Acupuncture is an amazing modality and it effectively treats so many different conditions. It’s now covered by most major insurance companies, and employees often request that their healthcare plan contains acupuncture coverage. Clearly, what we do is desired and sought after. So why is it that so many acupuncturists can’t maintain or build a successful practice?
There are many reasons that this happens.
- Acupuncturists are small business owners…. and it’s very difficult to succeed as a small business owner no matter what type of business you are running.
- Commercial space is expensive and we need to have high patient volume to cover rents.
- Receptionists aren’t cheap, but they are necessary if one wants to see more clients in a shorter amount of time.
- Insurance billing is complicated and keeps changing. It’s also very time consuming and tedious, or it’s expensive if you pay for billing services.
- Self employment requires a good bookkeeper and CPA so that when tax time comes around you have the money set aside.
- Continuing education is often quite expensive, at least for the good ones, and most of us have to travel in order to get those CEUS, adding to the expense.
- Marketing adds an additional cost that is often essential when we begin practicing.
And there are many more reasons not mentioned here…. but you get the point. We have to treat so many clients, and keep track of so many things in order to be successful. And we have to spend a tremendous amount of overhead just to stay in business.
What can we do about it?
There are many ways to begin to tackle some of these challenges. The first one is education. Find the resources and mentors that will help you become a better business owner and a better practitioner.
Below are a list of resources and links to helpful material that will help guide you to setting your goals and getting your business systems in place.
Lorne Brown’s book : Missing the point. This is a very quick read and full of helpful tips for acupuncturists. Lorne Brown also has youtube videos and blogs and classes that help acupuncturists succeed.
Acuprosper.com: offers group mentoring along with a plethora of articles about business management and marketing for acupuncturists.
Acuhub: offers forms, remote reception services, resources links, and coaching on the nuts and bolts of front office systems for your clinic.
Acupuncturists on fire : AJ Adamcryk offers many great youtube videos about several aspects of having a successful acupuncture practice.
Build your dream Practice: Kevin Doherty is a business coach and shares several resources for acupuncturists. He has an online coaching program for acupuncturists.
The bottom line is that it takes time, energy, and lots of hard work to create a successful practice. Put in the time and chip away at making your practice what you want it to become. You will get there with perseverance.
