Being a chiropractor is VERY emotionally rewarding. Chiropractors have a very close relationship with their patients. They get to make a huge impact on their patient’s lives and in their community at large. Chiropractic is pretty awesome!
Financial Reality Check For Chiropractors
With that said, being a chiropractor isn’t always financially rewarding. Some chiropractors are doing awesome. They are reaching all of their financial goals plus more. But the flip side is that wild financial success for chiropractors is the exception, not the norm.
I know that’s not what the chiropractic schools tell people. If you are thinking about becoming a chiropractor, you will most likely only hear the best-case scenario from them. But if you choose to become a chiropractor, it’s much more likely that you will struggle and fail to reach your financial goals than get anywhere close to the dream scenario that your chiropractic school sold you.
That’s the bad news. The good news is that YOU CAN be successful as a chiropractor. You can help a lot of people and make a lot of money in the process. But it’s VERY unlikely you will do that working for someone else. If you want to have the kind of career as a chiropractor you have been hoping for, you will most likely have to start/run your own practice.
Running Your Own Chiropractic Practice
Unfortunately, running a chiropractic practice does not come naturally. That’s true of ANY small business. Sure, many people think that just because they know how to bake cakes they could start a successful cake baking business. But that’s simply not true. And just because you know how to adjust patients, that doesn’t mean you know how to run a successful chiropractic practice.
To make it even worse, chiropractic college doesn’t prepare their students to run a small business. They may give you a business class or two, but I think we can all agree that no one who graduates from chiropractic college is prepared to start/run their own practice unless they have knowledge/experience that they got outside of chiropractic college.
Good News For New Chiropractors
Up to this point, I’m probably sounding pretty doom and gloom. But there is good news. Even though new chiropractors are not prepared to run a practice there are more chiropractic business/marketing resources available now than ever. And much of it is FREE (like this content).
Of course, paid content (like my NEXT Step membership), chiropractic coaches, and high-priced mentoring programs still exist. But I would argue that the quality of free content available to chiropractors now is better than the high-priced stuff available when I graduated from chiropractic college in 2004. Even the paid stuff (for the most part) is far more affordable than it used to be.
I would argue the bigger issue that new chiropractors face now is information overload. Everyone has a podcast. Everyone has a program. Everyone has a book. Everyone is an expert. How do you sort through it all? I get it. That’s a problem.
New Chiropractors Get Preyed Upon
I owned my chiropractic practice for 9 years. I learned a lot of things the hard way. I know what it’s like to be in over my head. I know what it’s like to have people make promises that they didn’t keep. I know what it’s like to be sold gimmicks that were going to double my practice overnight. Basically, I know what it’s like to be preyed upon as a young and struggling chiropractor. It sucks.
So several years ago, I started creating common-sense content for chiropractors. My podcast (and NEXT Step program) is full of content that is foundational for chiropractic success and realistic, but it’s not usually sexy.
Currently, I have published well over 400 chiropractic podcast episodes. That’s a TON of free content, but that content is a little sporadic. I talk about the things that are on my mind and the things that I encounter with my clients. Sometimes I bring on a guest. But I haven’t ever put together a specific series for a specific purpose.
Starting a Chiropractic Practice: 10 Things Chiropractors Should Understand
So I decided to put together a 10 podcast series specifically for new and struggling chiropractors. The purpose of this series is to introduce new chiropractors to 10 foundational concepts that are super important for them to understand.
These 10 podcasts cover things that new chiropractors probably haven’t thought much about, but they desperately need to. I’ll warn you…the content isn’t sexy. I’m not giving you a marketing secret or some sort of business homerun.
But if you take to heart what you learn in these 10 podcasts, and apply it to your chiropractic practice, you will be well on your way to having the career you have hoped for. You will start making more money and helping more people.
Let’s get started!
1.) New Chiropractors Need To Understand Their Situation
The starting point for all new chiropractors is acknowledging their situation. Being a successful chiropractor is very possible, but it’s not easy. If a new chiropractor approaches the process with blissful ignorance, they are most likely in BIG trouble.
Many young chiropractors have told me they are scared to start their own practice. I always tell them that the reason they are scared is because starting a practice is scary. It is a big deal. If you think you aren’t supposed to be at least a little nervous…that’s unrealistic.
So in this first podcast episode of the series, I talk about the reality of being a new chiropractor. I discuss the importance of being good with your hands, debt, and the lack of high-paying jobs. I also talk about success and the mistake of always trying to hit home runs.
Let’s get into it.
2.) New Chiropractors Need To Understand Who They Are
Have you ever asked yourself the question, “Why would people choose me?” I’m going to assume you aren’t the only chiropractor in your area. That means all of your potential new patients have a choice. So why you?
Another good question is, “Who am I trying to help?” I know that some young chiropractors think they can help anyone with a spine, but that’s a very impractical way to run a business. If you try to be everything to everyone you will end up being nothing to most people.
Businesses that clearly know who they are, what problems they solve, and who they help the most are the most successful businesses. Chiropractic practices are no exception to that rule.
So in this podcast episode, I talk about the importance of knowing who you are. I discuss why chiropractors need to clearly identify the people they help and the problems that they solve.
Let’s get into it!
3.) New Chiropractors Need To Understand Business Basics
The vast majority of chiropractors who are seeing a lot of people and making a good living in the process are chiropractors who own their own practice. Simply put, they are small-business owners.
Now the good news is chiropractors don’t have to be business experts to be successful. However, chiropractors do need to have some basic small-business competence otherwise their practice will never operate successfully…or at least not for very long.
So in this podcast, I talk about the importance of business basics. I discuss leadership, structure, and staff. I also talk about the importance of continuing to work on your business and why it’s important to be open to change.
