My 34 years as a Pedorthist

After 34 years in the industry and as a consultant, I’ve seen a common struggles that owners have. I want to share some of my experiences.

I have watched consultants tell their customers what they want to hear to keep contact ongoing. Unfortunately, repeatedly telling clients what they want to hear, will not help a business solve their issues. The two most common problems business seem to have are Staffing and the Owner(s). Now we get to the point a client needs to hear. Ninety nine percent of the time, it's the business owners. Hard words to hear for someone who is proud (and should be) of their work effort and the company.

Running a company is just as much as a personal growth as it is a business growth. One needs both to make it.

Unfortunately the student has to be ready for that lesson. If the human behaviors have already set in it becomes more difficult to change. When the company and owner(s) are ready for help that is when people will experience the biggest growth.

Though stunning websites, beautiful displays, and nice looking products and have great client service. ALL of this is important in running an effective clinic and business these days and is rarely an issue.

However as a healers, I believe we can only help the patient heal by focusing on getting results by doing what works.

For me, it's the starting point of my service (also directly affects “word of mouth advertising"). I ask my patients and myself what results can be expected. Results come from a number of areas including: experience, education, the right products dispensed, type of 3 dimensional molds the practitioners take, thoroughness of the assessment are all important, but for me its listening to the patient and finding out their needs. Only then, can I help heal my patients.

1. RESULTS ARE KEY, if I am not getting results no one will come back. I learned this early in my career. Over the years I watched tech with bells and whistles. Fancy clinics big company's spending large sums of money on marketing on products that do not get results.
2. DO WHAT WORKS, and lot of procedures, will work for the same conditions. I learned to be open minded of other orthotics designs that are different from mine.
3. KEEP IT SIMPLE, to many additions to a foot orthotic will most likely create more problems, then they solve.
4. ITS ABOUT THE PATIENT, not my ego. They are the ones coming to me in pain, my job is to get the patient to point in number 1.
5. EMOTIONAL PAIN, is just a s important to understand as the physical pain as the two are often interconnected for the patient, especially with chronic pain.

Business in not about Business

Prior to becoming a Pedorthist, I studied business and computer science. I had a DJ company in high school, even had a paper route as a kid. I always had an entrepreneurial way as I see in all Pedorthists, Then I started work at the Forzani’s Group in the mid-1980s and immediately was hooked on becoming a Pedorthist. It was at the Tech Shop location that had small orthotic shop within the shoe store. During my studies and training, I was blessed to have worked a few times with owner, John Forzani on different projects. He was a mentor to me on a number of occasions. One of those mentoring occasions happened at a shoe trade shows in Toronto he said "Eldon, hang with me for the day I will show you how it’s done". As we went through the trade show, rarely did he talk business with any of the vendors though he was doing million dollar deals. I was hoping to see firsthand what my prior business training meant. John knew all the owners of the majors and minor vendors, their family and kids and had genuine personal conversations with those vendors. He just look at me said it’s not about business it’s about connection. Wow. I learn the most that day in all my business education. So my first clinical models and business plans was biased on BUSINESS IS NOT ABOUT BUSINESS. Keeping in mind that management of a clinic is very important. I had my first personal affirmation of this after about a year working hard to develop my own clinic. I was at the national symposium in Lake Louise and during the break, one of the key note speakers who I worked with closely, was been hounded for referrals from a few individuals at once. I decided to come to the rescue. The speaker was an avid skier and we previously talked about the new skis he was excited to try. I quietly went up to him and loudly asked how the new skis worked out. We had a great chat while the others just walk away. During my career I have studied business in school and I am currently working toward a MBA. So I believe in learning as much as possible. However, I always leave the business out of my patient contact. Been a health care service. I recommend always keeping the CARE first and foremost.

I have been lucky in my career to have some great teachers, mentors and opportunities to grow. I was able to develop orthotics techniques from a design and prescription point of view. Which after 34 years I still use them and honored that a few of my colleges using some of the same applications that I use to teach. Though one of my most learning experiences came within a year of practice. I already had a successful clinic, doing research and lecturing. Then I had a patient that came back with a very different orthotic that worked for them, then the one I dispensed did not. Humbled, I realized I needed to expand my view.

I realized, lot of different devices can work for similar conditions.

Setting out on a mission to continuing learning and further understanding even to this day, since that initial experience. I have worked with a few larger companies in Canada and seen many success and failures of the company's application of orthotics. I added to my knowledge base and the "keep it simple principal" always comes out on top. Between constant emerging 3 d techs, points of view from patients and practitioners, to the physical and emotional element of pain management, which has lead orthotic industry making to complicated of devices that were getting dispensed. My belief some were doing too much. This resulted in making patient adaptation to the orthotics to difficult. However, there are also clients that do need a lot more than keeping it simple, that where the PEDORTHIST comes in.

Learn about business

In the end, you have to learn about business. Commerce has literally has been around for thousands of years. Most concepts we think of new, have already been done.

A few more thoughts

1. Take night classes in business, learn the basis, how to read a financial statements, Contract law, Human resources etc.

2. Focus of effective marketing by analysis. Find out where your clients are coming from. At least once a year survey at least 30 clients through a questioners and limit about 6 questions. The first question should be: How did you hear about us? Collect the results and make necessary adjustments to your marketing plan.

3. Network, network and network.

4. Take a holiday once a year.

5. Make sure you have a life outside your business. It’s about a balanced life.

6. By educating yourself you will effectively be able to manage the need for outside consultants.

7. be nice, to your customer staff and in public. (It’s a small world).