Congratulations! You made it. You’ve got a growing chiropractic clinic. Patients are pouring in. Your providers are happy, your staff is busy, and so are you. Seeing the success of your chiropractic practice, you have decided to expand your practice and open a new facility. If that’s where you are right now, sit back and read this blog to know what you need to do to successfully open a second chiropractic facility.

Opening a second (or third) clinic isn’t a small decision. Just because you own one successful chiropractic facility doesn’t necessarily mean you will be successful by owning two or more. You need strategies and proper action plans to turn your idea into reality, and that too, a successful one.

Expert Tip: Ask yourself first, why you want to open a second facility. A seemingly good reason to expand is to make more money. But remember, opening multiple locations may not be profitable if you don’t manage the facilities properly. If your patient influx is more than you can handle, then opening a second facility makes sense. Or did you find a good location where people need a chiropractic clinic? There is a mindset difference and you need different business processes in place to open your second chiropractic practice.

#1. Determine where do you want to open your second facility

There are three options. If you have an overflow of patients that you want to refer to your new location, you can open the second facility within miles away from the first one.

You also have the option of opening your second practice at a greater distance from your first one in an area where there is a greater demand for chiropractic services.

Or you can expand your practice to another state. If you are connected with and want to contribute to the health of the community in that state, you can open a second business there. But make sure you know the rules, regulations, and procedures to open a chiropractic business in that state.

#2. Do you have time or plan to open a second practice

You have already opened your first practice. You know the amount of time it takes to register your new business, setup the new office, hire more staff, and market it. Opening a second location will stress you out. It will reduce your ability to provide more time to patients and your family. You may start to overlook some aspects of your first location.

You probably had a business plan for your first location. Depending on how well the plan worked, you can use it to expand your chiropractic practice. The business plan for the second facility should include a business description, a market analysis, a list of services, and a marketing plan. Add your financial projections for the new location. If you don’t have a plan yet, you can read the Section: Business Plan in our guide- “Starting a New Chiropractic Practice”.

#3. Standardize technology processes

With two locations, you have twice as many people to train and patients to treat. As a practice owner, you will need to hire more staff and providers and improve processes to provide a consistent patient experience across all facilities.

Automating your practice’s processes and systems is one of the most important things to successfully opening a second location. Without tools and technology in place, you will be running around in a frenzy between your locations. Here are some of the technology areas you should standardize across each of your business locations:

• Higher revenue
• Equipment setup
• Technology planning
• Chiropractic EHR platform
• IT support
• Technology training for staff

zHealthEHR Cloud based chiropractic EHR software not only provides a streamlined approach to working with multiple locations but also simplifies your business operations and saves money and time.

• zHealthEHR, the top cloud based chiropractic EHR solution, helps you manage multiple facilities using one easy-to-use interface. As it is a cloud-based solution, you need to get a subscription to get started. It is so intuitive to use that your staff does not need training to get started.

With integrated scheduling, SOAP notes, EHR, and billing solutions, zHealth is the best EHR software for chiropractors looking to open second chiropractic practice and simplify the business aspects of both facilities. You can switch facilities in a click, work with other providers in two locations easily, and manage your two facilities with ease when you use zHealth’s EHR software for chiropractors.

#4. Get capital, buy equipment, and hire employees

It takes money to make money. The best thing about opening a second facility is that now you have a steady stream of income, which you didn’t have while opening your first practice. Now you have a better idea of the costs of running a practice. You know everything about taxes, permits, and expenses. You can easily determine how much money you need to cover the second location’s expenses. Leverage existing relationships with banking institutions to secure funding if you need it.

You probably have a good idea of what you need to operate at a second location. You can quickly check your current office to make a list of all the equipment, supplies, chiropractic EHR systems, and inventory required. Use the same vendors to buy everything to keep things consistent across all locations.

Having the right people to be in charge of your new location can help you run the second chiropractic facility successfully. Sadly, you just can’t be in two facilities at once. It would be wise to head up the new location yourself, so you can identify any problems early on and take timely actions. For your first facility, you can promote one of your current employees to a managerial position or hire someone who has experience in managing a chiropractic practice.

If you’ve a strong group of staff, you can motivate them to be a part of your business expansion. You need to increase their compensation as well as responsibility. Get some of your existing employees to start working at the new location so that they can train new hires there.

Also, hire new staff at your old facility as you have shifted some of your employees to the new location. These new hires can be trained by one of your existing employees or person in-charge.

It is necessary to engage and communicate with your staff during the entire process of getting your second facility up and running. Listen to their feedback and work with them to support your business expansion.

#5. Prepare your marketing strategy

Even though it is the same brand, you need to know that marketing of your second location is important if you want it to be successful.

The benefit of opening a second practice is that you have already established name and recognition in your area. Your relationship with existing customers and the community can help you in marketing the new location. Do face-to-face marketing by informing existing patients that you have opened another facility and ask them to refer their friends and family if they live in that location. Another way to promote your new facility is to do digital marketing and social media promotion. If you are curious to know how to market your chiropractic practice, you can read Chapter 6 in our guide – “Starting a New Chiropractic Practice”.

Conclusion

For many chiropractic practices, expansion can be one of the best ways to drive growth. By taking all of the above tips into consideration, you will improve your second location’s chances for success.