General Company Description

Class 111 - Thanks to everyone for their participation in class this week as we discussed the legal structure of your company, deciding on a location, and segued into leadership with the YouTube presentation by Simon Sinek. It is all about the “why” in why you do it…The YouTube link can be found on the web page.

Class topic included the pros and cons of the different legal structures in setting up your business, licensing, insurance & permit requirements. These are all important considerations in deciding where and when you will be opening your door. Next week we will continue to discuss more aspects of this topic specific in regard to your daily operations.

The assignment due next week is to write the general business description narrative that you will include in your business plan. You can find some guidance as to what you should include on the syllabus as well as the class power point. It is also time to open the financial template in excel. You should start with pages 3,4,5. Keep in mind that what your write in your narrative will have costs associated and you will need to include these costs in the excel template. The banker will be looking for this specifically. Please share your narrative with your team for feedback. On-campus students, please bring to class to discuss and share.

"Odd" Teams comment by November 29th.

This week topic to comment on is:
· what are your top three considerations in regard to picking a location for your office
· how and where did you gather the data needed to write general business description
· compare and contrast a LLC and Subchapter S Corp

Have a great and grateful Thanksgiving weekend. Alexis

Vision & Mission Statements

Class 111 - Happy Friday!


Great job to the "ODD" Teams on your comments to last week's post. There was something unique and of value in each of the team’s comments. I encourage you to read them weekly whether you are to comment on the blog or not. Thanks to Team 13 who put together a listing of things to do 3 months before opening. I have included them in the power point.

Keep up all the positive energy that is apparent with your class...even after Part IV boards. :)

This week we discussed the difference between a vision and mission statement. We also discussed the value of writing a vision and mission statement for your business. You will find the links to this week’s power point, YouTube examples and the Franklin Covey Website under the lectures and PowerPoint section of the class web page.


This week's assignment is for you to write a vision and mission statement which will be included in your personal business plan. Your vision statement should be approx. 3/4 of a page long and your mission statement 3-4 sentences. This is not necessarily a slam dunk assignment and I would encourage you to take some extra time to really think of where you want to be in 5 years and what the mission of your business will be.

Points to remember:
The vision statement is about your values and beliefs.
The mission statement is about who you will serve, what value they will receive, and what is the ultimate result you seek.

Also remember to write this assignment in 3rd person.

After you write your two statements, share them with your team mates for feedback and critique.

Blog Comments due - November 22. - “Even” teams are to comment on this Blog. Please keep comments to 2-3 sentences per question below.

Topic to comment on is:
What resources - other than ones listed above - did you use to help you with writing your vision and mission statements?
When critiquing your team mate's statements, what advice did you give them?
What was easy and what was hard about writing this assignment?
Lastly, share your mission statement.

Have a great week. Alexis

Marketing Plan

Hello Class 111 from Palmer West -

Thanks again to Lori Leipold for sharing her insights on marketing at a grass roots level, public relations and direct mail. You can read her notes on the class web page under the marketing section.

I would also like to direct you the the October 8, 2010 edition of Chiropractic Economics. There are several good articles on marketing you will want to read. One of the articles, "Marketing made easier", by Don Macdonald, DC, talks about three good options for increasing business:

1. Internal events - which are staged to create exicitement, referals and retention.


2. Reactivation - keeping up with patients who have lapsed in their care.


3. External events - or external communication involving going out to the community to spread the word of chiropractic and your office.

The article also talks about the power of communication. It outlines three aspects:

1. Careful communication - where you are more concerned about the values of others that you tend to lose your own principles


2. Careless communication - where you only honor your values and force others to see your point of view


3. Optimally - Caring communication - which is the most effective - where you get to know your patient and their values and communicate your values through theirs.

This week's blog topic is - Marketing your business and turning marketing into revenue.

Teams with an "odd" number are to comment by/no later than Monday November 15, 2010.

Please discuss how you plan to apply marketing strategies to your business. Please address thoughts, plans on using direct mailing, internal and external marketing. Be specific. Also what processes do you plan to use for feedback to know that the dollars you are spending are bringing in patients? Those on preceptor please get thoughts and input from your doctor to share in this format.

Just click on the "comment" link below to get started. For more directions, please refer to the class website and the powerpoint with the "how to" directions.

Have a great week. Alexis