Our job as acupuncturists is to help people with their health.  I have found that it’s a good practice for me to use my diagnostic skills when I analyze my business.  You can do this in so many ways:  Here are some ideas to get you started.

Is your business deficient of excess?

Do you need more patients and cashflow? (deficient),

OR

Do you have too many patients and you are having issues because you can’t keep up? (excess).

Then you can look at the issues that are arising from the deficiency or excess situation and start figuring out how to treat the underlying problem.

If your business is deficient perhaps you need to focus on marketing and offering promotions.  Or maybe you need to network with other types of practitioners in your location to try and funnel more referrals your way.  The emphasis should be upon tonification.  So make lists of ways you can start tonifying the practice.  Give some talks, join a BNI, send out letters to other practitioners about who you are and what you do, or post blogs in news papers or online.  In your free time, get more treatments for yourself to help you become more energized.

If your business is so full that you are dropping balls, then your practice has excess signs and symptoms. For example you may not be returning calls in a timely manner, losing files or important documents, or not keeping up with credentialing or billing etc.  If this is the case, then you must find ways to sedate or calm your business.  You might need to spend some time deciding if it’s time for a team member or associate to join the practice.  Or you may need better systems and automation in place to allow you to stay organized. In order to do this, you may need to reduce your patient load temporarily so that you have the time to bring the systems and team up to speed.

The other way I like to look at analyze my business is from a 5 element angle or a 6 division angle.  How is the wood element of your business?  Is your vision aligned with your current goals?  Is the general running things in a smooth and strategic way?  Is the Metal element balanced?  Do you have good systems and disciplines in place?  Are you regularly balancing your books, and is your paperwork in good order?  What about the Earth element of your practice?  Is location and clinic setting ideal?  Does your office feel homey and settled? Are your clients able to “digest” the treatments and assimilate the work you are doing for them?  Are you burning out? Do you struggle from compassion fatigue? What about the Fire element?  Are you fulfilled and finding joy in your practice?  (Check out Sharon Weizenbaum on Medigogy for a great seminar on joy).  Are you continually recreating your goals toward building your dream practice?  And lastly what about the water element? What is the flow like in your clinic? How is the spiritual quality and emotional quality of your work ?  Are you taking care of yourself in the midst of it all? Are your adrenals being overtaxed?

Next steps:  Use these big picture ideas as ignition and  figure out which of the elements and components of your business are excess or deficient and make lists of ideas how you can better balance those areas. It’s a great exercise and I often feel I can get a better grasp on the health of my practice when I use these tools to diagnose it.  Want to learn more about your particular business and wealth capacity?  Get your personal Bazi (Destiny Chart) reading with a focus on how to help your business perform better. Click here to learn more.