THE BUSINESS OF PRACTICE: STRATEGY – THE FOUNDATION FOR SUCCESS
“negative client interactions,” followed by 55 who cited “emergency on-call duty” and “workload too much or not enough.” When adding all stressful scores, “workload too much or not enough” was the most fre- quent cause of stress (88%), followed by a virtual tie between “negative client interactions” (82.4%) and “emergency on-call duty” (82%). When considering the business aspects of running
a solo practice, respondents felt the least stress with the following aspects: “inventory management (e.g., how to order; tracking),” “choosing professional ad- visors,” “controlled substances compliance,” “ac- counts payable,” and “state and federal regulations. The most challenging 3 aspects of being a solo prac- titioner reported by respondents were, in order, “fee
setting,” “accounts receivable/collections,” and “cash flow” (Fig. 4). It is important to note that the many aspects of managing a small business are a signifi- cant cause of stress for the solo practitioner; indeed, most respondents reported some level of stress (“somewhat stressful” to “extremely stressful” re- sponses considered additively) in all components with the exception of “choosing professional advi- sors.” About half of solo practitioners (47.2%) em- ploy staff, and according to the survey responses, the most difficult aspects of employing staff are recruit- ing, training, and affording appropriate compensa- tion for their employees.
