After the last post on collaborating with your colleagues to help your practice, I thought I’d share the ad we put together. This is a full page newspaper ad that we were able to buy for very little cash since we split it five ways.
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Recently, the naturopaths in Collingwood and surrounding area got together to discuss some joint marketing for Naturopathic Medicine Week. There are more practitioners here than ever (and many more coming soon), and this is something we’ve been wanting to do for years - to collect all our “competition” in one spot and chat.
Why, you ask? Because for us, competition really is good for business and patients. Here’s why turning your competitors into collaborators benefits everyone.
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We went through a multi-day strategic planning session last fall. In our case, that essentially meant Tara and I sequestered away in a cheap hideaway where we could focus on the big-picture of the business, and do some great hiking when we needed a break. It was three days very well spent.
One of the real advantages to this process was that we came out of it with a concrete, concise template for how to move forward when things get dicey. I’ve gone through the plan and pulled out the strategies that I feel are making the biggest difference during challenging times:
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The stats show that about two-thirds of us make New Year’s resolutions. My guess is that the majority of the other third can’t help but think at least a little bit about 2009, too. It’s natural. We’re thinking about getting organized and making fresh starts. Out with the old. In with the new. We feel the need to grow, change and just get better at what we do.
The challenge is that these are pretty big projects, and it’s easy to bite off more than your practice can chew. Instead, I like to think of one principle to focus on in the coming year. It’s a bit like herding - I need one idea that can guide all those tiny details, decisions and actions in the right direction. Each “cow” might have its own unique path and nature, but at the end of the year, I want all those bovine bits to arrive at the same place.
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We’ve in the middle of a long recruiting process to fill out the rest of our clinic team. We’ve hired a few faces over the years, and right now I feel like we have our best staff ever, with one position remaining.
There is no more important thing than having the right people. I’ve watched the transition of a single person on or off the roster make a difference of tens of thousands of dollars in a very short time, not to mention the impact on morale and joy in the office. It’s phenomenal. Here are a few tips we’ve learned along the way.
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We’re firm believers that there comes a time when finding success means you need to work less at some things, not more. It’s counterintuitive, I know, but sometimes the most important things are.
Here’s are 6 reasons why cutting your hours might just take your practice to the next level:
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Being paid in cheese was certainly a unique experience. What was most empowering about setting up practice in a developing nation, though, was the realization of how easily small actions can make a big difference.
In that same spirit, we’re excited to announce Train For Humanity, a non-profit organization that I co-founded with a handful of like-minded bloggers, including Mark Hayward, and Leo Babauta of ZenHabits. Read More »
During our sabbatical in Paraguay, we started a free clinic using donations from patients back home.
As word spread, it became a common sight to find people scattered about the various shady spots outside our makeshift clinic waiting for la doctora, and trying to get a some relief in a place where a dollar day wasn’t an uncommon wage.
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Randi Drinkwater is the president of Alternative Growth Streams (AGS), a company whose mission is to help alternative health care professionals grow their patient base. She’s also a colleague of ours from IntegrativePractitioner.com, where we both contribute to the growing community of practitioners.
We asked Randi for a case study from AGS’s work with CAM practitioners, and she was kind enough to share this story. Enjoy! -Dan & Tara
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Hi Everyone,
Summer’s in full swing in our part of the world, and we’re heading out for our annual 2-week hiatus. We’ll be off the grid in solar-powered relaxation mode (right here, to be specific).
A few tidbits before we head out:
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