TC004 - Five Reasons Chiropractors Fail

Summary

Podcast Summary: The Thriving Chiropractor | Episode TC004 - Five Reasons Chiropractors Fail

Podcast Information:

• Title: The Thriving Chiropractor | Chiropractic Marketing & Practice Management | Personal & Professional Development for Chiropractors
• Host/Author: Dr. Eric Mitz, DC
• Episode: TC004 - Five Reasons Chiropractors Fail
• Release Date: October 22, 2013

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Introduction

In Episode TC004 of The Thriving Chiropractor, host Dr. Eric Mitz, DC, delves into a critical analysis of why many chiropractors struggle to sustain successful practices. This episode, featuring insights from a seasoned chiropractor, offers an in-depth exploration of the five primary reasons behind the failure of chiropractic practices from a business standpoint. The discussion is enriched with personal anecdotes, actionable strategies, and poignant quotes that underscore the challenges and solutions within the profession.

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1. Misunderstanding What Drives Business Success

The episode opens with the guest speaker reflecting on personal experiences, highlighting the high attrition rate within the chiropractic community. Dr. Mitz notes a sentiment of sadness when observing former classmates who have moved away from chiropractic, some pursuing medical school or other careers (02:00).

The first reason chiropractors fail is a fundamental misunderstanding of what fuels business success. Instead of identifying and meeting the existing needs of the market, many chiropractors attempt to create a market based on their personal preferences. As the guest speaker emphasizes:

“They try to create a market. This is sort of the 'well, if they only knew what I knew they would want' mentality.”
— Guest Speaker, 05:08

Thriving chiropractors, in contrast, engage with their communities to understand and fulfill patient needs, ensuring their services align with what patients are seeking—primarily solutions to pain.

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2. Failure to Differentiate in the Market

The second reason discussed is the inability to differentiate oneself in a crowded market. The guest speaker references Robert Stevens, founder of the Geek Squad, highlighting:

“Marketing is a tax that you pay for being unremarkable.”
— Guest Speaker quoting Robert Stevens, 09:27

Chiropractors often lack a unique value proposition, leading to fierce competition over limited patient bases. Unlike dentists who employ distinct marketing tactics—such as emphasizing gentleness or offering free whitening—chiropractors frequently engage in internal disputes over techniques and philosophies that the general public does not understand or value.

To combat this, chiropractors are encouraged to conduct a competitive analysis:

1. List Competitors: Identify other chiropractors and healthcare providers in the area.
2. Identify Market Needs: Determine what patients are truly seeking (e.g., pain relief without drugs or surgery).
3. Evaluate Characteristics: Rate competitors and self against these patient-centered characteristics to find unique opportunities.

This strategic differentiation is essential for standing out and attracting a steady flow of patients.

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3. Inadequate Communication of Value Proposition

The third failure point centers on the inability to clearly, concisely, and compellingly communicate the practice's unique value. Many chiropractors may possess distinctive techniques or exceptional results, but without effective communication, these attributes remain unnoticed by potential patients.

Dr. Mitz and the guest speaker discuss the importance of using language that resonates with patients:

“Thriving chiropractors are clear about who they are and what value they bring to their patients. They use words to communicate that the patients understand.”
— Guest Speaker, 17:26

An example given illustrates the pitfalls of using professional jargon like "subluxation," which can alienate or confuse new patients unfamiliar with chiropractic terminology. Successful chiropractors create an environment where their message is easily understood and directly addresses patient concerns.

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4. Lack of Leadership and Decision-Making Skills

The fourth reason for failure is the deficiency in leadership and decision-making abilities necessary to run a chiropractic business effectively. The guest speaker draws parallels with other professions, noting that many talented individuals falter due to poor leadership skills.

“Thriving chiropractors have a whole different sort of perspective. They will take a step back and look at what reasons are there for them to not achieve the success that they would desire.”
— Guest Speaker, 22:02

Effective leaders within chiropractic practices actively seek personal and professional development, often engaging with mentors, coaches, or counselors to enhance their leadership capabilities. This proactive approach enables them to navigate challenges, manage staff effectively, and maintain a positive practice environment.

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5. Prevalence of a Victim Mentality

The fifth and perhaps most pervasive reason chiropractors fail is the adoption of a victim mentality. This mindset is characterized by attributing failures to external factors rather than personal accountability.

