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acupuncture-westlondon
8th September 2020
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Episodes 6 & 7: A Year In Business |  Setting Up Within An Established Practice (Self-Employed vs. Employed)

Welcome to Episodes 6 & 7 of ‘Acupuncture West London – The Podcast’. Today’s episodes are entitled, “A Year In Business |  Setting Up Within An Established Practice (Self-Employed vs. Employed) – parts 1 & 2”.

We all study acupuncture and Chinese medicine in the hope that we may develop into the greatest of practitioners. However, we are often under-prepared for how to set ourselves up as practitioners after graduation, or we are perplexed as to how we can take our already existing business to the next level. Today, we speak to Vicky Newman of Cherry Tree Acupuncture, who talks us through a year in business and setting up as a sole trader within an already established clinic.

Episodes 6 & 7 of ‘Acupuncture West London – The Podcast‘ are brought to you courtesy of our FREE ebook, Yin & Yang. Download your FREE copy at the link below:

DOWNLOAD YOUR FREE E-BOOK TODAY: Yin & Yang

Vicky Newman BSc (Hons) Acupuncture, Lic. Ac.,MBAcC

In episodes 6 & 7, we discuss the following:

PART 1

  • Factors in deciding to set up within an established clinic.
  • The considerations of setting up within an established clinic: as a business (self-employed) vs. as an employee.
  • Working with/alongside other practitioners and setting up a support system.
  • Initial outlays and the costs of setting up within an already established clinic: What’s included? What do I need to know?
  • Different models of working within an already established clinic:
    (i) renting a space (for example; per hour, day or month).
    (ii) paying a percentage of your earnings.
    (iii) paying a fixed cost per patient.
  • Pricing: charging what you feel you’re worth.
  • Online – building your website and creating an online presence; social media, search engine optimisation (SEO), backlinks, and more.
  • Getting referrals, referral fees and building a network of patients from scratch.
  • Advertising.
  • Building and maintaining confidence as a practitioner: the key to your first year in practice.

PART 2

  • Online – building your website and creating an online presence; social media, search engine optimisation (SEO), backlinks, and more. 
  • Advertising. 
  • GDPR compliance. 
  • Clinic management software: accounting, appointment scheduling, automated confirmation/reminder emails, etc.  (See affiliate links below):
  • Payment Solutions:
    • iZettle (get the new iZettle Reader 2 for £25 + VAT* – regular price £59+VAT)
    • Square Reader
    • SumUp Air
    • Paypal Here
  • Doing your clinic accounts and submitting your tax return.
  • Pitfalls to avoid during your first year in practice.
  • Lacking confidence as a new practitioner.
  • Keeping it simple: to CPD or not to CPD.
  • The effects of Covid-19 on a new clinic.

To learn more, tune in to episodes 6 & 7 below. You can also listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts or Podbean.

INTRODUCTION

Welcome to Part 2 of our ‘A Year In Business’ podcast series. Over three episodes, we’re talking to practitioners who have set up businesses in various guises. We’re discussing the various pros and cons, considerations and potential pitfalls of:

  • setting up a practice from home,
  • setting up as a practitioner within an established clinic (as a sole trader or as an employee), and
  • setting up your own business.

In Part 1, we spoke with Rachel Marks from Oakridge Acupuncture. She talked us through ‘A Year in Business’ and lessons learned from setting up her own home practice in Horsham, West Sussex. If you haven’t listened already, check it out!!

Today, we’re speaking to Vicky Newman, who talks us through ‘A Year in Business’ and setting up as a practitioner within an established clinic. Vicky is a graduate of the International College Of Oriental Medicine (ICOM) and a fully certified member of the British Acupuncture Council (BAcC). She is also a qualified paramedic with the South East Coast Ambulance Service. Today, she’s talking to us from Cherry Tree Acupuncture, her own practice, which she has set up within the Marine Clinic in Rottingdean, East Sussex.

To learn more, tune in to episodes 6 & 7 of the podcast. You can also listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts or Podbean.


CLINIC MANAGEMENT SOFTWARE & PAYMENT SOLUTIONS

In today’s and upcoming episodes, we discuss the best options for managing clinic bookings, accounts, patient notes, etc. As a practitioner, I bit the bullet pretty early on into setting up my clinic last year and signed up for an online clinic management platform called Cliniko. Honestly, I’ve never looked back. It’s £29 a month, which I know can seem like a lot when you’re starting up. But truthfully, with the amount of time you save (RE: accounts, booking and changing appointments, confirmation and reminder emails/texts), it pays for itself ten times over, and you can then put that time into other things. It really is about what you think your time is worth. There are a number of free options like Calendly or something along those lines. But again, it comes back to that old adage – “You get what you pay for”. There are also other paid options like Cliniko, Timely, Acuity Scheduling, 10 to 8, Setmore and others. In regards to taking credit card payments, sending out payment links to patients, etc, there are also loads of options here, too. Personally, I use iZettle, as the card reader looks slicker and is more sturdy than others I have used. Others I’ve used myself in the past are Paypal Here and Sumup, but I didn’t like these as much.

The good news is that many of these options offer free trials or discounts for signing up. To avail of these, check out our affiliate links below.

Resources:

Guide to the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR)Regulation

Clinic management software (See affiliate links below):

Payment Solutions:

  • iZettle (get the new iZettle Reader 2 for £25 + VAT* – regular price £59+VAT)

Acupuncture Needles & Herbs:

Phone and Communications:

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