projections.

As soon as possible, start gathering information about reimbursement rates from payers. With this information, you’ll be able to make some projections about your potential gross and net income. Don’t forget to factor in the lower reimbursements that many still pay NPs.

5. Scout around for insurance.

Shop early for your liability insurance. Almost all payers want to see proof of your malpractice coverage prior to credentialing you. This includes many of the plans you may already be credentialed with.

6. Hunt for affordable and functional equipment.

I don’t buy the idea that you have to spend a huge amount of money to open your business. Nor does everything need to be brand new. I did a lot of shopping at surplus retailers as well as eBay. Likely you will purchase both new and used equipment. Consider keeping your shopping list to those items that you will really needed initially, as well as those items that you can show a good return on investment (ROI).

7. Outline your staff strategy.

What roles will have to be filled as your practice grows. Who can you utilize in more than one positing as you get going? Remember, when thinking about staff, you will have lots of additonal fees and taxes associated with being an employer.

8. Learn all you can about billing.

If there is one thing I wish I had known more about before beginning this practice, it would be billing. Reimbursement is the cause of most of my business headaches, and has nearly closed more than one practice. I cannot emphasie this enough. Learn it, and then monitor those who are doing it for you.

9. Let people know about you.

Marketing! I once read that we only think we are in busines to provide whatever widge we are providng, when it truth, our true job is to market. We have no business without our clients and patients. The way they find us is marketing – yellow pages, word of mouth, referrals, insurance companies, websites, and newspaper ads to name just a few.

10. Look Ahead.

Take the time to identify your goals and keep them updated. Decide how you want to grow and when it is time for you to move on. Make sure, as much as possible that you build a business that fits you and your lifestyle.

I believe that more and more resourceful and creative nurse practitioners will make the jump into private practice. It only takes a few core steps to mark out the path to myriad opportunities.

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I’m really glad that you have made your sites for those of us who will some day become independent practitioners. I look forward to the day that Florida becomes an independent practice state. I’ll be glad to see us get the ability to prescribe narcotics for that matter! Only two states left!

I have been an Nurse Practioner for over fifteen years and did start my own business in 2005. I found it very difficult to sustain beyond six months which was all I had prepared for. I made very little money as a Clinician and most of my money as a Educator. I contracted with a local community organization to provide HIV/AIDS Health education. Those six months were difficult but I now know where my real passion lies. It was like obtaining a business degree and although I made alot of mistakes I learned from the experience. I am currently working for NYSDOH as a Public Health Consultant. but would give almost anything to have the chance ,one more time to have my own practice. I decided I will have that chance and will start out slow this time setting up my Women’s Health traditional and holistic practice in my home. If anyone has any tips on getting a collaborating physcian please share with me. The Sister’s Upper Room Jamila Ali RN-C WHNP MSN

You are so right on when you say starting a practice is like getting a business degree. I figure I’ve earned am MBA & a PhD! 🙂

Getting a collaborator will vary from state to state. But in general, the place to start is in your own community. In NY you have to have someone sign on as a collaborator…so what about the person who currently signs for you? If not what about their colleagues? Others in your specialty? Seek out physicians who are already working with an NP in private practice, or are at least familiar with working with NPs.

A few other resources:

Carolyn Zaumeyer’s book “How to Start an Independent Practice” discusses this in Chapter 5.

The December issue of Advance for Nurse Practitioners (being mailed now) has an article on “ Finding a Collaborator”.

NPBO has articles as well as a sample agreement used and shared by one of the members.

Keep us posted on how you are doing.

I am currently attending an post masters FNP program and would like to start my own practice. I have worked for myself before contracting my services to ICU’s doing acute care dialysis and found it very rewarding. What I would love to find would be a mentor, I’m sure I would argee to slave labor for the opportuinity to learn how to start my own practice. Dermatology would be my preference and I would move where nessisary to obtain the experience. I wouldn’t expect to be employed by them, rather something like an intern in return for the skills to set up my own practice.

Just starting out – where do you find financing for a start up business in an economy we’re in right now? I’m afraid to really “dream” until I know what is available to me.

I am in the early stages of independent practice – just got the motivation to take the big leap, but hesitant due to the “little things”. I want to provide my services to ALF’s, as an independent contractor. Who would I seek as a mentor to help me decide how to reimburse the ALF – a percentage of collections, or per patient, etc. I would take all my equipment/supplies, would have my own insurance (also need help in figuring out if I need additional malpractice coverage in addition to the policy I have with my current employer). I also would have someone do my billing. I am in the process of writing a proposal for the ALF, but not sure how to reimburse them.

I see patients in ALF myself, I really enjoy it. It’s a good business model with low overhead.

You do not need to “contract” with them. You bill Medicare directly for your services, much like an office visit, only use the E&M codes that are specific for ALF’s. No sure why you need to “reimburse” the facility.

You definitely need malpractice, your own business license, structure, EIN and NPI.

There are some articles on AFL here and on http://www.NursePractitionerBusinessOwner.com .

Feel free to contact me through this blog.

I’m about to join an NP practice (as an independent contractor) that’s already established. We provide care to home bound pts. We are planning on expanding services to include office-based care, as well. Two questions: 1 – there’s a clause in our agreement that’s states I would not be able to have a professional relationship with pts for a year if I were to leave the practice. Should I seek to exclude new pts that I bring in to the practice? 2 – how would we make the transition to my becoming a full partner in the practice? Would I need to buy in with a cash amount equal to the met worth of the business? How does that usually work? Thank you!

I would like to start my own practice in Texas, and I would like to know the steps that I need to follow up.

Hello Aida,

In addition to the above, I go into these 7 steps (in depth) in our course, http://npbostarterkit.com/ . Check out the video which will tell you more about the 7 steps and let me know if you have additional questions.

have been offered a site fully equipped and has a collaborator. I am fully lic and certified. I thought the new grads as of 2015 require the DNP. I am only MS level. they want me to get them started as an APN facility and OH big one no rent for one year to get it up and running. I want to but nervous. I have experience opening other people facilities not my own.

We are not yet at a place where DNPs are the entry level for Nurse Practitioners, but it will come.

Congrats on this opportunity you have ! It’s good to be nervous, even though you have experience. Keep us posted on how you do and let us know if you have questions.

I am interested in having my own private practice in texas. I don’t know how to start. Are there many practice option? example owning a clinic, home health or nursing homes? I am so clueless. Please help.

There are many practice and business options for NPs. It really starts with what you want to do, identifying your own clinical strengths (if you are interested in a clinical business) and then researching the area to determine feasibility.

There are several options for you to receive more assistance and I’ve listed several of them on http://npbusiness.org/work-barbara/ .

Let me know if you have further questions.

Thanks for your prompt responses. I registered today with the nurse practitioners business owner. I surely will go the site and check it out. How long does the whole process take? Is the inital financial requirements too heavy?

Welcome to NPBO™!

The answers to these questions depend on what exactly it is you want to do. Be sure and join us for the Members Only Q&A call and we can discuss your situation specifically. Also, make sure you get involved in the private FB group for members only. I look forward to learning more about your journey to owning your own practice!

Hi Barbara Any insight of the dangers of joining a start up company as the NP? I guess l can explain in detailed… as l want thru grad school my employer at the time owned a home health company n l was the DON. Now that l a NP he wants me to come up with a way to start a wellness venture ran by NP. l am clueless as l just graduated… speechless!! l live in dallas TX

Hi Ester, while this sounds like a good opportunity, I would look at it very carefully.

I’m not clear from you question if you would be the business owner, if this would be a partnership or if you would be the employee/intrapraneur, but here are some thoughts.

As you just, you just now graduated. I would advise you to focus on becoming an expert clinician. As a rule, I generally recommend that new grads take the time to hone their clinical skills….and start to learn about business.

Every NP needs to have basic business skills including how reimbursement works, negotiations, contracts and more.

Let me know if you have further questions about this.

Hi Barbara Thanks for the prompt response. I’m a contracted employee to a boss that is not a medical professional (can’t hire medical professionals). Per my understanding l am contracted in his wellness company that has no structure at the moment. My fear is that he believes l can come up with a business plan and structure of how he can generate revenue from having me as an employee:). My brain is completely stuck as I’m a novice FNP n not sure how l can go about all this…. About the basics business skills acquisitions what settings is better? clinics or hospital? any insight?

While this sounds like a good opportunity, I would think about it carefully. While working in wellness can be wonderful and fulfilling, would you be better served to spend some time as a “regular” employee learning how to manage patients with a variety of needs first? And then later, with the background of what happens when one is not well…venture into wellness. You’ll have a greater depth of experience and expertise to guide your patients at that point. (IMHO).

