Every year, thousands of psychologists graduate from universities. Some of them never dare to work in their specialty, as the salaries in state institutions are not too high, and it is scary to open a psychological business because of vague prospects.
Although the current society or time of change can put a person in such conditions that his psyche will be subjected to daily endurance testing. A person will need help, support that relatives or relatives are not always able to provide, and not everyone will go to complain to friends about life.
This is where the business profitable today is useful. A psychologist is that person who always listens, analyzes the situation, helps. This profession is in great demand today. That is why we will talk about what it takes to open a psychologist’s office, consider in more detail all the stages of the development of a promising business.
Where to begin?
If you have already decided to develop this business, you should make every effort to avoid competition. To do this, decide on the services that you will provide in the center. Examine the distribution of business in your area, determine the target audience, its priorities and preferences.
Before you open a psychological office, you need to understand exactly what services will be needed by the population in the place where you are going to open the center. What excites your potential customers the most? It can be: difficulties in raising children, depression, anxiety, grief, personal successes and achievements, dependencies, problems in the family.
And when you make an approximate list of the issues that will be addressed to you, outline the ways to solve them: seminars, trainings, personal conversations, group lessons, watching films. Naturally, to provide a full range of services, you need employees, the selection of which should also be taken care of at this stage.
You should roughly distribute the responsibilities between them (one conducts trainings, the other conducts conversations, etc.). By the way, if you yourself are not an expert in this field, then you should still consider the business plan of the psychological office, as there are many professionals, and the idea is very promising.
Business Registration
In order to legally execute all the documents, you need to choose the legal form that suits you - IP (individual entrepreneur) or LLC (limited liability company). What is the difference? The first registration form (IP) has some advantages. This means that the amount of tax will be less (single tax), and the system for submitting all reporting is much simpler.
LLC should be chosen if the business plan of the psychological center involves working with legal entities. Do not be afraid to make a mistake, you can change the legal form at any time. If you have the time and desire, collect all the required documents yourself, otherwise find an intermediary who will do everything in your place for a fee.
Read more about recruiting
This is a very important point on which the success of your enterprise depends. Having once asked for help at your center, the client will either come and advise the specialist to his acquaintances, or he will forget the path to you forever, and he will also let the rumor go. If you yourself are a specialist in this field, remember those people with whom you studied, worked, intersected at seminars, etc.
If you are not a psychologist, then carefully study the recommendations of everyone who wants to work with you, check them, call your previous job and be interested in the person’s professional qualities. The business plan of the psychological center should also include such an organization stage as the selection of other employees: secretary, accountant, cleaning lady, and so on.
The next stage is the selection of premises
As you know, the premises for the center can either be rented or bought. Naturally, in most cases, at the initial stage it is more practical and economical to choose the first option. However, do not forget that the landlord can significantly increase the fee or even decide to sell your office. In this case, there is no guarantee that those customers who contacted you (because it is close and you do not need to travel far) will remain yours and follow you to another area.
If we talk about the area of the room (and the business plan of the psychological center will definitely include this moment), here everything will depend on your goals. For the center, where one specialist works, 30 square meters will be enough, and more than one such office will be required to accommodate several psychologists with groups and clients. Square meters should be enough for a cozy hall, where the reception will be located, and for the household unit with a plumbing unit.
Special attention should be paid to interior design. The center of psychological assistance is a place where it is easy and pleasant to be, where comfort relaxes and sets up a conversation. Carefully choose the color of the walls, furniture, do not forget about high-quality sofas, lamps, colors.
It is important!
If you are new to this business, do not have a client base and don’t know how to open a psychologist’s office and where, then remember: this must be done not at the outskirts, not on the outskirts of the city, but in that part of it where there is always a large crowd of people, where schools, kindergartens, various organizations, institutes, etc. are located nearby. There you can conduct promotions, distribute booklets, but more on that later.
Promotion and advertising of the psychological center
The business plan of a psychological center simply cannot exist without this item. Successful activity is possible only if there are regular customers who will come to you themselves and advise your services to their friends, acquaintances, colleagues.
Since the psychological office sells such a service, which is not trusted by all people (many still believe that this is quackery), you will have to try to convince them of the opposite. Why do not everyone trust psychologists? Yes, because people, firstly, have seen enough of American films about such "specialists", where the point is in the plot, and not in the provision of psychological assistance, and secondly, many have never been to such centers. Hence the distrust.
So, you need to interest people, that is, make good advertising. At the initial stage, you should not turn to the media, this is unlikely to help. Here you should start with the so-called targeted advertising, which includes mailing lists, presentations, spam, distribution of leaflets and booklets.
What to write in these leaflets? Focus on the problems that your target audience may have. Tell us what help you are able to provide (we discussed above) and what methods. That should work. As practice shows, and we already mentioned this, the so-called secondary advertising works most effectively when your client, who liked everything, advises your center to other people.
What else to consider when organizing this business?
The psychologist is able to provide assistance to clients both through conversation and during the seminar, however, it is worth knowing that the most promising center will be where the psychological trainings predominate. Why so?
- No need to purchase a lot of expensive equipment. The specialist will need only the most standard kit. The main thing in this case is comfort.
- If you properly organize advertising and earn credibility from the very beginning, then you will be guaranteed good income at a minimum cost.
- This trend is in fashion today, and accordingly, young people will definitely be interested in your services.
- After such trainings, a person feels more energetic, he feels a surge of strength, but this condition will last about a couple of weeks, then the client will come to you again for “recharging”.
The disadvantages of this business
There are few of them, but you must familiarize yourself with them. So, the minuses are as follows:
- fairly high competition, as in any other not too busy niche;
- the complete dependence of the enterprise on the level of professionalism of employees;
- the popularity of science is growing, but still, many people do not recognize psychological assistance.
Estimated costs for starting a business
The amount of funds that you have to spend depends on many factors, but we will give the average numbers. So, during the first month of work, you will have to pay about 5,000 rubles, the second - 12,500 rubles, the third - 26,000, the fourth - 39,500.
Approximate income will be as follows:
- From the trainings - approximately 90,000 rubles as a result of the first month of work, approximately the same amount you will earn approximately over the next two months.
- All kinds of consultations will bring about 35,000 rubles for the first month, the same amount for the second, and for the third - 5-7 thousand more.
For the first time, we included expenses on registration of an enterprise, advertising, obtaining a license, and remuneration of employees, rent, and taxes.
Given a successful combination of all circumstances, this business will pay off in about 6 months.
How much do private psychologists earn?
This question is of particular interest to those who will soon receive a diploma of appropriate education, or those who are just going to connect their lives with this specialty. Each private psychologist does not depend on anyone, he sets prices for his services. Of course, at the very beginning of the practice, they should be affordable and affordable, and later the specialist is already more confidently overstating the cost.
On average, a specialist whose work experience does not exceed 5 years can count on 400-500 rubles per hour, after 10 years of experience - 600-700 rubles. However, do not forget about the list of expenses that are simply inevitable. But this profession is very interesting, promising and exciting. We wish you success in the professional field for those who are going to help people in their own psychological center!
