Hello Dr M.
     The  projection I need to do is for the number of patient's I'll see in 1 
month in 3 months, 6 months, 9months and a year, as well as the money I'll 
bring in during this time. This is what the owner doctor wants

A:

Thanks for the e-mail. First off .. as an independent contractor you literally 
are paying rent to use a facility .. rent .. which could also be a portion of your 
income. Therefore a projection of what you suspect to gross is not as 
important for the owner as it is to you .. goals and all. The owner wants to 
know if you are a viable candidate to use the facility. Think about it .. literally 
all the patients coming to the office should be his/hers if you factor in theor 
percentage. One drawback of an IC position is this .. you build up a new 
practice from scratch .. have patients pouring in and then when ready to leave 
on your own find that a number of patients stay with the clinic and not follow 
you. Obviously this is great for the existing DC but not for you. Patients often 
are happy where they are .. like the CA or logistics getting to the clinic and do 
not wish to change .. so keep this in mind. One advantage of being an IC .. 
you donžt need overhead and expenses .. you are renting them and staying 
away from the headaches. 

Therefore . it is prudent for the owner DC to determine if the IC in the office 
will be viable and add to the coffers and build a practice or will they be a 
slouch and drain the energy from their clinic.

So .. to answer your questions about percentages .. I have no answer. The 
answer is up to many factors least of which is your level of purpose and 
energy. What I mentioned to my students at Life was simple ..prepare a 
marketing plan with action steps and goals. Prepare a strategic plan with 
specific programs and dates for creation .. completion and follow through. 
This is far better than abstract numbers of fictional potential people. Ižd rather 
see how you plan on getting the folks in rather than projection of a number 
that has no meaning.

So .. work on the projection .. what do you plan to do the first three months 
to generate patients .. use my Smart Start Book or class notes (found at the 
bottom of my webpage section titled Cyberconsulting) to set aside action steps 
and prepare what you need. Once you have day by day or at least week by 
week plans and begin to generate the letters .. the logs of numbers .. places 
and names .. you can project with some certainty what you suspect to see.

For instance .. plan alliance meetings with professionals .. reach local 
corporate offices to provide workshops .. set up local screenings .. prepare 
health fairs etc. Put this in writing and go from there. In terms of actual 
projected figures .. I really canžt help you .. except ways to get them

Have a Great day

Dr. M