What your current employer is asking you to do (from what I understand) is to really create the practice (and teach him what to do) in terms of clinical operations, business operations, billing, fee schedules etc. It’s a lot for a “novice NP” to create when you are just starting your practice.

If you really want to go forward with this, I would recommend getting a course that walks you through all this, work with a mentor and take your time.

Hi Barbara Thanks for your input. l have recommended your 2.0 course to my boss. hopefully we both can learn together as we explore this lovely profession. Thank again!

You are welcome Esther. Let me know if you have further questions. ~ Barbara

I have been in practice for the last past 3 years working at a Community Health Center. What I want to do is open up a women’s health clinic in NY to serve the underprivileged and underserved population. I would be partnering with another NP who is a close friend of mine. I do not know where to start this process or how to build a timeline.

One of the first places to start, especially since there are two of you is to explore your goals and values individually….and then together. Make sure that you both on the same path. Partnerships, especially when there is any ambiguity, can deteriorate rapidly.

You also want to explore the finances of doing this project and make sure that’s it’s going to be financially feasible. What will your cost be, what will your reimbursements be? Obviously, a lot to explore. You didn’t say, but if you are considering a non-profit model, keep in mind you still need to make money to cover cost. And there are additional requirements to be a non-profit.

If you really want to dive deeply into this, I’d recommend our course. You can find more details here.

hello Barbara

I am considering starting own Np practice as well and am currently doing the research in seeing if I can make the leap and if it will be cost beneficial.

I am having trouble getting information on what reimbursement pay would be for common visits that my target population would be.

Do you have links or helpful info that could help with this gathering of data. I don’t want to put all investment into an office lease, state licensure, etc when the reimbursements are not going to pay out what I would need. Trying to do a cost analyses but do not have a good resource for this. Tried calling the main provider BCBS, but cannot get through to anyone to call me back. any help would be very appreciative.

Thank you sonia

You are absolutely correct, you need to gather all your information before you invest in starting a business.

Medicare and Medicaid (and workers comp) reimbursement rates are all public information, so you’ll be able to get that information from the appropriate websites.

Unfortunately, commercial payers don’t readily share their “proprietary” information such as reimbursement rates. However, most often you can call “provider relations” and give them 5-10 CPT codes and ask about reimbursement.

If you are unable to get a hold of someone, try provider enrollment at BCBS instead of a provider rep.

Hope this helps. Good luck and let me know how it goes.

Hi Barbara, How would I go about researching an NP led business where the only focus is routine school/sports physicals. No brick and mortar location but travel to different schools to perform them low fee cash only basis.

1. Is there a need for this in your community? 2. How many schools are there and how many students? 3. How would you receive payment for those services? 4. What will be your fee? 5. What will the overhead be? 6. Will you be able to see enough students, at your fee schedule to cover all cost and make enough money?

Hi Barbara I am in South Africa. I want to start an NP Practice in Mental Health. I’m just not quite sure how to start and how to get funding.

I am thinking about opening a dermatology center which provides Botox, laser hair removal, microdermabrasion therapy, and chemical peels. As a NP will I be available to do so, or do I need to a MD? Please advise me.

Much of this depends upon your state rules and regulations. It is critical you understand your scope of practice and any rules restricting practicing for your state before you move forward.

Sipokazi, I don’t know the rules that may restrict or may not restrict practice and practice ownership in SA. Become familiar with the rules and regulations. When starting up, you must start with research – including all the financial aspects and then determine what you will need. Part of that research will include finding sources of funding. Good luck and let me know if you have further questions! ~ Barbara

JMM I have read about private practice and the need to research. I have heard interest in private PMHNP practice. This give me an idea of how private practice is a challenge. thank you all for contributing to this discussion. I will be visiting the site often.

Thanks for commenting Julie.

I would like to start my own practice in Florida, and I would like to know the steps that I need to follow up.

Hello Yusimi,

Thanks you for your question. It’s impossible to answer the question in a short blog reply.

If you download our mindmap, it will give you a lot of information of the various steps to starting a practice. As you search thru the blog, you’ll find a lot of information on starting a practice. If you’d like help going through all the different steps, in detail, then I refer you to our course. https://www.clinicianbusinessinstitute.com/p/piab

Please let me know if you have additional questions.

Hello Barabara I live in Michigan, FNP working in a Level all ER, I want to open my own practice, but would like a partner, is that a good idea? Or should I start my own business and hire a part time NP? How do I fine another NP loving for a partnership?

Partnerships can be done, but realize that in a partnership you can both be held liable for the others business decisions/actions – both good and bad. If you go the partner route, it’s best to get legal advice on how to best protect yourself and your partner and to limit the liability on each side. Partnerships require clear communication, similar goals and work ethic IMHO.

Another option would be to create an LLC (if allowed in your state), and bring on another “member”. You can structure it to also limit their involvement and your liability.

Don’t forget since these are also tax structures, to talk with a good CPA who can advise you as well.

Thanks for stopping by!

I’m from SA I am still in the very early ages of my practise, this is what I done/planning got my practice number, have a mentor, busy with business for marketing and a website as well. buying my wound packs and basic wound dressings to start of , assessing what the Dr prefers and the type of wounds I came across, joined WHASA wound org , for updated training and SANP a support group for nurses , will work after hours and weekends until business picks up and than FULL FORCE, its scary but feels liberating at the same time.

Sounds great Charly! Congrats. Can you tell us more about your scope of practice in SA?

Hi Barbara I am an FNP, most of my experience has been with psych and would like to start my own practice: outpatient mental health clinic in Florida. I would to know if this is possible in this state? Also where would be a good starting point? thanks, Rosa S

Yes! Starting a practice in Florida is doable as many of your colleagues have shown. You do have a few hoops to jump through just like any non-FPA state. Where to start? Start with planning. Define what it is you want to do, who would be your ideal clients, how would they pay for your services, and if you take insurance, which payers would you consider. If you have not already, pick up a copy of our practice mind map (it’s free, see the blog sidebar) which will help you map out different components of a practice. If and when you are ready for more, check out ClinicianBusinessInstitute.com Good Luck!

Hello! I am nurse practioner in CT. I work in an office right now for a big company. I have been given the opportunity to do med management for mental health clinician who can not prescribe. I’m wondering if I need a new npi number and a tax id.? Would I need to take insurance and if I do, do can I credential with payors as a separate entity from what I am now? I would one day hope I can grow this into my own practice but for now would be doing both jobs.

Hello Aericka. The answers are yes! 1. First, I assume this is within scope of practice for you. I bring that up, because it’s becoming a hot topic. 2. I’ll assume you plan on doing your own billing for this. You’ll need to go ahead and create that business, complete with all the appropriate business numbers (TaxID/EIN and NPI-2). 3. You’ll want to get credentialed under your new business. That will keep work you do for your employer separate from what you will do in your own business.

Thanks for the question and good luck!

I am a NP, have been one for 10 years. I worked in Montana in a clinic and then moved to Texas about 8 months ago. Currently in the process of going back to Montana to open a clinic in the same area I left. Do you have any good advice? We have a building, it is a home that insurance has already cleared to use and we will remodel it for the needs. I am working on an EMR and one that will have a billing with it, currently looking at 4 different ones. we are trying to come up with check list of things we need to do. Working on picking a name for business so we can get it registered and then hiring someone to start credentialing, I am working in texas until this is closer to happening and we are hoping 6 months, that is our goal/window. I am open to any help that you can provide. I tried to click on several of the links in comments above and could not get any of them to work. Thanks. for any ideas/lists you may have.

There is a lot in this blog on getting started. You’ll notice on the sidebar there is an image that will allow you to get a mindmap that you’ll find helpful to help you fill in some holes.

You may also be interested in information that is at ClinicianBusinessInstitute.com.

Hi Laura, As you know, when starting a business there are so many moving parts, it’s hard to keep track of everything. Here are a few things that may help. – Go through this blog – there is a lot of information. – Download the mind map that is available on this blog. You’ll be lots of things you that may jog your mind. – Join our public NP business group on FB – Join NPBO™ where you can get a lot of support and further information – We have courses that can help you at ClinicianBusinessInstitute.com – Of course, if you need to do a consultation, we can set that up as well.

Hope that helps.

