Starting out in private practice - advice and tips please!

[jools987]

18 months ago. I did pretty much what you're proposing. I qualified in 2005 and was unable to get a junior post. I did a small amount of bank work and then departed physiotherapy for a while to do other stuff and have a baby. Post-baby, I decided that being self-employed was an ideal way to work, despite (I felt) my lack of experience. I did a full-time 5 week course in Sports Therapy to get me back into something related and did a couple of weeks shadowing at an NHS out-patient department. I rented a room from the outset as I'd guessed about the drawbacks (hightlighted by quitefrankey) of working mobile. I guess I was lucky to start with in that I needed to do little more than cover my costs and childcare. My business has grown very slowly but I'm now seeing up to 15 patients a week, all self-referring, no insurance work for the reasons also hightlighted by quitefrankey. My physio skills are basic, I'll admit, but they are there, and they're complimented by massage and soft tissue work, something which I feel is vital and missing from many physio's approach. It's scary working on your own with little experience but I recommend sticking to what you know, read read read learn learn learn (fear of messing up and the responsibility is a great motivator I've discovered!) and follow your instincts. My business (I rent a room within an existing business in the centre of a small semi-rural town) comes mainly from my website which is simple and searches reasonably well, and from word of mouth. I've spent almost nothing on advertising, bar some business cards, as the general consent locally was that it didn't work and that was also my experience based on the little I have tried. Be likeable and honest and offer good value for money (I do) and people will recommend you. CSP membership - great, HMRC - great, HPC registration I assume you have. Read, study, learn, do courses as much as you can. Fix your own physical problems too - that's a wonderful incentive and way to learn and I've found out about so many new areas of physio and methods that compliment physio by doing this. Hope that helps, do ask any more questions if you want and I'll see if I can help. It's interesting to hear of someone else doing the same - let me know how you get on!