Welcome to the Planning for Practice Success Newsletter

October 16, 2006

Perseverance is a great element of success. If you only knock long enough at the gate, you are sure to wake up somebody.

- Longfellow

In this issue:
What's New
Small Business Resource Link
Staffing Tip: Hiring patients/ Hiring non-chiropractic staff
Leasing Tip: Build-Out
Relevant Reading: Hug Your Customers (just a metaphor)

What's New:
Check our website for the list of Planning for Practice
Success publications. We are adding new ones rapidly.

Upcoming: Applying for Medicare Provider Status; Building Your Website. Email us with ideas for publications. All publications will be sent as download files so you can
receive them immediately and begin working.

Business Resource Link: Check out Small Business Trends for their newsletter and informative articles of help to small businesses..  One article discussed customer service and never being late. Another talked about how to prepare yourself for your own business while working for someone else (No, they didn't mention non-competes). You'll have to sort through the advice to find what applies, but some stuff is good.

Staffing Tip: I was asked two related questions this week:

1. Should I hire a patient?

2. Is it better to hire someone who doesn't know chiropractic but who is good
   technically or to hire someone who is a great chiropractic advocate but who I'll have to train technically?

Short answer to #1 - It depends.
Long answer to #1 - I have seen a great patient turn into a terrible worker, with no skills and a need to chat with everyone who comes in. I've also seen former patients who do a great job as office staff. If you do hire a patient, make sure the person has great technical skills and references from former employers, and don't be afraid to
let him or her go if it isn't working out. Be prepared to lose the person (and his/her family) as a patient.

In response to #2, I would tend toward the person with technical skills as you are starting out. You need help; you can't do it all yourself. Spend time talking to that
person about chiropractic, sharing stories of how it has helped your patients. Offer chiropractic care as a benefit. If after your efforts you find that this person is just not getting 'the big idea,' you may have to let him or her go. I talked with a doctor who had a negative person in the office and he said it was 'poison,' turning people off faster than he could reverse the damage. Last word: Don't ever be afraid to let someone go who isn't completely what you want. It's one of the hardest things to do as a business person, but you won't regret doing it.

(Check out our e-books Paying your Employees and The Practice Manual, which will walk you through the process of setting up and running payroll and learning how to prepare a complete employment manual, with benefits and office policies.)

Relevant Reading:
Hug Your Customers by Jack Mitchell (Hyperion, 2003). Jack is a clothier in the New York area and he's built a fantastic customer base with a simple premise: Hug your
customers. No, he doesn't necessarily give people hugs.  Hugs, he says, are those extra things you do for customers to build great relationships with them. He believes you can create a loyal customer base with this simple premise:  The relationship with the customer comes first, before the chiropractic service. Establish a 'hugging culture' at your practice and you will continue to have great customers who continue coming in for a lifetime.

Leasing Tip: Build Outs. When you sign a lease with a build-out option, you'll need a contract for the build-out. Never pay for the whole construction job up front, even if
you have the funds. Here's how to pay for the build-out:  ¼ up front and then ¼ and ¼ at several points along the way, saving ¼ for the end. This keeps the construction
people on task and allows you to have some leverage when things don't go the way you want. If you pay up front, you have no way to force changes or to push for completion.
 

For more information on finding and leasing an office, see my new e-book: Leasing an Office.

Ask Dr. Jean Murray a question: email her at jean@dcpracticesuccess.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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