May 1^st of every year is a little bit of a reflection point for the business and household.  This year actually marks the 10 year mark for me being in practice and 9 years of running a practice by myself.  The course of a practice and the general mindset has shifted slightly over the years.  The first couple of years, you just worry about staying afloat.  I have had my wonderful wife by my side the entire time and while she may not understand exactly what goes on in the practice on a daily basis she supports the process that it has taken.

We have offices and Kearney and Minden, the Arnold office was functioning for roughly 6 years and when our first born arrived it was time that I needed to spend Saturday’s at home with the family.  I miss the people of Arnold and Custer county, I don’t miss the drive.  I get asked all the time about coming up every once in a while, and while I don’t plan on doing this, don’t ever say never.

Business mindsets are constantly shifting.  The first year in practice I was miserable, it was not the kind of practice that I wanted to run. So I started out on my own adventure.  I am comfortable with how I practice and feel that the offices give people what they need in care.  We attempt to offer patients a variety of therapies and treatment options that are utilized and supported by evidence.

Having multiple offices can have its own trials and tribulations.  When we bought the Minden office, I told myself that I wanted mirror offices. Whatever treatment you receive in Minden, the exact same option would be available in Kearney. With this come some financial implications, when you decide to buy one you have to buy two of whatever it is you invest in.  Costs aside, I like how the offices function and feel that we are starting to hit our stride and momentum over the past couple of years.

If someone that operates a business tells you that it is sunshine and rainbows every day, they’re either delusional or lying.  I would tend to lean towards the second option.  As opposed to staying open and afloat, the things that we worry about most now is cash-flow, keeping billing up to date, insurance problems and picturing the exact direction the practice is going.

Kristina & I feel that we have reached a point in the practice that we are really not all that interested in purchasing new and better things but to get to a point where we just build the practice to serve more people. Student loans are paid off (I would highly recommend this) and we can see the light at the end of the tunnel in regards to the business debt. We own both of the buildings that we work out of and the infrastructure is set up so no significant changes need to be made at this point.

Support staff has been absolutely wonderful and I wouldn’t know where the offices would be without Marty and Carol.  They essentially run my world in regards to the office.  They have become very good at talking me off the ledges that I approach or just listening to me vent. I inherited them when we bought the practice in Minden and they have been absolutely amazing.

We could not be in the current situation that we are in without the support of our families, close friends, superb classmates that serve as a sounding board, wonderful support staff, a pretty cool accountant, an understanding/flexible banker and all of the outstanding patients that come through the doors. While we may not be the biggest or most popular (according to Best of Kearney) office in the area, we feel that we have lots of room for growth in a couple wonderful facilities that offers practical chiropractic care for nearly everyone that comes in the door.