Cleaning Closets

Are you struggling to turn the dial forward in your business? You may be spending too much time cleaning your closets!

Every now and again, you may find your closets getting a little unorganized, your desk a little messy, or your e-mail inbox a little full. These tasks require you to do some cleaning and organizing to get things back to how they should be. These tasks sound like good things to accomplish and to an extent they are! We like to get things back in order! But, in the end, what have you really accomplished?

“Cleaning Closets” is a concept we use to describe accomplishing tasks with little reward. The hidden danger of cleaning closets is you may feel like you’re busy but in reality; you’re not being productive! While it is true that some action is better than no action; you’re not going to be able to accomplish the goals you have set by spending a significant amount of your time cleaning closets!

If you find yourself not making progress or struggling to make changes in your business; you need to become self-aware. If you’re busy all the time but not achieving results, you’re not doing anything to improve your situation! You’re playing things safe and taking very little risk.

One way to increase your self-awareness is by examining the level of risk you are taking. If the decision has little to no risk involved, you’re more than likely cleaning closets! Accomplishing anything significant requires risk. You’re going to have to invest something that you could potentially lose. If you do end up losing it, it’s going to hurt! You may upset some people or not have everyone like you! But, with little risk, comes little reward. Fear is a part of every decision we make. Fear needs to motivate you, not paralyze you.

Re-examine your daily schedule and identify how much time you are spending cleaning closets. Gaining this self-awareness will allow you to increase your productivity and even decrease the amount of time you spend feeling “busy”.

At the end of the day, your actions need to push you towards your ultimate goal. Remember, change is difficult in the beginning, messy in the middle, and beautiful in the end!

Let’s Ride!

Dr. Nathan UnruhDr. Nathan Unruh, CXO, SIDECAR

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Smile!

“A man without a smiling face must never open a shop.”

                                                          – Ancient Chinese Proverb

It’s as simple as it sounds. You need to smile in your workplace. Your team needs to wear a smile as part of their uniform.

I took my son to get a haircut recently. We walked in and were immediately asked “Phone number?”, “Last name?” with no smile and very little eye contact. Now, these were the right questions that needed to be asked. What was missing? A smile.

A smile is a big deal. Remind yourself and your team that regardless of what task you may be faced with, you’re never too busy for eye contact and a smile. What if your business is the only establishment that customer encounters a smiling face in that day?

You’ve probably experienced a time where you were treated like a number instead of a person. Someone was too busy staring at a computer to recognize you standing there. Employees may have been too busy talking with one another to serve you. This subtle detail is missed so much in business.

A smile is a little thing that goes along way. Ensuring your business consists of happy employees with smiling faces is another step in the right direction.

The bottom line – if you’re happy, tell your face!

Dr. Nathan UnruhDr. Nathan Unruh, CXO, SIDECAR

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The Stupid Tax

Are you still experiencing the consequences of a poor business decision?

The reality of owning and operating any small business involves making decisions every single day.

These decisions range in size from every day operational duties to long-term goal setting and planning.

Unless you’re perfect, you’ve probably messed up one or two of these decisions. You may have not even “messed up!” In business, situations and circumstances continually evolve and change. A decision that appeared to be correct at the time might end up haunting you in the future.

Old business decisions can lead to a phenomenon that we refer to as the “Stupid Tax.”

Let’s use a story to further highlight this concept:

The Shoe Maker

You’re a shoe maker fresh out of the shoe making academy. You’re eager to serve the world and get everyone in a pair of your shoes. You decide the best way to accomplish this is to offer a “Monthly Shoe Program.” Customers who sign up for this program receive a new pair of custom made shoes every month for only $5. Your shoes are worth much more than $5, but you want to hit the ground running and make a name for yourself!

The program is a huge hit! Soon, customers are flocking to your door and lining up for their own $5 shoe program. Quickly, your little shop becomes saturated and the pressure of small profit margins begins to constrain your efforts.

You decide the best thing to do is to discontinue the $5 shoe program and continue to offer your high-quality shoes for a more justifiable price.

The transition isn’t easy. A few new customers looking for the $5 program voice their displeasure and leave forever.

However, word continues to get around about your high-quality shoes and, eventually, business picks back up. Your new business model is a success!

Meanwhile, the old $5 model still has a following and continues to “plague” your business. Being a good businessman, you continue to honor this commitment to your existing customer base.. and feel it in your gut and wallet every time!”

The Stupid Tax

Our official definition of the Stupid Tax is “something you did once upon a time only to realize later it was not a good idea or fit with your new model.”

How do you deal with Stupid Tax? You honor your obligation; however, you do not start any new people on this program.

