Are you considering hiring an associate acupuncturist in your office? Have you ever wondered where to begin with this process? How to know when it’s time?

Today I’m asking an expert. I’m excited to interview Emily Andrews, MSA, L.Ac., who has been in practice just 5 years and is planning on hiring her second associate acupuncturist in 2016. 

Emily co-owns True Health and Fitness, a wellness and fitness center in Greensburg, Pennsylvania, with her husband, Dr. Kevin Andrews, a chiropractor and athletic trainer.

Emily is also currently working on a spectacular Acupuncture Photography Project (click to view!) with Autumn Stankay of Skysight Photography, which I encourage you to check out here. The photos are gorgeous and inspired! Hopefully an interview with Emily and Autumn will be in the works soon, to bring you more information and even more incredible photos!

Read on as Emily answers common questions about her experience hiring an associate acupuncturist:

• How did she know when it was time to hire someone?
• How did she advertise for the position?
• What criteria were important in selecting an acupuncturist?
• Her top 5 tips for others who are considering hiring an associate acupuncturist.

Hi Emily! Thanks for joining us today. You’ve had a lot of success in a very short time frame. How long would you say it took for you to get your business running the way you’d always imagined, or to “get on your feet?”

One to two years and we feel very grateful for that short timeline. After graduation I opened a small practice and my husband worked for other chiropractors. We also worked together at an integrative clinic.

Through these experiences we gained knowledge of what to do and what not to do when starting a practice and running a business. We saw this experience as an extension of our education and we are grateful that we did this before opening our own practice. I think my school did a good job of educating us about running a practice but nothing is better than firsthand experience.

Can you describe your initial acupuncture practice after graduating from acupuncture school?

It was small, very small. I rented a room in a chiropractor’s office in a tiny little town south of Burlington, VT. Our office was right next to another acupuncturist that had been there for many years.

I think I saw around 30 patients in the whole year I was open there. I’ve seen well over 600 patients since opening this practice.

Because of our experiences as recent grads and the struggle we had to find good associate positions Kevin and I always had a goal to create jobs for people in our profession. We are happy that we feel ready to hire recent grads this year, both a chiropractor and an acupuncturist.

How did you know when it was time to hire your first associate acupuncturist?

When my waiting list was eight to nine months long for new patients and five to six weeks for follow-up appointments for current patients.

What criteria did you use to select an acupuncturist?

We wanted to hire someone with past experience since this was going to be our first hire. We lucked out; our associate acupuncturist had her own practice for many years. This was important because we wanted someone who understands the business side of running a practice and we wanted someone who would be comfortable with a busy schedule because we knew that we could fill her schedule up very quickly. Now that we have been successful in hiring our first associate acupuncturist we feel confident that we are ready to hire a recent graduate.

How did you advertise that you were looking for an associate?

We advertised on my school’s acupuncture and chiropractic Career Opportunity Database [which is free and anyone from any school may post job opportunities or search for open positions] and and a few other online resources. I also contacted a few local acupuncturists and other healthcare providers to see if they were open to practicing a few days a week at our office. It was through word-of-mouth that we found our associate.

Did you have many applications?

We received around 10 applications.

Did you have any non-negotiable criteria that you were looking for in an associate (number of years in practice, for example), and why?

It was not non-negotiable but we really wanted someone with experience for our first hire. Now that we are comfortable with hiring and training employees/associates we feel much more prepared to hire a recent grad. Originally I wanted to hire someone exclusively from the school I attended because I felt that I received one of the best educations available for acupuncturists at Finger Lakes School of Acupuncture (FLSAOM). However, we found that no matter what the school (although it helps) seeing the applicant as an individual is much more important than focusing on what school they went to.

How did you decide what to offer an associate in terms of salary?

My husband (co-owner) is very good with numbers and works closely with our accountant. Our associate has a salaried position with benefits: health care, malpractice, CEUs, 5 sick days, and two weeks paid vacation. We have always made it a goal to offer positions to practitioners that we did not have available to us before we opened our practice. We want to be able to keep the practice running of course, but we want to keep our practitioners happy as well.

How did you know where to begin in writing up the associate’s contract?

I used A LOT of online resources to write up a contract and my husband added the finishing touches and financial portions. I must have read well over 30 different contracts before writing ours.

Did you have to find a lawyer who specialized in this kind of contact?

No, we like using the same lawyer for everything related to our practice.

How do you know that you’re going to need another associate?

Because acupuncture is becoming increasingly popular in the United States and referrals from medical doctors are increasing. We do not advertise and we’ve grown incredibly over the past four years and see potential growth continue especially since we are well established and well respected in this community.

