Welcome to all Chiropreneurs.... ...who desire to build a chiropractic business empire and not just grow a practice. In this edition of the CEObrief, we will cover: * Think like a billionaire, if you desire to build a chiropractic business empire and not just grow a practice. * A guide for living and business. * If not a billion, how much wealth do you need to retire with the lifestyle you desire? * What have you done for me lately? * 4 Tactics that will turn you into a marketing wizard! Enjoy! This issue of the CEObrief will raise the bar and challenge you. Read it at your own leisure. But, read it. ****************************************************** ********************* The Success Strategy of Billionaires ****************************************************** ********************* I've been fortunate to experience VIP seating in the world of the truly wealthy. As a business consultant for the past 30 years, I have had the great fortune to work with several individuals who are now billionaires. Entrepreneurs who build mega-corporations including international companies. That's right ... I said billionaires, not millionaires. (Although I have work with millionaire Chiropreneurs everyday.) A billion dollars is a great benchmark of success. So why not learn the techniques that have already proven to be successful? Because if you have not yet gained the wealth you deserve, you need to start doing things differently. The first thing you can learn from these billionaires is that money has no master. People are not born to be rich. None of us say "money" as our first word. However, we all become aware early on that the more money a person has, the more options and freedoms he can exercise in his everyday life. If you read about billionaires, you'll find that most come from very humble beginnings. And each was self-made in his respective industry. How did these people succeed where others in the same location ... with the same opportunities ... maybe even with more investment money ... could not manage the same success? Perhaps the most important reason is that they perceive more about their environment than the average person. They have clarity of vision. They see the hectic pace of business in slow motion. Slow motion? Yes, indeed. They don't need instant replay, because they see everything clearly the first time. They do not perceive the world as what they want it to be but rather as it truly is. They are not walking around with their heads in the clouds. No sir! They actively listen to, watch, and participate in what is going on right now. Some Chiropreneurs have to see, hear, or read a second, third, or fourth time before we "get it." Heck, some never get it. But, not these gentlemen. They have trained themselves to be aware and open to the reality around them . And this ability to see things wholly and clearly upon first glance is something the average Chiropreneur doesn't possess. Think about it. When you watch a movie, do you catch everything the first time? Probably not. Whenever you see a movie more than once, you realize that there were things you missed the first time around - the foreshadowing, some of the dialogue, or a glimpse of the scenery. And if it was a good movie, that makes the experience even more pleasing the second time around. How about going into a room that you have been in many times before? I bet you could go into any room you're familiar with and see many items you never noticed before. (Go ahead. Try it!) Take your Reception area, consultation office, treatment room....go sit down and really look. I promise you, you will be shocked! How is it possible that billionaires have the best employees, contracts that favor their companies, and business strategies that bring them tangible financial benefits year after year? The answer is simple: They see more in people, contracts, and the various business strategies that are offered them throughout their careers. In other words, they take advantage of opportunities...FAST. They don't dwell, study or analyze to the point of not doing anything or making a decision. Take Roy Speer's, for example. Bud Paxson had offered the concept of a shop-at-home TV channel to numerous investors. Where other people couldn't or wouldn't, Roy saw the big picture. He listened, perceived, and acted upon the wavelength of opportunity that Bud presented to him. The result ... the Home Shopping Network, and wealth for its owners and shareholders. How do billionaires do this ... over and over again? It's very easy: They remove all distractions from their minds and concentrate completely on the immediate situation. They maintain a clear channel, and are not distracted by anything else. When a billionaire enters a meeting, it is all about "We are here to make money." It's not about the weather. It's not about what so-and- so is doing this weekend. It is not about who has the best record in the NBA and who will win the playoffs. (Unless, of course, that billionaire is Mark Cuban.) No. The billionaire is ALWAYS READY to make money. You should be, too. Whenever you