Three Levels of Building a Medical Practice

Which level describes where you are compared to where you want to be—One, Two, or Three?

This process shows the steps to get to Level Three—Total Freedom.

A medical practice doesn’t become owner independent overnight. Rather, it’s a process that unfolds over time. Here’s an overview of the three-level model for scaling your business as you head toward a “Level Three” owner-independent practice.

Level One: The Start-up—No Control, No Freedom

You’ve just launched your practice. At this point, you have no freedom because you’re working long hours to get everything moving. You’re scrambling to attract those initial patients and figure out how your practice will operate. Questions haunt you. Will you ever bring in enough patients to be profitable? Will you have the cash to meet payroll next week?

Doctors at Level One are usually filled with a mixture of doubts and dreams, fears and ambitions. They work long hours to turn the vision for their practice into a sustainable enterprise.

Level Two: The Owner-Reliant Practice—Control, but No Freedom

You’re practicing medicine full time and you’ve built up a practice that works—if you are present each day to keep it working. You make most of the decisions, your efforts bring in the majority of the new patients, and you likely perform most of the important work. You are in full control. Sure, you have people to help, but they’re on board to do just that—help—not to lead or take ownership.

You have the control, but along with that control, you also have long hours and the sense that all the decisions, all the risks, and all the responsibility rest on your shoulders. Every day, you have to keep going because if you stop, everything ends. In Level Two, you have control but no real freedom.

Level Three: The Owner-Independent Practice—Total Freedom

You’re the owner of a practice that whistles along without requiring your day-to-day presence. You’ve got the right team and systems in place to ensure that your practice’s success is independent of you. While you may still see patients, you’ve got other providers who deliver core medical services. With this model, your own production—while a positive—is no longer essential for your practice to be successful.

For you, working has become a choice, not an obligation or a requirement. At this point, you can continue to scale your practice or transition to own it passively. Consider which level describes your situation right now—and see where you want to go from here as your business unfolds.

Good luck in growing your practice.