Coronavirus has left many businesses in rough shape in 2020. However, there are still a lot of new businesses getting started and one of the most popular are chiropractic care offices. While the world is in questionable circumstances, the fact remains that people still need care and look to the help of chiropractic professionals. If you’re a chiropractor who has recently left your former office or you are considering starting a new practice, read these tips to getting started.
I’m Starting a Chiro Practice…Where Do I Start?
Getting started with any new business requires a handful of initial steps. First and foremost, be sure your license in your location is updated and accurate. Practicing without a license is, of course, illegal. Double check with your local county that your license to practice is active.
Next, it’s time to choose a name for your practice. Consider how customers will interact with your business, if you want it to be family-focused or mostly for business professionals needing care, is it named after you, after something in the community, etc. As you can tell, there is a lot that goes into naming a business (whether it’s in the chiropractic industry or not).
You Need A Location
With a name and license in hand, start to scope out locations near you that you might want to use for an office. Working with a commercial real estate agent can help you find the best spot to rent for your new practice. Try to estimate how many patients you’ll plan to see in a given week and look for an accommodating space. Due to the effects of COVID-19, you may actually find rent is less expensive than you initially thought.
Once you have found a spot where you’ll set up your practice, it’s time to start acquiring the appropriate equipment. You’ll need chiropractic tables, exercise equipment, stretching devices and office equipment including computers, a phone system and furniture.
New Business Details
You have a name, a location and equipment to start your practice. What’s next?
Next on the list is to make sure you cover the basic new business details like the following:
- What is your business entity? This can be a sole proprietorship, a partnership, an LLC, an S-Corp, etc. You’ll find each business type has different strengths and weaknesses, including tax savings.
- Are you registered with your county? Every business needs to be registered with its local county and you will likely need to include a DBA (your business name). Although these are small details, they are vital to starting a new business.
- With a name in place, you need to develop a brand for your business. Consider signing up for social media networks like Facebook and Instagram to introduce yourself to new patients, and have a website built to expand on your chiropractic office’s services and other information.
If this is your first time setting up a new business, you may with to hire a business attorney to help you along the way. And in most cases, a business consultant will double as a CPA so they can assist you with financial questions as well.
Ready to Launch?
You have a brand name, an office rented, your chiropractic license is active and you have just finalized all of the details related to starting your new practice. Now it’s time to launch the business and start seeing new patients. There are a lot of ways to get a new business off the ground and in 2020, digital marketing is one of the best ways. Take a look at advertising on social media networks, advertising on keywords through Google, advertising with Yelp, etc.
There are plenty of new patients out there looking for a provider, you just have to be visible and connect with them.
Have you launched a new office in 2020? We would love to hear how it went. Please leave us a note in the comments.