I'm so happy you took a chance and decided to click on this episode because most TCM practitioners love Chinese medicine they want to help people however they're not too keen on learning the business aspect of being a solo entrepreneur or a solo self-employed person today make sure you take notes because this is an action packed with lots of tips and steps you can take to grow your acupuncture practice because you may have all the beautiful knowledge to help people but if nobody comes to the door then you can't help anybody when I was first starting practicing I remember I went to Shadow a practitioners that had been in business or in practice for about five years and when I was there watching him he said we as practitioners have to be 50% knowledgeable in TTM and 50% knowledgeable in business and I remember thinking no we just need 90% % TCM and 10% business because TCM is what's going to help our patient however he was completely right we need to understand how to grow a successful practice so all this knowledge we have and all this value and service we want to provide can actually impact our patients and if no one comes to the door we're not impacting anybody so today we are going to talk about specifically using the five element field the generating sequence to help us grow a successful acupuncture practice I've been there I've done it so I'm here to share what has worked with me what hasn't work and what can help you soar and make an impact on all your patient welcome to acupro a show dedicated to making Chinese medicine and acupuncture easy to grasp and fun to learn hi I'm your host Clara Cohen I support practitioners and students like you in changing the world one patient at a time my goal is to share my passion for TCM and Empower you to achieve Superior patient care I love to showcase the amazing benefits of acupuncture because after all acupuncture [Music] rocks I wanted to use the Five Element Theory to Showcase how to grow a successful practice because I think we can relate to it much more easily okay so let's look at the generating sequence in the Five Element just a quick recap wood generates fire generates Earth generates metal generates water and water again generates wood this is the generating sequence we're going to use it today to grow a practice and to take steps and action now I want to make sure that what you're going to learn today you are going to take at least one action in order for this to work if you're just listening to this episode and you're not making any change nothing is going to change right it makes sense by the way I have a 7day business challenge that you can join it's completely free and it will help you grow a successful practice you'll receive seven emails with action steps and anything you need to know in order to grow your practice you're welcome to sign up for it again it's completely free you can find the link in the show notes okay so let's talk about the five elements wood is related to the liver gallbladder and it's the planner the goal oriented the Visionary so we're going to use this and we're going to start with obviously everything needs to start with goals we have to have goals in order for things to occur right so when it comes to the planner the goal oriented the Visionary which is wood or liver it's crucial to have a plan and write it down at the beginning of each year I set go goal for my practice it's really important to know what is it you're going to do in order to grow your practice for example plan which seminars you will attend to help elevate your knowledge right what continuing education course are you going to take what interest you start looking for it so you know what courses you're going to take either online or in person what would you like to accomplish how many patients a week you'd like to treat what is your income how many days a week are you working what is your F favorite system or disorders or category of disorders you like to treat visualize it for example I love to treat women's disorders I want to attract patients that are women that are trying to balance their hormones so pregnant women or people trying to conceive or postpartum or menopause or women that have irregular mensturation cycle anything that's women's Focus I love it and this is my strength and this is where I take a lot of my continuing education over the years right so this is all planned and I visualize a lot of people calling me and coming to see me that are focus into Women's Health now also reflect on what has worked for you and What needs to improve right this is if you're listening to this episode this the beginning of 2024 this is a time to reflect of what has worked in 2023 and What needs to change because if we're not making any change nothing thing will change okay plan blog posts or plan social media this is really important that you have a plan for that as well plan your promotions if you're going to have promotions know when they are going to occur set measurable goals with dates for example if you're going to plan your blog post make sure you write something about spring allergies or hay fever in March because you know it's coming up so educate your patients on allergies let's say in March makes sense in October you can write something about boosting the immune system how does acupuncture boost the immune system how does Chinese medicine can help boost the immune system to prepare for the winter season plan what you're going to do on your social media now I know social media is very hard for a lot of people and it feels overwhelming have a plan you're going to post let's say Monday and Thursday and then what you're going to do is you're going to batch so you're going to write 10 posts for 10 Mondays and 10 posts for 10 Thursdays and you are going to make all those create them and then you'll schedule them and that way you don't have to worry about it you cannot wake up in the morning on Monday and think oh what am I going to post I don't know what to post I don't know what to do no start writing down how you're going to plan this write this down there is a website called answerthepublic.com answerthepublic.com go in there it's completely free put the word acupuncture in there and click search and you'll see it will come up with about 100 to 160 most asked questions on the internet about acupuncture now that's a gold mind let's say most occurring question on the Internet is how does acupuncture work then write a post on how acupuncture Works explain to people how it works or if People's question is how how does acupuncture help anxiety write a post about how acupuncture helps anxiety those