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DO YOU HAVE WHAT IT TAKES
TO BECOME A SMALL BUSINESS OWNER?
Chiropractic
Economics 9th Annual Salary and Expense Survey (April 24, 2006)
notes that almost 70 percent of chiropractic offices operate as
solo practices. This means you are most likely to be in practice
for yourself.
Before you venture into this scary thing called
“chiropractic practice,” take some time to get to know
yourself better, so you’ll know your strong points and those
you need to work on before going into practice.
(Note: In this article, we recommend visiting
a number of different Web sites. Although we have attempted to find
Web sites that do not require registration, in some cases, to use
the site’s resources, you will have to register.)
• Personality type.
First, what about you personally? Do you know what kind of person
you are? Do you know how well you communicate with others? Do you
know your personality type?
Many personality tests are available to get
a better insight into yourself. Let’s start with the “Big
Five,” a tool that measures your personality across five dimensions:
extroversion, emotional stability, orderliness, accommodation, and
intellect.
It is similar to the Meyers-Briggs and the
DISC personality types, but it includes the dimension of emotional
stability that they lack and which is a vital element in your ability
to relate to patients. Here’s the web link for the test: http://similarminds.com/bigfive.html
.
So why do you need to know your personality
type? In addition to getting to know yourself better, you can learn
more about your personality type as it relates to your ability to
start your business.
For example, if you are an extrovert you will
have little trouble talking to lots of people before you start your
practice. On the other hand, if you are an introvert, you will have
to work harder at overcoming your resistance to meeting people.
Or you will have to find other ways to get people into your practice.
Another valuable way to analyze your personality
is to use the Wilson Social Styles, which tell you a lot about the
ways in which you interact with others, in order to enhance your
interpersonal effectiveness.
Of all the skills you need to succeed in practice,
your ability to relate to (i.e., win friends and influence) people,
is paramount, and this instrument gives you a sense of how you relate
to others. This instrument provides you with descriptors on two
continuums: assertiveness and responsiveness.
Taking the test gives you two high descriptors
of four (Driver, Amiable, Expressive, Analytical). For example:
You might be an Amiable Driver, or an Expressive Driver. Look at
this website, which describes the four styles and includes a short
form of the Social Styles test. (http://uklondon.iabc.com/event_
downloads/050201_winfriends/win_friends.pdf)
• Entrepreneurial chracteristics.
Do you have the characteristics of an entrepreneur?
Here are some tests that discuss the qualities
of an entrepreneur:
The Small Business Administration (SBA) has
distilled the characteristics of a successful entrepreneur down
to three: the ability to be flexible, the willingness to change
with the market, and the ability to trust yourself.
If you have all of these, you are more than
halfway there.
If you take any of these tests and you’re
disappointed with the results, don’t give up! Anyone can be
an entrepreneur if he or she is willing to work hard and find great
advisors.
As Socrates said, the unexamined life
is not worth living. This personal self-examination is essential
for you, before you start on the journey of chiropractic practice.
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