Top Ten things I wish I knew as a Chiropractic Student: 5. What type of office space is ideal?

Imagine with me for just a second, go ahead close your eyes. Well, close them after you read the next sentence. Visualize with me the perfect picture of your new chiropractic office space. Is it large or small, stand alone or strip, on a busy street or peaceful road? Every one of you is going to have a different picture in your mind and a myriad of different answers.

Now take a minute and put yourself in patient’s shoes and visualize what you expect, when visiting a doctor’s office for the first time. Very likely, you will have two very different looking pictures. One important thing when planning your practice is to find a middle ground where you have your own unique space without disappointing a patient’s expectation of what a successful doctor’s office looks like.

When it comes to space for your new chiropractic practice, there are several factors to consider: structure, square footage, footprint, build out & office flow. The simplest thing to do when looking for space is, step back and ask yourself a couple simple questions.

Would I as a patient come to this building for my health care needs? (Ugly office)

Would I return for multiple visits to this area if necessary? (Poor neighborhood)

Is there ease of entry and exit? (Traffic is a headache)

Your individual list should go on and on. Be creative and logical with the questions you ask yourself and be objective. Now, being objective is a challenge when opening your new office. Many times there are so many pressures placed on you to get open that you can act on emotions and not sound reasoning. If you find yourself struggling to make informed clear decisions on you space, get some help from someone outside of your situation that will give you an unbiased view. Be sure that whomever you have help you has a track record and experience with successfully accomplishing what you want to. A very important aspect of making the decision on you new space is to know the parameters of a successful office. There are absolute principles involved and there are unlimited variations depending on your particular brand of chiropractic.

The key is know what YOU need so that you are not jumping at the cheapest space or over spending on frontage space that you may or may not need.

Question: What action steps do you need to take to determine your ideal office space?