The Stupid Tax is a not-so-friendly reminder of past decisions made. It can be frustrating, especially during a transition period but it also serves as a great reminder of the progress and growth you and your business have made! Now, just like regular taxes, the Stupid Tax must be paid. There’s no avoiding it. With time, the Stupid Tax should become minimal and eventually fade away.

In the chiropractic world stupid taxes are commonly suffered when recovering from:

  • Failed business partnerships
  • Consequences of Practice Management agreements
  • Poorly structured patient care plans and payment agreements

As frustrating as these challenges are, they will pass.  Until you reach that point, chalk up the Stupid Tax to the consequences of improving your business. Remember, a tax is only applied when one obtains something of value.

Dr. Nathan UnruhDr. Nathan Unruh, CXO, SIDECAR

 

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Decision Making: The 5 Second Rule

Learn how to improve your decision making in just five seconds!

Decision Making is a skillset that too many of us struggle with daily. We get stuck and can’t take the next step.

What is preventing you from taking that next step? Is it fear? Anxiety? Risk? Are you worried about making the wrong decision? Are there outside parties involved that may or may not agree with your decision?

Regardless of the external circumstances, you are going to have to make the decision.

One key to improving your decision making is to provide yourself and others grace when the outcome isn’t perfect. Decision making doesn’t operate as an all-or-nothing principle. The most important aspect of decision making doesn’t lie in the initial decision, but the ability to follow up by pivoting, adapting, and making adjustments. Think of decision making as a wheel that keeps on turning getting you closer to your goal. After you make the first decision, make another one, then another one – each one improving and building upon the next.

The 5 Second Rule

I read a great book that impacted and increased my ability to make decisions immediately. The book is called the “5 Second Rule” written by Mel Robbins. She also has a TED Talk on the subject. The gist of the book is this: when faced with a decision count down from 5 and decide.

“5,4,3,2,1 DECIDE!”

It sounds simple but the effects are profound.

My family and I implemented the 5 Second Rule when we took a vacation to Phoenix, Arizona. That one weekend we used the 5 Second Rule to make every decision we were faced with. 90% of the time we were happy with the outcomes and 10% of the time we had to make better follow up decisions.

Decision making is such a life skill and the 5 Second Rule is a quick, tangible way to help you improve in that area.

Read the book, and decide!

Let’s Ride,

Dr. Nathan UnruhDr. Nathan Unruh, CXO, SIDECAR

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The Fearful Patient

All new patients share one common characteristic: fear. 

When you think of a new patient that comes in to your office, what words come to mind? Opportunity, relief, change, improvement? As a skilled and experienced doctor it’s natural to think of all the positivity that surrounds a new patient visit, but have you considered that initial visit from the patient’s perspective?

Think about the last time you searched for a new healthcare provider. How did you find information? Did you search online? Seek out recommendations from friends or family? When you think like a consumer you start to see how the dynamic can change.

The concept we want to focus on today is fear. Fear of the unknown is a common human response that occurs whenever something new arises. All new patients will exhibit some level of fear when they present in your office for the first time. This fear can either be cleared up or exacerbated depending on your business’s level of customer service. A cheerful greeting during the initial phone call, a business that is conveniently located and easy to find, or being greeted by name upon arriving in the office are all ways to suppress new patient fear.

A new patient will have several questions, but none bigger than this:

“Can you help me?”

The chiropractic profession has survived and thrived since its existence by helping people that couldn’t get help anywhere else. When a new patient chooses your office, odds are that he or she has been seen by two or three other providers. The patient has probably been told that there is nothing wrong or that there is no solution for their condition. You may be that patient’s last resort.

We need to be hope merchants to the people that have never had hope before. Be careful not to be cavalier in your delivery. We expect our patients to get better, but it’s a whole different experience for each patient. Patients need realistic expectations and clear communication. More importantly they need a doctor with a caring heart and a listening ear.

Focus on meeting your new patients wherever they are. Find out what their problem really is and identify where that fear base may be coming from.

 

Dr. SeaDr. Douglas Sea, CTO, SIDECAR

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A Little Something Special

What is special about your office experience?

As chiropractors, we compete every day in a very crowded healthcare market. However, chiropractic care isn’t limited to competing in just one market. We also compete in the service industry. Each and every day you’re not only competing against other medical practitioners in town, but also the local coffee shop! Research shows that consumers spend money based on the level of experience they feel they had. If the consumer feels their experience was exceptional at your office compared to anywhere else; they are more apt to allocate their resources accordingly.

Your patient is comparing you to their last best experience.

So how do you give your business that little something special? Anticipating needs is a great place to start. It’s simple. If it’s raining outside, greet your patients at their vehicle with an umbrella and a smile. If it’s hot out, offer them a bottle of water. That little something special is a low-cost, high-value opportunity. Simply learning and remembering a patient’s name can boost the experience.  Take advantage of each little opportunity and watch how it adds up over time to enhance the overall patient experience in your office.

