With the start of the new year we have the chance to leave behind any unreached goals or bad habits from 2009 and start fresh with more focused and attainable goals.

One of the most important things you can do to jumpstart a new year is to take time and assess the highs and lows of the last year and plan for the new one. 

Consider putting adequate time on things you perceive as weaknesses.  How can you improve on those things and make them strengths this year? 

Take some time to evaluate your strengths.  Decide how to continue those so they become a pattern of excellence.  This can all be planned at a start of the year office meeting.  

I have heard many successful practitioners in our profession talk about the importance of the office meeting.  Your office staff might just include you and one other person, but the meetings are still important.  Our office meeting was not large by any means - just the other doctor in the office (who happens to be my wife) and me. 

We both had goals and ideas of where 2010 could bring our office.  The main goal for both of us was continued growth for the practice and to some degree inspiration.  

How can we grow or better express or promote our value?  Being relatively new practitioners still, we don't have a huge budget for improvement. 

That said, we purchased a rather outdated office and there is definitely room to improve!  To improve the perception of value in our office within our budget, we decided on fresh paint in treatment rooms and improved filing in the office area to streamline the space.  These are small changes, but they are changes we hope will make our patients feel more comfortable in the office and keep us excited about coming to the office!

This is very exciting to me because it is a new start. 

Buying an existing practice, there can be a fear of changing from what the previous doc had.  Slowly, this year we hope to start incorporating some ideas that we have to improve on the good start we've had so far. 

In future blogs, I will address other changes we're hoping to make this year - new equipment, new methods of marketing, and any exciting things that pop up in 2010.

Wishing you a prosperous and successful new year!