Professionalization
of
Exercise Physiologyonline
An
international electronic
journal
for exercise physiologists
ISSN
1099-5862
Vol
3 No 2 February 2000
The
Exercise Physiologist as an Entrepreneur: Reflections and
Experiences
in the World of Business
Eric
P. Durak, MSc
Director
- Medical Health and Fitness, Co-Director - The Cancer Well-fit Program,
Santa
Barbara, CA
I
read with keen interest Dr. Tommy Boone's article (1) in the January issue
of
PEPonline.
His insights are thoughtful, and I hope that my additions and reflections
on this subject shed some light on what many think is an eternally long
tunnel of success and prosperity in our profession.
I would
first like to start this article off by telling of a recent conversation
I had with my six year old daughter, Alexandra. One afternoon she
confided in me (crying) that she didn't want to grow up, for she would
have to go to work all the time like mommy and daddy, and she didn't want
to work all the time like we did.
Her
observations stem from the fact that her mommy and daddy are both self-employed,
and live in Southern California - in a brand new house. A recent
report in the Los Angeles times states that the median home price in this
region is $425,000.
The
new world order states that the average working American is worse off at
the end of 1999 in real dollars than they were in 1970. This is a
very dismal proposition for those in many professions, but ever the optimist,
I would like to share my experiences in the world of self-employment in
exercise physiology. I hope that when ASEP members finish this brief
article, they will understand that I believe that our members can be successful
and still maintain their professional identity and status.
A
Brief History
My
venture into self-employment started around 1990 when my funding was cut
on a very promising research career in diabetes and exercise. I made
the journey back to school, and half way through my doctoral program, I
decided that I had enough.
I worked
for two and a half years as a staff personal trainer, but left that job
too, as I felt a little silly giving lectures across the United States
on how trainers can be successful, and I was probably making less than
they were.
My
first endeavor was in publishing a series of books called the MHF Clinical
Exercise Series. However, with no real marketing power, they didn't
sell as well as they could of at first. My second stroke of genius
was to write a book with a colleague on the healthcare system. Looking
back - it again was a bold move. This book - The Ins and Outs
of Medical Insurance Billing has done well over the years, and I am
now working with a distributor, and sell enough copies each year to qualify
this book as a financial success.
Consulting
I
also do consulting. This entails writing proposals to companies and
health clubs to perform some type of consulting service for them.
My first came in 1994 when then - health club president Ernie Zaik of Western
Reserve Club wanted me to draft a proposal for a local health club.
He was interested in my insurance book, and eventually took information
from my efforts (which he paid for) to form a company called Health Care
Dimensions in Tempe, AZ. Today that business is the largest fitness
case management company in the United States, handling capitation contracts
for over 200 health clubs and over 350,000 managed care customers - mostly
seniors.
Another
client was the Marsh, in Minnetonka, MN. It is perhaps the finest
example of a wellness club in the world. My task was to get them
to implement clinical exercise programs into their club, and try to find
a way to bill for their clinical exercise services. To date they
have indeed implemented some new and innovative programs, but have not
been successful in integrating into the healthcare reimbursement structure.
Are
these examples of success vs. failure? No. They both illustrate the
capacity of the exercise physiologist to impart wisdom and information
(the first is a more valuable commodity, the second is what companies pay
for) and how people use it. The HCD example is one of financial success
because the company took my information - along with many other sources,
and build a successful business. The Marsh took my information and
went into another direction. Still successful, but not as lucrative.
Today
I am putting the finishing touches on a partnership agreement between my
company (a sole proprietorship), and a large, Colorado-based therapy production
company. I have two thoughts as I approach this new venture.
One is I am thankful that I have the opportunity to work with a company
like this one - and the other is that it is about time! Many EPs
fail to understand something about the differences between what they were
taught in school, and what is valuable in the working environment. Our
business world runs on production. A personal trainer is more valuable
to a health club if he/she can train 10-15 clients a day, as opposed to
3 health assessments. This is basic supply side economics.
Using
the Internet
So
how do EPs transition and position themselves into the new world order?
First - look to the internet for something that may be a Godsend for professionals.
Out of the 15 million web sites in the www - thousands of them are looking
for GOOD content writers. This means scanning the medical and health
research and coming up with short and concise information bits for consumers.
