A doctor who wants to enter a private practice is taking a huge step, and not one that’s guaranteed to be profitable, either. Georgia McIntyre of Fundera mentions that as many as half of new businesses collapse after their first five years in operation. For a physician whose main income is their primary practice, this can be a dismal exploration into entrepreneurship. Owning and running a business doesn’t have to be a crazy idea based on hope and dreams, though. Approaching the process as a business owner and making the company into a profitable entity should be one’s top concern. Here, we examine the success story of Dr. Jonathan Kaplan and how he managed to make a practice stick around.

Louisiana to San Francisco

Dr. Kaplan was born and raised in Louisiana but underwent his general surgery and plastic surgery training in New Orleans and the Cleveland Clinic respectively. His last stop as an employed physician, before going into private practice, was in Baton Rouge, at Our Lady of the Lake Hospital. In 2013, he moved to San Francisco, taking over the clinic that he would rename Pacific Heights Plastic Surgery. Unfortunately, he quickly realized that he’d only get clientele if people knew what he did and how well he did it. Luckily, Dr. Kaplan had a plan. He learned how vital SEO could be to a business during his time in Baton Rouge and applied those principles to his own practice. Through organic search results and leveraging the new medium of social media, he could attract a massive following and get his name out to the public.

Growth and Upscaling

Within a few years, Dr. Kaplan’s social media presence was overwhelming, and he realized that he’d need to expand. Managing a practice can lead to physician burnout because of the stress of getting everything right. With his front-desk receptionist’s help, he devised a way to interact with customers while keeping his office staff free to help him. He already knew how powerful technology could be and thought he would be able to apply this know-how to the practice. The key, he realized, was in using automation technology to engage customers so they would choose his practice over others.

Developing BuildMyBod Health

Dr. Kaplan’s research into chatbots made him realize that many industries were already using them to engage customers on their digital platforms. Business Insider mentions that they expect to see chatbot spend reach $142 billion by 2024. Dr. Kaplan integrated the chatbot with a simple way to streamline price quotes. No longer do physicians need to spend time poring over individual requests for procedure pricing. Instead, the chatbot handles the discussion and forwards the doctor the relevant information, leaving them free to perform their duties. BuildMyBod Health has been revolutionary for the doctor’s practice, and he now offers the software to other physicians to help them manage their private businesses.