Smart Start Note: There are many of you who will be successful just by the nature of your karma. If you have the touch .. don¼t stifle it with educated methods to suppress this gift .. Go with the flow. For the majority of you, it will be imperative to create the office you wish, and more important maintain a constant flow of patients to carry on. The most important buzz word is Retention. An office based on constant advertising is a drain on you and your profits. AÝpractice that has patients returning for supportive care; referring their friends and family; as well as being a constant source of on going income is what you are after. The numbers you are looking for are Patient Visit Average. PVA¼s are the average time a patient spends in your office. This number is found by dividing your new patients into the total weekly visits. A healthy practice has a number of 30 and above. If you have patients coming for acute care only, and they leave between 1-10 visits, you have no choice but to „pump¾ up your practice all the time. An office with clear patient communications and education will reduce overall stress as patient¼s will return for the correct reason .. subluxation management and wellness. You¼ve made it this far as a student because you have seen the potential of chiropractic .. now share it with others. Therefore: Read the material handed to you during the last few weeks. As with everything else, there are ideas you feel comfortable implementing and others you have to gag to even read. Don¼t throw the baby out with the bath water. Use what you can and keep the others for some later date when you feel it may be useful. That said, let¼s recap what would be helpful to get started: Two months prior to opening your own office do the following: Ä Drive the area and gather a demographic and farm approach to what¼s there Ä Gather a list of companies, either from the phone book, Hanes directory, etc. Ä Call these companies and use the handout scripts to reach the proper person Ä Send letters concerning workshops and meetings (it will take time for this) Ä Send material to local attorney¼s via names gathered in the phone book Ä Set up meetings with attorney¼s and have your material ready Ä Canvas your farm with a newsletter about your „to be¾ office and you Ä Give out your business card to anyone you have contact with and get their card Ä Begin to create a community data (label) base within your computer Ä Look in phone book for clubs, unions, church groups to determine their interest Ä Write your own purpose and policy statements and adhere to these Ä Prepare a front desk manual and have all the forms prepared in advance Ä Train a staff member and don¼t cheat on time .. you¼ll be molding them Ä When patients first come in, cluster book them if practical Ä Be firm with your policies and give patient classes even for that one person Ä Be cautious of spending too much time with the first patients .. capacity is key Ä Even though it may be hard .. save 5-10% each week in a money market account Ä Resist spending on „things¾ until you¼re rolling .. a few months or more Ä Ask your patient¼s for referrals -- don¼t seem desperate -- only concerned to help Ä Ask your patient¼s .. via a survey .. where they work and about workshops Ä If you have been writing newsletters, you should send them out to your community Communications and Avoid Burn-Out Even though you are just getting started, it is very easy to get burnt out. Burn out is a state of mind, but when it hits ...... it can be very dangerous. The momentum and energy of the practice is directly proportional to your level of energy. If you get down .. the practice is down. If the staff is sloppy, it¼s because your procedures are sloppy as well. To avoid burn out it is important to avoid office and personal stress. Easy said than done, but it can be accompolished by active communications with everyone you have to work with. This includes your patients. Following your office and personal policies to maintain your purpose, will by the nature of this close checking, keep you from being burned out. Burn out can also be due to lost interest .. losing the excitment levels that kept you going .. this is especially true when you have to deal with insurance companies and the lack of respect from the general public. Keep your spirits high with continued belief in what your goals are, as well as tapping into positive influences such as DE. Sources: Ä Look in yellow pages for Direct Mail. They can give you, for a fee, labels of local businesses and home addresses. They can also mail your material. Remember to negotiate any fees they offer you. Ä Look in the yellow pages for a welcome wagon type company. If you will be using their services, be sure to have a value to the coupon, and be sure to insist that you have time to discuss and „train¾ the person who¼ll be meeting the public for you Ä Many utility companies have a ready list of new homeowners Many of you have asked me for the phone number of people I¼ve used in the past, or of companies I¼ve worked with. This is not an endorsement, but I feel comfortable they can help you: My Accountant: Morray Scheinfeld -- 770-640-0335 (honest .. available .. affordable) Corporate Attorney: David Schulman 404-870-8513 (to read over contracts .. corporations) Insurance Billing: Mark Wilson -- 770-975-8200 (will do all your insurance for a fee) ImageTek (Keith) 770-514-8722 (1-800-257-6510) X-rays, equipment, ortho supports Start Up Lease Money: Max Eisner: 770-804-8006 (if you need lease money) Charles Schwab: Money Market Margin Account with check writing: 1-800-435-4000 NCMIC Malpractice Insurance: 1-800-247-8043 Haberer Tables - 770-445-5947 (roller tables .. Dallas, Georgia) get two or three D.E. 770- 422-8836 1-800-233-5409 (ask for catalog) Parker Products 1-800-950-8044 (ask for catalog) HW Industries (Crooked Pens) 1-800-824-5084 Cervical Pillows: Synetics .. 1-800-995-8865 (ask for display .. use me as referenece) Chirostuff: 770-419-1199 Footlevers 1-800-553-4860 (orthotics and rehab equipment) Calwell (HCFA Forms) 1-800-637-1140 ICA: 703-528-5000