I WILL LIKE TO START SEEING PATIENTS AND PROVIDING CARE FOR THEM IN THEIR HOME AS AN INDEPENDENT PRACTITIONER. I LIVE IN NY. I HAVE EXHAUSTED SO MUCH TIME TRYING TO FIND OUT WHERE TO START WITH NO LUCK. I AM ALREADY ENROLLED IN MEDICAID AND MEDICARE. WILL SOMEONE BE OF ASSISTANCE IN POINTING ME IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION?

Hi Shirley,

So glad you stopped by. Yes we can help. First, this Sunday, we are having a webinar – Essential Steps to Starting Your Practice. It’s free and you can sign up at http://NPBusiness.ORG/Essential Steps. Secondly, depending on where you are in your process, you may find some answers by searching the blog, or visit http://ClinicianBusinessInstitute.com . There are a variety of resources that you will find helpful.

I am looking to open a PrEP and STI only clinic in Michigan, how does one find a collaborating doctor and how much pay is expected to pay them?

Start here http://npbusiness.org/collaborating-physicians-part2/ , it will also link to part one. It will give you the basics. If you need further assistance, we have a course of collaboration. that will also walk you through what you should have in your CPA. https://www.clinicianbusinessinstitute.com/p/collaboration

I am PMHNP-BC for 4 years and would like to start my own independent practice in New York. I would provide medication management and psychiatric evaluations via telemedicine. I am not sure where to start and need some advise. I am planning on a home office and starting with one day per week. Need some advise. I also planning on private pay and all insurance, since NY now reimburse for NP for telemedicine.

Hi Debra, Congrats on getting started in practice. The first place to start is with some planning. You may find what you are looking for by searching this blog. Alternatively, you can shortcut your time and energy by joining NPBO™ to get ongoing help, and/or take a course in getting started in your business. ClinicianBusinessInstitute.com Best wishes!

I am an FNP in California. I have worked as an NP for 7 years and would like to open up my own practice seeing patients. I just am not sure how to go about doing this. Any advice or any direction you could point me in to get started?

Good Morning Lisa, here are a few resources:

• This article was just published: The ABCs Of Starting A Nurse Practitioner Practice
• Pick up our Practice Startup Checklist
• Take a look at our courses at ClinicianBusinessInstitute.com , where you can find all sorts of support, including our startup course.

Let us know if you have any additional questions.

I am currently working in a private practice and am considering going solo by getting an office suite and working without support staff (keeping my collaborative). To make it easier I would want to do self pay only rather than billing ins, which I know will be a risk for building a patient load. My questions are, do I use the same LLC & tax ID for both offices while transitioning to my own place; and since I’m already credentialed with insurance, can I give patients a superbill to try and get reimbursed?

For YOUR business, you need to have your own LLC (or other appropriate structure). That business will have its own NPI and it’s own EIN number. You will need to get credentialed under those numbers – not your current employers. So you current credentialing will not help.

If you are not credentialed, you can have a cash practice and give patients a superbill so they can attempt to collect from payers. If you are credentialed, you’ll need to follow the terms of your contract with the payer.

Thanks for the questions. Best wishes!

Thanks Barbara! I’m actually an independent contractor at the private practice I’m in, so I’m contracted under my business LLC, not the practice. I wondered if I may just be able to provide the patient with a superbill, but it sounds like if I keep my credentialing, I may need to bill directly.

I am getting ready to graduate soon. I want to start my own business right away. I will be getting my master in psychiatric mental health nurse practitioner. Can you tell me where to start? I live in Apopka, Fl and there is not many of this kind of business around and I want to start but I am stuck. Can you offer any advice on what I need to do?

I don’t recommend (in most cases, as there are exceptions) that a new grad NP start their practice right away. Most are better off spending time developing their clinical acumen before learning to own and operate their own practices.

That said, there are several articles on this site about starting a practice. Here is one – https://npbusiness.org/the-abcs-of-starting-a-nurse-practitioner-practice/

Additionally, visit ClinicianBusinessInstitute.com for more in-depth assistance.

Have you heard anything on nurse practitioners with an online telemedicine practice? I assume it would lessen the overhead, however can you be paid by insurances? Thanks.

Yes, this is a popular model that NPs have been doing and yes, insurance companies (depending on the plan) are reimbursing.

Hi I am starting an np diabetes management clinic in MD. I did market research and noted very limited endocrinology/ diabetes providers in my location. I have Medicare privileges and plan to obtain Medicaid and cash pay and have all credentials. However I am still not certain about cost scale for cash patients. And since I’m a small, just me, should I do my own billing for now? I’ve heard horror stories related to getting reimbursed from insurance thus why I’ve yet to add others yet. I’m ready to start seeing patients but want to be sure I’ve got a clear idea about the above.

There can be horror stories about insurance reimbursement, and most of the time it can work. Building a practice on cash can take longer, but it can work. In terms of Medicare, I am assuming that you’ve gotten credentialed in your business at this point. (Sometimes there is confusion about this).

Hello, it appears that you have been teaching this course for several years. Has the content been updated to reflect up to date information on billing and coding?

Hello Barbara – I love this site and all the great info you provide; thank you. I am an experienced practicing geriatric NP and I have been granted autonomous practice in Florida. As a “senior” myself -I recently moved to a large age 55+ community (seniors are getting younger and younger!). I teach senior exercise dance classes and so many of the participants talk to me after class about health needs, etc. I think it would be very helpful to have an NP within the community who they could see readily. I would not take over for their PCP but could act as first stop perhaps since many seniors do not like telemedicine and cannot see their PCP promptly. I’d communicate with the PCP as appropriate, but I wonder about stepping on toes if I prescribe and check labs. I have NPI, DEA, Medicare/Medicaid approved, insurance, etc. I think it would be a flat fee (small so they can afford it) at time of service. Also, how do I know how to set up the medical record (can’t find that info)? Any thoughts on this venue would be most appreciated! Patricia

1. My understanding of autonomous practice in FL is that it is only for those practicing primary care. Has that changed? 2. If you are ordering labs, prescribing can step on toes is it’s more than just an “urgent” visit where you refer them back to their PCP. 3. You cannot charge them for your service if they have Medicare or another insurance that you are credentialed with through your businesses. With Medicare, you can never charge cash for a covered service unless you opt-out (which is global).

HTHs ~ Barbara

Can you recommend a billing company? And some guidance on how to apply for the insurance company. Thanks,

Hello Rebecca,

I cannot recommend a billing company. Everyone has different needs, software, specialities, that it’s hard to do. I’d probably start with my nearby colleagues as to what they are using as well as filtering that for speciality/type of practice. I recommend definitely having a list of questions based on your need, as well as problems people have expressed with other billers.

When you ask about applying for the insurance company, I think you mean credentialing. If so, we do have a course that can easily teach you how to do this and save yourself potentially thousands of dollars and hundreds of headaches. –>> DIY Credentialing .

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How Nurse Practitioners Can Start Their Independent Practice

Based on the latest projections from the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC), the U.S. could experience a shortage of between 17,800 and 48,000 primary care physicians by 2034 and a potential shortfall of up to 124,000 physicians overall. As a result, patients increasingly rely on nurse practitioners (NPs) for medical care.

The American Association of Nurse Practitioners (AANP) reports the significant role nurse practitioners play in the delivery of primary care today:

• 88.9% of nurse practitioners are certified in an area of primary care.
• 70.2% of nurse practitioners deliver primary care.
• 96.2% of nurse practitioners prescribe medications to patients, with those in full-time practice writing an average of 21 prescriptions per day.

Though some patients have resistance to nurse practitioners acting as primary care providers, many are using them when access to physicians is challenging. As advanced practice registered nurses, NPs possess robust skill sets and are qualified to provide a range of medical services.

NPs who want autonomy in operating their businesses while having greater freedom to provide medical care can start a nurse practitioner independent practice.

What Is a Nurse Practitioner Private Practice?

Patients can receive a range of primary and specialty care services from a nurse practitioner private practice, similar to those offered at a physician’s office. A nurse practitioner may provide a scope of services, depending on the practice:

• Patient assessments and diagnoses
• Diagnostic and laboratory tests
• Prescription and management of treatment plans
• Prescription of medications
• Care coordination with other health care professionals
• Patient and family counseling on healthy living and how to manage illnesses and injuries

An NP offers patient-centered care, which entails a comprehensive understanding of a patient’s condition and lifestyle to provide tailored treatment. 

Scope of Practice

While many nurse practitioners work autonomously in private practice, some states limit the scope of services they can provide independent of physician oversight or involvement. NP practices could offer full, reduced, or restricted services, depending on practice location.

