Stop Being Flakey

Alternative and complimentary health professionals often wonder why they are having a hard time making a living. My last blog post was about using a business model that helps with clear patient communication of outcomes, and also keeps the lights on. In this blog post, I want to touch on something else I’ve seen in the industry that affects the success of running an acupuncture and East Asian medicine practice.

Moving Around Too Much

I’ve had the advantage of staying in one place for long enough to make a difference, and to make a living: I’m talking about staying at a clinic for 8 years. I know that sometimes clinic dynamics change, or businesses close down, but the insight that I gained from being at the same place for so long was extremely valuable.

Of course, while staying in the same place for so long, I saw many practitioners come and go - often quite quickly. In a matter of a few months, a new team-player would determine that they didn’t have enough clientele and move on. Perhaps their friend or colleague would offer them something and they would jump ship. Many practitioners are also young and free - deciding to move around their province, state or country. The games we play in our mind, and the restlessness wanderlust creates, does not serve the community that is seeking our help.

The solution to this problem? Stay in one place, dammit! Find a clinic and stay there. Work hard to become a team player. Inter-refer. Stay there for a few years - enough time for enough people to send you enough referrals.

Not Really Feeling Like Working Today

We’re all self-employed no matter if we work by ourselves, with others, or for another clinic. If we don’t show up for work, there’s no unemployment, no sick days and no help. Clearly, that’s a big deal, but what’s even a bigger deal is the message that we’re sending to our patients when we cancel their appointment or we’re not available on a regular basis.

Barring emergencies, clinic time should be thought of as seriously as any other job that a practitioner previously had. What would happen if we ‘didn’t really feel like coming in,’ or decided to ‘just cancel the afternoon’ with any other job? We’d be written up. We’d possibly be fired if it kept up.

I’ve slowly become a little successful with my online programs and digital downloads. I’m going to tell you exactly how I did it: I took posting to social media, writing blog posts, responding to DM’s, and crafting emails that help people seriously (read: like a regular job). The minute I started working at it on a regular basis, I started gaining traction in making a difference in people’s lives and being able to gain some income from the process.

Being wishy-washy with our clinic hours does nothing but confuse and anger existing and potential patients.

The solution to this problem? Treat your clinic like any other job.

Flakey

We all know that we attract certain clientele, but what’s doing it? I believe it’s the way we project our businesses. Do you only take cash and cheque, or do you also offer debit and credit, and direct bill when available? Do you have regular clinical hours that show you have boundaries, or do you just come in whenever? Do you take time off in the summer and winter, or do you have reception cancel days when you just don’t feel like it?

If we act flakey, we get flakey patients - the ones who act like we do. If we act like we have our shit together, we get patients who have their poop in a group, too.

Only croissants get to be flakey. Not proper business owners. Dust yourself off - it’s time to get to work.