Dr. SeaDr. Douglas Sea

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Words We Use

Every word you speak holds tremendous power.

Things happen in life that we don’t expect. Naturally, our defense mechanisms pop up.

Do you ever say things like:

  • I’m so tired
  • Today will be hard
  • Today sucks
  • This will be a tough week
  • This is a nightmare
  • I will never get ahead
  • I know I look awful today
  • I know they hate me
  • I’m a loser
  • How come I can’t do that?

Do you?

I keep running into phrases like these. I’m usually caught off guard when I hear people use them and ask, who told you that? Who told you that today sucks? I don’t think anyone is qualified to make that decision! I think so many of us are held back by this negative self-talk.

Imagine a 3-year-old wearing a t-shirt with one of the phrases above printed on it. How would you react to seeing that kid wearing that shirt? Well I hate to break it to you, but that kid is you! By allowing this negative self-talk to invade your perspective you end up believing those messages and portraying them outwardly for others to see. You end up believing those messages about yourself are true.

What are you saying to yourself about yourself or about your relationships with others? The words we use, the thoughts we put into our brain are very powerful for manifesting our direction.

Don’t let negative self-talk into your thoughts. Move on from unexpected mishaps and move forward.

Dr. SeaDr. Douglas Sea, CTO, SIDECAR

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Can’t Sleep? Try This.

Does your mind race at night, keeping you awake? We’ve got a method to turn those sleepless nights into productive daytime results.

The benefits of adequate sleep are well-documented. However, much less is known about what to do when your body shuts down, but your mind won’t stop. Without getting into homeopathic remedies for sleep, here’s a method for combatting sleeplessness.

Sleepless nights can be frustrating; but, with a little intention, you can turn these wasted moments into productive outcomes. The two emotions generally driving these sleepless moments are excitement and fear. These two emotions are also highly linked to motivation in the human brain.

The next time you’re wide-awake when you don’t think you should be… your brain might just be a little more motivated than your body!

Give three steps a try the next time you’ve got a thought keeping you awake:

1. Write it down

Whatever thought, scenario, or reality is keeping you up at night is probably important enough for you to keep track of. Keep a small notebook next to your bed and use it in situations like this. Write down whatever thoughts come to mind at the time. As an entrepreneur, those “flash in the pan” moments may not seem like much but can hold tremendous potential. Every great idea started somewhere, why not in your brain in the middle of the night?

 2. Check your Headspace

After you’ve written down the thoughts in your head, the next step is to examine your headspace. First, are you actually awake? If you’re groggy and still half-asleep, it’s best to return to your slumber. It’s hard to describe how to know if you’ve got an idea worth acting on, but it’s just something you’ll know at the time. If your mind is racing and you’re walking through scenarios in your head; you’re in the right mindset to act. One action step you can take here is to read a book. It can be a book that you’re currently reading or something that pertains to the idea in your head. Reading can help clarify and sort through the brain soup. Read until you’ve gotten clarity, or until you’re ready to fall back asleep!

3. Solve It

The biggest take-away from this is to not let your ideas fade away into the abyss. Thoughts that keep you up at night are thoughts worth keeping. Revisit your notebook the morning after an idea and see if there’s anything worth acting on.

 

Now, we aren’t saying that you need to pop out of bed every time a thought pops into your head and start working. Think of this method as stockpiling ammunition for a future battle. The one resource everyone shares the same amount of is time. The next time your mind refuses to quit, consider it an opportunity to squeeze as much life as possible out of every single minute.

Let’s Ride!

Dr. Nathan UnruhNathan Unruh, CXO, SIDECAR

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Is This the Year?

Without dreams or goals, there is no hope for the future and without hope there is despair and negative thinking. In many ways, your goals define you, that is why it is so important to have the strongest possible goals you can imagine. You are not the sum of your accomplishments or failures. You are not the very worst or the very best thing you have ever done. You are your dreams and your actions upon those goals. Your goals are a map for getting where you want to go.

Achieving your goals requires that you first define what it is that you want and then begin to work to get it (OBTAIN-ATTAIN). Eventually, as you begin to implement these daily action items we are discussing and your own customized plan, you will realize that these dreams or goals are your only competition in life. Once you have set your goals, there will be no further reason to “want” what other people have. You will only want to reach your own goals.