Full Practice

Nearly half of the U.S. states, plus Washington, D.C., grant nurse practitioners a full practice designation. This status conveys that, in most cases, they can work independently if meeting certain criteria (such as state licensure requirements). In these states, nurse practitioner independent practices can provide a range of services without physician oversight, including patient exams; performing, ordering, and interpreting diagnostic tests; prescribing medication; and managing treatment plans.

Reduced Practice

Reduced practice states limit the ability of NPs to engage in at least one element of practice without physician oversight. In many cases, they can diagnose and treat patients, but require physician involvement—often in the form of a collaborative practice agreement—to prescribe medication.

Restricted Practice

In restricted practice states, an NP generally needs full physician oversight or supervision to care for patients. California, Florida, and Texas are among the 11 restricted practice states.

Role of NPs in Underserved Areas

NPs play an even more vital role in rural and inner-city areas with limited availability of physicians. According to the AAMC, roughly 60% of the 7,200-plus federally-designated health professional shortage areas are in rural areas . For many of the people who live in these areas, NPs are the main source of primary care.

A report from the Journal of the American Academy of Physician Assistants speculated that the nation’s projected physician shortages could be greatly reduced —and potentially erased—if the contributions of nurse practitioners and physician assistants were more accurately accounted for in health care workforce projections.

Many states that grant full practice rights to NPs are in rural and remote parts of the country, such as Alaska, Montana, Wyoming, and the Dakotas. Studies have shown that in full practice states, NPs are more likely to practice in underserved areas , according to AANP, often leading to improved access to care and lower costs for patients. States that limit the ability of NPs to practice, however, tend to experience more primary care shortages, greater geographic health care disparities, and higher rates of chronic disease. 

How to Start a Nurse Practitioner Private Practice

Earning an advanced degree is essential for NPs, whether operating a practice or working in a hospital. A master’s degree with a focus on a nurse practitioner practice provides health care professionals with foundational knowledge and clinical experience to prepare for certification in their chosen specialty. An advanced degree and certification also are necessary for state licensure.

Those interested in learning how to start a nurse practitioner private practice should follow these essential steps. 

Obtain State Licensure

NPs must hold an active registered nursing license in their practicing state, along with an advanced practice registered nursing license. 

Get a DEA Number

NPs must register with the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) to administer, prescribe, or dispense controlled substances. 

Negotiate Hospital Privileges

NPs often admit patients to the hospital. To make this process as seamless as possible, NPs need to negotiate certain privileges with the hospital, which allows them to admit and visit patients. 

Establish Insurance Reimbursement Contracts

Establishing contracts with third-party insurance companies is critical for an NP independent practice to get compensated for provided services. NPs must obtain credentialed from insurance companies to receive reimbursement, which can take time for new practices and potentially delay payment . Additionally, reimbursement rates for NPs may vary by insurance. For example, Medicare reimburses NPs at 85% of the physician pay rate. NPs must be aware of the rates that apply to them. 

Finance Startup Costs

Starting a private practice can be expensive, so determining startup financing is crucial. NPs can finance their practice with a business loan from a commercial lender, establishing a line of credit, or applying for a loan from the U.S. Small Business Administration. 

Create a Billing System

NP private practices  cam face issues with billing and collections, particularly since payments often are delayed for new practices. An effective billing system can alleviate these issues and allow NPs to focus on the most important aspect of their job: caring for patients. 

Craft a Business Plan

A well-crafted business plan provides a road map for an NP to build, operate, and grow a private practice. A business plan helps NPs think through key components of the operation, forecast growth and serve as an effective tool for attracting investors or seeking other forms of financing. 

Find a Location

Location is another important consideration. NPs should ask themselves what services they’re going to provide and how much space they need to do it while considering future growth. 

Resources for Starting a Nurse Practitioner Private Practice

Nurse practitioners looking to open a private practice may have lots of questions such as “How much money do I need to get started?” or “What kind of location do I need?” Multiple resources can help answer them.

• Write Your Business Plan , U.S. Small Business Administration: This resource can help NPs craft a business plan for their practice and answer fundamental questions about their business.
• Nurse Practitioners: Opening Your Own Practice , Minority Nurse: This resource guides NPs considering opening a practice through the process, tackling questions related to location, staffing, and marketing.
• How to Finance Your Practice from Startup to Growth , Nurse Practitioner Business Owner: This resource provides answers to critical questions on financing an NP independent practice.

Here are eight steps to take before launching your practice: obtain state licensure, register with the federal Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), negotiate hospital privileges, establish third-party insurance reimbursement contracts, finance startup costs, create a billing system, develop a business plan, and find a location.

Types of Nurse Practitioner Private Practices

Nurse practitioners can specialize in different areas of care. Among the more common nurse practitioner private practices are those specializing in psychiatric, family, or acute care.

Each of these specialties provides different services, requiring that NPs in these fields possess unique skill sets.

Psychiatric Nurse Practitioner Private Practice

Psychiatric nurse practitioners assess and diagnose patients’ mental health needs and provide treatment options. They may prescribe medication, provide therapy for patients with mental health disorders or substance abuse issues, and work with their families.

These NPs work in various settings including private practices, hospitals, community health centers, and nursing homes. A psychiatric nurse practitioner private practice promotes mental health in many ways:

• Working with children who experienced traumatic events.
• Assisting older patients dealing with Alzheimer’s disease or dementia.
• Helping soldiers dealing with post-traumatic stress disorder.

Private practice is one of the top practice settings for psychiatric NPs along with behavioral health/addiction clinics and psychiatric mental health facilities.

Requirements for a Psychiatric Nurse Practitioner

A psychiatric NP must possess at least a master’s degree, preferably with a concentration in mental health.

Additionally, psychiatric NPs must obtain the Psychiatric-Mental Health Nurse Practitioner-Board Certified (PMHNP-BC) credential from the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC) before they can open a practice. Possession of a registered nursing license and an advanced degree from an accredited psychiatric-mental health nurse practitioner program are required to sit for the ANCC certification exam.

The proper educational background and training can help psychiatric NPs develop certain skills and abilities considered essential for this role:

• Communication . Psychiatric NPs must communicate effectively with patients to understand the nature of their mental health needs and prescribe appropriate treatment.
• Compassion . To properly treat mental health, NPs need to understand and be sensitive to patients’ individual circumstances, including their social and cultural background and that their conditions don’t define them.

Resources: Psychiatric Nurse Practitioner Private Practice  

With roughly 20% of U.S. adults—and 17% of children ages 6 to 17— experiencing some form of mental illness , according to the National Alliance on Mental Health (NAMI), the work of psychiatric nurse practitioners is vital. Individuals interested in this career path can learn more through the following resources:

• About Psychiatric-Mental Health Nursing , American Psychiatric Nurses Association: This resource provides basic information about the psychiatric NP role.
• Frequently Asked Questions About Psychiatric-Mental Health Nurses , American Psychiatric Nurses Association: This resource answers common questions about psychiatric NPs, detailing what they do, where they work, and describing how to become one.
• Are You Considering a Career as Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner? , American Association of Nurse Practitioners: This resource defines the role of a psychiatric NP and provides information on how to obtain certification.

Family Nurse Practitioner Private Practice

A family nurse practitioner private practice treats patients of all ages, from infants to seniors. Family NPs provide a wide range of primary care services:

• Physical exams
• Diagnostic tests
• Treatment of acute or chronic illnesses and injuries

Family NPs also promote healthy lifestyles and educate patients on disease prevention. In addition to private practice, family NPs work in community health centers, hospitals, and universities.

Requirements for a Family Nurse Practitioner

As with other NP roles, family NPs must hold at least a master’s degree in nursing, ideally in family care. The coursework and clinical experience that an advanced nursing program provides can help family NPs develop the necessary skills to provide comprehensive care to diverse patient populations, such as:

• Interpersonal skills . Family NPs work with patients of all ages from many different walks of life, as well as their families. Connecting with patients is critical to help them understand diagnoses and adhere to treatment.
• Collaboration skills . Family NPs often work with other health care professionals, including other nurses and physicians, to coordinate patient care.

Family NPs also need to obtain a Family Nurse Practitioner Certification from the ANCC or AANP.

