Doctors and other medical professionals rely on high-quality equipment to treat patients. This equipment ranges from gloves and masks (PPE) to intricate niche tools used by specific surgeons, doctors and health professionals. Hospitals and office managers work closely with medical supply businesses to procure this equipment and ensure they always have the items they need.
With market size expected to reach 160 Billion USD by , and a CRGA growth rate of 7.2 percent, it’s an opportunity to consider. Set yourself up for success by getting to know the ins and outs of starting a medical supply business.
Operating a medical supply business is no different from any other company in that you need to find what makes your brand unique. Once you know that, you can find your target market and work to set yourself apart from competitors. Ask questions like these to better understand what you bring to the industry:
Not only will answering these questions help you establish your business, but it will also guide your marketing and help you secure funding.
Once you have a business idea, you will want to form your company. Decide whether you want to operate as a Limited Liability Corporation (LLC), C-Corporation, or S-Corporation. The type of business you choose will depend on your business structure and affect how you’re taxed, what fees you need to pay, whether or not you need to raise capital and more.
Work with a local accountant to help you decide what is best for your business and refer to the BizFilings business type comparison tool to get a better understanding of your options. Each state has its own guidelines and costs for forming a business, such as whether you need to produce annual reports or pay annual fees to stay operational. Knowing all of these details will help you choose the right business entity for your new medical supply venture.
There are certain compliance obligations with having an LLC or corporation, such as maintaining a registered agent and filing annual reports and/or franchise taxes with the state.
In addition, you may need to file a beneficial ownership information (BOI) report for your corporation or LLC with FinCEN (U.S. Department of Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network). This is a new federal requirement that went into effect on January 1, . While there are exemptions from the filing requirement, most small-business LLCs and corporations will not qualify for an exemption. Take this quiz to see if your business may be subject to the new BOI filing requirement.
For more information, visit: Beneficial Ownership Information Report
In addition to registering your company, you need to secure business licenses and permits necessary for a medical supply business. Forming an LLC or C-Corp doesn’t necessarily mean you can legally operate, just that the state knows you exist—you must get your licenses or permits secured before beginning.
You can use the BizFilings’ Business License Wizard to identify which licenses would be relevant to your business and check with your local business regulations and requirements to ensure you have all the correct paperwork to begin operating. Note that fees will vary from state to state and may be based on annual revenue.
Important to any good business is accurate bookkeeping and a strong financial footing. You must have a clear understanding for how you plan to fund your medical supply company and how this funding will affect your budget now and in the future. A few funding options include:
The viability of these medical supply financing options will vary depending on your business size and startup costs and, each option also has its own benefits and drawbacks. For example, you don’t have to share your profits or make interest payments by bootstrapping, but that may not be an option if you don’t have access to startup capital.
The foundation of your business will be working closely with medical distributors and vendors. These are large-scale manufacturers who produce millions of supplies each year who then sell to distributors like yourself so you can market and sell the wares on a smaller scale. When choosing your supplier(s) and vendor(s), consider a few key factors:
Work with a medical supply mentor or expert to better understand the qualities of successful medical supply partners and determine which potential vendors and distributors would be best for your specific needs.
Once you have established what your business is and how it operates, the only thing left to do is execute your business and marketing plan. During this period, you will open your warehouse, website or both, ensuring that you have a place to house the medical supplies and/or manage orders.
You also need to use this time to develop marketing materials and start reaching out to potential clients. Your industry may require different marketing methods, so be sure to do your market research first. This will help you dial in on who you want to target and how to best reach them.
With the right planning, you can build a successful medical supply business. You don’t necessarily need a strong medical background to do this, just knowledge of what medical professionals need and a marketing plan to make them more effective at what they do.
Contact us to discuss your requirements of Healthcare Fitness Products. Our experienced sales team can help you identify the options that best suit your needs.