Accounting. Many of us physicians have a mental block around accounting. Somewhere it got ingrained in us that if we do good work, we will be taken care of. Or, worse, we work so hard that we deserve all the things.
Well, friends, you gotta let that way of thinking go. Budgeting and accounting are essential to a profitable business. Budgeting is freeing, not limiting. You can get better stuff when you plan for it.
If you are not someone who budgets in your personal finances – start immediately. When you get rid of the fluff that you don’t need, you will have so much more space for things you actually want and need.
When I left my employed position in 2019, we were unsure of how my practice would do. I was in a position where I had to leave my job because my infant son was having health issues directly related to my job.
In the weeks after I left, I gave myself a few weeks to do a deep dive into our finances with a clear head and no work obligations.
I quickly realized our spending was insane. No we were not going on fancy trips and I was not buying handbags and shoes – not at all. (I have bought myself zero handbags or expensive shoes since I got married).
We were hemorrhaging our money on eating out and Amazon subscribe and save. Diapers were 2x as expensive on Amazon compared with the grocery store behind my house!
We cut a few simple things that were not even adding value to our life. I kid you not, we saved so much money that my husband and I realized the brainless spending combined with the two nannies we needed on top of the opportunity cost of me working so many hours in a toxic environment was not financially worth having a second income in our household.
So, start with your personal finances. And set up quickbooks or an accounting software of your choice for your business.