A mentor in your field seems like the only answer. You must know someone who has been through it all and can give you some advice. Dealing with employees is never easy and while there may be techniques you can learn, its a huge interpersonal thing. If you dont develop the trust in the relationship over time, they dont hang around too long. Thats what I have noticed in 10 years as a chiropractor.
hey, i know this is stressful. we don’t talk much about business, but would certainly be open to an hour or two POW (perspecitves on whatever) to address some issues.
the business consultants I’ve worked with on a professional level in the past really didn’t help much. they were expensive, and did little to contribute to long term solutions that were actionable and realistic.
I POW with a good friend of mine who runs a similiar size business and it has proven value for us. together we’ve come up with alot of important decisions, ideas, and solutions that have positively impacted both of our businesses.
so, if you’re interested in a POW let me know. it must be a sit down business meeting to make it most effective.
The mentor and the informal business advisory group are both great ideas. You’d be surprised at the number of problems, issues, and concerns you have in common with others both in your profession, and outside your profession. I’d also solicit input from customers.
Talk to people informally. Meet other small business owners monthly for coffee, or whatever, where the only thing allowed to be discussed is business.
I’ve done similar things in the past, and I found it liberating to find out that the problems I was having weren’t unique to me, that they were quite common. Often, others similarly situated will have already found what works, or will have ideas on how you should proceed.
– John
I hate to do this on ST but I thought maybe I can get a few recommendations and direction. Basically, so I can RUN,BIKE and SWIM more, I hired another doc and decreased my load. However, a lot of problems are happening, I would like advice on finding the appropriate business consulting people so I can be advised on how to handle employees and just simple business directions. My accountant is helping some and I am very leary of practice management groups. I don’t trust them. If I only had to make athletes better, life would be so simple. any thoughts? I don’t want to go into all the details on a forum.
Greetings,
My MA (Management) directly applies to this thread; I have a couple questions (PM fine): 1) Why/how did you settle on PMGS? 2) Why is there a trust factor involved?
Depending on your response, I’ll email you some book titles/resources which certainly helped me during my studies and now upper-managerial career.
- kd
Marisol,
I’d suggest reposting on a chiropractic board since there will be more people who can relate exactly to your situation.
The first unusual thing I notice is referring to your associate doc as an “employee”. Is he a genuine employee on salary such as your receptionist or is the doc working on a %, or paying a fixed rent or some other arrangement? Most arrangements with associate chiros are not of an employee/employer nature.
I wouldn’t be afraid of practice management seminars, depending on who you sign up with. I’ve taken a number of them and felt they ranged from bordering on unethical to others that were very helpful and would cover this issue fairly well.
Most chiropractic associate arangements tend to have short lives for various reasons. I was in one as a new graduate that lasted six weeks before I quit. I was also later in a space sharing arrangement that became a total disaster.
Since I am a chiro for 23 yrs now, I could probably help you out on this if you’re interested. Feel free to send me a PM.