Author: Pattie Ptak

 

You probably don’t need to go any further than your closet to find the answer to that one. If you are a guy, how many pair of athletic shoes do you have in your closet right now? How many do you really need? And every woman, myself included,  knows that you simply cannot have too many pairs of black pumps.

We buy what we WANT. I might really need a set of new tires, but I will probably wait until the very last minute to buy them. What I will run right out to buy now is that brand new whatchamacallit that I saw on TV that promised to make my life so much better, easier, efficient; or make me happier, more attractive, slimmer…you get the idea. We buy on emotions, and regardless of what we need, our brain is going to make purchasing decisions based on getting us what we want, not necessarily what we need.

Continue Reading..

 

Have you noticed in your business that some weeks are just phenomenal? You might start the week with a new patient that is just amazing, they are your exact ideal client, they seem to really be in alignment with your suggestions, and you have that feeling that they are going to be a great patient. You have a spring in your step, you feel enthused about working with them, they are excited about working with you, and the week just goes great from there. The energy in the office is just incredible, referrals start coming out of the woodwork!

Well that’s the kind of week I had this week and I want to share about what I discovered as a result. I hope you don’t mind.

The Importance of a Mentor

I was just fortunate enough to spend an hour on the phone this week with my new mentor and business coach, Ali Brown, who is an amazing businesswoman, and a mentor to many of the people I have been learning marketing and business from in the past few years. What an invaluable hour that was for my business.

 

For all of you looking to earn more money in 2013, I am dedicating my article in this issue to the valuable strategies you can use to move your practice toward the cash based-model. If you have made the transition to a cash-only practice, I will cover the key components you should be using to keep your patients connected to your office, and most importantly, not let them neglect their health because of their finance.

Continue Reading..

 

It’s the beginning of the year, and cash flow can be a bit challenging right about now. For chiropractors, naturopathic, integrative or functional medicine doctors, cash flow in January can be a challenge. Whether you have a cash practice or depend partially on wholly on insurance, you may be feeling a bit of the squeeze. Whether it’s deductible time or your patients are suffering the holiday bank account hangover, here are some ideas to get an infusion of cash in your practice now.

Cash Flow Slow?
Try One or Two of These Ideas for Some Quick Cash:

  • Feature an exercise product or bundle to get in shape for the New Year. Hold a fitness class using equipment the patient can use at home and then offer it for purchase after the class. Or you can do something on 5 easy exercises to relieve neck pain, tension in your traps or headaches. I like the Pettibon cervical traction unit as a great way to alleviate your patient’s neck stress and prevent headaches. It is an easy set of exercises to teach, they are safe and simple for the patient to do at home on their own, (they even have one for patients with and without TMJ), and you can make some quick cash while helping your patients maintain a healthy cervical curve! Click here for a link to learn more about the Pettibon cervical traction unit.

Continue Reading..

 

This Memorial Day weekend I was getting my backyard ready for summer and opened up an umbrella that had been closed all winter, and I found a big surprise…a wasp’s nest! Yikes.

I must admit, as far as nature-type things go, it does look pretty amazing. Those little wasps must have worked really hard on it. And part of me thinks I really wouldn’t mind keeping it there for a little while, because it’s like a science project for my 12 year old; but something tells me that if I ignore it, I might, no…I definitely will regret it.

It is a little bit like that tiny nagging pain in my neck that cropped up a few days ago, which incidentally really doesn’t bother me too much right now. But I know from experience that the seemingly harmless little pain I have now will most likely get bigger and stronger and harder to deal with over time. And If I ignore it for a couple of weeks, it could very well turn into a really serious problem.

Continue Reading..

Three Simple steps to Increase your Patient Volume by Narrowing Your Focus

Wait a minute you say, I thought the more people who see my message, the more response I am going to get, right? Nope. Not anymore. That kind of marketing went out with Wonder Bread.

Welcome to the information age, where we are exposed to more marketing messages before breakfast than we used to get in a whole day.

It takes a lot these days to grab our short, over extended attention span…

Continue Reading..

Happy Spring!

Welcome to my website and my first blog entry. I just feels right to be starting my website in Spring. I love Spring. Everything outside looks so vibrant and fresh. The blue sky, the many shades of green, and all of the flowers look so colorful, so beautiful, so perfectly…well… perfect.

It’s like a new exhibit came to town: The Exhibit of the Great Outdoors.

Spring is a great time to get a cue from nature and take a fresh look at your office. Could you use a little spring cleaning? With all the beauty going on outside, it can provide a sharp contrast to what is going on inside your office.

Continue Reading..