F
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O
M
T
H
E
PRESIDENT
Joseph “Jay” Zaffater, C. Ped.,
BOC Pedorthist
PFA President
[email protected]
Is It Time to Diversify
Your Business?
O
ver the years I have heard the old saying “don’t put all your eggs in one
basket.” No matter what context this saying is used in, you still can interpret
it in a number of ways. For me, my proverbial basket is my business and all
it entails.
Like many of you, as a business professional, over the last 10 years,
this basket has grown to include a number of things; one of them being product
reimbursements from insurance … primarily Medicare. Right now my business
receives 90% of its revenue based on Medicare and the remainder is private insurance
and private pay. Over the years I kept telling myself that I need to create more
diversification in my business model to accommodate bringing in more income.
Needless to say I never really fully pursued this expanding business model. Now the
current one I have been working with for a number of years is somewhat outdated and
driving my Medicare dependency, (a much lower percentage of my entire revenue
stream), into a one-sided view of how much hard work and extra time I am doing
physically to keep up. In other words, this translates into an abundance of overtime
that pays very little and beyond what it should take to run a successful business
operation.
PFA has expanded its commitment to
bringing more retail oriented education,
strategy training and information to our many
members who are “retail brothers in arms”
– pedorthic practitioners who are looking to
grow a “cash business” model by expanding
or creating new business opportunities.
Don’t get me wrong, my current business model is producing a profit, but as the
economy and the pedorthics industry changes, that profit margin is slowly chipping
away. I know I am not the only one in this situation, so it figures that many of us will
have to bite the bullet and realize that it is time for all of us to start thinking outside the
box.
Each time Medicare decides on any proposed change in policy or a reimbursement
reduction, I find myself starting to shift into panic mode. For anyone who does not
have a retail business model, we are the lucky few who know the ebb and flow of the
Medicare game. To finally improve my business and practice future, and through
my involvement and networking with a variety of practitioners from the PFA, I have
finally heeded the advice of my retail colleagues, and am changing my attitude and
commitment to introducing a retail component to my business model.
ABOUT PFA
The Pedorthic Footcare Association
(PFA), founded in 1958, is the not-for-
profit professional association which
represents the interests of the certified
and/or licensed pedorthist and
supports the pedorthic profession at
large.
Through PFA’s efforts, pedorthics – the
management and treatment of
conditions of the foot, ankle, and lower
extremities requiring fitting, fabricating,
and adjusting of pedorthic devices – is
a well-established allied health
profession which makes an invaluable
contribution to public health.
MISSION
PFA’s mission is to enhance the
effectiveness and efficiency of
credentialed providers of lower
extremity pedorthic modalities through
education; increase the demand for
services through marketing; and
promote the right to practice through
government affairs activities.
Pedorthic Footcare Association
8400 Westpark Drive
2nd Floor
McLean, VA 22102
phone (703) 610-9035
fax (703) 995-4456
email [email protected]
website www.pedorthics.org
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twitter @pfapedorthics
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And PFA is also following this thinking for their membership.
Scan the QR code with a smartphone
to learn more about PFA.
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Pedorthic Footcare Association www.pedorthics.org