Expect A Miracle
Chirosports Sydney City - Feature Practice
January 18th 2010 07:40
Chirosports Sydney City
Dr Adrian Couzner
Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
Daily, 293,000 workers converge into the bustling central business district of Sydney, Australia’s largest city. The metropolitan area population currently sits at approximately 4.34 million (2008 census). Sydney is the state capital of New South Wales and the site of the first British colony in Australia. The city is built around Sydney harbour and is noted for the Opera House, Harbour Bridge and its’ famous beaches. Sydney is one of the most multicultural cities in the world, which reflects its role as a major destination for immigrants to Australia.
It is within the CBD of this beautiful city that my clinic sits - Chirosports Sydney City. Now, let me take you back to where it all began. I was born and raised in Adelaide, South Australia and from a relatively young age I knew I wanted to be in healthcare. My father was a University Lecturer in Biomechanics/Kinesiology, my mother a HR Manager in Community Health, and my sister was a Dentist. While studying for year 12, I started to experience headaches and fortunately for me my parents knew what to do. They sent me off for my first adjustment with a Chiropractor and guess what? It worked! My parents had been receiving Chiropractic care for years, as they were both keen Volleyball players. This sparked my interest in Chiropractic. Unfortunately, Chiropractic was not offered in South Australia and in order to study Chiropractic I would need to either move to Sydney or Melbourne. I shifted the idea for a short time and decided to study Psychology at the University of Adelaide, beginning in 1990. It was only two weeks into my first semester when I met Andrian Turczynowicz (now a great Chiropractor in Adelaide) in a physics tutorial. He told me how he had enrolled in Chiropractic and how great it was, and that started me thinking again. So, I went home one night and told my parents that I wanted to become a Chiropractor and they said “Go for it!”. The next day I enrolled. It meant I would do night school Chiropractic subjects for three years while I completed a Bachelor of Science and then move to Sydney to commence post-graduate Chiropractic at Macquarie University. I guess I had the safety net that if I decided not to move to Sydney then at least I had a bachelor degree and could do postgraduate studies from there. In fact, at the end of the science degree I was offered Honours in Physiology but decided to come to Sydney anyway and try this Chiropractic thing.
I was 20 years old when I moved to Sydney to commence the Masters program. I had never been to Sydney, but of course had seen lots of pictures. I fell in love with the place and before long the Masters program was over and 1995 was my first year in practice. My first job as an Associate was with Alfie Arcidiacono, the clinic was Chirosports West Sydney. I was only 22 in my first year of practice, but probably still looked 18. I grew facial hair to make me look older. I think it worked! After a year with Alfie, he asked me if I wanted to also work in his city rooms which he owned with Michael Cohen, to which I agreed. The city clinic was the complete opposite to the western Sydney office. I quickly learned how to deal with business people - demanding, time poor and stressed to the max.
After four years as an associate, I spoke to Alfie and Michael about my interest in owning my own practice. They decided to sell the city practice to me and I would keep it as a Chirosports practice. That was ten years ago now. Our practice is called Chirosports Sydney City. We are part of the Chirosports group of practices, a group of affiliated practices based in the Sydney Metropolitan area. As a group, we have 8 clinic locations. We combine our skills, knowledge and energy to the group to help each other grow and prosper in Chiropractic. We inter-refer regularly and enjoy the benefits of supporting each other.
Our practice has been through a few changes over the years. We began as a two room clinic within a prominent medical centre opposite Wynyard station. Two years ago we bought our own commercial premise in a beautiful art deco building in the financial district of Sydney. The building is on the corner of Hunter and Bligh Streets and is the also the new home of Neil Perry’s Rockpool Bar and Grill. This famous restaurateur has taken the ground floor and basement levels and has converted them into two amazing restaurants. This has created a lot of through traffic and put our building on the map.
We sit on level 5 and don’t have any street signage. Our clinic is comprised of 6 rooms and a reception area. We offer services in Chiropractic, Podiatry, Remedial Massage, Nutrition, and Pilates. We have a dedicated X-ray room. We have three extraordinary CA’s. The fit-out for the clinic is fresh, modern and slightly corporate. Our clients are mainly between 25 and 55, they are corporate and the split is 60/40 women to men. They exercise and spend between 60 to 80 hours at work per week. Most of our clients are word of mouth referrals and the rest are from internet searches.
The mood is fun, friendly, inviting and professional. We are forever receiving comments like “This seems like a great place to work”, and “You guys are always smiling and happy”. This is the way we like it and this is the way we’ve created it. We love working together as a team. We are big on communication, daily huddles, weekly meetings and lots of post it notes!! We are solution focused - everything can be solved. We love people.
So what do I know now after 14 years in practice? You need to know what it is you want and you need to write it down. You need to surround yourself with amazing staff, mentors, chiropractors and business people. You need to be a leader to both your staff and clients. If you want your staff to be dedicated and committed you need to show them dedication and commitment first. You need to spend time and money educating your CA’s so they develop the passion for Chiropractic too. You need to give, give, give and you will get it back 10 fold. You need to listen. There is always something to learn. Sometimes you need to take yourself out of the equation. You need coaching, like an athlete needs it. You need balance in your life. You need to be a great communicator. You need to do things that make you happy. You are human and you won’t always get it right, but you have an opportunity to reflect and correct.
In closing, I believe your practice is a reflection on your personality. You need to create an environment where you want to hang out and where people will be attracted to. This is my practice, Chirosports Sydney City, and I love it!
Archives of the previous Featured Cliinics are posted in the members area. For as little as US$9.95 you can purchase an online streaming audio and instantly become a member of powerful-practices.com and gain full access to the entire members' resources.