Resources: Family Nurse Practitioner Private Practice       Family care is the most common specialization among nurse practitioners, with nearly 70% of NPs holding their primary certification in this area, according to AANP. Those interested in pursuing a career as a family NP can explore the following resources:  

• Are You Considering a Career as a Family Nurse Practitioner? , American Association of Nurse Practitioners: This AANP resource provides information on the family NP role, with some key statistics, as well as links to career resources.
• Family Nurse Practitioner (FNP) , American Academy of Nurse Practitioners Certification Board: This resource discusses the AANP family NP certification exam.
• Family Nurse Practitioner Certification (FNP-BC) , American Nurses Credentialing Center: This resource provides information on the ANCC certification exam, including the contents of the test and eligibility requirements.

Acute Care Nurse Practitioner Private Practice

Acute care NPs provide medical care to patients with acute and often chronic medical conditions. Many acute care NPs focus on adult-gerontology acute care, primarily working with older patients in settings such as nursing homes, emergency rooms, and trauma units.

They provide a range of services, including patient exams; ordering, performing, and interpreting tests; making diagnoses; and prescribing medication or treatment.

An acute care NP private practice specializing in adult-gerontology also may provide palliative care, improving the quality of life for patients with serious, long-term health conditions. 

Requirements for an Acute Care Nurse Practitioner

Adult-gerontology acute care nurse practitioners (AGACNP) must obtain an advanced degree in nursing. These programs generally require one to three years of experience working as a registered nurse in an acute care setting.

The curriculum and clinical experience provided by  a master’s or other advanced nursing program  can prepare students for the AGACNP certification exam, administered by either the ANCC or the American Association of Critical-Care Nurses (AACN).

Education and certification can help AGACNPs develop competencies with:

• Acute care diagnoses and interventions.
• Technology used for advanced diagnostics, such as an electrocardiogram (ECG) and X-rays.
• Disease and pain management skills.

Resources: Acute Care Nurse Practitioner Private Practice       As the population of the country ages and people live longer with chronic and acute health conditions, the health care industry will need AGACNPs to care for them. Individuals interested in this career path can learn more through the following resources:

• “The Role of Adult Gerontology Acute Care Nurse Practitioners,” American Nurse: This resource examines the role of AGACNPs, providing information on the educational background and job outlook for the profession.
• Are You Considering a Career as an Adult-Gerontology Acute Care Nurse Practitioner? , American Association of Nurse Practitioners: This resource explores the work of AGACNPs, as well as their responsibilities and work environments, and provides information on certification.

Typical Nurse Practitioner Private Practice Salary

Though generally competitive, the median annual salary for nurse practitioners in private practice and other settings may vary depending on several factors, including experience and location. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), the median annual salary for NPs was $111,680 in May 2020 .

The BLS also tracks salary figures for the position in states with the highest employment levels of nurse practitioners: California, New York, Texas, Florida, and Ohio. Because the job market is more competitive, salaries in some of these states are higher than the national average for the role.       

California is the state with the highest level of nurse practitioner employment, with a median nurse practitioner salary of $145,970. It is followed by New York ($126,440), Texas ($116,700), Florida ($101,060), and Ohio ($105,630).

Nurse Practitioner Salaries by Specialty

Salaries for nurse practitioners also may vary based on specialty. The following are the median annual salaries for family, psychiatric, and acute care nurse practitioners, based on August 2021 data from PayScale.

• Family nurse practitioner: $97,000
• Psychiatric nurse practitioner: $111,600
• Acute care nurse practitioner: $103,900

Independence in Nursing Practice

As the population ages and the health care needs of Americans grow, the role of nurse practitioners will become even more vital. Additionally, the nation’s ongoing physician shortage increasingly positions nurse practitioners as alternate primary care providers.

Starting a nurse practitioner independent practice allows NPs to build a network of referrals, gain greater independence caring for patients, and the freedom to run their business and potentially earn more income.       

Infographic Sources:

IG #1 Sources:

How to Get Information About Obtaining a DEA Number , American Association of Nurse Practitioners      How to Open Your Own Private Practice as a Nurse Practitioner , Berxi      10 Steps to Starting Your Independent Nurse Practitioner Practice , Nurse Practitioner Business Owner

IG #2 Sources:

Occupational Employment and Wages, May 2020, 29-1171 Nurse Practitioners , U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics

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Business Ideas for Nurse Practitioners’ Private Practice

Nurse practitioners can achieve growth through marketing strategies that expand your client base, a broader scope of products and services, and efficient processes that save money and time.

If you’re a nurse practitioner in private practice, then you’re also running a business. This comes with plenty of pros, such as autonomy and the potential to earn more , but it also comes with a steep learning curve as you navigate how to scale your business.

Luckily, tools and strategies exist to specifically help nurse practitioners in private practice focus on revenue-building. As with any business, you can achieve growth through marketing strategies that expand your client base, a broader scope of products and services, and efficient processes that save money and time.

Actively solicit and respond to online reviews

A strong web presence with social proof is a must-have for a thriving small business, and nurse practitioners in private practice are no exception. Not only should your website be optimized to capture search traffic from people seeking your services, but it should also be able to receive and display reviews from your clients. Build a consistent practice of soliciting reviews from your patients, especially for positive experiences. The more authentic social proof across your website and social channels, the more attractive your business will look to potential new clients and the better your site will rank.

Expand your scope to provide holistic care

If you have the bandwidth and resources, consider expanding on your core service offerings. As you gain an understanding of your clients’ unique needs and challenges over time, it may become more clear which types of additional services you should offer. For example, you might offer a preventive care treatment plan or even a holistic health plan that solves your patients’ problem of fragmented care experiences. Note that you may need to invest in additional certification or education to expand your treatment offerings. Think like a business owner and do a cost benefit analysis to make sure there is enough demand to justify the time and cost of additional certifications and education.

Hire admin and support staff

When you’re bogged down in administrative tasks instead of seeing patients, you’re losing out on income. Ideally, you should focus on billable hours for your expertise to maximize the revenue of your business while an administrative team handles the billing process for you and your customers. This will pay dividends by ensuring your time is valuably occupied with clients. Today, many affordable digital tools are available that can automate processes like booking, answering phone calls, and answering FAQs on your website, but at some point in the growth of your business, you will need extra help of administrative staff for things like schedule management, office management and help with patient care.

Build a business plan to scale your business

Creating a solid business plan can help you set goals, stay on track, and give you peace of mind. Design a 3-to-5-year business plan that focuses on increasing revenue, cutting costs, and investing in areas that promote growth. Keep yourself accountable by checking your business’s performance against your business plan at least quarterly and make adjustments as needed to stay the course.

Focus on your financial areas of development

A strong and reliable support team that handles medical billing is important for any nurse practitioner in private practice. A team-oriented administrative staff that can look at the business from a financial angle and has their finger on the pulse of clients’ needs can help you determine areas of opportunity and efficiency to drive your investments.

Invest in social media marketing

In addition to a high quality, optimized website, social media is just as important to your business’s web presence. Utilizing social channels to share your knowledge as a nurse practitioner can demonstrate your subject matter expertise, build your brand, and connect you with new potential clients. Social media is also an important place for collecting and showcasing reviews and building relationships with your existing clients. High-quality video equipment and lighting, thoughtful branding and planned content calendars can set your business up for success on social media.

Offer telehealth services

To fill up uncommitted time and to accommodate patients who may have difficulty meeting you on site, consider working via telehealth services for consultations, follow-ups, counseling sessions or other types of appointments that don’t require an in-person meeting. A recent study showed that of those who received telehealth services last year, 76% of them would prefer to receive care virtually in the future. So, while not a replacement, virtual visits can continue to compliment other in-person services.

Consider consulting and health coaching

Especially if telehealth is an option for your practice, you can greatly expand your customer base by offering remote consulting and health coaching. Use this technology to fill-in a sparce schedule, meet with new types of clients, or even work with other businesses such as health and wellness brands or media companies as a consultant or resident expert.

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Nurse Practitioner Clinic Business Plan [Sample Template]

By: Author Tony Martins Ajaero

Home » Business Plans » Medical and Healthcare » Hospital & Clinic

Are you about starting a nurse practitioner clinic? If YES, here’s a complete sample nurse practitioner clinic business plan template & feasibility report you can use for FREE to get started .

Okay, so we have considered all the requirements for starting a nurse practitioner clinic. We have analyzed and drafted a sample nurse practitioner clinic marketing plan backed up by actionable guerrilla marketing ideas for nurse practitioner clinics. So let’s proceed to the business planning section.

Nurse practitioners, also known as advanced practice nurses are registered nurses with advanced clinical training. They provide generalist care including routine physical assessment, treatment of uncomplicated episodic illness, continuing care for persons with stable chronic conditions, and acute care in hospital settings.