“Failing chiropractors almost unfailingly have a victim mentality... They have excuses as to why they're not successful.”
— Guest Speaker, 24:50

The guest speaker describes how this mentality manifests through blaming the profession, educational background, location, insurance systems, and other external elements. This lack of personal responsibility stifles resilience and adaptability—key traits for overcoming obstacles.

In contrast, thriving chiropractors embrace accountability, viewing setbacks as opportunities for growth. They focus on what they can control and pivot strategies accordingly, maintaining a forward-thinking and solution-oriented approach.

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Conclusions and Action Steps

Dr. Mitz and the guest speaker conclude the episode by reiterating the importance of self-improvement and strategic business practices in preventing failure. They urge chiropractors to:

• Engage with the Community: Understand and meet patient needs.
• Differentiate Effectively: Establish a unique value proposition.
• Communicate Clearly: Use patient-friendly language to convey value.
• Develop Leadership Skills: Invest in personal and professional growth.
• Adopt a Resilient Mindset: Take responsibility and foster resilience.

“Theraviving chiropractors... are never victims. They pivot. They look to where there's opportunity and move aggressively in that direction.”
— Guest Speaker, 30:34

By addressing these areas, chiropractors can enhance their practice's sustainability and achieve both professional fulfillment and financial freedom.

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Notable Quotes

1. Understanding Market Needs:

   “They try to create a market. This is sort of the 'well, if they only knew what I knew they would want' mentality.”
   — Guest Speaker, 05:08

2. Differentiation as a Marketing Strategy:

   “Marketing is a tax that you pay for being unremarkable.”
   — Guest Speaker quoting Robert Stevens, 09:27

3. Communication Clarity:

   “Thriving chiropractors are clear about who they are and what value they bring to their patients. They use words to communicate that the patients understand.”
   — Guest Speaker, 17:26

4. Resilience Over Victimhood:

   “Thriving chiropractors... are never victims. They pivot. They look to where there's opportunity and move aggressively in that direction.”
   — Guest Speaker, 30:34

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Final Thoughts

Episode TC004 serves as a vital resource for chiropractors seeking to avoid common pitfalls that lead to practice failure. By addressing misconceptions about business success, emphasizing the importance of differentiation and effective communication, highlighting the need for strong leadership, and challenging the victim mentality, Dr. Mitz and his guest provide actionable insights aimed at fostering thriving chiropractic practices.

For chiropractors committed to elevating their practice, this episode underscores that success is attainable through strategic planning, personal accountability, and relentless pursuit of excellence.

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For More Information:

• Website: www.thrivingchiropractor.com
• Show Notes: thrivingchiropractor.com4
• Contact: Email [e-mail]
• Subscribe: Available on iTunes

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Timestamps:

• 02:00: Reflection on classmates leaving chiropractic
• 05:08: Misunderstanding business success
• 09:27: Differentiation and marketing taxonomy
• 17:26: Clear communication strategies
• 22:02: Leadership and decision-making skills
• 24:50: Victim mentality in chiropractors
• 30:34: Embracing resilience over victimhood

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This comprehensive summary captures the essence of Episode TC004, providing valuable insights and actionable steps for chiropractors aspiring to thrive in their profession.

Transcript

[Dr. Eric Mitz]

The Thriving Chiropractor Podcast Episode number four.

[Co-host]

Welcome to the Thriving Chiropractor.

[Guest Speaker]

In this episode, in episode one, we.

[Dr. Eric Mitz]

Discussed the repeating traits of thriving chiropractors. Today, we go the other end and.

[Guest Speaker]

Discuss the five reasons chiropractors fail in.

[Co-host]

Practice, giving you the tools and information you need to experience massive practice growth, professional fulfillment, and financial freedom. This is the Thriving Chiropractor.

[Guest Speaker]

Hello, and welcome aboard another episode of the Thriving chiropractor.

[Dr. Eric Mitz]

This is Dr. Eric Mitz, your host.

[Guest Speaker]

And I am a thriving chiropractor. I want to thank all of you.

[Dr. Eric Mitz]

Who have subscribed to the podcast on itunes.

[Guest Speaker]

It really helps and if you haven't, please head over there and subscribe and.

[Dr. Eric Mitz]

Leave a nice review for us if.

[Guest Speaker]

You feel like the information we're giving you is of value. Also, I'd encourage you to head over to our website that's at www.thrivingchiropractor.com. and the show notes for this episode are going to [e-mail] 4. And today's episode is about the traits.

[Dr. Eric Mitz]

Or reasons that chiropractors fail in practice.

