Starting Your Chiropractor Practice

If you’re thinking about starting your own chiropractor practice…congratulations! Hanging your own shingle is pretty exciting.  A well-known Chinese proverb revealed that a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. Starting your own chiropractor practice is no different.

The good news is that there is huge demand for your services. A recent study showed that 35 million Americans seek chiropractic care each year and that number continues to grow.

Why then do some chiropractors find themselves disengaged and unhappy? Many cite burnout, long hours and inflexible work schedules as leading factors. What would those same chiropractors say if they were able to still able to provide great patient care while removing the undesirable elements that cause dissatisfaction?

It’s possible to do by starting your chiro practice. In this day and age it has never been easier. Appointments required? Cash only? You call the shots and set your schedule. However, before you can branch out on your own you’ll need a plan.

Preparing to Make the Leap

Before leaving your job you will want to prepare to be make the leap. Unless you have a book of patients right out of the gate it is likely that you will have to grow your practice and that takes time.

Many new chiropractors overestimate their future income and underestimate their expenses. In the beginning your chiro practice may not generate enough revenue to replace your current salary. Therefore, you should get ready for the likely reduction in income. Start downsizing while you’re at your current job. Reduce the number of times you go out to eat. Buy a less expensive vehicle. Do whatever you need to do to cut your costs.

Make a list of what you will need to run your business.  It is highly advisable that you keep your overhead low at the start. Instead of locking into a long-term office lease consider renting a place on a month-to-month basis. Some property managers will allow shared use of furniture, printers and front office staff. Add up the costs you think you will need and then double it. A conservative approach will allow extra cushion for the unexpected.

Think of your new chiropractor practice like the growth of a baby. It is unrealistic to expect a baby to start running straight out of their mother’s womb. It must first crawl, find the strength to stand on its own two feet and then it can start to run. The bottom line is that growth is a process.

Marketing Your Practice

You can do great adjustments and be the best technical chiropractor yet still go hungry because the art of getting patients to both find and pay you is a totally different ballgame.

Your website should be professionally done. For many potential patients it will likely be the initial contact they have with you so don’t cut corners here.

Establish a social media presence. Take the opportunity to connect with your audience whether through videos or other information to educate your audience. Set up a Google business profile. Provide the best care possible and ask patients for reviews of their experience.

Choosing your Software

You will need some type of practice management software for chiropractors. It is important that you are able to maintain a calendar of events and manage matters. There are several options out there each with their strengths and weaknesses. Ask around and get opinions. It is best to decide what is most important for you and then evaluate the practice management software to see if it fits your needs. `

Also, it would be wise to contract with an IT person or company. You never know when you will have a computer emergency and it is nice to have a resource to call. The last thing you want is to miss a patient appointments or their bill payments because of a technical issue that could have been prevented.

Insurance and Taxes

You will want to secure malpractice insurance before you start practicing. Amounts differ by a variety of factors including but not limited to areas of practice, location and claims history.

If you decide to hire an associate you will need to factor in costs in addition to the employee’s salary. Employers must purchase workers compensation for their employees. Failure to do so can lead to aggressive penalties in some states. Employers also pay half of their staff’s Social Security and Medicare tax which typically amounts to 7.65% of the employee’s salary.

While we are on the subject of taxes it is important to note that as a self-employed person you will pay taxes a little differently than an employee. An employee has their taxes withheld with every paycheck. Someone who is self-employed will have to pay estimated taxes every few months, in advance, throughout the year.

If you decide to go out on your own it is critical that you run your practice like a business. Create a budget so you have a blueprint of where you are and where you need to be. Your spending should be based on your billing. Otherwise, you could find yourself in a situation where your expenses exceed your income and that’s not a pretty place.

Now that you have the basics it’s up to you to take the next step to start your own chiropractor practice. You can do it!