How to Know When You Need a Business Coach for Your Chiropractic Practice

Key Points: 

• The best time to get a business consultant to help you grow your chiropractic practice is from the very beginning. The second best time is whenever you feel like you’ve hit a wall trying to do everything on your own.
• Free content online can be helpful, but you’ll only get so far with unspecific advice. 
• You need someone who knows exactly what you’re going through, from the strategic challenges of running a practice to the emotional weight of managing a team.

You’re a hard-working young chiropractor growing your first practice. It’s exciting… but it’s also hard. So much harder than you ever thought, in fact. So what do you do? Continue to struggle on your own and learn lessons the hard way, or hire a chiropractic business coach to help you build your business the right way — the first time? 

So many chiropractors (and business owners generally) fail to start a profitable, successful practice because they think they have to do it all on their own. This is absolutely not the case, and you’re much more likely to be successful if you have an experienced coach in your corner getting you through the next challenge and supporting you during difficult times. 

Having someone who is invested in your success is a huge game changer in building your practice. But if you’re still on the fence, here are the key things to consider when you’re deciding to hire a chiropractic business coach. 

Invest in a Business Coach From the Beginning

The best advice I can give is to invest in an experienced business coach from the very beginning of your practice. 

It seems like a risky move, but it’s actually the opposite. With a chiropractic business coach guiding you to build a business the right way the first time, you’ll save a LOT of time and money from making costly mistakes down the line in your business. 

While you have to make an upfront investment, hiring a coach will cut several years off getting your practice running and successful. When you can listen to someone who’s made the mistakes for you already, you have a huge advantage over someone who is trying to piece it together themselves and making those same mistakes needlessly. 

The second best time to invest in a business coach is anytime after that, when you’re trying to scale and hitting wall after wall. An experienced coach can support you with a tried and tested chiropractic business model that takes you from struggling and overworked to successful and fulfilled with your practice.

What About Free Content Online?

Of course, there are helpful and free resources online about how to start a successful chiropractic business. My podcast, Million Dollar Chiro, is one of them! Not to mention videos, blogs, free downloads and more. They may even help you get your business off the ground and start earning money for yourself and your team. 

But there comes a time for every entrepreneur and practitioner where free resources are simply no longer enough. You need someone who knows your specific situation, where you’re located, the types of clients you treat, and your personality and life. There’s no substitute for a coach who understands you and your business and wants you to succeed. 

It’s a natural progression just about everyone follows whether they’re learning a new skill or growing a business — eventually, you need an expert to give you that personalized look at where you are now and where you want to be in a year, five years, or even ten years time. It’s a perspective that any free resource, no matter how helpful, simply can’t provide. 

The Importance of Community and Mentorship

Another key reason to hire a chiropractic business coach is to make a personal connection with another entrepreneur who understands what you’re going through. It can be lonely to start a business, and it’s often difficult to find others who understand the struggles you’re going through as a chiropractor and business owner. It’s also super helpful to have someone to talk to where you don’t have to be embarrassed about your questions, like money questions that might feel awkward talking about with anyone who isn’t a business owner. 

You don’t just need someone who can give you the business plan and teach you how to hire the right people, you need a sounding board for your ideas, someone who can give you helpful and honest feedback, and even someone who can offer emotional support during the rollercoaster that is entrepreneurship.   

Seeking Advice From Family and Friends 

Asking family and friends for advice might feel like the right thing to do, but the advice you’ll receive is more often misguided or frankly, ignorant of the specific challenges you’re facing. Even if you have other business-owner friends or family, a chiropractic practice as a business is entirely different from say, a manufacturing business. Perhaps on some higher level there may be applicable lessons for both businesses, but once we get down to more specific, personalized mentorship, it falls apart. Uncle Jerry’s business advice from running a car dealership 20 years ago isn’t going to apply to you today.

If you want to maintain good relationships with your family and friends, my advice is to separate your relationships with them from the success of your business — hire an experienced business coach instead. 

Build Your Practice the Right Way (The First Time)

Investing in a chiropractic business coach is one of the best moves you can make when starting or scaling your business — full stop. You’ll gain the knowledge and experience of someone who’s been where you are, knows your struggles personally, and is invested in helping you succeed.

Take it from someone who invested in a coach at the start of her business (even though I couldn’t really afford it at the time!). Hiring a coach saved me years of struggle to get to where I am today, with two thriving clinics and a team of amazing people around me. 

Now my goal is to pass on my knowledge to the next up-and-coming chiropractors so that you too can build a successful practice and serve your community through chiropractic care. 

Want to get started? Here are two ways you can work with me!

• Six or twelve-month one-on-one coaching packages: If you’re a chiropractor looking to grow your business and aiming to reach seven-figure revenues or more, then consider applying for private one-on-one coaching with me.
• 'Owning A Chiropractic Practice: Things Chiropractic School & Management Groups Do Not Teach You' online course: Not quite ready for one-on-one support? Learn all about the business side of running and owning a chiropractic practice in my online course.