[Guest Speaker]

Now, in my office, in my private office at my practice, I have a picture of my class, my graduating class from Logan. And it's a nice reminder to me. I look at it every day of all the great memories and friends I had while at Logan.

[Dr. Eric Mitz]

But there's also some sadness to it.

[Guest Speaker]

As well, because as I look up at there, at that, at that picture, and there's Approximately, I believe, 80 or so people in that picture.

[Dr. Eric Mitz]

There is a significant number of those.

[Guest Speaker]

People that are MIA in our profession. Some of them I know have gone on to do other things. I think there's maybe three or four in my class who've gone on to medical school. In fact, one of my classmates went on to surgical residency at Johns Hopkins University, if you can believe that, and she's doing quite well.

[Dr. Eric Mitz]

And there are several other of my.

[Guest Speaker]

Good friends who just weren't happy or satisfied in practice and they went on to medical school. There's some people that left practice because of personal decisions. I have some friends who are now stay at home moms, for example, several of them, and that's certainly noble, but unfortunately there's many in my class and I certainly wouldn't want to venture a guess as to the exact number, but it's higher than 10 or 12 people who made a go at it and perhaps even for years made a go at it and just couldn't make it. And I think we all could look.

[Dr. Eric Mitz]

At our composite photographs from our classes.

[Guest Speaker]

At our schools and make the same general observation. And I certainly don't want to be a Debbie Downer here. I'm not trying to bring you down because that's not why you're here. You're here to learn and discuss ways to become a thriving chiropractor. But sometimes I think the best way to learn how to be successful is.

[Dr. Eric Mitz]

To look at the things the unsuccessful.

[Guest Speaker]

Do and do the opposite. And so to that end, and for that purpose, I decided to write down or identify the reasons I believe that chiropractors that fail in practice. Let me be clear here about something. When I discuss the reasons why chiropractors fail in practice. I'm not discussing those chiropractors that fail because they just lacked the technical ability to successfully treat patients in large enough numbers and get good enough results that they were able to generate interest in their communities and build a practice. Because I think we'd all agree that a predicate for being successful in any profession is the ability to practice the art of that profession. Well, so that's not on my list, but I do agree that that would be a reason why a chiropractor may fail in practice. What I'm referring to specifically are the reasons chiropractors fail from a business perspective. And we're going to go through this list together again. It's my hope that this list will serve as an instruction or be an instrument of instruction. I'm certainly not putting this out there to poke fun of or make light of anyone's situation. And if you happen to identify with one or more of these particulars on.

[Dr. Eric Mitz]

The list, I would strongly encourage you to reach out and seek help and advice.

[Guest Speaker]

And I'm certainly here to help you. You can always email me at feedbackrivingchiropractor.com and I will do my best to answer your email. Or better yet, go to the website and leave a message on the. On the calm boards. As a community, perhaps we can help each other, but let's just dive right in. And some of these failures. These reasons for failure, I think, are universal across all businesses, and particularly the first one we're going to discuss, which is that failing chiropractors have what I.

[Dr. Eric Mitz]

Would consider to be monumental misunderstandings of.

[Guest Speaker]

What drives business success. Instead of meeting the needs of a market that is dissatisfied, they try to create a market. This is sort of the well, if.

[Dr. Eric Mitz]

They only knew what I knew they would want what I want mentality that.

[Guest Speaker]

A lot of chiropractors have.

[Dr. Eric Mitz]

What I'm referring to is the inflexibility.

[Guest Speaker]

To identify the fact that the patients.

[Dr. Eric Mitz]

Really couldn't care less.

[Guest Speaker]

People in the community really couldn't care less. What it is that you think is important for them, they're looking for somebody to help them with their own pain.

[Dr. Eric Mitz]

They're looking for solutions to a problem.

[Guest Speaker]

But friend, if you've been in practice for three or four years or more and you are not thriving, or you're busy, but not from referrals, you know.

[Dr. Eric Mitz]

Your practice is mostly generating new patients.

[Guest Speaker]

From your marketing and advertising efforts, then I would say if you fall into.

[Dr. Eric Mitz]

Either of those two groups, you are.

[Guest Speaker]

Not offering what the people in your community want from you. And the thriving chiropractor solution to this is quite simple. They talk to the people in their community, their potential patients, find out what they want, and then they work very hard to fill that need. Now, this is a controversial issue, no doubt. I believe that there's many in our profession who would say that if you're just treating pain and you're approaching patients with a pain solution, then you're no better than medicine.