There is nothing wrong with this type of writing. It is one of the
biggest areas of internet commerce and will continue to grow as the www
grows. In my opinion it is better to have a trained exercise physiologist
with writing skills than a personal trainer who just wants to get his/her
name on the web.
The
second is in R and D. There are many companies that are looking for
quality studies to test their products. For example - there are over
100 natural food products on the market that have energy and sports bars.
I have worked with the Balance Bar Company for over seven years testing
their products. I propose studies, bring them to our hospital IRB,
and administer all aspects of this work - from subject and professional
recruitment to manuscript write up. It is challenging work.
I believe that there should be more of it, as well.
My
opinion of much of the research coming out of medicine today is not very
good. There is a heavy emphasis on biotechnology and new drug development
- and at the opposite end of the spectrum the Institute of Medicine reports
that over 180,000 deaths occur each year as a result of improper drug dispensing
(too much, mixing of drugs, or the wrong prescription). Even in sports
medicine there is an emphasis on specific research that may not have practical
applications. Corporate research offers the EP a chance to design
studies based on their interpretation of the needs of the company, as opposed
to doing research that has already been established.
Contracts
What
do EPs need to know in terms of being successful in the world of self-employment.
One is knowing contracts. A good contracts attorney is worth the
$200+ an hour you pay them. Another is having an example of a non-disclosure
contract handy whenever you pitch an idea such as a new book, exercise
machine, or other endeavor that you have worked hard in creating.
For those who are interested in seeing an example of a non-disclosure contract
- email me at the address below.
Contacts
Another
important element of success is finding the right contacts. Many
exercise physiologists state that they cannot believe how much money "unqualified"
personal trainers earn practicing their trade. This is because many
personal trainers understand the market they are targeting. Many clinical
EPs work in healthcare where their skills are not yet defined in terms
of their reimbursement value. A good example of this is the 1995
Louisiana state licensure law. This was thought to be a model for
reimbursement for other states to follow. It was naturally assumed
that EPs would automatically receive reimbursement for all of their services
by virtue of being state licensed. This has turned out not to be
the case.
Being
an entrepreneur is difficult for EPs because their training is not in business
administration or marketing. They tend to analyze content and go
by what the data reveals. In business, most people learn to trust
their instincts. It is a dichotomy that needs to be tended to in
order to grow and prosper.
Persistence
Perhaps
the final and most important element to being a good entrepreneur is persistence.
There are many ideas that need to be nurtured before they can be brought
to fruition. There are also quite of few people in the business world
who don't think much of your ideas at first. According to most leaders
in the field of business, failure is inevitable and a part of the business
experience. For EP's failure may be equated to rejection. Learning
to work past these hurdles and having a long range plan of action will
drive success. But perhaps in closing it needs to be asked, "What
is the real success?" I leave this article with a quote by R. Marley
from the late 1800s - "Real success it the ability to live your life in
the way you chose". EPs can and will make real strides in the coming
years in healthcare, publishing, and the internet - as they grow their
businesses, as they grow their profession, and make inroad into areas that
today seem very far away.
References
1.
Boone, T. (2000). The exercise physiologists as an entrepreneur. PEPonline.
Vol 3, No. 1 [Online] http://www.asep.org/asep/asep/jan2.html
Suggested
Readings
1.
Ferguson, T. (1996). Health Online. Menlo Park,
CA: Addison-Westley Publishing.
2.
Hawkins, P. (1986). Growing a Business. New York,
NY: Simon and Schuster.
3.
Levinson, J.C. (1993). Guerrilla Marketing. New York, NY:
Houghton Mifflin.
4.
Sharp, V. F. & Sharp, R. M. (1998). WebDoctor. Finding the
Best Healthcare Online. New York, NY: St. Martin Griffins.
5.
Fast
Company Magazine. Perhaps the top internet based business magazine
out today. For subscription information - PO Box 52760, Boulder,
CO 80328. 800-688-1545. www.fastcompany.com
About
the author: Eric Durak is the Director of Medical Health and Fitness
in Santa
Barbara,
CA. He has been self-employed in the areas of consulting, private
practice, research, and writing since 1994. He has written 18 books,
chapters and monographs, self publishing six of them. He is a co-director
in the award winning Cancer Well-fit Program, and this year he is
partnering his company to produce health kits for medical patients
and
the general population. His email address is edurak@medhealthfit.com
Copyright
©1997-1999 American Society of Exercise Physiologists. All Rights
Reserved.
ASEP
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