How to set your practice up for financial success in 2024
Instead of diving into the usual New Year goal rush, let's pause and take a different, more impactful route.
Remember, not having a solid financial foundation can break your practice.
You can't skip this process.
If you skip it now, you'll pay for it in the future.
By building your strategic foundation first, you're making sure that every goal you set contributes directly to the lasting growth of your practice. This strategic foundation isn't just about planning; it creates an emotional connection to the daily actions required to achieve your goals.
Unfortunately, most therapists set arbitrary goals that end up in a notebook or on a vision board, only to be glanced at a few times in January and forgotten by February 15th. We're going to avoid that trap and focus on what really matters for your practice's financial health."
There's no point in creating goals if you're not willing to do what's required to hit them.
Over the years, I've seen so many clients create financial plans that lack a solid foundation. These plans often fail to align with their true business vision and the lifestyle they want to live. As a result, many abandon these plans and deviate entirely from their original strategy by the end of March.
As a result of seeing this over and over again, I got curious and began tracking what my most successful clients had in place that allowed them to continuously hit their goals. What I discovered, is they had what I call a "Strategic Foundation."
The benefits of establishing your Strategic Foundation before creating your annual goals are:
Alignment: Ensures goals match your business values and vision.
Focus: Provides a clear direction, enhancing focus and efficiency in goal setting.
Motivation: Builds motivation and engagement by connecting goals to your larger purpose.
Decision-Making: Improves prioritization and decision-making, aligning actions with long-term business objectives and the foundational mission.
Here's how to create your Strategic Foundation, step by step:
Step 1: Create Your Owner's Intent
Connect your personal aspirations with your business objectives.
Envision your ideal dream life.
Develop a 3-year plan and a 1-year plan to work towards this vision.
Step 2: Establish Your Vision
Set ambitious long-term goals for the next 10 years that we call a BHAG (big hairy audacious goal). This is a goal that should challenge and inspire you.
Identify your 10-year target. What do you want your practice to look like in 2034?
Step 3: Identify Core Values
Determine the 3-7 fundamental values that will guide your business decisions.
These values act as a compass for your practice.
Step 4: Craft Your Mission Statement
Define the external purpose of your practice.
Articulate your core focus: the reason for your practice's existence, your target audience, and the impact you aim to make.
Step 5: Identify Potential Risks
Look at the challenges that could affect your practice's goals.
Think about issues both inside and outside your practice that might be obstacles.
Step 6: Evaluate Your Business’s Strengths and Weaknesses
Take stock of what your practice does well and where it can improve.
Also, look at opportunities and threats in the mental health industry that could impact your practice this year.
With this strategic foundation in place, you can now create practice goals that will stick.
This approach allows you to inject intentionality into your goal-setting process. This goes beyond just learning a new trick or technique for setting goals....It represents a significant change in the way you think and approach goal setting.
It's about developing goals that truly matter to you and your practice, goals that you are genuinely committed to achieving.