[Dr. Eric Mitz]

And I understand that position well.

[Unknown Speaker]

But.

[Guest Speaker]

But I also know the realities of.

[Dr. Eric Mitz]

The marketing of a chiropractic practice, which is fundamentally that people are looking to get out of pain. That is the primary reason why they seek chiropractic care.

[Guest Speaker]

Now, I work in my practice, as.

[Dr. Eric Mitz]

I think most thriving chiropractors do, work to convert those pain patients over to a wellness model.

[Guest Speaker]

But the word wellness never really enters my vocabulary. When I talk to patients. What they're interested in is getting out.

[Dr. Eric Mitz]

Of pain and staying out of pain.

[Guest Speaker]

Fundamentally.

[Dr. Eric Mitz]

Now you have those odd patients who truly are into wellness. They're looking for every advantage they can.

[Guest Speaker]

Find nutritionally, spiritually, mechanically. And you fall in as a chiropractor, fall into that equation. I saw recently in the news where one of the founders of Google, I believe it may not have been one of the founders, may have been an executive, but I believe it was one of the founders at Google is claiming that he is going to cheat death.

[Dr. Eric Mitz]

And hopes to live to be at least 120.

[Guest Speaker]

And one of his tools or instruments he's utilizing to do this is aggressive nutritional supplementation. So much so that he admitted to.

[Dr. Eric Mitz]

Taking over 150 pills a day. Can you imagine?

[Guest Speaker]

I cannot imagine taking that many pills. But that just shows you the length to which some people will go to avoid whatever it is they perceive as pain.

[Dr. Eric Mitz]

He perceives dying as pain.

[Guest Speaker]

And so he's doing everything in his power to avoid it failing. Chiropractors don't get this point.

[Dr. Eric Mitz]

They think that the world owes them a living, that they have a solution.

[Guest Speaker]

The world needs, and they couldn't care.

[Dr. Eric Mitz]

Less if the world doesn't want it. And instead of taking a mature position.

[Guest Speaker]

That, you know what, I've got a.

[Dr. Eric Mitz]

Business to run here, let me figure out a way to communicate to customers.

[Guest Speaker]

Potentially in a way that they understand and find out what their needs are and meet those needs. They're choosing instead to be tilting at windmills, I guess, like Don Quixote. So number one on my list of reasons why chiropractors fail is that they just do not understand what drives business success from a marketing perspective, for sure. The number two reason is that they.

[Dr. Eric Mitz]

Fail to differentiate themselves in the market.

[Guest Speaker]

Now, there's a great quote that I heard years ago, and it was by a fellow by the name of Robert Stevens who was the founder of the Geek Squad. The Geek Squad was a group of. I think they were founded back in the. Maybe the late 90s. They were guys that wore white shirts and with black bow ties, and they drove around in VW Beetles and they.

[Dr. Eric Mitz]

Would come to your home to fix your computers.

[Guest Speaker]

And eventually the company was purchased by Best Buy. But he was famously quoted as saying that marketing is a tax that you.

[Dr. Eric Mitz]

Pay for being unremarkable.

[Guest Speaker]

Now, I agree with him, I guess, fundamentally, that if you are truly remarkable, that you wouldn't have to do any marketing at all. But we understand what we're talking about here that what he's really saying is that people have to pay a lot.

[Dr. Eric Mitz]

Of money to differentiate themselves in the market when there really doesn't exist a compelling differentiation point.

[Guest Speaker]

And that's what marketing is about. And this lack of differentiation affects chiropractors in a big way. It affects a lot of the professions, frankly. I mean, dentists have worked very hard, for example, to differentiate themselves. And I know, I know in our community, we've got dentists who like to.

[Dr. Eric Mitz]

Say they're gentle dentists.

[Guest Speaker]

And we have dentists who are very.

[Dr. Eric Mitz]

Aggressively touting their free tooth whitening with.

[Guest Speaker]

Treatment if you come in and become a new patient. And there's the other dentists who will knock you out with anesthetics for your treatment. So, I mean, they're all trying to.

[Dr. Eric Mitz]

Differentiate themselves in certain ways.

