Rick's Business of Audiology Blog

Your Job = Your Business has Only 1 Customer

I was just asked; "Isn't it risky to have my own business?"

That isn't the easy question people think. I think for anyone smart enough to get an Au.D. it is less risky to have your own business than to work for a non-audiologist.

Why?

If you have your own business you will have many customers, if you work for a non-audiologist in reality you have only one customer. An employee is really a business with one customer, the employer. That is right; you are first serving your employer, and then your patients. So your employer is your customer, your patients are the customers of your employer. Without question one customer businesses are always more risky. If you have many customers and one decides to change you are OK. It is a small hit. If you only have one customer and they decide to change you have a big problem. Many people today are finding themselves "out of work" because their one customer had a change of heart, or focus, or whatever. Business owners are still expanding their businesses.

If you have your own business you control the ethical decisions. If you work for a non-audiologist and therefore have only one customer the pressure to compromise on ethics is immense. Therefore the risk of ethical violations is much less with your own business.

If you have your own business you can create personal and family wealth and a passive income stream. If you work for a non-audiologist you are using your professional capability to create personal and family wealth for someone else. Either the non-audiologist business owner or some stockholder you may not even know. Employees rarely become wealthy. Do you know any?

If you have your own business you are a recognized professional in the community. You control your business and professional appearance and presentation. If you work for a non-audiologist they control your professional appearance and presentation.

Therefore owning your own business is:

Less risky financially in the short term because you have more than one customer.

Less risky ethically because no one else is encouraging ethical violations.

Less risky financially in the long term because you can create passive income and family wealth.

Less risky professionally as you control your appearance and presentation.

Think about it.

Rick

Never take your job for granted.

As we hear talk of layoffs and all the social media discussions one concept stands out.

Never take your job for granted.

    Always be improving your ability to add value to your organization.

If you get to comfortable with your job, do not keep updating your skills, and do not keep up your professional network, you are setting yourself up for the big surprise: No job.

If you get to comfortable with your job, and don't encourage others on the team, and don't consider what they may say to your next employer, you are setting yourself up for the big surprise: No good references.

A client of mine recently terminated an employment relationship with a long term employee. Why? The employee was no longer helping the business serve its patients. My client gave this employee about a thousand "chances" to stay. However it seemed the employee was incapable of demonstrating any real interest in identifying with the purpose of the office or in supporting the other employees.

When the employee was let go they were shocked and hurt. They expressed surprise and amazement. However they never offered to join in a commitment to the purpose of the office or to make any changes to their behavior.

My client called me just after terminating the employment relationship and confirmed it was a good decision. "Even when I told her she would no longer be working here she only thought of herself and the hourly pay she would no longer be receiving. She didn't even ask why I was letting her go. I had been very nervous about making the change, but when I told her all my reasons for her departure were completely confirmed."

The decision to terminate the employment relationship was a far harder decision for the employer than the employee. The employer stressed over it, and spent hours and hours trying to get the employee to focus.

If you want the job you always wanted then always be improving your ability to add value to your organization. Never take any job for granted. Any job is either your future, or a stepping stone to your future.

Rick

Persistence Is Important

Persistence is more important than hard work.

Not what everyone would say, but I know it is true.

We often hear that working hard is important. OK, it probably is at some level. But for VERY successful people persistence is more important.

Very successful people don't reset their goals to be mediocre when they fail once, or twice, or many times. They recognize they failed, learn from it when possible, and immediately try again.

If a baby isn't persistent in learning how to walk walking won't happen I don't believe my kids ever worked hard at walking, but they sure where persistent. They both became walkers.

Imagine a golfer who quit every time they hit a bad shot; or a baseball player who quit every time they struck out; or a student who quit every time she missed a question on a test. None would be successful.

I am told Einstein tried thousands of different materials for filaments in light bulbs. None of them worked. When he was asked if he was discouraged he said no. He said he was actually encouraged because he now knows thousands of things not to try again. I don't know if this is a true story or not, but it is a good concept.

