Can a solo therapist sell a private practice?

Solo therapists often assume there is nothing to sell, because the practice is them. It is a fair worry. A buyer cannot take over your clinical judgment or your clients’ trust. Still, a practice is more than the person. It has a reputation, a way of getting clients in the door and a way of running them through. Those parts can pass to someone else if they are set up to be seen.

What can transfer

List what exists apart from you: the practice name and website, the phone number, the booking and billing systems, the lease or office arrangement, and the relationships with doctors, employers and schools that send clients. Each one is something a buyer can use. Write down how each works so a stranger could follow it. Documents like that make a solo practice look like a business.

Introducing the buyer to clients

Clients decide whether to stay, so the handover matters. A buyer who is introduced over a period, ideally with you working alongside for a time, has a better chance of keeping the caseload than one who appears the week you leave. Talk with the buyer about timing and about how you will let clients know. Your lawyer can tell you how to handle client files and consent.

Preparing early

The sooner you start, the more options you have. Keep clean books and tidy up your systems. Consider bringing in an associate who could become the buyer. Ask your accountant how a sale would be structured and ask your professional regulator what it expects of a clinician who is closing or transferring a practice. Our page on how buyers find a business shows the search a buyer will run.