Dear Bill,

I’ve been at this for over a decade now and I’m frustrated that I’m not as successful as I expected I’d be at this stage of my career. Could you suggest some things I can do to get beyond merely surviving?

Yikes! That’s a big ask without more detail about you, your beliefs, habits, patient care philosophy, and all the rest. That said, it’s rarely about what you aren’t doing, but rather things you might want to stop doing!

If you were to invest in a one-hour consultation I could be far more helpful. But I’ll assume you have adequate clinical skills, don’t have a habit of hurting patients, you’re personable, and don’t have an attitude (or personal hygiene) that is off-putting. Here are some things you might want to consider that could be interfering with the success you seek:

The Definition of Success

First, what is your definition of “successful?” Careful it’s not someone else’s definition, as in, “you’re not a real chiropractor unless you’re seeing ___ patient visits a week.” Which is absurd. Ultimately, your practice should provide an income to support you and your family while producing the soul satisfaction that can come from serving others. Careful that you don’t compare yourself with others who seem compelled to boast on social media. Comparison is a guaranteed joy killer.

The Stories You Tell Yourself

Your practice is merely a reflection of your cumulative beliefs and thoughts—conscious and unconscious. There are things you believe to be true, that may not be. There may be personal vows you’ve made that preclude certain actions. There are stories you’ve created to explain your circumstances that may be unhelpful. When these beliefs, vows, and stories collide with reality, it often cripples practice growth, patient retention, referrals and all the rest. As in, “I want to help more people, but I refuse to __________.” This often reveals an unsavory entitlement mentality.

Rock Solid Certainty

One of the traits patients find attractive is a high level of conviction and confidence. Not dogmatism. Your certainty produces a sense of hope that is part of the healing process. Yet, if you lack a clear identity, are unclear about what you’re offering, or what business you’re in, you may project a tentativeness that can sabotage patient confidence. Even more common is the temptation to practice therapeutic chiropractic—investing your life spirit in producing a symptomatic outcome. Yes, that’s what patients (and insurance carriers) want. Yet, since you’re actually reviving the patient’s ability to function as designed, you have little control whether relief will manifest before the patient’s patience is exhausted. Stressful, to say the least.

Crystal Clear Boundaries

You must have great clarity about where your responsibility ends and a patients’ begins. This means showing up as a collaborator and facilitator rather than a helicoptering parent. You need to care, but appropriately so. You’ll want to recognize that the decisions and choices patients make aren’t a reflection of you—but rather reveal how much (or little) they value health—something established long before meeting you.

Trading Respect for Approval

Addicted to the need to be liked will hobble even the most brilliant clinician. Showing up as a friend (as opposed to friendly) produces a constant headwind. This strategy is often the result of the wrongheaded belief that being a friend gives you greater influence. Or a way to get your social needs met. Worse, minimizing their problem so they don’t “shoot the messenger” or sugar coating your recommendations are signs you need them more than they need you. In the process you’ve compromised your professional trust. Trading professional respect for patient approval is never, ever a fair trade.

Purpose Bigger Than Yourself

Adjusting patients is not a purpose. Making your student loan payments isn’t a purpose. The impact of a chiropractic practice is significantly reduced when patients are seen as car payments, someone to win over, or some statistical achievement. Patients can detect this self-centeredness, even when justified as being in their best interests. When you make practice about you, it keeps the practice small and manageable. Remember your original decision to become a chiropractor? Reconnect with that altruistic vision and you’ll discover the money has a way of taking care of itself.

Rejecting the Business of Chiropractic

Granted you didn’t receive but superficial business training in chiropractic college. Their mission wasn’t to produce successful chiropractors, but to equip you to pass the necessary exams to secure a license. Make no mistake, you have a small business. Sure, we call it a practice, but it’s a business. We call them patients, but they’re customers. If you resent, or worse, hate the business aspects of practice you won’t be very good at it. Thankfully, it’s all learnable. You don’t have to become a marketing savant, but it wouldn’t hurt to read a couple books about practice promotion, look for ways of trimming overhead, embrace staff training, and the countless other aspects of running a successful small business. If that’s unappealing, consider working for someone for whom it is.

~

Like the difficulty of being able to detect one’s own bad breath, many of these issues are challenging to self-diagnose. The fact that you’re reaching out for advice is a good sign. It suggests you may be coachable and willing to drop some of the unhelpful beliefs and behaviors that are blocking the success you seek.

Hope that helps. Thanks for the question.

Ask Bill your question.

« Previous Next »