The person who gets discouraged when they are knocked down, and doesn't quickly get back up again, isn't going to be successful.

If you let your failures dictate your future; then you will not be successful.

Almost everyone who is very successful, from Sam Walton, to Lance Armstrong, to Warren Buffett, has had major failures. Sam Walton lost his first store, his life's work at the time. Then he built Wal-Mart using what he learned. Lance Armstrong was diagnosed with cancer. He didn't quit biking, but took up the flag for cancer research. Warren Buffett may have lost more money on his investments than anyone I will ever know, but he doesn't stop making new ones that do succeed.

If at first you don't succeed, then you are about normal.

Rick

What is important is what you do after you don't succeed!

This will help you.

Rick

Audiology Jobs: How to get a good one.

Know how to create real value, and know how to explain how you will do it.

Getting a great job is not nearly as difficult as the popular news people try to make you think.

Most employers in the nation are actually looking to HIRE!

But they want to hire people who create value, not people who are first looking for a paycheck.

If your first thought is "What does it pay?" Then you may find your job search long.

• First: Know how you will create value. (Professional Value Message)
• Second: Know how to explain it. (Communication)
• Third: Build a history of doing what you say you will do. (References)

With this your job search will be very short and very successful.

I know this will help you!

Rick

0 for 3 and Feeling Fine!

0 for 3 is not a strikeout in my life.

I had three client calls scheduled for today. All were with owners of smaller offices.

One year ago all would have been willing to talk all day. We would have talked and then they would spend some time doing things we talked about and then perhaps we would talk again. Perhaps they only would have a couple of profitable appointments all day.

Not the case today! All are so busy, with profitable business, that they cannot find time to tell me how well they are doing, except by e-mail!

One has already sold three times as many hearing aids this month as they did all of last July.

They are all helping people hear, as they intended. As I intended.

They each have my thanks for serving the needs of the hearing impared.

Thank you for helping me.

Rick

One at a Time

Some days are just better than others. Today is looking good.

Days when a client "sees the light" are always good; when I realize they "get" a concept that they will take with them for life.

Perhaps it is like when you have a patient who tells you how wonderful it is to hear their kids, or the birds, or whatever and you know they will be able to hear them for years.

As we were talking it was clear she had the concept of one patient at a time. She has a small practice, only in business for a short time. She had started out using the "typical" vendor suggested marketing and advertizing. She was doing a better job of getting the vendors name into the marketplace than hers.

When I started working with her regularly we started talking about one patient at a time. Her market really wasn't everyone in the newspapers area, or in a group of zip codes, but a few people who she could serve.

She has been trying to apply this concept for some months now. She intellectually knew it, but experientially she wasn't there yet. She wasn't committed, yet.

As we talked I realized she now gets it. For several months she has met her sales targets. Her cash flow is better than ever. She feels great.

It all came down to realizing it is one patient at a time.

1. Start with determining how many patients you want to serve during a period.
2. Then determining where you will find them, and why whey will come to you.
3. Go out and invite them, one at a time.I do hope this helps you. I am thrilled!

Rick

Imperfect is Best

I have often said the biggest mistake someone can make it to try to never make any mistakes.

A wonderful short article by Sangeeth Varghese reinforces this. No I don't know him personally but what he writes really sheds light on an important concept. (Read what he wrote here http://www.forbes.com/2009/07/06/success-failure-perfectionism-leadership-ceonetwork-varghese.html )

The concept: Great people don't succeed at everything, but they try lots of things.

Abraham Lincoln tried many generals and made many mistakes, yet he is recognized as a successful president.

Edison is credited after trying thousands of different filaments for light bulbs as being encouraged because he now knew thousands of things not to try again.

The best baseball home run hitters often strike out more often than they hit home runs.

It isn't that they succeed at everything, but that they try lots of things, and keep trying, that makes them successful.

So wherever you are, whatever you are doing, don't forget to try something.

I hope this helps you.

