Q: ..12-12-98 I'm in the second month of the practice which I purchased and in the midst of a slow transition from the way that the prior DC did things (ie. pain orientation) to my focus (subluxation and wellness care.). This is going very well as many of them got the big picture and do not realize it. With the new year comes many exciting and positive things. We now have a brand spanking new x-ray unit. I am at a loss how anyone can function with out actually seeing the spine. But hey, that's just me. Anyway, my staff (at this point it just consists of a single person) and I are going away for a weekend for some fun and skiing. But more importantly it is our Brainstorming weekend. We are going to chart out our monthly newsletters for the entire year in terms of topics, deadlines, etc. We'll also be planning the upcoming year of holidays, and how we can bring our energy and enthusiasm as an office to them. My question is do you have any ideas of ways to really maximize the effectiveness of this? We are also about to do a survey of patients opinions for different aspects of the office (ie. hours; what they would like to see improved; etc.). Do you have any suggestions about the best way to go about this. Incidentally, I'll also be surveying the offices and businesses in the community. The other question I have has to deal with staff and firing them up. Dr. Margolies I have the most amazing staff you could imagine. Just to give you an idea, when I was talking with her about my vision and how I see the practice in 1, 5, and 10 years, she was very enthusiastic about it. I didn't realize how much till she came to the office the next day with a book labeled "THE VISION BOOK" with everything we had talked about written down. It floored me. I know that I'm new in my own office, but I have never seen another CA like this. I think I am very lucky. So the question is how do we cultivate that passion in one of our staff. It's great now and I want to keep it growing. If you have any ideas in terms of readings, or anything else I would greatly appreciate it. My reply: Thanks for the e-mail and your question. I applaud you on having a dynamic CA .. be careful to give her enough leeway to explore and create .. often .. me included .. we stifle and smother other non chiropractors ideas .. probably because we wish to be in charge and be the creative one. With an office of just you and one other .. it is important that you decide who does what and who will follow through .. this is especially true concerning PR. Plans are drawn up for 3-6 months in advance. Start with holiday themes beyond the New Year .. Easter .. Valentines .. Springtime .. etc .. how can you promote from within the practice and from without. Remember you have limited staff and time so be careful not to over extend .. as you have win after win .. hire help and cross train. Also .. newsletters are great both for patients and the community. Next .. plan office events .. regular health talks and specific topics talks ..such as nutrition .. wellness into the 21st century .. Stretching and Exercises .. Aging Gracefully or Fitness over Fifty. Create a Log and begin calling local churches and ask the name of their social or program director .. do they have programs for Over 50 or Parents without Partners etc .. send them a menu of programs that you will do .. this takes time and is planned months in advance Determine the extent of your "Farm" .. 5-10 miles surrounding your office. Who can you market to? Ergonomic programs for clerical and labor .. wellness programs for residential and retail .. where and what As far as keeping the enthusiasm high with your CA .. it is best to determine a plan. As your practice grows so does the increase of CA work .. more paperwork .. more phone calls .. more everything .. therefore bonuses are given for production Now .. go with the flow .. encourage teamwork and cultivate every angle .. map in your minds eye who you can market to .. role play the phone call and the letters to be written .. etc. Survey's are great .. I use them a lot. I'm not sure if you own my Smart Start Book .. if yes .. look through the index in the back and use some of the survey's .. especially the ten visit one .. If you have a fax machine I can send you a recent survey I created to get the pulse of my office .. Also .. you may wish to purchase my CA Marketing and Public Relations Book .. there are duplicated pages from the Smart Start Book but more hands on for the CA to be extra creative .. If interested call us at 770-491-3639 and I can send it out or fax the survey I mentioned I hope you keep this excitement throughout your long years as a DC .. this is how you last 20+ years as I have have a Great day Dr. M P.S. when money is more at hand .. begin using a better internet server so you can get onto webpages such as mine. I have loads of stuff for you in there .. and it's all free. AOL is what I use but there are many more.