Build your brand
This is your professional identity—the picture of your private practice that your colleagues and future patients will see and that will start to get those hours filled. How will you convey your strengths and personality? The answer: Get out of the office.
- Take clinicians who will refer patients to you out to lunch (and pick up the tab).
- Give free talks to psychotherapists or primary care providers. Grand rounds, group practice meetings, or local clinical associations are potential venues. Give the organizer a menu of topic options that connect your clinical interests and theirs, and then create a dynamic presentation based on their feedback. Tip: Do not PowerPoint them to tears.
- Start blogging. If you enjoy writing, use a blog to showcase your talent and expertise. It is free advertising and makes you seem like a trusted authority. However, don’t start a blog unless you can commit to posting regularly.
Proceed thoughtfully and seek advice
As you think through the matrix of issues presented above, each set of answers may lead to a deeper set of questions. When starting a private practice or working to make it more efficient and effective, consultation with a colleague or mentor can save you valuable time. Although you don’t have to have all the answers before you open your practice, spending time thinking through these and other issues beforehand will optimize the chance that your dream becomes a reality.
Also Read: Starting a Private Practice, Part 1
This post originally appeared in Current Psychiatry 2015 May;14(5):54-55.