Finding Direction
Posted on September 13, 2007 - Filed Under Uncategorized |
I have been feeling torn lately. I love the idea of low cost acupuncture. There are things about Lisa Rohleder’s Working Class Acupuncture that I really like.  I want to help people who don’t think they can afford acupuncture and I refuse to go back to taking insurance. I loved doing the group work at Hooper when I was an intern at Oregon College of Oriental Medicine.
On the other hand, I also love interacting with my patients. I’ve got a great deal of interest in the psychological aspects of illness.  I’m interested in five element acupuncture.  I’m more introverted and my comfort level is served by being a one on one practitioner.
I’ve gone through Lisa’s book, Love your Microbusiness. I think about those communities of which I am naturally a part of and am trying to think how I can better serve them.
I am also thinking about how I can create a community for my acupuncture patients. Â I think that community is one thing so many people lack in their lives. We are so focused on work work work that we forget about the pleasures of just being part of a community. I have this vision of creating a practice that entices people back to just BE. Â However, beyond that I have no insights, so I am hoping something will turn up.
I am also quite plugged in (inadvertently) to the horse community in my area. I’m not a horse person, though I consider myself an animal person. It’s not that I don’t like horses. I quite like them. However, I have never had the passion for them that drives the people that I consider horse people.  One of the women I have met in this community is considering creating a healing space with horses and I know she needs some other assistance in creating this reality. As pets and animals are definitely part of the community I love, I would love to be part of that as well and she would be interested in working out a way to have my acupuncture talents fit into the program she wants to create.
In some ways I feel that there are several possible routes, but none of them seem to be the way I should focus now. Â This leaves me with this feeling of “So how do I market myself?” I want to find a niche that feels like “me” but I am struggling and so am continuing on with my current general marketing.
I suspect that this is true of most practitioners both as they begin practice and as their passion for their practice wanes. Â How do we keep our focus on drawing people in when we are in a state of flux?
For the moment, my goals are to work on ways of interjecting my person into my practice. While I love many things about my office, it isn’t a place that I just love to go. I need to create a warmer atmosphere that makes me WANT to be there. The more I want to be there, the more patients I’ll have, I’m sure.   I’ll probably also start drawing in more people that I resonate with and will help me find my niche. I also need to remind myself that it may be the process rather than the outcome that’s important.
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I love the idea of low cost acupuncture too! I think that something with so many benefits have to be accessible for everyone of us!
Very Wise Words.
I can relate to your thoughts, even if I am still a third year student. I have been taxing my spleen to death over these things.
I think that, given the issues you address, you can’t help but find your niche if you want to- so keep up the good work!
For my own part, I’m starting up a website and a blog very soon, so feel free to check up on the address above. I’m relatively new to blogging and marketing and with a site like yours here I’m already catching on fast.
Thank You!
Benjamin Arnold