Studio3b Welcomes Chiropractors and Alternative Health Care Providers

For the past 6-1/2 years, I have worked with a nutritional supplement manufacturer in St. Louis, Nutraceutics. I've designed packaging, ads, catalogs, logos, business cards, brochures and all duties associated with being the creative director for the company.

During my work with Nutraceutics, I had the opportunity to speak with many chiropractors and alternative health care providers. The latter group includes, licensed massage therapists, acupuncturists, naturopathic doctors, and others. I've researched this industry extensively and have a passion for this segment of the health care industry. I've found that chiropractors really care about their patient's wellbeing and spend more time with each patient than most MDs. I'm not saying that all MDs are in a rush and don't care about their patients, but I am saying that because of how our insurance and drug companies operate, MDs have less and less time to spend with patients. I've also spoken with many MDs that want to spend more time with their patients and really get into the patient's whole health. This is not the norm. Of course, these are my views and not based on any sort of official research, it's my own experience.

I believe in a mix of traditional medicine with holistic therapies. If only Western medicine could adopt the European approach to health care, by first prescribing a holistic treatment and then using prescriptions drugs as a secondary treatment if the holistic approach doesn't pan out for the patient. I contend that the current state of our health care system here in the United States would be drastically different if this was the case. We would have a healthier general public. Perhaps then, this group of health care providers would no longer need to be referred to as alternative. It would be commonplace.

Because of my strong belief in utilizing holistic therapies for myself and my family (and I'm including my two boxers and two kitties in my definition of family) I am working with many clinics to better promote themselves and their services. By combining attention-grabbing graphics (my specialty) with their mission and vision, we have been able to work together to educate the general public about the many benefits of alternative medicine.

My newest holistic health care client (that just came on board today) is InMotion, located in St. Louis, Missouri. I've personally used their services and Dr. Fitelson helped me overcome a nagging back injury from my college days of working in a warehouse. Just remember, part of the healing process is to do all the exercises prescribed to you. You have to actively participate for this therapy to really work well and be a long-term solution.You can't just swallow a pill to make all your problems go away. InMotion focuses on whole health and it's an honor to work with this clinic.

I will be posting my designs for a postcard campaign in the next couple of days for InMotion.

Do memberships really work?

I recently joined the National Association of Women Business owners (NAWBO) and also the Greater Des Moines Partnership (which is just a fancy name for the chamber of commerce). Having moved with my partner to Des Moines, Ia., from St. Louis, Mo., in late July, I needed a way to get my feet wet and get to know some fellow business owners. I own a one-person graphic design firm named studio3b.

I'm typically a quiet and reserved person, and a self-proclaimed introvert with extroverted tendencies. All introvert really means is how a person processes thoughts and ideas, rather than processing ideas aloud I process and think to myself before opening my mouth. Usually. We'll get to some instances in upcoming blogs where I haven't kept my thoughts to myself.

Back to the question at hand...do memberships really help you network? Yes, they certainly can. After all, it's 3% talent and 97% how you present yourself. For me, I've had it backwards for most of my graphic design career. I had always based my portfolio on 97% talent and believed my work would speak for itself. Wrong!

If you don't find creative ways to network and get the message out about you and your business, you will find that you aren't getting the work you want and deserve. Find an organization that exists for a worthy cause and join. It doesn't even have to be a business organization. I've actually met a lot of business-minded people while volunteering for a not-for-profit organization.

Be careful, though.

You don't want to use that valuable volunteering experience to sell your business. Remember why you joined the organization and use volunteer work to reset your creative processes, while meeting new people. There are appropriate organizations that exist strictly for business networking. In an upcoming blog, I will explore effective ways to network and how not to be that annoying schmoozey person that is always asking for your business.

Until next time, I will continue working on my ongoing design projects. Today I am working on revisions to a database-driven website www.premiumcocktails.com. I decided to launch this site in phases so my client (who owns an upscale martini bar Absolutli Goosed) can approach prospects about purchasing advertising space on her site. It's a little unusual to launch a site without all the components in place, but we are not driving user traffic yet. After all, you do have to keep your clients happy and show them that the product you have produced is worth while and can generate revenue for them.