Why October Beats January for Practice Planning

Most practice owners plan in January.

They close the books in December, look at the numbers, and ask, "Okay, what do I want this year to look like?" Then they spend the next three months reacting to a year that already started without them.

Here's the problem with January planning: there's no runway. Pricing changes take 30 to 60 days to implement. Hiring takes 60 to 90 days to produce revenue. Marketing takes six months to compound. If you're deciding in January, you're building at the speed of traffic.

October is different.

October gives you time to actually use what you figure out. You can look at the current year with enough of it behind you to analyze, but far enough from year-end that you're not just watching the clock.

In October you can:

• Decide on a revenue target before the Q4 numbers close
• Plan any price increases so they're live January 1
• Map out a hiring timeline so new capacity is ready by spring
• Design your marketing before the competition does theirs

By January, you're not planning. You're executing.

That's the difference. One version of you is deciding where to go. The other is already driving there.

Your move this week: Block two hours somewhere in October and label it "Next Year Planning." Put nothing else in that window. That's the whole ask.

Stay Profitable, Dan

Want help with your own numbers? Schedule a free numbers review. One call, two or three of your real numbers, and a clear next step.

This post first appeared in The Profit Weekly, Dan's Friday email for private-pay and hybrid practice owners. Get The Profit Weekly every Friday.