What to look for in a building?
So, I have been asked this question a lot over the last few months with many of you looking to open a new practice. It is such a big step when you start out deciding where to set up and what building to take on. With so much to consider I am going to break it down into what I consider the 5 key points to get right, anything not on this list is simply a secondary consideration.
This list is crucial to consider if you want to take advantage of your building as a pillar of your successful practice.
1. Rent or Buy.
This is an important consideration and really depends where you are on your journey. Something I would go into great detail with for my 1 on 1 clients, but to keep it simple and honest. If you are starting out, rent. If you are in business for a while and have cash flow and track record, look to buy.
For rental, a big consideration here is length of rental, often we fear long rents for worry that it may not work. This is short sighted. I would suggest a minimum of a 10-year lease with a three or five year ‘break clause’. The reason for this is future saleability, if you have a long lease this is a more attractive sale proposition in the future. Long leases also give you commitment and purpose to pursue. However, putting in a three or five year break clause does give you some leeway to leave early.
If you are buying, I would suggest something that you intend to keep long term and has use beyond a practice, this way should your business stop, you can either sell or keep it in a property portfolio.
2. Location.
Accessibility is paramount here; people travel for care. Sometimes the mistake is made that we need to be visible for passing trade, while this is a nice to have option, it is not essential especially in a market where little is found in passing, most being found online or word of mouth.
The main consideration for location is good access, roads that do not snarl up every rush hour, near bigger roads for those travelling any distance and near a population of people enough to serve. This does not in my experience need to be a wealthy area, quite the opposite with the majority of my patient base and my clients patient bases being blue collar workers.
Another consideration here is floor. What floor you choose to be on is also key, I would advise against anything other that ground floor, for the simplicity of accessibility.
3. Parking.
I could have included this in ‘location’, but I feel it needs a point of its own, it is that important. People crave convenience, you need to have good parking, even if it’s paid parking.
Make sure you do the maths on your footfall, if you are a high-volume practice with multiple chiropractors, you could have 30+ people per hours coming through your door, the parking availability needs to reflect that.
4. Size.
So what are you going for here? Big open plan, small consult rooms? Do you plan on future growth and other chiropractors?
It is important to start with the end in mind. Measure out the square footage for a decent waiting area, benches and consult rooms. Better to overestimate than underestimate. I would suggest a minimum of 1500 Sq/ft and scale up to what you aim to grow into. Don’t be too conservative here, plan for growth.
5. Cost.
This is the scary part, especially at the start. Taking on a potentially 10-year lease and committing to £250’000 in rental is terrifying when you start. But do the maths and you will see it is not too bad, also do the maths worst case and based on what you want. If you only see 10 people a day, you need to work out what that equates to per month, subtract your other fixed costs and make sure you are above break even.
However, in my experience when chiropractors do this, they find they are often well above the threshold, but don’t guess. Do the maths. This is something we take very seriously in the coaching program.
So, there you have it, the main thing here is to look objectively and honestly. Do the sum and as Steven Covey says, “start with the end in mind”.
With love
Tom