Rick

New Class Starts Aug 3

Professional Development and Personal Finance I

This has been on my list for some time and I have been seeking for a way to accomplish it.

My goal was to enable people to experience some of the aspects of team building, leadership, and finance, in some fun and entertaining way. People need to experience these before they need to know them. Just like you practiced a hearing evaluation before you performed it on a real patient.

I was recently introduced to a new tool. The introduction came from a spouse of one of my clients who sent me an invitation. I have never been a computer or online game player. I have always had "more important" things to do.

However I clicked on the invite sort of absent mindedly and VOILA! The teaching tool I had been seeking appeared before my eyes.

Over my vacation I was able to think about how to apply it and experiment with it to determine how it worked and how to use it. I am thrilled! The documentation is coming together easier than I hoped, as it often does when everything is working out.

I now have a great tool for experientially teaching important concepts in a "safe" environment.

I will start my first group on the first of August. If you want to join please e-mail me for information. The first group will be a discounted group as they will help me refine the process.

You can join, or get free info, by e-mailing me: rick@thrivingaudiology.com.

I am really looking forward to this helping you!

Rick

People of Character

There is a big difference between finding people of character, and people who are characters.

Bill Belichik, one of the best NFL coaches of all time, is credited with using these criteria when building his team:

Choose people of character.

Give them clear assignments.

Expect them to succeed.

It doesn't make much difference if you are a football team or a professional office. This is a great list.

As for your office, I would add this to his list:

Ensure they have the tools they need. (Stuff and Knowledge)

Ensure their goals are in-line with your team.

Why does this work?

1. People of character will do the right thing when others may not. They will apply themselves to the task at hand. They will be as professional as they can be. They will do what they say, and say what they will do. There is a book out, I cannot say I have ever read it, but the title is "Everything I need to know in Life I Learned in Kindergarten". The same criteria listed above will get a kid through kindergarten, and make them good team members.
2. People with clear assignments will tend to do them. If the person isn't sure what to do, or believes you want them to do something different than you want them, may not do what you expect. As the leader you must know what you want them to do and you must be able to communicate it clearly to them. Without clear assignments you introduce a randomness into the outcome you do not need.
3. People who know you expect them to succeed often will. If you are the leader and you don't expect them to succeed then figure out why? Do they not have the character? Do they not have a clear understanding of what to do? Do they not have self confidence? Or, the one I am adding to Bill's list: Do they not have the tools.
4. People who don't have the knowledge, or correct tools may not succeed even if they have the above. No matter how much I want to fix my car I don't have the knowledge. So if you hired me as an auto mechanic I would disappoint. Now it isn't that I couldn't become one. But I would need some tools (wrenches and whatever else auto mechanics use) and some knowledge about cars (perhaps some classes or an apprenticeship, or in my case both.)
5. People who identify with your goals, your purpose, and you with theirs will automatically be better. If you are in business to help people hear then you want people on your team that think hearing is very important. There is nothing wrong with someone who thinks golf is more important than hearing. But they just need to be on a different team.

Therefore when evaluating your team you may just want to skip the typical evaluation form to start.

First do they have the character you need?

Second do they know what is expected of them?

Third do you expect them to succeed?

Fourth do they have the knowledge and tools?

Fifth do they understand and identify with your goals?

If those 5 are all good, then you can probably find a place for them on your team. If not then this gives you a place to start.

I hope this helps you.

Rick

Vacations are Important to Success

My family and I just spent a couple of weeks in HI. We rented a little house right on the beach and had sea turtles 50 feet from our porch.

Vacations always give me time to think. We all need that. Most successful people do take vacations. In this case a vacation is defined as a break from the normal work activities.

When I am in my routine, which I love, I find myself working on one task after another; client communications, letters, paying bills, and all the routine tasks of a productive day. I spend my time tending my trees.

When I am out of my routine I think of bigger things. I think of what kind of a forest am I growing, and why am I growing it.

If you aren't sure why you are tending your trees, give yourself a break and think about your forest.

I hope this helps you.

Rick