[Guest Speaker]

And then, of course, you got the whole big mass of people who really aren't involved in differentiation or in marketing at all. But in our profession, there's not A whole lot of differentiation that goes on, at least in front of the public's eye. We do a lot of fighting in our profession amongst ourselves, differentiating ourselves. Oh, he's a he. He uses this technique or he does it this way, or he's not a principled chiropractor or he's a medical wannabe, blah, blah. All this fighting, when in reality, the public has no clue about these differentiating factors. They don't understand this at all, nor do they care, frankly. That's the big secret. There's a lot of people in our profession who make a lot of money selling seminars to get people jazzed up.

[Dr. Eric Mitz]

About one end of this or another.

[Guest Speaker]

And associations that sell memberships where they will rally the troops around a battle cry.

[Dr. Eric Mitz]

But in reality, the public couldn't care.

[Guest Speaker]

Less about our philosophy. All they want is a solution for their problem. So failing chiropractors don't get this point of understanding what drives market success, and they don't differentiate themselves in the market. They don't have a unique value proposition.

[Dr. Eric Mitz]

There is a ton of chiropractors fighting.

[Guest Speaker]

At the bottom of the food chain for the scraps that are left for the un. Unique, if that's a word. I guess that would un. Unique would be normal, I'm not sure. But there's plenty of noise and chaos out there for those without uniqueness.

[Dr. Eric Mitz]

And they're fighting for all of those.

[Guest Speaker]

Scraps at the bottom of the barrel.

[Dr. Eric Mitz]

Barely hanging on, you know, for years.

[Guest Speaker]

These chiropractors, they'll have some patience and they'll have some revenue, and they skimp and scrape and drag and crawl and.

[Dr. Eric Mitz]

Get along for months or even years, every painful inch of the way, wondering in their heads, I'm sure, if this.

[Guest Speaker]

Is all there really is, until eventually they either get tired of it and move on to another profession or worse. And so I think that for those failing chiropractors, there is an answer. And that answer is that they need to figure out what true value they bring to the table, which is unique.

[Dr. Eric Mitz]

And different than the other chiropractors in their marketplace.

[Guest Speaker]

And then when they discover that uniqueness.

[Dr. Eric Mitz]

That differentiation point, they need to scream.

[Guest Speaker]

It until their throats bleed. Not literally, of course, but they need to get out there and communicate that value proposition to their community and make sure that people understand it loud and clear that these are the ways that they are different, that they are better. Just like those dentists who are fighting.

[Dr. Eric Mitz]

On differentiating themselves from other dentists with these points. We need to be doing the same.

[Guest Speaker]

In our communities if we want to be successful. And that doesn't just involve us differentiating ourselves from other chiropractors, of course, but also just from other healthcare models. And so what I'd encourage you to do is go through this simple exercise, take a piece of paper, make a chart, and you're gonna, on the left hand side, you're gonna write down on each line, one on each line, your competitors. And this could be other chiropractors, this could be other medical doctors, physical therapy clinics, whatever it is, whoever you view.

[Dr. Eric Mitz]

As your competitors, put those down the left hand side and include yourself.

[Guest Speaker]

And on the top of the page.

[Dr. Eric Mitz]

I want you to list the characteristics.

[Guest Speaker]

Of the solution providers that are important to your market. And if you don't know what those.

[Dr. Eric Mitz]

Are, you need to ask. You need to ask your patients, why did you come in here? What were you looking for? What were you hoping to achieve by coming in here?

[Guest Speaker]

The answers may surprise you. A lot of your patients, if you ask them that question, are going to say they wanted to get out of pain and they didn't want to have.

[Dr. Eric Mitz]

Drugs, they didn't want to have surgery.

[Guest Speaker]

They just wanted to get out of pain.

[Dr. Eric Mitz]

So that is a characteristic that's important in your market.

[Guest Speaker]

Three of them in fact, I just named, number one, want to get out of pain.

[Dr. Eric Mitz]

Two, no drugs.

[Guest Speaker]

Three, no surgery. Perhaps the characteristics that drove people into.

[Dr. Eric Mitz]

Your practice or drive people into chiropractors.

[Guest Speaker]

Offices are related to completely different things. But whatever they are, you need to.

[Dr. Eric Mitz]

Detail those and then you need to rate your competitors and yourself on each.

[Guest Speaker]

Of those particular characteristics. I guarantee you, if you do this, you'll notice areas in your community that.

[Dr. Eric Mitz]

Are uncontested or weak areas of characteristic.

[Guest Speaker]

That you can really exploit to differentiate yourself when you find those areas. If you are not currently strong in.

[Dr. Eric Mitz]

Those areas, you need to pivot and.

