What One Needs to Consider?

Introduction

The idea of Private Practice conjures up images of working without organisational restrictions, being one’s own boss and having absolute control over one’s life. These are some of the things associated with Private Practice, but this is by no means an easy decision to make and there are many considerations to take into account if one is to survive in the world of business. A world that stereotypes us and assumes that a social worker is someone who hands out food parcels, removes children from unfit parents and works for welfare organisations. Thus it is still relatively new to modern social workers and can be very intimidating.

For those entrepreneurs out there it is the perfect opportunity to show what they are made of. This is a challenging road to take but if the proper care and attention to business norms are taken, it will more likely succeed, not only for the individual social worker but also the image of the profession.

The Social Worker as Entrepreneur

To become an entrepreneur, and at that, a successful one, one requires specific personal characteristics, skills and one’s situation has to be of a certain standard. These things are essential to assess because of the intense processes involved in starting a successful practice.

The skills required, relate to:

Technical skills – these relate to the practical abilities one needs to provide the services of the business one wishes to start

Business Management skills – these relate to the abilities that one needs to run the business effectively. Amongst the most important here is marketing skills, financial skills of costing and record-keeping as well as strategic planning.

Knowledge of Line of Business – this relates to one’s understanding of the type of business one is planning to embark on and how much one knows about one’s market, competitors and clients.

Personal Characteristics required:

Commitment – it is essential if one wants to succeed and may depend on one’s willingness to put the business before almost everything else.

Motivation – this will ultimately determine the amount of success that one obtains because it refers to one’s innermost desires to see things take shape.

Taking Risks – business is a big step to take and one runs the risk of losing it all if the business doesn’t succeed. Taking reasonable risks is an essential step for all budding entrepreneurs.

Making Decisions – in one’s own business there is no one to take risks and make decisions, but the owner of the business. Often there are difficult decisions to make and one has to be prepared to make them.

Situations that need to be assessed are:

Family Situation – maintaining a business takes much time and if one has a family, it can become very demanding. Having supportive people backing one’s choices is important and a great source of encouragement.

Financial Situation – this related to where one will get the money to finance the business and whether one is willing to risk one’s own money or that of a lender

All of these demonstrates that there are many factors involved, and thus much to consider before starting a Private Practice. I would like to devote some time to evaluate a few of the risks and the benefits associated with the notion of Private Practice. This is important because the glories/advantages are always considered as the point of entry and many practitioners do not adequately assess the disadvantages or the downside of venturing into the world of business.

Advantages of Private Practice

Personal and financial growth (self-actualisation and money)
Own boss
Empower and uplift the profession
Self-discipline
Status (qualifications and experience – minimum 5yrs)
Being self-directed
Flexibility in working hours
Control of own schedule
Opportunity to earn more money
Opportunity to perform a wide range of therapeutic services for a wide range of individuals
Able to develop networks with a wide range of people
May have more control over overhead expenses
The client can feel a sense of individuality and relate to only one person

Disadvantages of Private Practice

Financial frustrations – more likely in the first few years
Being solely responsible for overhead costs and other expenses
Fluctuating of income – dependent on caseload and clients
Loneliness and isolation
Constant availability requires personal sacrifices (boundary setting)
Specialisation may be difficult at first
Difficulty in referring certain clients and insecurity about involving another practitioner in cases requiring collaboration and specialisation
Little or no help to cover for one when one cannot be available (e.g. take leave)

Other Important Issues to Bear in Mind

Requires strict self-discipline
Willingness and ability to serve those who seek the service
Willingness to work one-on-one with families or other small groups of people who are suffering from some sort of emotional distress
Must be committed to the idea of continuity of service
Supervision and consultation services have to be secured
Networking with medical aid companies and other professionals for referral purposes is vital
Confidence and credibility is essential
Ability to apply costing criteria to be able to come up with pricing services

Feasibility study

The first and most important step in the planning process is to start to conceptualise one’s thoughts and ideas into a workable format. The feasibility study helps one to:

organise one’s thoughts into a structured layout
decide to go ahead with the idea or not
present the plan to a lending institution to secure finance if this is required

Various structures are suggested for the feasibility study but some of the most essential components to cover are:

Executive Summary – outlines the idea and sums up all the other components below
Business idea – a brief description about what the business will be about, the services that one is hoping to sell, where and how these will be made available and to whom
Marketing plan – the details about how exactly one is going to market the services. It involves all that one will do to find out who the customers will be and what they will need and want.
Form of business – refer to the legal form that one will adopt for the business
Staffing – what skills and experience does one require in the business and how many people will be needed to fulfil those tasks that one cannot personally devote time to
Legal responsibilities and insurance – an understanding of the legal requirements of running a business will be essential as well as insurance (VAT, BEEE, indemnity to mention a few)
Required start-up capital – refers to the amount of money that one needs to start a business.
Sources of capital – refers to where one will obtain the necessary funding
Costing – the ability to set prices for the services provided and planning will be dependent on careful and accurate costing
Financial planning – refers to the planning of profit and monitoring of cash flow (projected and actual)

Once the feasibility study has been analysed and the idea will work – i.e. make money, then one can proceed to write a more detailed business plan.

Planning can be divided into 3 important stages. These are as follows:

Stage 1: Preparation

it is characterised by the individual practitioner’s engagement in an analysis of the industry (environment scan – PEST and SWOT Analyses are needed – for more information click here) which will most likely take the form of research into the soc

ial work industry developments and a detailed needs analysis of the potential client base.

Here one typically answers the following questions:

Why do I want to start a practice?
Where will I start the practice?
What are the legal requirements for the practice?

It also takes a great deal of mental preparation to move from a welfare mindset to a business one as entrepreneurship requires a very different set of skills.

A comprehensive business plan should contain information on the following:

Financial policy
Marketing plan
Networking strategy
Form of the business

Stage Two: Building Blocks

This involves starting the business and the focus is on things such as:

Location of office and equipment/furniture
Fee structure and how to collect money from clients
Staffing needs
Developing a contract for clients
Ethical considerations to be aware of
Type of record-keeping
Type and frequency of supervision

Stage Three: Finishing Touches

This refers to the stage where one looks back as the business and assesses its viability/success. One can gather the information through a monitoring and evaluation tool to conduct the review and make the necessary changes to refine the business.

Conclusion

Each and every one of these points is a vital criterion that needs to be carefully considered by the potential private practitioner if he/she is to guarantee the success of the venture. It is a somewhat daring concept but the benefits, growth and personal development are worth every step. Professional Private Practitioners have served to uplift the image of social workers all over the world and if one can remain focussed, identify limitations and strengths, then there is no stopping the growth and establishment of many private practices in South Africa today.

For more information, contact Ayesha Malagas on 083 7304 556 or email ayesha@starswellness.co.za. Follow our blog on www.starswellness.co.za