have a business meeting, prepare yourself in manner and dress (do you dress like a billionaire?) before entering. Clear your mind of all thoughts about who is picking up the kids or why a project is stalling. Be in the moment ... the real moment ... and be open to the unique energies of that place and point in time. I promise that you will come out of that meeting with more clarity and more purpose. Imagine your overall strategy to success in the same way. Intend to consciously see more clearly ... listen more intently ... and continually process your environment for what it is, not what you hope it to be. Nothing wrong with hope. God bless us all, as we do need hope in our lives. However, hope is not a strategy to success. Lawton W. Howell, Sr. Call me toll free at 877 WELNES1 o 877.935.6371 ceo@wellnessone.net Today's Action Plan: To have a different result, you must do things differently. And, as I said before, if you have not yet gained the wealth you deserve - or the health or the options or the freedom - you need to do things differently ... and soon. A good way to start? Work on developing the billionaire's ability to actively listen to, watch, and participate in the immediate situation. P.S. Along with seeing things clearly and instantly, billionaires do one more important thing that most Chiropreneurs don't or won't do...make fast decisions, even without all the information. If you want to build a chiropractic business empire and not just grow a practice, you need to make faster decisions regarding the opportunities that you have available, from hiring the best talent to acquiring the next site. Faster is better and more impactful when combined with your clarity of vision. I have seen some Chiropreneurs take months to decide on an investment in equipment or technology that will improve the office and enable them to offer improved care or service to patients. Months. Billionaires actually do it in minutes. Do you know any Chiropreneur Billionaires? Probably not. Is it possible to be a Chiropreneur Billionaire? Maybe. But, it takes a great business building model, not a practitioner mentality. You could join forces and help create the next billion dollar chiropractic business empire...now that's thinking like a billionaire. P.P.S. Find out more about the WellnessOne National Alliance System....the leading system for building a chiropractic business empire and not just growing a practice when you click the link below to download our 42-page PDF booklet. Here's the System. Are you ready for the vision? Click Here Now ****************************************************** ********************* A Guide for Living and Business ****************************************************** ********************* A quarter century ago a list called "Rules For Being Human," really caught on. Without the benefit of the Internet, but with the endorsement of no less than Ann Landers, "The Rules" (there are ten) circulated around the globe. Sadly, the author's name didn't make the trip, resulting in attribution being made to "Anonymous." To put into perspective the level of anonymity of its authorship, when Jack Canfield included The Rules in his original "Chicken Soup For The Soul" book, he didn't know it was actually from the wisdom of his long-time friend, Dr. Cherie Carter-Scott. At the urging of friends, Carter-Scott finally wrote a book about her list titled, "If Life Is A Game, These Are The Rules," which is still in print and which I recommend. In the meantime until you pick up your copy, here are four of The Rules that are especially important for small business owners, each followed by my thoughts. Rule Number Two: You will be presented with lessons. There are two basic kinds of lessons: Expensive ones and free ones. Unfortunately the former, while often painful, are typically the most valuable. Which is why being a successful Chiropreneur requires courage. When you're working creatively and aggressively, it?s difficult to avoid those stinging lessons. Only the courageous risk the comfort of what they know for the expense and danger of what they might learn. The trick is to pay only once for each lesson. Rule Number Six: "There" is no better than "here." Chiropreneurship, like life, is a journey with lots of waypoints, but only one destination. Waypoints are stations along the journey; the destination is - well, you know. Impatience for the next waypoint for your business isn't in itself a bad thing, unless it prevents you from celebrating the success achieved to-date. Don't forget that just being in a position to realistically anticipate the next step is a pretty cool place that should not go unsavored. Rule Number Seven: Others are only mirrors of you. If you don't like what someone else is doing, check your position to make sure you're not actually seeing yourself. Alas, most of us need a little help with this kind of introspection. The solution is to make sure there are those special people in your life who are capable of being both a critic and a safe harbor. Rule Number Nine: All the answers lie inside of