Frustrated With Health Care

Make no mistake about it, people are looking for you on the internet.  They may have heard about you from a friend, from the Yellow Pages or from your sign, but they often times want to know more about you.  Even if you have an office web site, which is great, but people know that this is basically just self promotion. What they really want to do it find you on Google.  And, they want to find you high up on the ladder.  So . . . , have you tried to Google your name or your practice with yourtown?  What did you come up with?  Are you on the first page? At or near the top?  To get there you need valuable content about you on the internet.  Here are the 5 strategies.  The specifics for each will be illustrated in seperate posts.

1. Press Release:  A Press Release is an announcement about a specific event that happened or that is about to happen.  Did you open a new office, get a new associate, get a new piece of equipment, change your hours, change one of your office policies, or have a baby.  Any of these are worthy of submitting a Press Release.

2. Articles:  An article is basically your opinion on a specific topic.  We are all experts in something and an article is your way to tell the world about your expertise.  It could be something about your profession or your hobby.  It could be about anything you feel strongly about or you have knowledge about.  If you think you are a great joke teller you could write about that; if you are a member of a service organization you can write an article about that.  Articles are posted on line at an article posting website.

3.  Start your own blog:  Just like an article, your blog should be content rich and not just a sales pitch.  With a blog you need to have a domain name and a blogging interface.  You should also post to your blog at least once or twice a week.  If this is of interest to you start thinking about a domain name.  A good place to start is your name, like JohnSmith.com.  However, if your name is fairly common you might need to be creative.  When we specifically discuss blogs I will offer some suggestions.

4. Video:  Videos are another great way to get your name to the top of the search engines.  This strategy does take a little more time and effort, but it is getting to be a favorite of mine.  If it interests you start kicking around YouTube to get some ideas.

5. Social Networks: This is just another way to get your name out there. However,you probably will not want to open too many different accounts; three is typically a good number. For example, LinkIn, FaceBook and Twitter; these are a great start.  For now you may want to go to these site and open an account using your name.  Try different iterations if your first attempts is already taken.  That’s what happened to me when I tried joining as PeterHolst; believe it or not there are a couple of us out there.  So I chose to use PeterAHolst.  You could use DrYourName.  Since you want to “brand” yourself, it will be in your best interest to use your own name.

Next post I will go into Press Releases and Articles.

Peter Holst, D.C.

http://www.whoispeterholst.com

Even if we are doing “everything right” in practice to stay the course by keeping a positive attitude, thinking abundance, doing outside talks, and asking for referrals, you’d have to be some sort of “superchiro” not to be feeling the affects of the down economy.  And of course we still have health care insurance companies “beating us up”; it would appear that us New Yorkers aren’t the only ones affected.  So really now, how much of this can we take?!  It would seem that us chiropractors are the new second class citizen.  

The truth is that from my perspective our current healthcare situation doesn’t make me a happy camper.  You see, I have always had aspirations of being wealthy; yes, even in my decision to pursue chiropractic.  Not withstanding this, you know that I did, and still do, have a strong attraction to the science, art and philosophy of chiropractic.  However, when I decided to become a chiropractor, this was just icing on the cake, since I felt that I could make a good living as a chiropractor, which I thought would be parlayed into “fame and fortune”.  Let’s face it, as a self-employed chiropractor we are taking risks, which we are supposed to be rewarded; the question is, are we?

Early in my chiropractic career I dreamed that the money would begin to roll in, which would give rise to investment opportunities.  Then of course, at the end of the trail, I’d have a great practice that a young and aspiring chiropractor would purchase from me for at least $250K . . . my how times have changed?!

Again, not withstanding this, I still dream . . . you see, I happen to be one of those crazy people that believes that while money may not bring me happiness, it is a whole lot easier to be happy with money than without.  In fact, for the most part, I don’t believe you will find too many rich people saying that money doesn’t bring you happiness.  Think about it for a minute, if money was not a consideration, how would you live your life; how would your life be different?  Wouldn’t you be happier doing the things you enjoy doing?  Well . . . I’m sorry to say, but to live the life of your dreams it takes money.  In fact, wouldn’t you agree that as a rich person you would be a much bigger asset to society, to your community?  You bet you would; I know I would!  Not only would I contribute greatly to the local economy, but I would have more time and resources to give back to my community.  I happen to be an active member of our local Lion’s Club; they would benefits dramatically.  Historically, I have given unselfishly to our church; they would also reap the rewards of my good fortune.  Think of the civic organizations you can help; how about your church?  This is something I have thought about for quite a while, and I still do.

While I love serving my community with quality chiropractic care, I no longer have the delusion that it will fulfill my financial dreams.  This is why I have diversified.  This is why I have pursued network marketing over the years, and this is why I have turned to the internet to study Internet Marketing!

Since I no longer feel the need to continue venting, which just perpetuates negative energy, I feel the need to transition this blog to a more positive direction of solutions to the healthcare frustration.  In this vain, it would be my pleasure to share internet marketing ideas that I have learned that would benefit you in any product you would like to market, including chiropractic.

