Before you purchase a practice, there are some basic rules that you should not break in your decision making process.
- Consider historical revenue numbers and trends. The economy has slowed over recent years so numbers could be down from year to year but any more then a 5-10% decrease should raise questions.
- Buy a practice and make it great! There are numerous ways that the new buyer can help transition the practice into their own. Adding a few new changes can help fire up the client base and staff.
- Buying the firm is only half the work. There is a lot more to be done after the closing. A new buyer should work with the previous seller over the next 30-60 days in transitioning the client base and performing additional administrative duties along with actual production work that needs to be finished.
- Determine what clients need "special" attention. Review the client base to see if there are any large clients that consist of more then 20% of the firms overall annual reviews. These clients are a pipeline to the firms success and need to be provided the same level of service that the previous seller provided.
- Look for imperfections. Every business is different and every business has some inefficients. Target in on what these are and focus on how you can improve them to make the practice even better.