you. When you talk with a psychologist, who does most of the talking? Of course, you do. This method can be maddening, but eventually you realize that you had the key to your solutions all the time, you just forgot where you kept it. Don't wait for someone else to solve your problems. You're the screenwriter, director and star of your own movie. The rest of the world is just supporting cast and props. When you create a hit, you get the Oscar. If you don't you get another lesson. Just like in baseball or bridge, to win in life you have to understand the rules. Rozlynne Rush, D.C. Call me toll free at 877 WELNES1 or 877.935.6371 rush@wellnessone.net P.S. Building a chiropractic business empire has rules too! For the "rule book," click the link below to find out how to get your practice upgraded to business status. The Rules for Building a Chiropractic Business Empire: Click Here! ****************************************************** ********************* How Much Wealth Do You Need? ****************************************************** ********************* One of the most common questions I get asked is how much wealth will I need to enjoy my retirement. When I started my career, I thought that all I needed was to accumulate $1,000,000 and I would be set for life. When I achieve that mark, I realized that I really needed $3,000,000...and then $5,000,000 and my sights continued to be raised based on my current view and expectations. You may have read Lee Eisenberg's book The Number, which asks the question: How much money do you need to retire? The book is full of interesting data and some good ideas - but it never provides a useable number. Instead, Eisenberg does what most self-styled financial experts do when asked a direct question: He hedges. How much you need to retire depends, he ends up saying, on all sorts of economic, financial, and psychological conditions. Only you can make that determination. Well, thanks a lot. Why did you write the book, then? Let's not play that game. Today, I'm going to tell you how to determine exactly how much money you need to retire. Here is the "quick-and-dirty" formula that you can use: 1. Figure out how much you are spending this year on your current lifestyle. Be sure to include all the big items, such as housing (rent or mortgage payments), insurance, upkeep, taxes, clothing, food, etc. And make sure you include all the costs, including an allocation for occasional expenditures, for vacations, impulse purchases, and emergencies. 2. Add to that the net annual cost of any extras that would bring you up to the lifestyle you want. For example, if your car lease is currently $3,000 a year for a Toyota and the Mercedes you want to drive in retirement is $10,000 a year, add $7,000 to your yearly budget. 3. Multiply the result by 20. That's your number - the amount of money you need to have socked away before you can quit your job and begin living off the interest. Say you are currently spending $80,000 a year to live as you are living. And say you've determined you need to spend an additional $60,000 to be really happy. The sum of those two figures ($140,000) multiplied by 20 is $2.8 million. Important Note: This multiplier, 20, is new for me. It's higher than the one I set for myself when I began making money. And it's higher than what I've suggested in past to the WellnessOne National Alliance Members. I've raised the bar because I'm getting older and feeling more conservative. If you set and achieve this kind of financial target, you'll probably have more money than you'll ever need. But that's a problem I'm sure you will be happy to have. It's much better than ending up pinching pennies when you are 80 and thinking, "What the hell was Howell thinking?" To show you what I mean, let's do some arithmetic. If you put your entire $2.8 million in municipal bonds at, say, five percent (a little high by today's standards, but historically safe), you'd have $140,000 in tax-free income to cover your lifestyle. If you got a 10 percent yield (the long-term stock market average) on your money, you'd earn $280,000 a year, which would net to $154,000 after 45 percent in taxes. (Though you shouldn't be paying nearly 45 percent, because much of your investment income will be taxed at the lower - currently 15 percent - rate for capital gains.) If you are building a chiropractic business empire, as the WellnessOne National Alliance System recommends, then you can certainly do better than 10% R.O.I.. How much higher? That depends on how well you market your offices, how long you hold it, and how well you manage it. But I think it's safe to say that your chiropractic business empire can give you an overall ROI closer to 50 percent, which might bring up your average investment yield to between 12 and 18 percent, depending on how many sites you do. Keep in mind that owning businesses involves some risk and takes some work. But that's why you can get those better yields. Still, even if you don't invest a single nickel in your business, a multiple of 20 will almost certainly provide you with