Recently, in the field of medicine, highly specialized specialists are very appreciated, for this reason everyone who has this opportunity, trying to engage in private practice. Today, children's specialists, in particular speech therapists, are in the greatest demand.
Almost all children who are just starting to speak distort words. This is quite natural. By five or six years, the speech in most children is normal, but if the child, after reaching preschool age, has not learned to pronounce some letters, parents should take care of the baby’s speech correction.
Therefore, there is a demand for speech therapist services, which means that you can consider opening a business in this area. To open a speech therapy room, you must first draw up a detailed business plan taking into account all the subtleties and characteristics of this business.
Business Registration
The business plan of a speech therapy office offers to register an individual enterprise for opening a private practice. This type of activity does not yet require licensing. But nevertheless, it will not be amiss to get advice from a lawyer, since legislation and requirements in this area can change. After completing all the necessary documents and obtaining all the necessary permissions, you can begin to search for a room for the office.
Room requirements
To open a private speech therapy room, you need to rent a room with an area of 20-25 sq.m. You can consider renting a room in schools, office centers, child care facilities and so on. Most importantly, the room should be located in a convenient location near public transport or metro. It is desirable that the office was not higher than the second floor, otherwise the building should be equipped with an elevator.
Furniture for a speech therapy cabinet
After the lease agreement is concluded, it must be equipped. You will need a table, several chairs, a cabinet for textbooks and literature, a mirror, a laptop or computer, and special toys for conducting classes.
In addition, it is worth taking care of where the parents will be during the child's classes. If you rent only one room, then they can wait in the lobby or at the door of your office. In this case, you will need to purchase additional chairs or armchairs.
The business plan of the speech therapy office notes that it is better to rent a room for a month, and not for hours, since for the lessons you need to equip the playing space. In addition, you will not need to constantly carry with you all the required manuals and materials.
Features of private practice in the field of medicine
Before you open a speech therapy center, you should understand that with private activity you will be counted as the total length of service. For this reason, many specialists who have opened private practice continue to work part-time in a public institution. So, choosing a room for a private office, consider the location of your second workplace.
Also pay attention to the fact that it is more convenient for parents to visit a teacher in the afternoon. So you need to think how to attract customers in the daytime so that your office does not stand idle. An excellent solution would be to offer discounts on morning classes.In the daytime, as a rule, classes are held with school-age children or with adults.
It is more convenient for some parents to bring their children only on weekends, be sure to consider this when planning your working time. Working Saturdays is the best option for parents who work all week until late.
Advertising of speech therapy services
Before starting a private practice, think about where and how you will look for clients. Effective advertising methods include information leaflets in child care facilities, clinics and medical centers, as well as posting ads in public places and entrances. Advertise your services on forums and sites for parents. Here you can give advice on speech therapy problems. Include the costs of creating your own site in the business plan of a speech therapy cabinet.
It is likely that those who consult your forum will subsequently become your customers. Consider creating your own website. It can be either a business card site with comprehensive information about you and your activity, or a full-fledged site for the target audience. Tell your friends and acquaintances that you are opening a private speech therapy room. And, of course, the simplest and most effective advertising is positive feedback and recommendations from your customers.
Cost and profit
The business plan of a speech therapy cabinet must necessarily include the necessary expenses and expected profits. Renting a room in a convenient place will cost you in the amount of 15 thousand rubles per month. At least thirty thousand rubles will have to be spent on repairing the cabinet and its equipment. It is also worth considering the cost of acquiring teaching aids and materials - an average of 10 thousand rubles. At the very beginning of activity, advertising will take from five thousand rubles. This amount will be spent on printing and distribution of information leaflets and leaflets.
An individual lesson with a speech therapist lasting 40 minutes costs from 300 to 400 rubles and above. The cost of services depends on the city in which you open the practice. For example, in the capital, speech therapy services are priced more expensive - 700-800 rubles per lesson.
A one-time consultation will cost at least 250 rubles. Price policy should be carefully considered, as this factor is of great importance. Examine the market in your area, find out what prices your competitors offer, and based on the analysis, think over the pricing policy of your own business.
With such investments in your own speech therapy room and at such prices for these services, we can conclude that the payback period will be approximately one and a half years.