Investing in Your Therapy Practice


It can take 3 years or more to get any new practice off the ground, and even then, some struggle for ever to earn sufficient income to support themselves. Often the response to that is to “tighten the belt” or trim expenses to the minimum in order to make ends meet. However, there is another option.

You could invest more money into your practice to give it the boost it needs.Photo no (53)

A practice needs to generate sufficient income to give you what you want out of it (which is VERY important). However, there is a level of activity below which it is costing you money to have a practice. There are some costs you have to incur in order to maintain your accreditation, whether you see clients or not, such as your professional subscription, CPD and a minimum level of supervision. Until your income exceeds the costs of going to work, working is costing you money! You may still choose to practice under these circumstances anyway, and it’s a valid choice. If you’d like to read more about this subject, please see my article on the Breakeven Point.

However, if you’d prefer to earn a bit more, there are many ways that investing capital into your practice could help to make it more profitable.

In the early stages:

Investing some capital when you’re first starting up could help you to

  • Cover your expenses until your income starts to flow
  • Give the launch of your practice a real boost from the start, with a co-ordinated suite of promotional materials
  • Get professional help and advice to do the initial promotion
  • Decorate your room in a style that suits you
  • Purchase fittings or furnishings to make the rooms more comfortable
  • Develop a professional website, likely to generate business
  • Purchase or lease a premises, which you could then sublet to other therapists
  • Provide you with additional training, perhaps in business or management skills

As your practice matures:

As your practice matures, or after you’ve been practising for a while, an injection of capital could help you to

  • Move to a better premises
  • Revamp or refresh your existing premises
  • Take some additional training to move you into a new arena
  • Get some external advice about the best way forward for your practice
  • Employ some additional help in your practice, perhaps to relieve you of some tasks and leave you free to spend time on growing your business
  • Take part in a business networking arrangement

sofa (618x1024)Some examples that I have seen where therapists have used an investment of funds to good advantage are:

  • Adapting their home to create a work space by building on a room at the back of their home, or adding another entrance and toilet facilities. (An investment now saving them rental costs and travel time later.)
  • Investing in the training and infrastructure to start providing services online. (An investment now expanding the geographical scope for potential clients from local to national or even global.)
  • Investing time (and forgoing income) in writing a text book. (An investment now raising the profile of the individual, and establishing them as an expert in their field.)
  • Investing in a second location, complementary to their main base. (An investment now expanding the geographical scope of their practice.)
  • Investing in additional training to specialise in a particular niche. (An investment now providing an expanded scope of services to offer to clients.)
  • Investing in creating a better website, with better search engine optimisation, and ongoing technical support. (An investment now creating a greater public profile and broader reach.)
  • Investing in a leasehold interest of suitable premises which is then sublet to other therapists renting on an hourly or block basis. (An investment now providing a passive income going forward, together with a bigger practice size and profile.)

Don’t assume that the best way of dealing with too small an income is to cut your costs to match. It might be, but you could also upscale what you’re doing, by investing some money now, to make things better in the future.

If you’re unsure about any aspect of running or managing your practice, please leave your comment or question below, or contact me here for your free 20 minute consultation.