Q:

Dr. M

Can you make any reccomendations for how to find business/locations that will be willing 
to have spinal-screenings done? Also .. How much should  a budget strained DC/intern 
spend on consulting?  Where should one go with that money, ie.

A: 

Thanks for your e-mail. Unfortunately the curriculum in chiropractic school lacks sound 
business classes .. how to market and prosper a new practice. I taught a class like this for 
four years at Life Ubniversity here in Atlanta and my text Smart Start is like a bible to 
many. I recommend you request your school's library send a request for my books on their 
letterhead via fax 770-491-3799 and I'll send a copy. Also .. I didn't find your e-mail 
address amongst the over 4500 DC's I send a weekly e-mail to in 30 countries .. so I'll add 
you and the next e-mail you receive will be a welcome newsletter getting you up to speed. 
Please let others in your class know about these e-mails .. possibly have students with an 
e-mail address print clearly their addresses on a sheet of paper and fax it to me so i can get 
them on board.

As far as your questions .. once you choose the area you wish to practice you must create a 
marketing farm .. 5-10 miles around your clinic. The demographics of retail .. residential .. 
clerical ..labor are areas you'll be marketing to and screenings are just a piece of this 
puzzle. Once you map out the area .. you begin a campaign of contacting these places and 
determine which Community Outreach Program they desire .. is it postural/stress screening 
.. ergonomic and wellness workshops .. safety programs and much more. Therefore .. it is 
dificult for me to give you a specific answer to your question about screenings until you do 
your homework. For practice determine the demograhic marketing farm around your 
school or where you live and begin creating a data bank of places within this area ..

As far as your question concerning a consultant .. it is a shame you have to allocate money 
for a professional consultant after the vast loans that students take while they study. But .. 
since you aksed my answer will be very conservative. In the west you'll find Parker and 
Karl Parker seminars occasionally in Las Vegas. There are seminar and consultant leaders 
in the California area .. it all depends on how you wish to practice. Some consultants focus 
of the philosophical aspects od chiropractic and les on therapy and others the reverse. This 
has no bearing with me but will make a difference on how you'll implement the programs. 
Check my webpage under weblinks and you'll find some consultants webpages. 
Remember .. many of these seminars offer freee or reduced fees for the first seminar .. 
they may wish to "sign you up" but just keep searching from seminar to seminar until you 
feel comfortable with the message. The fees of traveling adds up so have a strict budget. I 
recommend you purchase my Smart Start Book for sure. I assist Dr. Pete Fernandez with 
classes during his seminars and he has a very successful Practice Starters Program .. the 
only problem for you is they have seminars only in Atlanta .. although DC's come from all 
over. When you graduate you can alsways come as my guest for free . so it may save you 
the airfare. I hope this helps