Did you know that commercially, Mother’s Day is becoming one of the biggest days of the year? Spending at Christmas time is the only holiday to trump Mother’s Day! So, I’m wondering what are you doing to honor the Moms in your practice this year? It’s not too late – you can promote Mother’s Day for the entire month of May!

Here’s some successful ideas to get you started:

Send a card or ecard to your patients who are moms.

Sponsor an event like a “Mother’s Classic” fun run or walk in your community.

Give a flower to all of your female patients.

Collect donations and support a local women’s shelter.

Add a story about your mom to your website.

Post recipes for children to make for their moms.

Offer gift certificates for family check-ups.

Highlight special products or services, like nutritional supplements.

Provide women’s health information for patients to read or give to their mom.

Cross-promote and establish a joint effort with a local business, like your neighborhood florist or jewelry shop.

Wow! I’m full of ideas today!

So, your action step is to choose one of the ideas I just mentioned and apply it to your practice. The possibilities are endless! Recognize, promote and support the women in your life!

Okay – quick question for you… Feeling a little stuck or challenged because your practice isn’t growing as fast as you’d like for it to?! Give me a call – let’s discuss it. We have some “done-for-you” solutions that your team can do for you – which keeps you focused on taking care of your patients while your practice grows! Just give me a call!

We’d love to know what you think about this. Please post your comments, tweet this, like it on facebook and share the link with a colleague. And, thanks for watching. Until next time, we wish you health and happiness. Here’s to growing your practice from within.

I spent the weekend preparing for a little outdoor gardening project which of course leads me to Home Depot! As I was walking the aisles with some fellow “do-it-yourselfers” I couldn’t help but think about business. I wondered about the countless business owners that decide to tackle projects instead of delegating them to their team members. I’m all for the spirit of the do-it-yourself mentality, but that’s not always the best choice in a business world.

I recently read a study that reported an estimated 75-80 percent of the small to midsized businesses waste employee salaries, including their own, by not focusing each person’s time on the optimal task for that person. The study mapped out how business owners are spending their time and found that about 10 hours each week is devoted to administrative tasks. When calculated at an hourly rate of 100 dollars, that’s like losing ten thousand dollars by trying to do everything yourself!

When this fact was presented to a business owner, they hired a book-keeper and website designer, who cost one fourth of the revenue they would have lost if they had handled the tasks themselves.

So, your action step this week is to review your office tasks and evaluate – is that task is best suited for you or, is it the optimal task for someone else. Pay close attention to new patient exam paperwork and report generation, x-ray processing and report of finding preparation. Many chiropractic technicians and assistants are eager to take some things off your plate. With the appropriate training and clearly defined expectations from you, they are more than qualified to do the job and do it well.

Okay – before I go, I have a quick question for you… Feeling a little stuck or challenged because your practice isn’t growing as fast as you’d like for it to?! Give me a call – let’s discuss it. We have some “done-for-you” solutions that your team can do for you – which keeps you focused on taking care of your patients while your practice grows! Just give me a call!

We’d love to know what you think about this. Please post your comments, tweet this, like it on facebook and share the link with a colleague. And, thanks for watching. Until next time, we wish you health and happiness. Here’s to growing your practice from within.

I was with some colleagues the other day for our mastermind gathering when an interesting theme came up. My friend Karen, owns a successful massage studio and she was talking about ways to motivate her staff. She was frustrated because they were at a plateau. She wanted to go to the next level, move past the administrative training and really dive into sharing her mission with her Team and community. But the Team was struggling with the big picture and kept focusing on the detail of office tasks. Another colleague, Josh, manages a large fitness center and was dealing with the same issues. Seems like no matter what industry you’re in, we’re all searching for ways to motivate our Teams.

So, we all started re-visiting Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs. This is a psychology theory that is most often demonstrated with a pyramid that illustrates each need and its relative importance. There’s five levels on the pyramid. Basic needs are on the bottom; water, food, and sleep. Once those needs are satisfied, you can move to the next level, which are Safety needs. Security of body, employment and health. It’s important to remember that unless each of these needs are met, nothing else matters. The third level is Social needs. A sense of belonging, to be liked and loved. The fourth level is Esteem needs. Recognition, worth and accomplishment. The fifth level is self-actualization. This is the “in the zone” moment, where there’s a lack of prejudice and acceptance of truth and facts.

Our group began visualizing the pyramid and implied it’s theories to business management, thinking about the motivating factors in a work environment. So, we started with Basic needs and discussed ways to provide things like lunch breaks and wages that are sufficient for our Teams to purchase the essentials of life. Ensuring that they’re fulfilling the bottom level of the pyramid. Moving on to the next level, Safety Needs. Ensuring that we are providing a safe working environment where there is freedom from low morale. And providing as much relative job security as possible.

Now we moved to Social needs and this is where growth can really take off. Creating a feeling of acceptance, belonging and community by reinforcing team dynamics. Next level, Esteem needs. Recognize achievements, assign important projects and provide status to make employees feel appreciated and valued. And finally, the top of the pyramid – self-actualization needs. Providing challenging and meaningful work which enables innovation, creativity and progress according to long-term goals.

So your action step this week is to review the hierarchy of needs pyramid and apply its business principles to your Team. You’ll enjoy the results of a unified and motivated Team!
Okay – quick question for you… Feeling a little stuck or challenged because your practice isn’t growing as fast as you’d like for it to?! Give me a call – let’s discuss it. We have some “done-for-you” solutions that your team can do for you – which keeps you focused on taking care of your patients while your practice grows! Just give me a call!

We’d love to hear from you! Please post your comments, tweet this, like it on facebook and share the link with a colleague. And, thanks for watching! Until next time, we wish you health and happiness. Here’s to growing your practice from within.