Let’s get started!
4.) New Chiropractors Need To Understand People Management
One of the most difficult things about being a chiropractor is people management. Chiropractic is a very high-touch business. Really, chiropractors are in the people business. As a result, there are people problems.
Now some chiropractic coaches will lead you to believe that it’s normal for everyone to “stay, pay, and refer.” I can tell you from my own experience and from the experience of ALL of my clients, that expecting everyone to stay, pay, and refer just leads to disappointment. I’m not saying that NO ONE will stay, pay, and refer. I’m just saying it’s not the majority.
It’s important for new chiropractors to have realistic expectations of their patients. It’s also important for new chiropractors to know that great patients are often the result of a good process. Great patients don’t just fall out of the sky.
So in this podcast episode, I talk about how onboarding and follow-up are two of the most important aspects of managing your people. I discuss a few things that will help get your new patients started on the right foot. I also talk about the difference between short-term and long-term patient follow-up.
Let’s get into it!
5.) New Chiropractors Need To Understand Outreach
Often when new chiropractors get started they are starting with nothing. They don’t have a bunch of people waiting for them to open. They don’t have a bunch of connections in the community that are ready to refer. Most new chiropractors are starting from scratch.
One of the most critical things for new chiropractors is to meet new people. In fact, if you are a chiropractor, there should be people in your area who didn’t know about you last month who know about you this month, and that should be the case EVERY SINGLE month. If it’s not, you aren’t going to make it.
So in this podcast episode, I talk about the importance of outreach and meeting new people. I discuss the many outreach opportunities that exist for chiropractors now. I talk about long-term marketing, short-term marketing, online marketing, offline marketing, and much more.
Let’s get into it!
6.) New Chiropractors Need To Understand Relationships
“It’s not what you know, it’s who you know” is a statement that has been around for years. The reason people say it is because relationships have always created opportunities. It’s no different as a chiropractor.
Chiropractors who are well known and connected in the community tend to have larger practices. Chiropractors who are good at establishing a trusting relationship with their patients tend to have great patient retention. Heck, even SEO (search engine optimization) is just building a relationship with Google. The chiropractors who rank the highest in your area, they have the best relationship with Google.
So in this podcast episode, I talk about the importance of relationships and trust. I discuss how relationships vary, the types of relationships that are important, and why it’s important to be have patience when building relationships.
Let’s get into it!
7.) New Chiropractors Need To Understand Authority
When I talk about authority as a chiropractor, I’m not talking about ruling your practice with an iron fist. I would describe a chiropractor with high authority as someone who is well known, admired, and trusted.
When a chiropractor has high authority, it’s like a cheat code for their practice. It just makes everything easier.
So in this podcast episode, I talk about the superpower of authority. I discuss where people get authority, how to borrow authority, and what to do when you have it.
Let’s get into it!
8.) New Chiropractors Need To Understand Consistency
Consistency isn’t difficult to understand. It’s not an exciting topic. A seminar for chiropractors about consistency isn’t going to put a lot of butts in seats.
However, consistency is a foundational element of a chiropractor’s success. In fact, you would be hard pressed to find anyone who’s is successful in any area of life who isn’t being consistent in that area. It’s VERY important.
So in this podcast episode, I talk about the role of consistency in success. I discuss hoping to be an overnight success is not realistic, how big change happens quickly, and the importance of making time for the important things.
Let’s get into it!
9.) New Chiropractors Need To Understand Pre-Suasion
Pre-suasion is a concept that’s unfamiliar to most chiropractors. The concept is pretty simple. People don’t generally make decisions in 1 big step. The decisions that people make are usually a series of small steps in a series. Small decisions have fewer steps. Big decisions have many steps. But the concept is the same.
If chiropractors understand the power of pre-suasion, they can help create an environment that helps patients make better decisions. The more effective a chiropractor is as pre-suasion the easier patient decisions will be for them and patient compliance (and retention) will increase.
So in this podcast episode, I talk about the power of pre-suasion. I discuss why it’s important NOT to ask patients to make BIG decisions. I also talk about how environment and reputation impact pre-suasion.
Let’s get into it!
10.) New Chiropractors Need To Understand The Power Of Praise
New chiropractors need to realize if they are going to be successful they are NOT going to do it alone. Success takes a group effort. Even if you run a micropractice by yourself, there will be others along the way that aid in your practice success.
So in this final podcast episode of the series, I talk about the importance of saying thank you. I discuss the type of people who will help you while you are in practice, and the ways to acknowledge them.
As a bonus, I also talk about the importance of understanding areas where you can be great. I talked about this more in episode 467: How To Be Great & What To Do When You Suck.
FREE Website/SEO Assessment
If you would like to get more patients from the internet, improve your Google listing, get more reviews, or optimize your website, I would love to show you how. See how your practice stacks up against other chiropractors in your area.
Get Your Free Website Assessment
Chiropractic Websites That Work
Many chiropractors have websites that are clunky, cluttered, and confusing. A bad website hurts your ability to attract new patients.
Rocket Chiro can build and manage your brand new chiropractic website that is simple, professional, and that helps your practice grow.
Learn More About Rocket Chiropractic Websites
Business Training For Chiropractors
Feeling stuck? Overwhelmed trying to grow your chiropractic practice? Get access to common-sense business & marketing training that you can use today. Join NEXT Step!
Fully-Managed SEO for Chiropractors
Let us drive more targeted traffic to your chiropractic practice with a fully-managed SEO campaign.
We create an advanced, customized SEO strategy specifically for your practice, execute our custom plan, and provide transparent reporting so you can watch your rankings grow. You get to increase your traffic and rankings and attract more new patients without lifting a finger.
Start dominating Google searches in your area.