In many states in the US, they can act as a primary care provider, managing patients from birth through the aging process (depending on their specialty). One exciting prospect of becoming a nurse practitioner is the idea of opening his/her own practice. Nurse practitioners enjoy autonomy and owning their own practice further enhances their independence.

This is an interesting and lucrative business idea for anyone with the passion for healthcare. They are a lot of things you must consider before deciding to start up your own clinic and one of those things is the legal aspects of physician supervision.

Every state in the united states regulates the practice of nursing, and the rules differ from one state to another.Some states in the United States may require an NP to have a supervising physician to diagnose and treat, to prescribe or both, while some other states allow completely independent practice.

An NP who works in a state where supervision is required will need to set up a consultation contract with a physician to ensure that the business is legal. But as an NP in a state that allows private practice without physician supervision, you could open a private practice in paediatrics, family medicine, adult medicine or women’s healthcare.

There’re also NPs who are interested in less traditional aspects of nursing practice such as holistic care, or want to combine another aspect such as massage therapy into their nursing practice. NPs can also provide direct services to patients in locations other than a hospital, clinic or medical office

A Sample Nurse Practitioners Business Plan Template

1. industry overview.

Generally, nurses work to promote health, prevent disease, and help patients cope with illness. They are advocates and health educators for patients, families, and communities.

When offering direct patient care, they watch, assess, and record symptoms, reactions, and progress in patients; assist physicians during surgeries, treatments, and examinations; administer medications; and assist in convalescence and rehabilitation.

Nurses also develop and manage nursing care plans, advice patients and their families in proper care, and help individuals and groups take steps to improve or maintain their health.

Nurse practitioners (NPs), together with physician assistants (PAs), became necessary in the United States in the 1960s in response to shortages and uneven distribution of physicians. They play important roles in many healthcare fields and especially in primary care.

According to reports, there were approximately 106,000 practicing nurse practitioners and 70,000 practicing physician assistants in 2010.

This estimate represents approximately 10,000 fewer practicing physician assistants than projected by the American Academy of Physician Assistants (AAPA) and approximately 10,000 more nurse practitioners than report having NP in their title in a 2008 national survey.

Robert Graham Centre in recent years used the NPI dataset to examine the practice partners of each nurse practitioner and physician assistant.

By making use of a novel imputation method that assigned field of practice (primary care or a subspecialty care) to each NP and PA based on the specialty of the professionals they work with, they were able to estimate that less than half of physician assistants (approximately 30,000) and slightly more than half of nurse practitioners (approximately 56,000) are practicing primary care in 2010.

2. Executive Summary

Master Touch Family Clinic offers a unique combination of Family medical clinic services and community-based social services to Fort Lauderdale. The type of service we plan to provide is almost non-existent from the private sector in our business location.

Although there are government agencies on the city that provide the same services that we will be providing. But the long delays, lack of personal attention, and quality of service provided by these agencies leave the market wide open for private involvement.

We at Master Touch Family Clinic plan to leverage many strategies to differentiate ourselves from the existing market. One of the major differences we plan to bring to the industry will be the sincere concern for our client’s well being on every level.

Benchmarking customer service is our key approach to corner the market of the industry that is in desperate need of our services. Master Touch Family Clinic will be created as a Florida Limited Liability Company based in Fort Lauderdale, owned by its principal investors and principal operators.

Our initial office will be established in a quality office space in Downtown Fort Lauderdale, which is the heart of Fort Lauderdale. Our family medicine clinic will be supervised by Dr Bernard Will from the prestigious Boward General hospital.

Our clients at Master Touch Family Clinic will be families in Fort Lauderdale in need of healthcare and/or social services. These patients are usually referred by other healthcare professionals such as physicians, attorneys, insurance companies and healthcare facilities.

Master Touch Family Clinic can boost of having an excellent reputation with many of these professionals, through the work of our Clinical Director, who is a known figure in the industry, and through the presentations we have made to the community via marketing tools and personal interactions.

Master Touch Family Clinic will be licensed by the State of Florida and our services reimbursed by Medicare, Medicaid and other private insurance carriers.

We have already initiated the process for licensure and insurance certification and we are well on our way to meeting the regulations and guidelines for providing family medicine and social services to patients in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.

Our marketing strategy at Master Touch Family Clinic involves a combination of print media advertising, website development, networking, and promotional events, all aimed at residents living within 35 miles of the clinic. All pricing will be set according to Medicare, Medicaid and other insurance regulation so pricing is not a major factor of consideration.

Sales estimates project healthy revenues in the first year and modest increases through year three. We at Master Touch Family Clinic plan on taking on debt in the form of a five-year loan, and have no plans for additional debt as growth will be financed mainly through cash flow.

Our plan includes assumptions of 100% sales on credit, and sufficient cash on-hand at start-up to prevent any problems with cash flow.

3. Our Products and Services

Master Touch Family Clinic will provide general care for all ages, as well as providing multiple procedures to create a complete healthcare solution.

We will provide procedures including but not limited to mole removals, biopsies, trigger point injections, and much more. We will also incorporate multiple modalities, such as cryotherapy, hyfrecator, shaving, and excisional removal of lesions.

The costs will depend upon the materials used, the physician’s time and the amount designated for each procedure. Our goal is to ensure that optimal health and performance can be attained through the proper balance of exercise, nutrition, and education.

We at Master Touch Family Clinic will educate our patients as well as treat them by providing group classes and teaching sessions for our patients. Subjects could include nutrition, diabetes and hypertension care, and much more.

Our customer approach to service will be buttressed by our willingness to give our clients the full package. From diagnosis procedure to the point where each patient will be offered education in rehabilitation, nutrition and exercise as it relates to each particular case.

We at Master Touch Family Clinic plan to create the best experience for each patient in order to optimize their health. The services we plan to render to the tourists and families in Fort Lauderdale include:

Gynaecology

• Annual Well Women Exam
• Family Planning
• Acute Gyn Problems

Paediatrics

• New born Care
• Infant Care
• Annual Physicals
• Routine Services
• Possible Immunizations
• Dermatology
• Removal of minor lesions, skin tags, moles and warts
• Biopsies of suspicious dermatological lesions and/or referral
• Allergy Testing and shots
• Immunizations

Minor Surgery

• Laceration Repair
• Lesion Removals
• Hyfrecation for Lesions and Blemishes

Adult Medicine

• Preventive and Routine Services
• Diabetic Teaching
• Nutritional/ Dietician Services
• Exercise and Obesity Counselling
• Possible Stress Testing (Future Service)

4. Our Mission and Vision Statement

• Our mission at Master Touch Family Clinic is to promote the health and well-being of the population of Fort Lauderdale and the State of Florida by providing accessible, high-quality medical care for people of all ages.
• Our vision is to become the recognized leader in the Whole United States for general medical services that are allowed to be rendered by nurse practitioners.

Our Business Structure

We at Master Touch Family Clinic plan to start with six health workers: a nutritionist, three medical assistants and two nurse practitioners. We will also employ the services of other business personnel to help achieve our business goals.

All our health employees will be paid hourly wages and have health and dental benefits. But as the business grows and profits start rolling in, we will employ additional personnel to help with referrals and additional responsibilities that will be needed at that time.

Also during our first year, our supervisory physician will work part-time at the clinic, but will be paid directly by Boward General Hospital. Starting in the second year, the physician will draw his salary directly from Master Touch Family Clinic.