all the income you'll ever need. So that's your number: 20 times what it would cost you right now, this year, to live your desired retirement lifestyle. To help you choose a "desired retirement lifestyle," take a look at the following: Modestly Comfortable ($150,000 a year): You have all you need. You and your spouse live in a modest-but-comfortable house, drive late- model (but not fancy) cars, go out to dinner at moderately priced restaurants several times a week, and you take several weeklong or 10-day vacations (economy class). Quite Comfortable ($500,000 a year): You have all you need and most of what you want. You and your spouse live in a modest-but- luxurious home in a nice neighborhood, you drive luxury cars (but not brand-new), you dine regularly at the best restaurants, golf and play tennis at the club, and take three business-class vacations a year. Extremely Comfortable ($1 million a year): You have all that you need and more than you really want. You and your spouse live in a multimillion-dollar house (or townhouse), drive very expensive luxury cars, fly to Le Cirque in New York for weekend dinners, belong to several golf clubs and resorts, and vacation pretty much non-stop. Did that help? Okay, now it's time to choose. What kind of lifestyle will make you happy? Modestly comfortable? Quite comfortable? Or extremely comfortable? And now you can choose your number: To be moderately comfortable, you need $3 million. To be quite comfortable, you need $10 million. To be extremely comfortable, you need $20 million. O.K., so you want to have an extremely comfortable lifestyle, who doesn't? How do you accumulate $20 Million in assets? You can't do it with one, two or even three chiropractic sites. You need to build a chain of offices. In order to build a chain of offices you need systems, protocols, technology, marketing and procedures that enable you to be the CEO of your chiropractic business empire. (Learn how we do it with the WellnessOne National Alliance System below.) All things being equal (and they never are), it's better to have modest ambitions. If you can learn to be happy on an income of $150,000 a year, it will be that much easier and faster to hit your number and retire. One thing to watch out for: As you hit one target, don't set another, higher one. I did that. Not just once, but four times. And so did most of the multimillionaires I know. Raising your wealth target is a natural impulse when business is booming and you're feeling strong, but it can become a sort of addiction. At some point, you end up like some stereotypical rich guy in a B movie - all drive and no heart. You don't want that to happen to you. It takes courage and wisdom to set a target and stick with it. I admire the few people I know who were able to do that. They kept their spending habits in check and stuck to their original goals. They got off the train when they reached their stop. Lawton W. Howell, Sr. Call me toll free at 877 WELNES1 or 877.935.6371 ceo@wellnessone.net P.S. To build wealth and enjoy the lifestyle you desire, click the link below to download our 42-page PDF Booklet on the WellnessOne National Alliance System that was designed for building a chiropractic business empire and not just growing a practice. Create your wealthy Lifestyle: Click Here! ****************************************************** ********************* What Have You Done for Me Lately? ****************************************************** ********************* "What have you done for me lately?" No false sentimentality there; minimum words - maximum pressure. As Chiropreneurs, we may not hear those words specifically, but the same pressure manifests in the attitudes of Patients, T.E.A.M. Players and sometimes, even from those who love us. Unfortunately, such pressure tends to cause us to question our own worth. We ask ourselves, "How can I continue to measure up to these demands?" In a way, it's our own fault. It's our nature to give world-class service to Patients, to be an enlightened and supportive Leader and to want our families to share the fruits of our dream-come-true. But such pressure really isn't necessary: Seeking excellence, we put plenty of pressure on ourselves. We struggle with bouts of doubt. We're no strangers to our own self-analysis sometimes leaving us wanting. Indeed, what have we done for ourselves lately? In one of his poems to friends, in this case, To The Countess Of Bedford, the 16th century poet, John Donne, wrote this: There's nothing but your worth, which being true Is known to any other, not to you. You have much worth, Chiropreneur. Keep reminding yourself that others know you are worthy, regardless of their words and actions. Even though it may not sound like it, ardent demands from the world are validation of your worth. Being able to look to you for what you can do is a positive appraisal of your past performance and worthiness. The world doesn't demand from the unworthy, but rather, disregards them. Next time the world asks, "What have you done for me lately?" remember that it is actually