[Guest Speaker]

Focus and amplify your value in those areas, because you will create a practice from that. This is just basic marketing strategy and unfortunately it's not often utilized by the chiropractors that fail in our business. So number two, again, they're not differentiating themselves in the market.

[Dr. Eric Mitz]

The third reason that chiropractors fail is they cannot communicate their value proposition in.

[Guest Speaker]

A clear, concise and compelling way. So there are many compelling chiropractors out.

[Dr. Eric Mitz]

There, chiropractors who have approaches and techniques that are truly unique in their communities.

[Guest Speaker]

Perhaps their focus is unique, perhaps their results are unique. But if they cannot compellingly communicate in a clear and concise way that value it's worthless.

[Dr. Eric Mitz]

And many chiropractors work for years to.

[Guest Speaker]

Discover a point of differentiation. And when they finally figure it out, they blow it because they don't know how to communicate that message. What?

[Dr. Eric Mitz]

Thriving chiropractors, in my opinion, do so well.

[Guest Speaker]

That's different than the failing chiropractors out.

[Dr. Eric Mitz]

There is this communication. They are truly engaged with their customers.

[Guest Speaker]

Their clients, in a way that allows.

[Dr. Eric Mitz]

Them to get inside the head of their patients, of potential patients.

[Guest Speaker]

It's a dialogue with their patients.

[Dr. Eric Mitz]

It's not a monologue. And they learn the language that their.

[Guest Speaker]

Clients, their patients use to describe the services, the solutions, the unique value that.

[Dr. Eric Mitz]

That chiropractor brought to them. And then once that chiropractor has learned.

[Guest Speaker]

Those words, they use those words right back at them. So in other words, if your patients talk about a pinched nerve, then even though you and I both know technically.

[Dr. Eric Mitz]

It'S unlikely that they have a pinched nerve, we use that language with them.

[Guest Speaker]

Because they understand it. It's clear to them, if your customers. And if you're offended by me using.

[Dr. Eric Mitz]

The word customer, I apologize.

[Guest Speaker]

It's just I'm taking this from a business perspective, not a clinical perspective. But please understand that patients and customer are interchangeable in this conversation. But thriving chiropractors are clear about who.

[Dr. Eric Mitz]

They are and what value they bring to their patients. And they use words to communicate that. That the patients understand. So again, that clear, concise, compelling to be concise.

[Guest Speaker]

They are to the point, something I'm not necessarily always good at, but they are to the point, and they are very clear to their patients about what it is that is compelling about them using as little words as possible. And the words they use are understandable by their patients. They're not using the word necessarily. Using the word subluxation, for example, yes, it is a very compelling word for us as chiropractors. But when a patient comes in off.

[Dr. Eric Mitz]

The street, in my opinion, and goes into a chiropractor's office, and they're completely naive.

[Guest Speaker]

Chiropractic patient, never been to a chiropractor before, etc.

[Dr. Eric Mitz]

Walk into a chiropractor's office and the.

[Guest Speaker]

First thing they see is a giant.

[Dr. Eric Mitz]

Poster that says, subluxation is the silent killer.

[Guest Speaker]

Believe me, this person is really in their mind thinking, what in the world have I just gotten myself into? Because they don't know what a subluxation is. I mean, this is a foreign world to them. And so thriving chiropractors understand that. They try to create an environment that is clearly and concisely and compellingly communicates to their patients the value they bring to them. And you have to do it in a way that the patients understand. So I think that when I've.

[Dr. Eric Mitz]

Failing chiropractors just don't get this.

[Guest Speaker]

They're more interested in being right or correct in their philosophy with their patients than they are in being successful. And I would argue strongly that you can do both. Because I do, you can do it both. So that's number three. They don't communicate their value proposition in a clear way that patients understand. Number four, trait that I see or reason I see that chiropractors fail in practice is they just don't have the leadership and decision making skills necessary to own and run a business. This is something you see all the.

[Dr. Eric Mitz]

Time in the world.

[Guest Speaker]

Celebrities, athletes, they have unbelievable talent in a certain area, but they lose it all. And the self sabotage that we observe usually is a result of extremely poor decision making skills, weak leadership. They're just not equipped, in my opinion, to handle the successes they have achieved unexpectedly. I think in most cases or in their minds, perhaps undeservedly. I think this same phenomena occurs in our profession where failing chiropractors just are not equipped emotionally in a way that.

[Dr. Eric Mitz]

Allows them to achieve the success they desire. And this is harsh, but true.