Dr Adrian Couzner
Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
Daily, 293,000 workers converge into the bustling central business district of Sydney, Australia’s largest city. The metropolitan area population currently sits at approximately 4.34 million (2008 census). Sydney is the state capital of New South Wales and the site of the first British colony in Australia. The city is built around Sydney harbour and is noted for the Opera House, Harbour Bridge and its’ famous beaches. Sydney is one of the most multicultural cities in the world, which reflects its role as a major destination for immigrants to Australia.
It is within the CBD of this beautiful city that my clinic sits - Chirosports Sydney City. Now, let me take you back to where it all began. I was born and raised in Adelaide, South Australia and from a relatively young age I knew I wanted to be in healthcare. My father was a University Lecturer in Biomechanics/Kinesiology, my mother a HR Manager in Community Health, and my sister was a Dentist. While studying for year 12, I started to experience headaches and fortunately for me my parents knew what to do. They sent me off for my first adjustment with a Chiropractor and guess what? It worked! My parents had been receiving Chiropractic care for years, as they were both keen Volleyball players. This sparked my interest in Chiropractic. Unfortunately, Chiropractic was not offered in South Australia and in order to study Chiropractic I would need to either move to Sydney or Melbourne. I shifted the idea for a short time and decided to study Psychology at the University of Adelaide, beginning in 1990. It was only two weeks into my first semester when I met Andrian Turczynowicz (now a great Chiropractor in Adelaide) in a physics tutorial. He told me how he had enrolled in Chiropractic and how great it was, and that started me thinking again. So, I went home one night and told my parents that I wanted to become a Chiropractor and they said “Go for it!”. The next day I enrolled. It meant I would do night school Chiropractic subjects for three years while I completed a Bachelor of Science and then move to Sydney to commence post-graduate Chiropractic at Macquarie University. I guess I had the safety net that if I decided not to move to Sydney then at least I had a bachelor degree and could do postgraduate studies from there. In fact, at the end of the science degree I was offered Honours in Physiology but decided to come to Sydney anyway and try this Chiropractic thing.
I was 20 years old when I moved to Sydney to commence the Masters program. I had never been to Sydney, but of course had seen lots of pictures. I fell in love with the place and before long the Masters program was over and 1995 was my first year in practice. My first job as an Associate was with Alfie Arcidiacono, the clinic was Chirosports West Sydney. I was only 22 in my first year of practice, but probably still looked 18. I grew facial hair to make me look older. I think it worked! After a year with Alfie, he asked me if I wanted to also work in his city rooms which he owned with Michael Cohen, to which I agreed. The city clinic was the complete opposite to the western Sydney office. I quickly learned how to deal with business people - demanding, time poor and stressed to the max.
After four years as an associate, I spoke to Alfie and Michael about my interest in owning my own practice. They decided to sell the city practice to me and I would keep it as a Chirosports practice. That was ten years ago now. Our practice is called Chirosports Sydney City. We are part of the Chirosports group of practices, a group of affiliated practices based in the Sydney Metropolitan area. As a group, we have 8 clinic locations. We combine our skills, knowledge and energy to the group to help each other grow and prosper in Chiropractic. We inter-refer regularly and enjoy the benefits of supporting each other.
Our practice has been through a few changes over the years. We began as a two room clinic within a prominent medical centre opposite Wynyard station. Two years ago we bought our own commercial premise in a beautiful art deco building in the financial district of Sydney. The building is on the corner of Hunter and Bligh Streets and is the also the new home of Neil Perry’s Rockpool Bar and Grill. This famous restaurateur has taken the ground floor and basement levels and has converted them into two amazing restaurants. This has created a lot of through traffic and put our building on the map.
We sit on level 5 and don’t have any street signage. Our clinic is comprised of 6 rooms and a reception area. We offer services in Chiropractic, Podiatry, Remedial Massage, Nutrition, and Pilates. We have a dedicated X-ray room. We have three extraordinary CA’s. The fit-out for the clinic is fresh, modern and slightly corporate. Our clients are mainly between 25 and 55, they are corporate and the split is 60/40 women to men. They exercise and spend between 60 to 80 hours at work per week. Most of our clients are word of mouth referrals and the rest are from internet searches.
The mood is fun, friendly, inviting and professional. We are forever receiving comments like “This seems like a great place to work”, and “You guys are always smiling and happy”. This is the way we like it and this is the way we’ve created it. We love working together as a team. We are big on communication, daily huddles, weekly meetings and lots of post it notes!! We are solution focused - everything can be solved. We love people.
So what do I know now after 14 years in practice? You need to know what it is you want and you need to write it down. You need to surround yourself with amazing staff, mentors, chiropractors and business people. You need to be a leader to both your staff and clients. If you want your staff to be dedicated and committed you need to show them dedication and commitment first. You need to spend time and money educating your CA’s so they develop the passion for Chiropractic too. You need to give, give, give and you will get it back 10 fold. You need to listen. There is always something to learn. Sometimes you need to take yourself out of the equation. You need coaching, like an athlete needs it. You need balance in your life. You need to be a great communicator. You need to do things that make you happy. You are human and you won’t always get it right, but you have an opportunity to reflect and correct.
In closing, I believe your practice is a reflection on your personality. You need to create an environment where you want to hang out and where people will be attracted to. This is my practice, Chirosports Sydney City, and I love it!
Archives of the previous Featured Cliinics are posted in the members area. For as little as US$9.95 you can purchase an online streaming audio and instantly become a member of powerful-practices.com and gain full access to the entire members' resources.
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