How are chiropractic practices classified?

All businesses in the US are classified by the North American Industry Classification System. (NAICS is part of the US Census Bureau.) Chiropractic practices are classified under this number: 621310. Why is this important? When you fill out business tax returns, your Medicare provider application, and your Employer ID Number application, you may be asked for this classification. You heard it here first!

Two websites to help with startup, financing

1.  From Entrepreneur Magazine, a listing of "best banks" for each state.  Go to www.entrepreneur.com/best banks and you'll be able to see the top ten best banks for small business loans in each state.  For more banks, click on "About this Study".  It will take you to the SBA site that ranks many banks in each state, with their city.  Look in the "micro-loan" column for banks lending small amounts (under $50,000).

 2.  Go to this SBA Site to get a listing of the sites in each state that provide information on business licenses.  It's http://www.sba.gov/hotlist/license.html

Another startup horror story….

I heard another story today about a young DC who got taken in by an unscrupulous employer (another DC!).  I won't give you the gory details, but I can give you the take-home messages:

1.  NEVER sign on as an associate without a written agreement which includes a non-compete and which you have had reviewed by an attorney.  Also make sure that you are correctly described a an employee and not an "independent contractor."  

2.  If you are joining the practice with the express intention to buy in as a partner or to purchase the practice, put some language about this into the employment agreement.   

3.  Check out your new employer carefully; ask lots of questions about the financial status of the practice and its legal structure. Although you are only an employee, you may be liable if something goes wrong.  (I heard of another associate who had the misfortune to have the state insurance commissioner show up the same day as he started working there.  OUCH!)

4.  If you are attempting to buy a practice and the seller won't give you financials or other practice details, you DON'T WANT THIS PRACTICE, no matter how attractive the price. 

In other words, as I always say, "PUT IT IN WRITING" and "TRUST, BUT VERIFY."

 Jean

Blogs for Small Business

Here's a web site that lists MANY blogs for small businesses – from legal issues to hiring to accounting and media/publicity:  http://www.blogsforsmallbusiness.com

Determining Circle of Practice

How do you determine the radius of a Circle of Practice, to see if a non-compete agreement is reasonable, or to determine where to advertise?

Here's my suggestion:

1. Go to Google Local (http://maps.google.com) and type in the name of the city and state (or the street address city and state if you want to be more exact). For this exercise I used an address in Muncie, Indiana.

2. Use the zoom bar on the left of the screen (the one with the + on the top and the – on the bottom) and check the map legend at the bottom left. I moved up and down through the zoom bar until I could see the scale for 10 miles.

3. Use the scale to get a general idea of how far from this address 25 miles would be. In this case, I could use the scale for 10 miles x 2.5 and draw an imaginary circle around the location. You could also print out the map and draw a circle on the map.

Let me know if you try this and how it works.

If you're using this exercise to check on the distance for a non-compete, I'd suggest doubling the distance, to about 50 miles, and see where that puts you. That way, you won't be too close, particularly for advertising purposes.