What are your ideas?  Are you more into venting or solutions?  Certainly I can continue with the occasional bitch session, but I think this blog would be better served with constructive solutions.

No matter what you call it, network marketing, home-based business, MLM or multi-level marketing, they’re all the same.  You have a business and a product that you believe in, are passionate about, and want to tell others all about it.

If you haven’t had any experience with network marketing before you might be interested to know that people from every walk of life are into it; lawyers, doctors, businessmen and women, students, teachers, housewives . . . the list can go on and on.  Suffice it to say that the network marketing bug knows no boundaries and the fact of the matter is that in our current economy more and more people are in to it today than ever before.  Let’s face it, the thought of being your own boss and owning your own business is appealing to many, and with the extremely low start up costs with network marketing its appeal is that much greater.  Think about it, compared to a brick and mortar business a network marketing business has no office and no employees.  This alone saves you up to $100,000 and more per year, and the income potential is just as real.

So, how does a new network marketer get their business off the ground?  Historically, new network marketers are required to make a list of 100 or 200 people they know to call; just to tell them about their opportunity.  This means that no one is sacred; your mother, father, sisters, brothers, aunts, uncles, cousins, nieces, nephews, friends, neighbors, business associates, pastor, hairdresser, mailman; the list can go on and on.  There have been stories where network marketers would call in a plumber for something insignificant just to pitch them on their opportunity.  ANYONE within arms length is not safe with a network marketer who is worth their salt.  And, admittedly, I have been guilty of many of these tactics; no, I never called a plumber, but I have given my card to a waitress.  Like I said, no one is sacred.  Unfortunately, many network marketers become members of the NFL, “No Friends Left”.  There’s got to be a better way to build your network to create your residual income.

“Stay tuned” to my next post where I will go into another ”Solution” to my frustrations with health care.

Peter A. Holst, D.C.

Have I mentioned lately that I love being a chiropractor?  If I love it so much than, really, is the exchange of time for money a bad thing?  After all we’ve been doing this for time and memorial.  It has been the American way! 

Unfortunately, creating a secondary residual stream of income is now more important than ever for a number of reasons. 

1. The state of our economy, which has been a concern for years, although has no doubt become worse.

2. The less than stellar time for money exchange for chiropractic services.  Granted this varies greatly from State to State, and even from County to County, but overall the exchange could be better for most.

3. Intimately tied to the first two reasons has to do with our nest-egg.  Let’s face it, our ability to retire, to rest and enjoy the fruits of our labor, comes with having a large enough nest-egg.  For chiropractors this has traditionally been linked to the value of our practice and our investments; both of which are for the most part not in the best shape.  To the best of my knowledge practices are just not selling for the same dollar amount that they did just a short ten years ago and I dare say that many of us have seen better days with our investments.

So, yes, the time is right to consider a supplemental income that has a residual component, which will allow us to retire before we expire.

The truth is that there are a myriad of reasons that we as chiropractors would want to supplement our income.  If this is something that has crossed your mind than I do have a number of solutions that we can explore together.  This post is actually My Solution #1 to the time for money dilemma that was discussed in my previous post. 

As previously stated, aside from chiropractic, one of my passions is Network/Internet Marketing.  From the time I was introduced to Amway some 35+ years ago I have been looking for a business/product I could get excited about.  Over the years I came close a couple of times and in fact, I still recommend SHAKLEE to my family, friends and patients.

The first company that held my interest long enough for me to profit from is Isagenix.  The reason for this is the combination of product quality, company integrity, and the business plan.

First, the quality of the product is unsurpassed.  Isagenix is a wholebody nutritional cleanse that works at the cellular level.  To give you an idea of the quality, the meal replacement whey protein shake is made from cows that graze in Australian and New Zealand.  They are raised without pesticides, hormones, or anti-biotics.  The protein goes through a cold-process, which maintains long protein links.

The company heads are a husband and wife team who both come from the networking marketing industry.  They were both retired when they met Dr. John Anderson, a bio-chemist who had invented a wholebody cleanse.  The three combined forces to create Isagenix; their mission is to improve the health and wealth of the world.

The business plan is second to none.  If you would like information about it please do not hesitate to contact me at Dr@HolstChiropractic.com. 

Isagenix works by removing toxins that build up in our liver and fat cells.  Depending on your health goals and how toxic you may be, there are a few different Isagenix programs that can be followed.  Over the past few years I have enjoyed coaching patients and friends through their cleansing experience.  The result is increased energy with the added side-benefit of rapid-safe weight loss.

What has been most rewarding has been telling others about Isagenixwho go on to establish their own businesses, thereby helping even more people to become healthy and vital by cleansing toxins from their bodies.  This program works synergistically with the chiropractic lifestyle.

For more information about Isagenix products or the company please go to my web site at www.HolstChiro.Isagenix.com.   Should you have any desire of using Isagenix in your practice, it would be my pleasure to assist you; we have a turn-key solution to reducing the bio-chemical and physical stress on your patients.  Please feel free to contact me with any questions you might have regarding Chiropractic and Isagenix; Dr@HolstChiropractic.com. 

While at a chiropractic convention I was first introduced to Solution #2, which I feel equally passionate about . . .