We also plan to establish a policy and procedures manual that will act as a guide and reference to sick pay, leave, vacation, hourly wages, payment, etc. The philosophies and guidelines in this manual will help maintain proper clinical structure. We hope to fulfill all our goals and visions, which is why we have chosen designated portfolios to employ right from the beginning. They are;

• Clinical Director (Owner)

Nurse practitioners

• Medical assistants

Admin and Personnel Manager

Nutritionist

• Accountants / Cashiers

Security Officers

5. Job Roles and Responsibilities

Clinical Director

• Oversees all other employees within the clinic.
• Align with the board of directors and other health workers to determine if the clinic is in accordance with goals and policies.
• Charged with encouraging business investment.
• He also promotes economic development within communities.
• In charge of directing the clinic’s financial goals, objectives, and budgets.
• Implements the clinic’s guidelines on a day-to-day basis.
• In charge of Hiring, training, and terminating employees.
• In charge of developing and implementing strategies and set the overall direction of a certain area of the clinic
• Collaborate with the board of directors to develop the policies and direction of the clinic.
• He makes sure that the members of the Board of Directors have the information necessary to perform their fiduciary duties and other governance responsibilities.
• Direct staff, including clinical structure, professional development, motivation, performance evaluation, discipline, compensation, personnel policies, and procedures.
• Diagnose, treat, and manage acute and chronic illnesses.
• In charge of health promotion, disease prevention, and health education and counselling.
• In charge of conducting, supervising, and interpreting diagnostic and laboratory tests.
• Helps patients make better lifestyle and health choices.
• Serve as researchers and patient advocates for the clinic

Medical Assistants

• Getting treatment and examination rooms ready for patients
• Getting patients ready for examinations, treatments and procedures
• Assisting with examinations and routine procedures, including minor surgery
• In charge of taking blood samples and specimens, dressing wounds and recording vital signs
• Sterilization of equipment
• Administering medications
• In charge of overseeing the running of HR and administrative tasks for Master Touch Family Clinic
• Monitor clinic supplies by checking stocks; placing and expediting orders
• Ensures operation of equipment by completing preventive maintenance requirements; calling for repairs.
• Organise induction for new team members
• In charge of training, evaluation and assessment of employees
• In charge of arranging travel, meetings and appointments
• Oversee the smooth running of the daily office activities.
• In charge of evaluating a client’s nutritional needs
• In charge of providing nutritional counselling and advice to clients
• Tasked with creating a clinical nutrition treatment plan for a client
• Researching the effects of nutrition on health and fitness
• Consulting with a team of healthcare practitioners on nutritional management for a client

Accountants/Cashiers

• In charge of preparing financial reports, budgets, and financial statements for Master Touch Family Clinic
• Provide management with financial analyses, development budgets, and accounting reports
• In charge of financial forecasting and risks analysis.
• Understand cash management, general ledger accounting, and financial reporting
• In charge of developing and managing financial systems and policies
• In charge of administering payrolls
• Ensuring compliance with taxation legislation
• Take care of all financial transactions for Master Touch Family Clinic
• Serves as internal auditor for the clinic
• In charge of cleaning the clinic at all times
• Make sure the toiletries and supplies don’t run out of stock
• Handles any other duty as assigned by the director.
• In charge of protecting the clinic and it’s environs
• Controls traffic and organize parking
• Give security tips when necessary
• Patrols around the building on a 24 hours basis
• Presents security reports weekly

6. SWOT Analysis

We at Master Touch Family Clinic plan to create a medical practice that will exceed patients’ expectations. Our Mission is to provide high-quality healthcare to residents of Fort Lauderdale and to create a medical practice that helps serve the community’s needs.

We understand the importance of these services, that is why we went through the process of conducting a detailed SWOT analysis. This SWOT analysis was able to explain our key strengths and possible pitfalls in the industry. We have also taken time, with help from notable experts, to make sure we utilise our strengths and work our weaknesses. Below is the summary of the SWOT Analysis.

Our strength at Master Touch Family Clinic is fact that we have plenty of health services to render to the people of Fort Lauderdale. We have put plans in place to introduce our clinic to tourists as soon as they land in Fort Lauderdale. Also the experience and expertise of our founding teams makes our clinic attractive. The connections we have set already also make us concrete and strong.

Our detailed SWOT analysis also noted that our location might serve as a weakness to us. It went further to acknowledge that downtown Fort Lauderdale is the business hub of the city and will be filled with businesses trying to offer most of the services we offer. We also have to fight it out with Tenet Healthcare in Fort Lauderdale, but we have put plans in place to outshine and attract more clients.

• Opportunities

The increases in death rate and the prevalence of high priority diseases have taught the citizens of America the need to regularly take care of their health and always seek medical care.

Also patients always want to save time and get a more personalised care, which are rarely afforded in government owned clinics or bigger healthcare institutions. All these are opportunities which our SWOT Analysis noted are available to us.

Our SWOT Analysis also explained that the major threat we will be facing is the fact that we are going to be competing against already existing business in Fort Lauderdale. These businesses include Government and private owned healthcare facilities.

It is believed that these businesses will come after us with all they have got. This won’t be easy for a new entrant in the industry, but the services we offer are unique and new in this area and we plan to make use of that advantage.

7. MARKET ANALYSIS

• Market Trend

As a clinic that wants to provide a healthcare practice that is able to survive off its own cash flow in 10 months or less, we understand the need to keep up with industry trends. We at Master Touch Family Clinic plan to increase the number of patients by 20% per year through superior performance and word-of-mouth referrals.

We want to be and remain an industry leader in family medicine and we hope to do so by staying current. Below are the few trends that are currently riding the industry.

• Demand for family care is increasing

Reports have it that the biggest demand lies in family care physicians, and along with that, the need for additional nurses on staff.

For nurse practitioners new to the profession, or veteran NPs that are looking for a change of pace, family care is one of the best career choices to explore – along with the oncology field – as professionals in these two areas are currently in high demand.

Statistics has it that family care is a branch of medicine that will continue to be in demand despite already having more than half of the NP workforce dedicated to its practice.

• Increased demand for nursing staff in outpatient centres

A lot of patients need continued treatment after a hospital stay, causing an increase in demand for outpatient services. Report has it that over 25% of nurse practitioners worked in an office, 20% worked in an independent clinic, and 15% worked in a hospital clinic.

The study found that only 14% worked in an actual hospital. In addition to these statistics, most of the nurses surveyed worked at several locations under temporary contracts, a common practice as hospitals need the additional staff.

• Growing demand for NPs in rural and underserved communities

With an estimated shortage of about 20,000 physicians, this national issue is especially affecting rural and underserved areas. Since the chance of accident or injury increases in rural communities where licensed physicians aren’t practicing, this has become an even bigger concern.

• Nurses are developing interdisciplinary skills

Just as illnesses evolve and become more complex, an experienced and interdisciplinary skilled nurse practitioner becomes even more valuable. Interdisciplinary skills are quickly becoming a must-have in the nursing industry, and as a result, NPs are learning many valuable skills from areas such as the dental field to social discipline.

• Education is changing due to changes in demographics

Note that diversity within the U.S. population—and increased life-expectancy—is changing what and how NPs are learning. As the international and aging communities in the U.S. increase in number and live longer, nurses must learn and adopt treatments to meet the needs of these communities.

• Advances in nursing and science research are increasing

Naturally, the nursing field needs all the discipline to research, study, and keep up with current research. The best way to do that is by subscribing to a few medical journals. Plenty of advances in nursing research are being developed currently.

In short, an increase in nursing research scholarships has encouraged NPs to study more effective ways to improve patient care.

8. Our Target Market

Our business location in downtown Fort Lauderdale boasts of many new hotels and high-rise condominium developments. Fort Lauderdale downtown area is the largest in Broward County and is a major manufacturing and maintenance centre for yachts.

Due to the Fort Lauderdale many canals, and closeness to the Bahamas and Caribbean, it is also a popular yachting vacation stop, and home port for 42,000 boats, and approximately 100 marinas and boatyards.

Additionally, the annual Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show, the world’s largest boat show, brings over 125,000 people to the city each year. Fort Lauderdale was recently listed as 2017’s third best city out of 150 U.S. cities by WalletHub for summer jobs, and the 24th best city to start a career in.

All these and many more made this city the perfect location for Master Touch Family Clinic. Master Touch Family Clinic will focus all its energy at the entire population (within 35 miles). Below are the reasons why we believe Downtown Fort Lauderdale is the best location for us.

• The people of Fort Lauderdale rarely have the patience, and often cannot wait more than 30 minutes to see a doctor. They would rather “wait it out” on all but urgent matters.
• Fort Lauderdale is always booming with tourists coming in to enjoy the city’s diverse resources or passing through to other big cities around.
• Master Touch Family Clinic is a general family practice, and will treat patients of all ages, incomes, physical abilities, races, and ethnicities. As a family clinic, there is no need to create marketing materials targeted at only one or two of these groups, but we can appeal to all with a similar message.

Our competitive advantage

We can comfortably say that Competition among fellow family practitioners in Fort Lauderdale is small. The growing population base and the limited number of doctors create a great potential for meeting our patient load goals. Most patients when choosing a family health expert go for someone knowledgeable and skilled who will listen carefully to their health concerns.

These same people are more likely to return to a health expert whose location and hours are convenient and accessible, who have short waiting times for getting appointments, whose staff is friendly and helpful, and who work effectively with their insurance provider.

These are the services we plan to render in our business location. We will stop at nothing until we achieve our business goals and visions. Also our well conducted and experienced workforce is another advantage we have in Fort Lauderdale. We have put plans to educate and always remind our employees of the need to remain friendly and calm with any patient.

