It’s the beginning of the year, and cash flow can be a bit challenging right about now. For chiropractors, naturopathic, integrative or functional medicine doctors, cash flow in January can be a challenge. Whether you have a cash practice or depend partially on wholly on insurance, you may be feeling a bit of the squeeze. Whether it’s deductible time or your patients are suffering the holiday bank account hangover, here are some ideas to get an infusion of cash in your practice now.

Cash Flow Slow?
Try One or Two of These Ideas for Some Quick Cash:

• Feature an exercise product or bundle to get in shape for the New Year. Hold a fitness class using equipment the patient can use at home and then offer it for purchase after the class. Or you can do something on 5 easy exercises to relieve neck pain, tension in your traps or headaches. I like the Pettibon cervical traction unit as a great way to alleviate your patient’s neck stress and prevent headaches. It is an easy set of exercises to teach, they are safe and simple for the patient to do at home on their own, (they even have one for patients with and without TMJ), and you can make some quick cash while helping your patients maintain a healthy cervical curve! Click here for a link to learn more about the Pettibon cervical traction unit.

• Hold a Heart Healthy cooking demonstration in your office on healthy meal preparation classes. If you have the space this is a great topic that people are very interested in. You can have a “meal assembly” class if you do not have much space. This class is quite helpful for busy moms, or those who don’t cook, and just want to assemble a healthy meal.

• Do a group detox, or a weight loss program. The fact that it is February can really work in your favor in that it has given your patients time to try a weight loss or cleansing program on their own that didn’t work, they couldn’t stick to, or they got bored with. Pick a date and begin to promote the kick off info meeting. Offer giveaways at the meeting, Theraband exercise bands, protein shakes, pedometers, anything you can find that may be an attractive incentive to entice them in to office, but not too costly for you. Bring a friend and get a free…shake, body wrap, massage, whatever you can provide a nominal coat to you, and something your patients love.

• Have a special discount on a featured product or a supplement you sell in your practice. Or bundle some supplements together to create a support package, like heart health month for February, Immunity booster pack to prevent colds and flu, diabetes support for healthy insulin levels. You might even put together a protocol booklet or page to support specific conditions, and make it available for your patients to stir up some interest. You can hold a class; Healthy Habits for Your Heart and have heart healthy supplements available.
• You might take advantage of some free press and pick a topic that is in the news now and design your program to align with what people are hearing a lot about, and Promote, Promote, Promote! Start a Facebook Event to promote your talk, and get everyone excited about it. You can even do a series of classes, one a week. Put up signs in your office and around your community and encourage people to bring guests. Start a Meetup group (www.meetup.com) for the topic. You can even charge a nominal fee for the class like $10.

These are just a few suggestions to get the green flowing into your office. Why don’t you and your staff make it a point to have a cash creation brainstorming session at your next staff meeting? Think up a cool bonus and incentive to give them for reaching the goals you set together as a team. I am taking my staff out on a whale-watching trip in a few weeks, everyone is excited to go, and it cost me next to nothing for the tickets. Think about some bonuses that would motivate your staff to bring in more clients, and get excited about helping grow your practice.