Your Impact

We would like to let you in on another secret, you are having an impact on the world. Your conscious and subconscious thoughts move matter. Do not let this power become corrupted or wasted on worry and fear, because the things you think about most, manifest. We challenge you to take responsibility for your thoughts and to eliminate the “chattering monkeys” that pull you back into the “swamp of mediocrity “. Your conscious actions bring you closer to your destiny. Stay awake, be attentive! We are unique and therefore we leave a distinct impression and lasting legacy for mankind to inherit. What will be said about you? How will your actions benefit the generations that follow? Do you choose to discipline your mind and develop your mental prowess? If so, engage every aspect of the plan with full commitment. The other choice is to accept your plight , and learn to be content as a cow, ruminating over your possibilities. Cows ruminate, they chew on it over and over again. Human beings swallow life whole.

You are almost ready to write your future. The goals that you choose to manifest as a result of thinking connect you with that essence inside of you. The source is clean and the fruit you harvest will be of exceptional quality. Some of you will actively seek God’s will in your planning and ask his blessing. For others it will be an extra-sensory experience of such magnitude that you will know first hand that a universal design does indeed exist.

Imagine yourself sitting on a white beach at sunrise. As you look out over the gentle waves you see a vast series of islands stretching far out over the horizon. The goals that you wish to reach are like setting foot on these lush islands.  Keep in mind that this is a quest with a series of bridges and beach landings.

Your quest must be planned and well provisioned, or you will find yourself a castaway surviving in a desperate life of survival.  Now use all the resources and energy available to you so that you can construct  temporary bridges between where you are and where you want to be. These bridges can not be permanent as it can tempt you to halt your conquest or worse, go back to the perceived safety of the past.

  1. You must commit fully to the process of success. When you commit there will be no chance to draw back or hesitate.  If you hear yourself saying “a part of me wants it” stop and reload for a goal that “all of you” desires.
  2. Set reachable goals, they should be out of reach but not out of sight. It is important to stretch yourself beyond the present yet this must be balanced so that you have the self -efficacy to press on. Setting unbelievable goals will only discourage you.
  3. It is important to keep a wide angle perspective as you view all of the island goals you wish to land upon. Just as you are about to set foot on one, plot the course to the next beach head.
  4. It doesn’t matter whether the goals that you reach are large or small, because you will be gaining momentum.
  5. The moment you look back you abruptly come out of the flow experience. While it is important to celebrate your accomplishments and mark your milestones, stay in the present and nurture the experience from there.  Briefly acknowledge how far you’ve come, give yourself a high five and get back in the game.
  6. Before you go to sleep, invite your dream. Your subconscious will work while you sleep. Place a pen and paper or voice recording device on your nightstand. Your Innate flashes of creativity must not be forgotten.
  7. Explore areas of learning that interest you. Don’t be concerned that the material or subject may not apply at this very moment. It could be an innate nudge in a direction or simply a focusing opportunity.
  8. Once you have set a series of goals, accept them as being a part of who you are becoming.
  9. Before you get out of bed, visualize your day with specific goals to accomplish. Every completion leads to the next island.
  10. Give yourself permission to “daydream”, for this is your intuition drawing you out of hiding.

2018 is your year!

The SIDECAR Team

 

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Switch Your Fears

What does your fear do for you?

Everyone has fear. Regardless of your level of success or accomplishments in life, you possess some form of fear. This fear can be a good thing. It can be a huge motivating factor. In fact, the brain processes fear and motivation in the same area. Essentially, fear and motivation go hand in hand. Living on the other side of motivation is fear. However, fear can also be crippling. If you allow it to, fear can paralyze you and cause you to become stagnant.

Two Types of Fear

There are two main types of fear that exist in the world: the fear of the staying the same and the fear of the unknown. One of these fears can be conquered. The other never goes away. If you’re not in a position that you desire the fear of staying the same should drive you to change and seek the unknown. If your back is against the wall you’ve got nothing to gain by staying the same. Your fear of the unknown can never outweigh your fear of staying the same.

You don’t have to live in fear, but you have to learn to live with fear. Fear is ever-present, it’s always going to exist. But it doesn’t have to cripple you. When you stop trying to eliminate fear from your life (an impossible task) you open yourself up to understanding what exactly your fear is and how to handle it. Your fear is going to fall into one of the two categories: fear of the unknown or fear of staying in your current situation.

Your Future

None of us can control the future. We can anticipate and prepare for events to occur, but the future is always going to possess an aspect of the unknown. You really can’t overcome the fear of the unknown, but you can use it to motivate yourself to take action and eliminate the fear of staying the same. If you allow your fear of the unknown to motivate you, you’re going to spend your time working towards ensuring that you and those around you are in the best possible situation. No longer will you be torn between the fear of change and the fear of staying the same. You’ll realize that only one of these fears holds negative consequences and is holding you back from your future success.

It’s time to switch your fears. Once you do this, you’ll begin to realize that the fear of the unknown is natural, you’re not alone, and it’s simply another opportunity waiting to motivate you!

Dr. Nathan UnruhDr. Nathan Unruh, CXO SIDECAR

 

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