Have you heard? We are in an economic recession! And for the first time in a long time, if not for the first time ever, it is of global proportions. Is it real? Is it as bad as it sounds every time you turn on the TV or listen to the radio? Do you have to participate? Are there any opportunities for growth and success in these tough economic times?
We all know people that are indeed hurting financially, emotionally and spiritually. But is everybody? I was recently in Orlando to speak at the Activator Seminar. There was not an empty seat on any one of the 4-legs of my flights. Every restaurant I ate in was pretty full, and it appeared judging by traffic that Disney World was still doing OK.
It reminds me of the old saying: “A recession is when your neighbor loses his job and a depression is when you lose yours!” Even back in during the Great Depression when there was record unemployment of 25%; 75% of people were still working and some amassing and creating great amounts of wealth. There is always an opportunity for those who prepare themselves and their businesses to meet the challenges ahead.
Are you prepared? Are you investing your time, talent and energy to making your business strong? Remember nothing gets better until you get better!
I had a rare staff meeting a few weeks ago to address this very issue; my concern is always what kind of culture are we creating in your office? Gloom and doom or a place of stability and hope and where a rational thought or dialogue may be exchanged? I wanted to make sure my staff was heading in the same direction as me. If we constantly hear every business in town is down because of the recession it can become an excuse to lower your performance bar and rational-lie your performance. You see if your practice downturn is truly the result of the recession only; there is very little you can do about it other than accept it and become a victim.
Or you can choose to focus on things you do have some control over: your work-ethic, your contactibility in your community, taking care of every patient one at a time. We are seeing several of our clients setting personal best months in practice during this downturn! So be wary of your victimhood and who you hang out with. It is very easy to get caught up in the hype and lose your purpose and your passion.
One area which is a bright spot for a few clients is in your pending lease negotiations. I am currently in the process of re-signing my lease and found a great article at Forbes Magazine. The link is: http://www.forbes.com/2009/02/02/renegotiate-your-lease-entrepreneurs-finance_0202_lease.html .
If you have considered or need to move your clinic it may be a good time as the commercial property occupancies are way down and it is a renters market.
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5 comments:
Isn't this the "Buy low" part of the "Buy low Sell high" equation. Everywhere I go I see opportunity. I feel that with tough economic times people will really sit down and cut out all those things that are not important to them. I know I have! Just by changing my cable TV package I am saving $110.00 a month! That being said, people will really start to value their health like never before. The focus will be off material things and health/wellbeing will take a more prominent place in peoples lives.
I know that my numbers have not dropped!
Remember you are more important to the people in your community. Let's say they lost their job with medical benefits. You are the best way for them to become better, healthier, and stay in the health they possibly can at a price they can afford. Get them ready for their best life ever! See you at the top!
The recession does not exist in my office. I have chosen to virtually ignore it and thus far it has not phased me at all either. Unless you live in a small town with one mill that just got closed the recession to us does not need to exist. There continues to be plenty of employeed people so therefore there are still plenty of patients. It is all psychological. We are all self employeed so we will never be out of work unless we choose to be. Our destiny is in our hands and it is times like this that make that so much sweeter.
I like that it is a great time to buy cheap. I bought a new car two months ago just to do my patriotic duty to stimulate the economy. If there was anything you were planning to get in the near future anyway this is the time to enjoy the state of the economy. It is a great economy for consumers.
Dr Fuhr once said that chiropractors are the most overeducated, underutilised and underpaid profession in the world! It is a statement I completely agree with, I dont know what the percentage is in the US but in Ireland chiropractors see maybe 5 percent of the population if that! Which is a pretty poor reflection of our standing, yet what is really great is that even if this socalled recession got really bad and unemployment did hit 25 per cent that still leaves over 3 million people that are in full time employment. I d say that is plenty of spines and plenty of opportunity! Also as an aside I have had a few new patients lately who cannot afford to take any time off work due to sickness for fear of losing their jobs - these guys are so desperate for the results that chiropractic can give and there are thousands more like them! So I am in absolutely no doubt that we have a far far bigger role than ever to play in the health of our countries at this time!
I want to tell you how much you have helped me in the past couple of months. I read your piece in February on renegotiating a lease, and the attached Forbes article. That afternoon, I composed a letter to my landlord about my lease. It was coming up for renewal April first. I was severely behind on rent already and the urgency to get out of the extra 1,200 square feet I was not using came to a head. So with your ideas as a guide, I asked for a lot. Besides, getting out of the extra space early, I asked for what seemed like too low of a monthly rent, to forgive the back rent, to replace the wall between the offices, among other things. And as an incentive to him, I agreed to go out 5 years with my lease. It was, I thought, a starting point in our negotiations. He gave me everything I asked for, except I had to replace the wall myself, and he wrote it up for three years, as long as I was out of the space by March 1st !
Two weeks later, I had used $28.00 in materials (and some friends who helped me build the wall), I had sold all the equipment and office supplies I no longer needed, gotten a storage space for pennies a month for the things I needed to store but didn’t need in my daily operations, and I was in my 1,200 square feet.
I still have a ways to go financially, but this was a huge help. March was my best month in a year.
So, thanks again for the help. I hope all is going well with you.
Dr Tom Bennett
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