Appearances can be deceiving when it comes to knowing whether a healthcare business for sale is worth buying. Determining a healthcare practice’s value is a lot more complex than outward appearances.
You see an advertisement to “sell my optometry practice” and you think you are ready to buy. How can you tell if a healthcare business for sale is worth buying?
Here are five questions you need to ask yourself to know whether a healthcare practice is worth buying.
Question 1: Does the healthcare practice you want to buy have continued financial growth, new patient in-flow, and good patient retention?
When you inspect the financial statements and documents, you want to make sure the projected income is growing. You also want to make sure that new patients are seen daily and that they retain patient care. Though it’s not easy to determine a definitive number for new patients because each private practice varies, the numbers should still indicate that the practice is growing.
Question 2: How are the goodwill and online reputation of the practice?
Does the practice have a positive online reputation? With everything being online nowadays, you can likely check the reputation of practice online through avenues like Google Reviews. Patients and employees will likely have expressed their opinions about the practice.
Question 3: How is the office culture of the practice?
Today, customers and patients alike expect friendly customer service everywhere they go. Are the staff and doctors friendly and welcoming? Great customer service is a clear indicator of practice with positive office culture.
Question 4: If you need an optometrist, would you choose this optometry practice for care?
One great way to see if a practice is worth buying is to make an appointment yourself and analyze the care you receive. Would you return as a patient? Would you recommend the optometrist to friends and family? If the answer is “no” are the reasons you would not return fixable?
Question 5: Are the office expenses of the practice reasonable?
When you evaluate the office expenses of a healthcare business for sale, are the cost of goods expensive? Part of the practice owner’s job is to constantly evaluate the expenses to make sure they do not go over budget and that goods are reasonably priced. If goods are pricey and/or the rent is continuously rising, it’s the owner’s job to try to find reasonable solutions to reigning in costs.
When you are looking to buy an optometry practice, remember the main thing to look for is if there will be enough revenue influx to help pay off the business loan with some money left over to pay for necessities. The median, national average of net income is about 30% of the gross income. The higher the income, the better position you will be in.
Here’s a tip: sit down and budget out all the things that you need to pay for in order to survive. Things like your mortgage or rent, internet, food, utilities, phone, etc.
