Expenses vs. Investments: If You’re Not Ahead, You’re Behind

How well do you actually know you practice? Really take a moment to think on that. Of course, you are familiar with your day-to-day, but are you familiar with all of the inner workings of your employees? The systems they use, the administrative duties they perform, and the standard operating procedures for each sect of the practice?

If you answered no to any of these or you are unsure about another aspect of the practice, you are doing yourself a huge disservice. But why? Well, there are many reasons, but the one that we are touching on today is recognizing what may be an expense versus what is an investment.

Let’s start with the basics. The first thing you should reflect on is whether you have a good grasp on what money is flowing out of your business each week, month, year, etc. With the being said, you need to be able to identify all of your fixed costs, since you will be paying them no matter what.

Within these fixed costs, you need to identify two things: which of these are keeping the status quo and which of these are improving the status quo? Essentially, what is it that I am paying for just to maintain business and what is it that I am paying for to improve the business?

We promise, there will not be too many more thought experiments, because we know that you have already done some deep thinking! But if you find that the majority of your fixed costs are just maintaining the status quo, why is that? Is it that you are fine with how your business is currently operating? Is it that you do not know where to start when it comes to improving your practice?

Don’t panic if you don’t know! We are here to help. Essentially, you need to be proactive in constantly improving your business. If others see that you are ahead of the curve, they are going to look to you and catch up. So you have to make sure that you are prepared to innovate even further.

You need to be putting your money into more investments that shift the status quo, and less expenses that keep it the same. So what do you invest in?

One of the best tools to have in your arsenal is technology. Great technology makes your business more appealing to the customer, and in today’s world, everything is about user experience. Many people underestimate new technology and brush it off as an unnecessary expense. But a good practice uses technology to automate procedures, keep everyone connected, and make everything more efficient. The way we view it? It keeps you current, or even ahead. And you can’t afford to be behind.