What Providers Frequently Get Wrong When Starting Their Own Practice

Starting your own medical practice is a bold and exciting step—but it’s also a complex one. While providers are highly trained in medicine, most haven't been taught how to launch and run a business. As a result, many make avoidable (and costly) mistakes in the early stages of building their clinics. If you're thinking about opening your own practice, here are the most common missteps to watch out for—and how to avoid them.

1. Underestimating the Operational Lift

Many providers think starting a clinic means hiring a receptionist, renting a space, and opening the doors. In reality, launching a practice involves dozens of decisions and tasks: legal entity formation, vendor sourcing, EHR selection, revenue cycle setup, payroll, medical supplies, marketing—and the list goes on. Without a clear plan and timeline, providers often get overwhelmed or end up stuck in limbo.

Tip: Map out every component of your startup checklist before you sign a lease or hire a team.

2. Skipping or Delaying Credentialing

Enrollment and credentialing can take anywhere from 30 to 180+ days, depending on the payer and location. Many providers assume they can "deal with insurance later," only to find that they’re seeing patients for free—or worse, not seeing any at all.

Tip: Start credentialing before you open. It's one of the longest lead-time tasks and should be initiated as early as possible.

3. Choosing the Wrong Billing Setup

Whether you outsource revenue cycle management (RCM) or do it in-house, your billing strategy will directly impact your cash flow. Many providers delay hiring billing support, choose the wrong partner, or don’t fully understand CPT coding—all of which can lead to major financial headaches down the line.

Tip: Make sure your billing process is locked in from day one and that your team understands how to optimize and track claims.

4. Ignoring the Business Side

Providers often focus entirely on patient care—which makes sense—but forget that a clinic is also a business. Failing to build a sustainable financial model, track metrics, or set up basic operations like payroll, scheduling, and reporting can lead to burnout and poor performance.

Tip: Treat your practice like a startup. Invest time in setting up your systems and learning the basics of clinic operations.

5. Not Getting Help Early

It’s tempting to DIY everything in the beginning to save money, but this often leads to costly errors and delays. From legal filings and IT setup to press releases and clinical workflows, getting support from people who’ve done it before will save you time, money, and stress.

Tip: Surround yourself with experts—whether it’s a consultant, a coach, or a partner like Practice Maven—so you can launch smoothly and stay focused on what you do best: patient care.

Final Thoughts

Opening your own clinic is one of the most rewarding moves a provider can make—but only if it's done right. Avoiding these common mistakes early can mean the difference between constant stress and sustainable success. At Practice Maven, we help healthcare providers start strong by handling the business side of launching a practice—so you can focus on medicine, not management.

Ready to get started? Let’s build your clinic the right way.