[Guest Speaker]

Again, it's an obvious omission that I've made by not discussing, for example, business skills. Again, I put that in the same category as professional technique ability. You have to be able to adjust a patient, you have to be able to get people well, you have to be able to communicate. These are just, you have to's. And we cover those in episode one for sure.

[Dr. Eric Mitz]

What I'm talking about here though are.

[Guest Speaker]

The reasons why chiropractors fail in practice. I would argue that one of the reasons why chiropractors fail in practice repeatedly and often is they just don't have the leadership and decision making skills that are required to be successful in business. They're just not equipped. And that's, you know, again, it's harsh, but it's, it's true. Thriving chiropractors have a whole different sort of perspective on this thing. You know, they look at, they will take a step back and look at what reasons are there for them to not achieve the success that they would desire. Perhaps it's they lack the ability to.

[Dr. Eric Mitz]

Strongly relate to people.

[Guest Speaker]

Well, guess what? The guy who's thriving is going to go out there and get the skills, gain the skills necessary to do so, perhaps through introspection looking at themselves and their leadership, their spiritual growth, they realize.

[Dr. Eric Mitz]

They have some anger issues or some unresolved resentments.

[Guest Speaker]

Well, guess what, if you want to.

[Dr. Eric Mitz]

Be successful in this or any business.

[Guest Speaker]

At a high level, you're gonna have to spend some time with personal development. I think every one of us needs to have somebody who we respect, trust, maybe admire, hopefully in our lives that.

[Dr. Eric Mitz]

We can go to and they can.

[Guest Speaker]

Objectively, lovingly tell us where we need to improve, the areas that we can improve upon. Those people that can help us ruthlessly seek out the ways to eliminate any hint of dysfunction in our lives and also then in turn, root it out in our staff. Because, friend, I'll tell you, if you have dysfunctional staff members, and I'm referring to emotionally, spiritually dysfunctional people, they will poison your practice from the inside out. Not just with your staff, of course, because those people tend to create a lot of hostility in the environment with passive aggression and poor communication skills and sabotage type behaviors, but also with your patients. Patients, we all have an innate ability to sort of smell dysfunction when we encounter somebody. That goes for your staff as well as you. If you hope to achieve another level of success, or if you're stuck at the level you're at and can't break through, friend, I would encourage you to seek out a counselor, a minister, a life coach, somebody who's not a friend, somebody who can objectively help you, assist you grow personally and professionally in that way.

[Dr. Eric Mitz]

This is something that I don't see.

[Guest Speaker]

Happening with failing chiropractors, either out of pride or ignorance. I just don't see that happening. Whereas quite the opposite is the case with the chiropractors that I know trust, love and respect thriving chiropractors. They really, truly are looking for total self improvement, not just through the elimination of subluxations and good diet, but also in themselves by eliminating those dysfunctions. And this leads me to the, in my opinion, biggest reason that I have seen over the years in explaining why some chiropractors fail and others don't, and that is that failing chiropractors almost unfailingly have a victim mentality.

[Dr. Eric Mitz]

This victim mentality so permeates our profession.

[Guest Speaker]

And is so pervasive that I almost have to shield myself from it when I go to meetings, when I go to continuing education meetings, which I do frequently. And we all encounter this in people that are just angry. They're angry at people or events, the profession, their school, anything they think may have done them wrong in some way. And underneath all of this anger and.

[Dr. Eric Mitz]

Hostility they have is almost always a feeling of powerlessness. This is the very definition of the victim mentality.

[Guest Speaker]

And again, this falls into that category.

[Dr. Eric Mitz]

Of dysfunctions that if you know or if you have a hint of this.

[Guest Speaker]

In yourself, you have got to root.

[Dr. Eric Mitz]

It out to achieve the level of.

[Guest Speaker]

Success that you hope to achieve. In fact, one can't hardly do any.

[Dr. Eric Mitz]

Kind of an Internet search without uncovering this sort of hostility out there.

[Guest Speaker]

Former chiropractors have. They are so enmeshed in their own.

[Dr. Eric Mitz]

Victimhood that they actually have websites that.

[Guest Speaker]

They go to to just sort of pepper each other with, you know, chiropractic.

[Dr. Eric Mitz]

Bashing to make themselves feel better.

[Guest Speaker]

I guess. I'm not really sure, you know, if they failed, if they've failed miserably in this profession, you know what, Just move on. There's no shame in that.

[Dr. Eric Mitz]

Learning from your mistakes and moving on.