saying, "I have a high regard for you. You are worthy." Lawton W. Howell, Jr. Call me toll free at 877 WELNES1 or 877.935.6371 lwhjr@wellnessone.net P.S. What have you done for yourself lately? How about tapping into the business building resources available from the gurus at WellnessOne? Just click the link below to check out what you could be using tomorrow to build your business! Do Something for Yourself; Click Here ****************************************************** ********************* 4 Ways to Overcome Marketing Challenges Forever ****************************************************** ********************* For most Chiropreneurs, marketing is an overwhelming concept. They need marketing solutions that ensure a smooth-running, profitable business yet most don't know where to begin or how to focus their efforts. 90% of small businesses don't even have a marketing plan. It's difficult to reach your destination if you don't know where you're going! If you're a Chiropreneur looking for ease, focus and marketing success, we recommend that you focus on just 4 tactics: 1. Establish a memorable and unmistakable brand identity: The secret to business success is determined by your ability to powerfully communicate your brand of chiropractic with laser precision and your ability to deliver a clearly-defined and consistent experience on each and every patient visit. In a nutshell... it's called branding, and, when done right, it ensures a thriving business with all the Patients and profits you need. The secret is to establish a powerful brand identity that sings distinction. And establish that identity before you launch any marketing activities. 2. Create a deep connection with your core target audience - your potential raving fans! Who wants and needs what you have to offer? The only wrong answer is "everyone." If you love to treat children, you may see infants and children. Are they your target audience? No! They are your patients, but it's the parents you need to connect with to get the kids in your door. And it's not just any parents - it's a definite group of parents. In marketing, you get a lot more "bang for your buck" if you focus your spending on a well-defined group of people that you enjoy working with. The better you define this group, the more effective your marketing can be. 3. Design compelling offerings that pull customers in like a magnet. 80% of all purchase decisions are based on emotion. It's your job as a marketer to know how your Patients want to feel and to get them to visualize how your services can meet their needs. People want to know, "What's in it for me?" Tap into the emotion and create offerings that touch your Prospex and Patients. 4. Craft A Personal, Workable Marketing Plan Marketing is everything you do to make your brand of chiropractic more visible, more desirable and more profitable. Your marketing plan will clearly define the big picture and provide focus and direction based on the 4 'P's of Marketing - product, price, place/distribution and promotion. Since 90% of Chiropreneurs do not have a plan, you'll have a leg up on your competition by crafting your personal, workable marketing plan to ensure that you reach your business goals. Following these 4 criteria will transform any small business into a money-making machine guaranteed to grow your client list, sales and profits. The upfront work is the secret to a million-dollar business, literally and figuratively. James Harrell Call me toll free at 877 WELNES1 or 877.935.6371 harrell@wellnessone.net P.S. To jump start your marketing plan, click the link below to download WellnessOne Marketing Plan This is the actual marketing plan developed for the WellnessOne National Alliance Members. You can use this model template to quickly and easily develop your own marketing plan using Microsoft Word and Excel to modify, change, add, cut and paste as needed. It will save you tons of time in writing a marketing plan and will provide some insight into the marketing strategies and tactics employed by the leading chiropractic offices in America who are building multi-million dollar businesses. Use this plan in conjunction with the Urbrand Business Plan to communicate vision and goals with potential investors or other interested parties. Just 37 bucks....click this link to order and download immediately: Marketing Plan Model Template: Click Here ****************************************************** ********************* When you think like a "billionaire" you think about building a chiropractic business empire, not just how to grow your practice. If you would like to hob-nob with billionaire Chiropreneurs, consider membership in the WellnessOne National Alliance System. Download our 42-page PDF booklet and then call us toll free at 877 WELNES1 to find out if you qualify and if your marketplace is open. Thank you for subscribing to the CEObrief. Let us know if thee are any topics or issues that you would like us to address in future editions. Your CEObrief T.E.A.M. Call us toll free at 877 WELNES1 or 877.935.6371 ceobrief@wellnessone.net