are going to be what you're looking to do in order to educate your potential patients and they're going to really be connecting with you and the fact that you can help them because it's all about education people don't know that you can help them with anxiety because maybe they read that acupuncture is great for pain but it's not just great for pain but they don't know that they need to be educated makes sense so make sure you plan everything and that's going to help you out it's very important to use your goal orienting and your planification when you have a practice now plan how you're going to do your treatment make sure that your room is set it's all ready for you so everything is planned you know where everything is and you don't have to get all worried or where did you I put my gacha where did I put the marks are I can't see where I have my lighter you need to know where everything is and everything is planned so it's seamless and easy Once you treat your patients okay so that's for the wood wood generates fire the fire stands for passion it stands for connection and people the fire personality ntcm loves to be around people is very passionate so that's what we're going to do now we're going to talk about the fire element and how it can help us grow a successful practice now it's important to connect with people on social media and it's so important to connect with people in real life as well so if you are an extrovert it's much easier for you to go out in the world and meet people and explain what you do if you are an introvert it makes it much more difficult so I'm going to talk about the two different polar opposite Yin Andy personality and how both can grow successful practice with different way of doing it or going about it if you are an extrovert if it's crucial that you go out there and give free talks again it's all about education you can talk about TCM nutrition for example you can approach a community center health food store a yoga place or other practitioners in your area that have a lot of clients already like a caropractor a physiotherapist a naturopathic medicine doctor a multi-disciplinary clinic whoever you think could relate and have the same kind of patients when you give a talk let's say you talk about TCM nutrition make it simple talk about cold food versus hot food which one are cold which one are hot bring two recipes one for the hottie one for the coldie and that way you can explain to people if you're always cold this is what you should do according to TCM if you're always hot this is what you should do according to CCM and if you want to know more and you need more help you can come and see me and make sure you connect with people because once they meet you they can see that you have so much knowledge so this is a good idea to start giving talks right now if you're an introvert that makes it very difficult because you might not want to give a free talk years ago I used to do a free talk in a tea store that was local next to uh my clinic and that was fabulous to bring new patients in now if you're an introvert what you want to do is connect to local people on your social media share their post comment on their post give positive feedback so for example make sure you follow the caropractor down the street or the physiotherapist or the yoga place and participate in the discussion give free little nuggets about how Chinese medicine can do certain things this is your way to get in as well that's the start make sense now the fire personality is passionate be passionate when you talk to your patients as well explain to them all the many ways TCA can help if someone comes in for insomnia they don't know that you might help infertility or fertility issue or you might be able to help pain because they don't think that way right so keep educating your patients because they are going to be your best referral forever and ever now the next one fire generates Earth and earth personality is the caregiver it's the nurturer it's who we are at the core in this profession most of us went into this because we want to help people we want to serve the public and make an impact and so the nurturer the caregiver is going to help others right so happy careed for patients will be your best referrals does that make sense you have to go the extra M you have to go beond expectation first of all you have to be compassionate and caring while treating patients you want to make sure you're listening you're compassionate you're caring and then you want to answer the question and communicate your treatment plan in a clear manner you don't want to say I think you have stomach Chi rebelling with splin shei deficiency because that doesn't mean anything to your patient explain to them your heartburn your acid reflex is coming from the stress that's put upon you and so we need to decrease the stress and we can also address the diet as well because of course your digestive system is now depleted due to the fact that your diet hasn't been really healthy the next thing you want to say is acupuncture is like interest it compounds with time time so one session is not going to do it because your chronic issue has been there for two years so we need to do weekly or twice a week whatever you think is best for your patient acupuncture and you'll see within two to three session you are going to feel a difference if you don't then went on on the right track but if within two to three sessions you are doing better then we are going to continue and get to where we want to go so it's really important to tell patients how many times a week they need to come when they need to come and why because they need an answer a lot of people know that I have three books however many don't that I also offer continuing education online courses this is actually how I started acup Pro Academy to support new practitioners you can choose from TCM treatment for common mental disorders fertility pregnancy thyroid disorders but also specific ones like scalp acupuncture or cosmetic acupuncture online course all these are pre-recorded so you can watch them on your own time and since you have access to them forever you can revisit the information anytime you need you will receive a certificate with your name on it after you pass a multiple choice quiz and if you're truly not satisfied with any of my online courses I offer a 7-Day money back guarantee as I stand behind my products and truly truly want you to benefit from them so go check them out on my website academy.com and click the TCM course tab on the menu bar or check out the link in the show notes below patients want to know three