How do you know when it will be a good time to hire him or her? Or in other words, how are you making that future projection?

When the wait period for new patients appointments increases again. We want to make sure to stay available to new patients. I used to feel very guilty when patients wanted to be seen and had to wait eight to nine months for an appointment. If our associate’s waiting list increases to two months we know that it will be time to hire again. She currently sees one new patient per day. As her current patient numbers increase we will need to limit the number of new patients she sees per week to leave room for follow up appointments. That will start to push out the wait time for new patient appointments and that is when we plan to hire another associate. We actually already have someone in mind.

Was the process of creating a contract, searching for applicants, and hiring an associate as difficult as you might have initially imagined it?

We really lucked out with one particularly good applicant so that made it easy. However, the process was long and there were times we gave up the search. But luckily we found someone who is a great fit!

I thought that I would have a difficult time with the change because I am very protective of what we have created with our practice. The biggest struggle was my worry that I was giving up control of the future of our practice. However, if you find an associate that respects not only you as a boss but also respects the practice then that makes all the difference in the world. I think that an associate who has experience running a practice in the past understands the high level of responsibility involved with running a practice and having employees more deeply than most recent grads would.

One thing that I found to be challenging that I did not expect was setting up the treatment rooms. I know how I practice but everyone practices differently, and it took some time until we all felt that the rooms were set up for a smoothly flowing practice. We both have two of our own treatment rooms, so luckily so far, we don’t have the challenge of sharing rooms.

What’s the next step for your business?

Continued expansion to fit demand. We just hired three new trainers for the fitness facility, a receptionist, and next another chiropractor and acupuncturist.

How about a few marketing questions, since your business is booming! What marketing techniques do you think work well for acupuncturists, in your experience?

Being professional, kind, and doing a great job is the best tactic. I am grateful for our referral-based practice and I think it has grown because of my passion for the profession and because I take great care to be courteous and professional.

Which ones don’t?

As much as I love radio as a medium, when I practiced in Vermont I found it to not be a good means of advertising, at least for that market.

What’s the single most effective marketing strategy you’ve used so far?

Focusing on my patients, doing a great job, getting results, and having them tell their friends, family, co-workers, and doctors. I also think that having good intentions is a great strategy. If you are an acupuncturist just because you want to make money I think many patients would see right through that. The trust that I have gained from my patients is my most valuable asset.

What advice would you give to acupuncture students who are going to graduate in a year?

Start small! We had big plans for what we wanted in a practice. However, we knew that starting out with significant debt would not be a good idea. We started in two very small treatment rooms in a subterranean floor of a yoga studio. When we were ready we expanded into more rooms and then continued to grow until we moved into our current facilities. It was a nice, organic progression that left room for growth without significant risk.

Although our business plan closely matches where our practice is today, we knew that a small start would be the best way to go about starting a business. It also left room for mistakes. If we had started with a large facility with and significant debt there would not have been much room for mistakes and mistakes are an important part of the learning experience.

Okay, last question! What advice you would give to anyone who is considering hiring an acupuncture associate?

• For the search, use online resources (like NYCC’s careers database) and contact local schools. Also tell other practitioners because word can spread fast.
• Be patient, even if you are anxious to hire someone. Be ready to wait for the right fit. It is okay to be picky. Not only will you be working closely with this person but you are entrusting your practice to them. I worked VERY hard to get my practice to where it is and I wouldn’t want just anyone to be a representative of it.
• Understand the cost of adding another practitioner. If you need to furnish a treatment room (or three) to accommodate someone plan for each room to cost at least $2,000-$3,000 to set up. You will always spend more than you think you need to, especially if practitioners have special requests (table warmers, special headrests), etc.. This is an investment into the practice and it may take a while before the investment balances out and turns into potential profit. Do not expect to make money off of the practitioner, at least right away. See it as added growth and value to the practice, not necessarily a way to just make money.
• Be clear about your expectations and write an employee manual! It is okay to be particular for how you want your practice to run but always be respectful that not every practitioner practices the same way. Leave room for flexibility but stand strong on what you find to be most important. For example: I am very particular about CNT but flexible about what hours the practitioner wants to practice.

Thanks for sharing your expertise, Emily! I look forward to interviewing you in the future, both about your rapidly expanding practice and your Acupuncture Photography Project with Skysight Photography!

Have questions for Emily? Leave them in the comments below!
Do you have an associate acupuncturist working with you? How has that experience been? Any advice for us? Tell us in the comments!