Here is some background information to help you start a patient advocate business.
About You
When someone starts a new business, they are choosing the life of an entrepreneur.
Successful entrepreneurs have several attributes in common.
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Can you self-direct your work and focus on your goals?
Are you a networker?Rare is the business person who operates successfully in a vacuum.
Do you thrive on challenges?Are you rarely intimidated and do you have a thick skin?
Are you patient and balanced?
Owning and running your own business means constant challenges.
You won’t have someone else telling you when to be in the office, or overseeing your schedule.
Do you learn well from mistakes?In business, mistakes aren’t necessarily failures.
Sometimes they are the best way to learn what works and what doesn’t.
But that’s the keyyou need to pay attention and adjust accordingly.
More likely a lender will look for a personal guarantee from you.
In the meantime, your bills will be due right away.
Beyond the federal taxes you’ll owe, your state will have requirements, too.
You’ll want to talk to a CPA to get more information about tax requirements.
You’ll need an insurance adviser to provide that advice.
These people are called your target market, and your marketing and sales will be aimed directly at them.
You may think your market is older people who need help withMedicare.
Or, either the older person or the child may be a gatekeeper to the other.
Yes, this is marketing-speak, but you’ll need to understand to succeed in your patient advocacy business.
Lawyers, accountants, financial planners, or insurance brokers may know of potential clients for you.
You’ll also need to make plans to target your marketing outreach.
Do you need a brochure?
If so, how will you focus it?
What about a website?
Do you know how to build a website that’s found easily by search engines?
What should it say?
Do you include pricing?
Without marketing and customers, you’ll have no business at all.
More realistically, online grid with people you think could use your services.
That is one of the adjustments you may need as mentioned earlier.
You’ll need to price that list of services.
This will be more difficult and you may need to ask experts to help you.
See below for a link to resources.
Have you found others who are offering the patient advocacy services you want to offer?
One reason may be because you are the first!
If you are, and you do it well, then expect others to follow soon.
After all, imitation is the sincerest form of knowing you are doing something right.
Another reason there may be no competitors is that there isn’t enough of a market.
Making these determinations is part of the homework you must do to prepare to begin a business.
Of course, your ability to instill that trust will go a long way toward your marketing, too.
Get Your Business Started
Ready to jump in?
A business plan is a must.Your business plan will be your roadmap to a successful patient advocacy business.
It will spell out all your services, your financing, your marketing, and your growth plans.
You don’t have to invent the components of a business plan.
There are many lists and examples available to follow.
You’ll need to determine your business structure.Will you be a solopreneur, also known as a sole proprietorship?
Maybe you and a partner want to get started in business?
Or do you gotta start a corporation like an S-Corp or an LLC or even an LLP?
Your lawyer will be the person to help you make that determination.
You will want to determine whether the domain name (URL or web address) is available, too.
Take some time, and follow already determined steps to naming your business.
EINs are easy to obtain from theIRS website.
There will be a fee, and rules about what you’ll need to prove to get that license.
You may need to have established a bank account, or a legal business structure to get your license.
Again, this varies from location to location.
Will you list yourself in adirectory of patient advocates?
Will you advertise in your local newspaper?
Will you write articles for a magazine?
Networking with other patient advocateswho do similar work to yours can be invaluable, too.
Remember that one of the most important attributes of being a successful entrepreneur is to listen and take advice.
Here are some of those resources and advisers who can help you establish your own patient advocate business.
These resources should be among your first to access.
You cansearch for a SCORE mentor at its website.
Your Bank
Check with your bank to see if they offer services for small businesses.
Some banks focus on small businesses and entrepreneurs.
Others offer small business loans.
Still, others offer business accounts, but not much support beyond that.
Your CPA will also help you keep track of your tax deductions.
Later, you’ll want a CPA or accountant to do your taxes for you.
Marketing
There will be two types of marketing that can help you.
General marketing advice will help you determine exactly who your target audiences are.
More specific marketing advice will help you determine outreach to those specific target audiences.
You’ll need business insurance as well as professional insurances like errors and omissions.
you could find many of these fellow advocates online.
You might be interested inThe Health Advocate’s Start and Grow Your Own Practice Handbook.