things how much is it going to cost them can you help them and it's going to hurt so how much you cost they know that from your website if you have share that on your website not everybody does unfortunately which can be a really shocking news to patients when they first come so be up front be authentic just tell your price either people can afford or they can't but put that on your website I think you should share the price on your website because it's important for people it's if you go to a store and you want to buy a jacket and the jacket is really pretty and you love it it's beautiful jacket but you don't know the price and then you get to the till and they tell you it's $500 and you're just in shop but they're like now that you took it down the rack you have to buy it and that just a shock CU now I don't want it it's too expensive for me however somebody else has the $500 and can afford it so make sure you tell your prices that way there's no surprises and people know what to expect and I think that is really important to think about the second thing is people want to know can you help them so this is when you have to communicate and explain that either we're managing the problem if the root cause is not taken away right so if the root cause is the person is on their knees all day long because the fixing commercial for fridges then we are managing the knee pain because this person is still going to be eight hours a day on their knees so we're not going to help it get rid of it or eradicate it we're just going to manage it so this person can continue to work however if we can take the cause or the root cause away let's say it's diet and we Chang the diet and we're doing a lot of acupuncture and we're doing the right treatment then everything is going to get better and better and now we're going Beyond managing we're now treating does that make sense and then people are going to want to know if it hurts so it's really important to communicate well with your patients and caring and we are used to Needles but some people are really scared and they still made it through the door and they came to see you and that's a big deal so what is said you patients that are scared or anxious and I always ask patients are you scared are you anxious about needling are you worried about the needle and some people say no no I'm fine some people say yes I'm I'm quite nervous so what I say to them is you know what we'll just put one needle and if you think it's horrible and you can't do it I take it out you go home we don't have to do it and people get surprised because they're like oh okay and where you going to put this needle I'm just going to put it on your leg is that okay yeah then you pick a point maybe stomach 36 because that's an easy one and you do it and then the person realize oh it's not bad at all it's actually fine and some people like that's it that's it can I continue yes you can and so now we have a trust of the patient that they can lay there relax be in a pair sympathetic State and allow the body to self-heal you want to gain the trust of the patient that's really important okay now the last one and please write this down because this is a gold mine tip always give a courtesy call to every new patient within 48 Hours of their first visit not a text not an email a courtesy call if it's a voicemail because often you're going to get the voicemail I'll say hey it's CLA you're acupuncturist we just saw each other two days ago I just wanted to check on you see how you were doing after treatment and if you have any questions because I know we talked about a lot of things feel free to call me email me and let me know otherwise I'll see you next Tuesday at 6 p.m that way you remind them of their appointment you asking them how they felt after treatment and often people feel really good after treatment but a week later they might have forgotten that they felt so good so it reminds them that oh this is working I slept really well that night and you also letting them know that if they have questions they don't have to be shy they can ask you they can reach you doesn't mean because they're not there anymore that you are not available of course we're available to answer questions right so this is really good and often over the years people have said thank you for your call I was so really delighted that you actually took the time to call me so always give a courtesy call to every new patient only for new patients within 48 Hours of the first visit you'll see a tremendous connection with your patient after that and they will refer you to everybody so now let's talk about the next one which is metal personality it's the strong personality so metal is strong and so it embodies trust it embodies loyalty reliability dependability so you have to be trustworthy dependable and you have to be an authority in your field that makes you stand out it's an important part of a strong sustainable business is that people are going to go oh my God I got to go see this person because they are very good with fertility and that's what happened to me now I have a practitioner in my area that is fantastic when it comes to skin he is what I think the skin guy because he's taken all his continuing education courses on skin disorders and so he's really good at it and I'm not I am not ashamed to say that when it's deep SE needed let's say rosacea I don't know what to do I'm not very good when it comes to skin disorders because it's not my passion because I haven't treated a lot of people and I haven't taken a lot of extra curriculum on it but he has so if someone comes and sees me for rosacea I will send them directly to this other practitioner because I know he's the perfect person for them and if I send this patient away another one will come my way that is interested in seeing me because I'm the fertility Authority in my field does that make sense so be Dependable trustworthy and become the authority in something that you have lived or you love right lived mean if you have a thyroid disorder and you've seen how TCM has helped you that's what you lived if you love something like I love women's disorders then that's what I will focus on my field the second thing is the metal is very trustworthy and dependable and reliable always be on time and always apologize if you're late if I'm 5 minutes late for the next patient because my previous patient was a bit slower and things got a bit delayed I will always apologize for being five minutes late I'm always on time I've seen practitioners coming through the door with a coffee in their hand while their patient is sitting there waiting for them