Building a Practice on a Budget Series: Shop Til You Drop
Real-life tips from Pacific College Alumna and Founder/President of Pink Image Breast Thermography Clinic Wendy Sellens, LAc
Welcome to Week 2 of the Building a Practice on a Budget Series: Shop Til You Drop! We don’t want you to literally “drop” so we’re saving you some time with these pro shopping and decorating tips from Wendy. Ready? Get set. Shop!
1. Paint Job
A good paint job is something every new space will most likely need. You want to create your own vibe in your new clinic, and paint can lend itself in a dramatic and inexpensive way. Know this: Paint is always on sale and you should definitely go with the brand that currently is on sale. Some compromise will have to happen, but embrace it and go with it! I found a couple gallons of dark plum paint for $5. Guess what? I have a beautiful dark plum and white floor room and I love it! Eventually, everything will come together.
2. Decorations
Decorations are the most difficult to budget! Style is the key to your space. I bought cheap natural “as is” IKEA curtains - one for $5, versus two for $40 new. I stenciled them with gold ivy and tied with gold ripped cloth. Again, stenciling and hemming the curtains takes time, but you will save money. I had my decorations, pillows, wall art, vases etc. picked out before I started building. I waited till there was a sale and free shipping, and then I pounced. Some companies will give you a percentage off if you get a card. I bought my massage tables at Costco, I waited for the sale and got them for $150 each instead of $250 each. Be patient. Be organized. It pays.
3. Just Ask
Don’t be afraid to ask your friends and family! They want to see you succeed and probably have skills you don’t. It is not easy building your space; you have to know how to build walls, paint, run electricity and lay flooring. Doing the build out yourself will save you thousands. Our build out would have cost us around $25,000 if we hired help, but with volunteers, we continued to work our current jobs, build our clinic, shop, and completed our clinic within just six weeks. Be prepared to sacrifice your sleep a bit; it’s true that time is money. Every day you are still working on your space you are not earning money! Be organized, have a plan, and you can get it done in no time.
4. Be Creative
I wanted my space to be beautiful and efficient. With only 600 square feet, two doors to our private rooms were expensive and took up too much space. IKEA once again had the solution - large wood mirrors were on sale for just $69. With some creativity, we built our back walls with a lip, put wheels on the bottom, and now we have beautiful mirror doors! When shut, they camouflage our private rooms perfectly. So, don’t be afraid to get creative; you’re not making a life-investment here, so you can afford to think outside the box.
When building on a budget your time is the key to saving money. There is a great sense of accomplishment to know you built it yourself. So be creative, ask your friends and family for help, and shop for those deals!
To find out more of Wendy’s marketing tips, check back next week for the final piece of our Building a Practice on a Budget Series: Market Smart. If you missed the first part of our series, Get Started, see it
here
. Visit Wendy at
www.MyPinkImage.com
.
