If your allied health practice has a website or you are thinking about starting one, make sure you consider the big picture to keep your business' online presence healthy.

Last week we had the pleasure of catching up with Craig West, CEO of Succession Plus, Australia's largest business succession and exit planning firm who provide mentoring, advice and strategy for clients looking to prepare their business for a successful exit. I was interested in finding out more about what the term succession planning means, and why we should all have a succession plan as allied health business owners.

Business plans are a written document that outlines what you are aspiring to achieve in your practice and how you might reach those aspirations. To put it very simply – it provides the direction for your practice so you don’t get lost. If you are feeling lost, or haven't looked at your plan for a while, now is a great time to stop and think of where you are going.

We headed to Sydney recently to attend the event "Reinventing the Wheel: how to get your innovation seen and monetised" as part of the 2015 Sydney Vivid Festival. The aim of the event was to learn from great minds what makes an innovation commercially attractive and investor ready. It was also the launchpad to announce the SMART 100 highest ranked innovation for 2015, an annual index presented by Anthill Magazine, of which Maida Learning was a finalist!

Innovation can lead to greater education and knowledge for all practitioners, regardless of location and access to supervisors. When it comes down to the nuts and bolts of innovation, the underlying driver of innovation is creative problem-solving. Fostering this creativity in your workplace can have a direct positive impact on productivity and performance. Sharing, then, of these creative ideas further enhances the development of the allied health workforce nationally which is something I am very excited about!

So, what are you going to do to develop and engage innovation in your workplace?

A brand is basically your practice name that over time becomes familiar to people.  It is what gets you noticed and builds your business.  Your brand is your business identity's say.  It’s defined by how you and your employees consciously or otherwise portray your practice to others, and how those ‘others’ then interprets this.

If someone mentioned the name of your service or practice – what would your patients and referring sources say? Are these consistent with the image you endeavour to build? If you have employees, have they bought into this image? Why or why not?

If you have followed our blog for the past few years, you will know our passion for marketing in allied health. We love helping you find creative, practical and ethical ways to share your unique service benefits with your target health consumers.

There is, however, one thing that we always recommend to all allied health professionals – and that is to make sure you have some sort of tracking system or base line established so you can measure your results!

When I started in practice, I just thought about getting started; just opening up and building a name for myself.  I certainly didn’t start off thinking about the end, and I often wonder how many of us do that.  Have you considered your exit plan? 

I always hear a lot of allied health practice owners do two things – opposite things! People seem to either fret about competitors or they are oblivious to any competitors even existing (of course, it is easier to pretend they are not there!). In private practice, you cannot avoid competitors. Have you really thought about your competitors? Here are a couple of tips…