for 20 minutes because the appointment was at 1 it's now 1:20 and this practitioner just came right through the door oh I just needed to grab a coffee on the way here that is so disrespectful to patient this is something that just blow me away that practitioners would do something like this okay so make sure you're always on time if obviously things happen in life that's when you apologize make sure though that you're always there for your patient I if I start at noon I'm there at 12:15 setting up everything calming myself getting myself ready for the day do not come right at the same time as your patient because they feel disrespected make sense also return messages within a timely matter because people want to be respected and not ignored refer out if you can right you can send your patient to a massage therapist a chiropractor a counselor so you have a team of people that can surround you to help all your patients care this is so important and always always thank someone when they refer a new patient to you by sending him a card sending him an email or even offering them a free treatment because if someone takes the time to refer to you there have been people over the years that refer to me I've never met and so I'm always touched and I always thank them either via via email or with a card or exchanging a free treatment when I first started when I first open my practice I had nobody like most of us right the first month I had nobody no patients the first week second week third week I just wanted to grow a practice and help people however nobody was coming so I had to learn this the hard way that was in October by March six months later I was seeing 40 plus patients a week because I went and took action one of the thing that I did is I went and bed treatment I went and basically knocked on doors of similar practitioners chiropractors counselors massage therapist physiotherapist naturopathic doctor and I said listen I'm new I don't have patients to refer back to you but if you send me a patient for each patient you send me I'll give you a free treatment and everybody said no not interested some people laugh at me some people said acupuncture whatever and that's okay that's their day they're not rejecting me they're just rejecting the idea and that's hard but that's the challenge right that we are going to be challenged however eventually when you keep going one person will say yes that is the law of numbers so one massage shz said I love acupuncture that's a done deal absolutely I said come I'll give you a treatment and if you like what I do then you can refer to me so I gave her a free treatment first so she knows how I work and after that she referred people to me and I gave her a treatment for each patient and that helped me a lot at the beginning of my practice okay and the last one is the water the water element is the creative water is Flowing it's creative it's easygoing it's adaptable to change right water in the river if there's rocks they'll adapt they'll go around the rock or over the rock so the water personality is creative easygoing and adaptable to change and that will make you stand out and eliminate competition so don't be beige don't be blot don't be like everybody else be unique be bold be yourself this is really important be authentic do you this is key to growing a successful practice to be yourself why because people come to see you for you we all have the same TCM knowledge we all went to school we all graduated and we're all licensed but people come and see you because of you and who you are so be authentic and treat people with respect and listen to them and care for them and be passionate about TCM and plan everything so everything flows properly this is how you're going to have all your patients loving you and referring you out does that make sense okay now it's important to adapt to change as well right for example if there's a cancellation in the middle of the day use it to be productive instead of getting upset right because it always upsets us when someone cancel at the last minute it's not fun be productive this is the time to create posts for social media this is the time to answer email use this time as a productivity instead of being upset learn to adapt to technology and it's constant change go on a social media platform that you enjoy and share your knowledge there creative with it have fun with it it's really important to have fun right decorate your treatment room to create a warm soothing environment that suits you and who you are when you on social media educate people entertain people and inspire people share testimonies share what we can do entertain people make them laugh you've seen me on social media I do serious post and I do fun post because it's all about balance when it comes to your website you can create something that represent who you are because your website is now your new business card right that's how people found you most of the time so make sure you answer people's question on your website which means no pictures of acupuncture needles because have you ever seen a dentist website do you ever see a mouth open with a bunch of instrument in the mouths like going in there and cleaning no you see a beautiful smile so always make sure you show pictures of after after they've come and seen you how good they feel for example if I do fertility I have a picture of a baby and I say do you struggle with fertility because obviously the outcome is you have a baby if you focus on pain or injury put a picture of someone that's running and put run injury free ask how acupuncture can help relieve pain that's how you do it does that make sense so be creative be yourself be inventive but do not create a website for you create a website for your potential patient does that make sense wow I hope that was useful and you took a lot of notes today on all the Five Element generating secret which we can use to grow a successful practice again this is very short very succinct very to the point however if you want more sign up to my free 7 Days business challenge it's completely free thank you so much for spending your time with me today I truly hope you benefited from this episode and I would love for you to share it with a friend that may benefit from it as well follow the show leave a review and if you want more go to my website ACO academy.com I have tons of resources there with treatment protocols case study free courses and so much more and connect with me on all social media at acupro Academy I'm on YouTube Instagram Facebook X Pinterest and Linkedin and Tik Tok and no matter what keep rocking it using TCM