YOU REMEMBER THAT MOMENT, the one when you finally earned your DC degree after years of grueling study. The countless hours spent mastering anatomy, perfecting your adjusting techniques, and understanding the intricate nervous system pathways. You invested your heart, soul, and likely a small fortune because healing others isn't just what you do—it's who you are.
But here’s the uncomfortable truth many chiropractors discover only after hanging out their shingle: exceptional adjustments don’t automatically create exceptional practices.
Most chiropractors discover a harsh reality after graduation: clinical excellence doesn't automatically translate to practice success. While you likely graduated with exceptional adjustment skills, few chiropractors receive adequate training in practice management or business operations.
Chiropractic colleges excel at creating skilled clinicians but often leave a critical gap—they don't prepare you for the reality that your practice is not just a healing center. It's a business that requires an entirely different skill set to thrive.
Practice Success = Clinical Excellence + Business Mastery
Your education gave you half of this equation. But without developing the business half, even the most gifted healer may struggle to keep their doors open.
Many chiropractors launch their practices, assuming their results with patients will naturally lead to a thriving business. But that’s only part of the picture. You’re not just helping your patients—you’re also running a business. To create a successful practice, you need to think like a business owner, not just a healthcare provider.
There are seven core areas of business management every successful practice owner should monitor and use to expand:
1. Strategy and Planning - Where is your practice going? Do you have shortand long-term goals? What’s your growth plan?
2. Personnel - Are your team members aligned, trained, and motivated? Hiring and managing people is a skill in itself
“The first step toward becoming a more capable business owner or manager is to take a clear-eyed look at how you’re doing right now.”
3. Marketing - How are you attracting new patients and keeping your schedule full?
4. Finances - Are you profitable? Do you understand your numbers and cash flow?
5. Technical Delivery and Patient Management -How efficiently are you delivering care, and how well are patients managed through their care plans?
6. Quality Control and Patient Satisfaction - Are your patients getting consistent, high-quality care and a great experience?
7. Public Relations and Community Outreach - Is your practice visible and respected in your local community?
You don’t need to master all of these at once, but you do need to know where you stand in each.
The first step toward becoming a more capable business owner or manager is to take a clear-eyed look at how you’re doing right now. What’s working? What’s not? Where do you feel in control, and where are you just treading water?
This kind of self-assessment shouldn’t be vague or guesswork. A good practice analysis uses carefully designed questions to draw out the real picture—your picture. The answers come from you, not a generic checklist or cookie-cutter program. The result? A snapshot of your practice that’s unique, insightful, and immediately useful.
Why Work with a Practice Management Coach?
Let’s be honest—most chiropractors didn’t get into this field because they love spreadsheets, marketing campaigns, or staff training. That’s okay. You’re not expected to know it all. Getting help from an experienced practice management coach can make the process smoother, faster, and far more rewarding.
A coach can help you interpret your practice analysis, identify priorities, and work step-by-step on each area that needs improvement. They bring experience, accountability, and outside perspective—all of which are hard to get when youre in the day to day grind.
“The more your practice grows, the more your management skills matter.”
The more your practice grows, the more your management skills matter. If you want your business to expand without burning out, learning to lead and manage is non-negotiable. Think of it as the second half of your chiropractic education—the part that turns your clinical success into a sustainable, thriving business.
Start with an honest analysis. Seek out guidance. Take the time to build your management muscle.
You’ve already proven you can be a great chiropractor. Now it’s time to become a great practice owner, too.
Here's a simple Practice Self-Analysis Checklist you can use to identify strengths and areas for improvement. These questions are grouped into the seven key management areas. Take your time answering honestly—this is for you.
1. Strategy & Planning
• Do I have clear shortand long-term goals for my practice?
• Do I regularly review and update a business plan?
• Am I tracking specific metrics (like patient visits, revenue, or referrals) to measure progress?
2. Personnel
• Do I have job descriptions and performance expectations for every staff role?
• Is my team well-trained and consistently productive?
• Are there unresolved personnel issues or high turnover?
3. Marketing
• Do I have a marketing plan, or do I rely mostly on word of mouth?
• Is my online presence (website, Google, social media) current and active?
• Am I regularly attracting new patients?
4. Finances
• Do I review financial reports (income, expenses, profit/loss) at least monthly?
• Do I have a system for budgeting and managing cash flow?
• Are my collections and billing systems running smoothly?
5. Technical Delivery & Patient Management
• Do patients understand and complete their care plans?
• Is the flow from check-in to check-out efficient and smooth?
• Are missed appointments and drop-offs tracked and followed up?
6. Quality Control & Patient Satisfaction
• Do I regularly gather patient feedback or satisfaction surveys?
• Are patient outcomes consistent across all care plans?
• Have I received patient complaints—and if so, were they addressed?
7. Public Relations & Community Outreach
• Do I have a relationship with other health professionals or local businesses?
• Am I involved in community events, health fairs, or workshops?
• Is my practice viewed as a leader in the local wellness community?
• Circle the areas where you feel confident and strong.
• Star the areas where you feel unsure or know improvements are needed.
• Pick one area to focus on first and set a simple, achievable goal.
This analysis is meant to empower you, not overwhelm you. If you’d like help interpreting your results and guidance to what to do to improve areas, a management coach can help you develop a plan that fits your goals.
Daniele G. Lattanzi is your Practice Growth Partner with over 25 years of experience helping chiropractors and healthcare practitioners transform their practice into thriving, scalable businesses. As the Co-Founderand CEO of Effective Practice Management, Holistic Health Solutions, and Co-Owner at Ulan Nutritional Systems Inc., Daniele and his team have helped hundreds of holistic health practitioners discover which areas to of their practice to focus on using the free practice analysis.