[Guest Speaker]

If this isn't the right profession for you, if you got into this profession because you wanted to be a, quote, doctor, you really didn't know much about chiropractic. So you just never really had that.

[Dr. Eric Mitz]

Passion or purpose for being a chiropractor.

[Guest Speaker]

That some of us have. There is no downside for you to leave this profession and go find your purpose. But for goodness sakes, there's no reason to perpetually bash this profession. That's just demonstration, in my opinion, of a victim mentality that underneath is fueled by anger, and that anger is almost.

[Dr. Eric Mitz]

Always sourced by powerlessness. These doctors have excuses after excuses after.

[Guest Speaker]

Excuses as to why they're not successful. They think they deserve. Some people think they deserve success. I think because they worked so hard in school, they took out all these loans and that somehow they were bamboozled by their chiropractic college, that they deserve success because they paid their, you know, six figures for their tuition and therefore they are owed a good living. That is the epitome of a victim, in my opinion.

[Dr. Eric Mitz]

And almost every failing chiropractor I have.

[Guest Speaker]

Encountered, and I'm sure you have too.

[Dr. Eric Mitz]

Has a victim mentality.

[Guest Speaker]

What's ironic is as these people, these chiropractors, they're so quick to blame others. I mean, let's just run through the list I've heard.

[Dr. Eric Mitz]

Oh, the city I practice in, it sucks. It's terrible.

[Guest Speaker]

The people there don't care about health.

[Dr. Eric Mitz]

The insurance in my town sucks.

[Guest Speaker]

They don't pay anything. My location sucks. My technique sucks. The school I went to sucks. They didn't prepare me well. If only my patients knew what I know. They would want what I've got, but they don't because they're all stupid and so on and so forth. They are so quick to blame others and situations for anything that is not working in their lives. But what they don't get, the irony.

[Dr. Eric Mitz]

Of this whole scenario, what they don't get is that they are the only common denominator in all of those situations.

[Guest Speaker]

They are so quick to blame others because they can't take responsibility for their own actions.

[Dr. Eric Mitz]

And another characteristic, I think, unfortunately, of.

[Guest Speaker]

Failing chiropractors is this victimhood does not allow them resilience. And it's this resilience which is one.

[Dr. Eric Mitz]

Of the epitomes of successful people.

[Guest Speaker]

The ability to get knocked down and quickly back up again and go after it one more time. If you get knocked down five times, get up six.

[Dr. Eric Mitz]

They're just generally passive people.

[Guest Speaker]

So the antidote for all of this is where thriving chiropractors, in my opinion, live, which is they readily admit and seek to rectify their own shortcomings. They identify the areas in their practice and in their personal life that need addressing, and they work their butts off to address them. They learn from their mistakes and they try again.

[Dr. Eric Mitz]

They don't ever call themselves a victim. They are never victims.

[Guest Speaker]

In fact, when something truly happens to them out of their control, instead of.

[Dr. Eric Mitz]

Crying about it and being a victim, they pivot.

[Guest Speaker]

They look to where there's opportunity and they move aggressively in that direction. Instead of sitting there bellyaching about how.

[Dr. Eric Mitz]

This insurance company changed this or the state changed this law about workman's comp.

[Guest Speaker]

Or this or that, they just, okay.

[Dr. Eric Mitz]

That'S over and done.

[Guest Speaker]

Let's move on to the next thing. That is, in my opinion, the biggest difference between the thriving chiropractors and the failing chiropractors. This ability to not play the victim card. So I hope I've given you some.

[Dr. Eric Mitz]

Food for thought in this episode. I'm sure you will have some feedback.

[Guest Speaker]

And I want to hear it badly. So please, you can either send me an [e-mail] or you can go to.

[Dr. Eric Mitz]

Our website, thrivingchiropractor.com four for the show.

[Guest Speaker]

Notes for this episode and leave us a comment in the comment box. I really do hope that I get to talk to you about this subject. This is one of the most important topics I think I will cover because we do have such a high failure rate in our profession and if I can do anything with through this podcast and website, it's my hope that I can save one more chiropractor from failing. So I look forward to talking to you again soon. I am your host, Dr. Eric Mitz.

[Dr. Eric Mitz]

I am a thriving chiropractor.

[Guest Speaker]

See you soon.

[Co-host]

Thank you for listening to the thriving Chiropractor. Please visit our [e-mail] and register to receive email updates of new shows and additional tools to help you thrive.