Welcome to the Planning for Practice Success Newsletter

Practice Startup Success
Information Advice Encouragement

March 12, 2007
ISSN 1934-3248

When you cannot make up your mind which of two evenly balanced
courses of action you should take - choose the bolder. --
W.J. Slim

In this issue:

Being bold: What to do while waiting for your license Something old that's new: Practicing downtown Non-bank practice loan sources

NOTE: My email address has changed to
jean@professionalpracticesuccess.com (I know it's longer - have you noticed how long these web addresses are getting?!)

Being Bold: What to do while waiting for your license. A student asked me a question about something that many students face in the transition between school and practice - how to best utilize the time between graduation and licensing. She was thinking about working for a doctor for a year while she waited to finish her boards, since she would not be able to start into practice. Some key points to note in this decision:

* She wasn't interested in staying in the state where she would
be locating for the next year.
* She had a poor credit rating, although she was actively
working to improve it.
* She had little capital to use for the startup.
* An associate position might not provide her with the hands-on
experience she would need over the next year to keep her technique skills fresh.

What would YOU do in this situation? Of course, she could always work on a gambling boat, as one grad did. At the end of the time, he had a tidy amount of money set aside, but, he told me, he had forgotten how to adjust. I advised her to consider an associates position in which she would be actively adjusting AND working on her marketing skills. In this time, she should also work on her credit rating and live simply to save money for startup capital.

A little "Downtown" practice. Whatever happened to downtown?
It's coming back! I spoke with a young chiropractor the other day who is planning on setting up in the trendy area of Chicago around Wrigley Field-Lincoln Park. I have heard of several people who are doing this, in cities like Louisville, Kentucky; Des Moines, Iowa; and New York City. One of my sons lives in that same area of Chicago, and he walks or takes the bus/train everywhere. He can find anything he needs right in his neighborhood, so why not chiropractic care?
This concept of practicing "downtown" is catching on, because that's where the "twenty-somethings" and "thirty-somethings"
are living. Even those with young children are staying in town, at least for a while. If you are considering a sports practice or you want to see younger people, this might be a great place for you.

Know anyone who is setting up in an area like this? Let me know. I'm writing an article for Chiropractic Economics
(www.chiroeco.com) about "downtown startups" and I'd love to discuss several startups that are going downtown.

Non-bank practice startup loan sources:
Here are a couple of possible sources for practice startup loans, if no bank will talk with you:
http://www.doctorfunds.com/index.php - I haven't heard of anyone using them, but they say they have been in business 12 years. If you use them, let me know what you find out.

NCMIC has a partner (Newtek) to provide help in getting SBA loans. (Go to https://www.ncmic.com/Financial/SBALoans/Default.aspx . The requirements for startup are:

* Strong personal credit
* Additional collateral support outside of business assets
* Family or other guarantor support when appropriate
* Additional household income outside of the practice

If you try either of these two sources, I would be interested in your experience.
_____________________________________________________

Ask Dr. Jean Murray a question: email her at jean@professionalpracticesuccess.com
Order Planning for Practice Success or one of our other
products or call our toll free number at any time (24/7): 1-866-940-7526

Best wishes for your continued success,

Jean Murray
Planning for Practice Success
Online at http://www.dcpracticesuccess.com

The most absurd and reckless aspirations
have sometimes led to extraordinary success.
-- Vauvenargues

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