How I Opened My New Office For Under $5000

by Richard Rogovin, DC

The most important thing to remember is that since you are starting out on a limited budget you don't want to get too deep in debt. You already have your school loans etc. So the best way to get started in an office is to take over one someone else left. If you are in an area medium to large, that should be no problem at all. So I scouted the area looking for offices for rent. I looked in the classifieds. I drove all around the area where a lot of the doctors have offices.

I found an office in a small strip center near a major intersection. Remember you don't want to be at the end of town in either direction unless people commute by you every day. That's what they do in my case. It had 1200 square feet and was an Aluminum siding selling place where they sat in the office making cold calls. There were 4 offices inside already built out. There was no reception area to speak of just an open area with a ledge in front. However the carpet and wallpaper were only 6 months old. The rent was only $4.50 a square foot!! So I took it. By the way the landlord has only raised it once by $30 monthly in 10 years. I had a carpenter come in and build the wall separating the area which would be the reception area from the business office. I am useless with construction skills so if you have them it will be even cheaper for you. I had drapes put in the front window.

Now for the furniture. You should never buy new furniture on a limited budget. Look in the classifieds for used furniture. I went to a mortgage company that had gone under. I bought a nice secretary desk and return and my office desk and a dozen chairs all for $500. I had a good table from school and I checked around with local DCs and bought used tables and an ems machine.

Now for the x-ray. That is the one piece of equipment that I recommend you get new unless you know how to really judge if a used one will work well and how long etc. And you have to lease it. Its fully deductible and yes you pay a lot out but it pays for itself a hundred times over inconvenience for patient's and revenue etc. Get the processor in the lease deal. Play x-ray leasing companies against each other to get the best deal. My wife cosigned for me as she had a job and well I didn't.

Get a yellow page column ad not a big display one.

The best way is to be in a suburb of a big city. The people in the suburb use the big book from the city. In the column ad you use all black letters with the name of your area in it. People use the yellow page for the AREA they are in not necessarily for shopping doctors. I know this because my ad came out before I had an office and I was getting 3 or 4 calls a week. I had it hooked to an answering machine telling them to wait which of course most didn't.

I had a wooden sign put up because I couldn't afford a lit sign so I put a spotlight near it.

I broke even after 4 months and went on from there.

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