9. SALES AND MARKETING STRATEGY

• Sources of Income

Our primary source of revenue at Master Touch Family Clinic will be the medical services provided by our well conducted workforce. Master Touch Family Clinic will offer many of the services that are common within this specialty including treatment of medial issues including high blood pressure, cholesterol, and mild medical conditions.

This part of the business will also provide work physicals, and provide cancer screenings, heart disease screenings, and other tests normally associated with the practice of a nurse practitioner. Below are the services we plan to render and make substantial profits at Master Touch Family Clinic:

• Gynaecology related services
• Paediatrics related services
• Minor Surgeries
• Adult Medicine related services

10. Sales Forecast

We at Master Touch Family are very ready to achieve our mission as a clinic. We have put together a sales forecast for our clinic. All pricing will be set according to Medicare, Medicaid and other insurance regulation so pricing is not a major factor of consideration. The projection below is a very conservative sales forecast for our business for the next three years.

• First Year: $420,000
• Second Year: $1,200,000
• Third Year: $3,000,000
• Marketing and Sales strategy

We at Master Touch Family Clinic have put plans in place to achieve all our goals and visions. We intend to use a number of marketing strategies that will allow us to easily target men, women, and families living and coming in Fort Lauderdale. These strategies include traditional print advertisements and ads placed on search engines on the Internet.

This is very crucial to the success of our business, as many people seeking local services, such as medical services, go to the Internet to conduct their preliminary searches. We have plans to register Master Touch Family Clinic with online portals so that people in city and those still coming in can easily reach us. We are currently developing our own standard online website.

We plan to maintain a sizable amount of print and traditional advertising methods within local markets to promote all the medical services we render at Master Touch Family Clinic.

We at Master Touch Family Clinic will also maintain an extensive marketing campaign that will ensure maximum visibility for the clinic to the general public. We will also build relationships with doctors all around Florida and we also plan to implement a local campaign in Fort Lauderdale with flyers, local newspaper advertisements, and word of mouth.

11. Publicity and Advertising Strategy

We at Master Touch Family Clinic believe everybody anywhere in the world is a potential customer and we plan to use a separate Publicity and Advertising plan away from our clinic’s Marketing Plan to reach them.

Master Touch Family Clinic plans to implement a strong publicity and advertising strategy, which is why we have partnered with Ardent and Partners, an advertising firm that specializes in overall business advertisements and many other advertising strategies, to help us with boosting the image of Master Touch Family Clinic.

• Master Touch Family Clinic will pay Ardent and Partners $17,000 to determine the needs of the surrounding population and how best we can meet those needs with promotions, literature and other marketing programs.
• Our Admin and Personnel Manager will work consistent with Ardent and Partners to inform potential clients of our clinic, to encourage an image of community involvement for Master Touch Family Clinic.

12. Our Pricing Strategy

Master Touch Family Clinic will leverage the most advanced computer, server and software systems, as well as Internet connections, in order to optimize the potential EMR and PMS systems software as well as in other software and network system utilized resulting in faster verification, efficient patient information transfer, reduction in administrative costs, computer breakdown or malfunction, as well as allowing outside access for the physician in order to access important patient information for hospital admissions.

We also plan to make use of an outside electronic medical billing company. We at Master Touch Family Clinic believe that this option will allow us to to focus our strength on patient care satisfaction.

This electronic medical billing company, Synthetic Cords, will use electronic claim billing and filing, which in turn will allow us to fully utilize the benefits of electronics claim filing while at the same time letting us maximize valuable clinic time and manpower. Synthetic Cords charges 9% of the total expenses collected.

• Payment Options

In this modern age, we at Master Touch Family Clinic know that good payment options are a powerful business strategy which will attract customers, and we are very much ready to make use of it. We will be bringing payment options that are unique and will make the payment for the service we offer very easy for our customers.

• Payment by via bank transfer
• Payment via online bank transfer
• Payment via check
• Payment via bank draft
• Payment via mobile money

Master Touch Family Clinic have partnered with a renowned bank in the country to enable us provide the above payment options. Our bank account numbers will be made available on our website and promotional materials so that it will be easier for clients to make payments when necessary.

13. Startup Expenditure (Budget)

Starting a good family medicine clinic can be very costly due to the high cost of equipment needed to start the business. We at Master Touch Family understand that this industry is capital intensive but we are also ready to make very good use of the funds we have.

The more reason we have decided to create a business plan that will serve as a commandment or direction for our business. We also acknowledge that prices of equipment can differ across different locations in the country, but the difference we believe can’t be much and can be overlooked. Below is a detailed analysis of how we want to spend our startup capital;

• The Total Fee for Registering the Business in Fort Lauderdale, Florida: $750.
• Legal expenses for obtaining licenses and permits: $1,500.
• Marketing promotion expenses: $150,000
• Cost for hiring Consultant – $5,000.
• Insurance (general liability, workers’ compensation and property casualty) coverage at a total premium – $30,800.
• Cost of accounting software, CRM software and Payroll Software – $3,000
• Cost for leasing facility for the clinic: $100,000
• Cost for facility remodelling – $50,000.
• Other start-up expenses including stationery – $1000
• Phone and utility deposits – $3,500
• Operational cost for the first 3 months (salaries of employees, payments of bills et al) – $80,000
• Storage hardware (bins, utensil rack, shelves, glasses et al) – $1,720
• Cost for medical equipment – $700,000
• The cost of Launching a Website: $600
• Miscellaneous: $5,000

From our detailed analysis above, we will need $1,145,620 to start up Master Touch Family Clinic.

Generating Funding for Master Touch Family Clinic

Master Touch Family Clinic was founded by a great woman, Amanda Liras, a registered nurse practitioner and an astounding entrepreneur. The business will be funded by her until we decide to accept investors or partners. Ways we hope to raise our startup capital include;

• Generate part of the startup capital from personal savings
• Generate part of the startup capital from friends and other extended family members
• Generate part of the capital from the bank (loan facility).

Note: Amanda Libras have been able to raise $500,000 ( $300,000 from personal savings and $200,000 as soft loans from family and friends ) and we are at the final stages of obtaining a loan facility of $1,000,000. We have verified all the necessary procedures to actualize or get our startup cost.

14. Sustainability and Expansion Strategy

Master Touch Family Clinic is a family  clinic founded to fill a gap in Fort Lauderdale. Master Touch Family Clinic, from our research and review has a greater chance of expanding into the nick and crannies of America.

We hope to only purchase medical equipment that has demand within the community, provide fast and friendly service and also ensure strict financial controls to help us manage the expensive capital costs associated with starting a family clinic.

We have plans to make our services the best in the industry. We also plan to establish an excellent customer service culture that will make our clients comfortable and willing to come back.

Master Touch Family Clinic will also make use of the latest equipment in the industry to provide fast, distinctive and reliable services. We hope to establish more business branches as our business gains adequate corporate identity in the industry.

Master Touch Family Clinic marketing strategies will be reviewed every 6 months to enable us understand what our customers want and how best to reach them even in the remote places of our town. We will ensure that all our employees, medical and non-medical, will be the best there is in the industry.

Aside the medical background we hope to leverage, we will be training them to be able to cope with any situation they find themselves in. Master Touch Family Clinic will be run as a family business, where all employees are inculcated into the family stream.

We hope to offer our customers attractive incentives that will move them to give their best and help us move Master Touch Family Clinic to limelight.

Checklist/Milestone

• Business Name Availability Check: Completed
• Business Incorporation: Completed
• Opening of Corporate Bank Accounts in the United States: Completed
• Opening Online Payment Platforms: Completed
• Application and Obtaining Tax Payer’s ID: In Progress
• Application for business license and permit: Completed
• Purchase of Insurance for the Business: Completed
• Conducting feasibility studies: Completed
• Leasing, renovating and equipping our facility: Completed
• Generating part of the startup capital from the founder: Completed
• Applications for Loan from our Bankers: In Progress
• Writing of Business Plan: Completed
• Drafting of Employee’s Handbook: Completed
• Drafting of Contract Documents: In Progress
• Design of The Company’s Logo: Completed
• Printing of Promotional Materials: Completed
• Recruitment of employees: In Progress
• Purchase of the Needed software applications, furniture, office equipment, electronic appliances and facility facelift: In progress
• Creating Official Website for the Company: In Progress
• Creating Awareness for the business (Business PR): In Progress
• Health and Safety and Fire Safety Arrangement: In Progress

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