The Frugal Office

I've been working as an office manager in a Chiropractic facility for almost 20 years--a job that I absolutely love. Keeping things in order in the most chaotic of financial times is something that we office managers have to become creative with on a daily basis. The two most important things that I've learned over the years that have helped to weather the storms of ever-changing regulations that sometimes prevent profit growth-like insurance mandates, fee-schedule cuts-and so on--is to 1. keep in-house overhead usage costs down and 2. keep promoting your business any chance you get.

Obviously-keeping overhead costs from overtaking the business is essential to making a profit-which these days is a blessing! Oftentimes in a busy office-it just becomes easier to just order whatever and from wherever without really weighing out the costs. Ordering items just becomes one of the many tasks that need to get done--but if you really take a little extra time and try to utilize better spending practices--you'll see that at the end of the sales year--you may actually have a little bit more capitol to work with--and maybe you'll have some leverage to convince your boss just how affordable it now is to give you that raise...

I don't care how successful you think your practice is-you should never have the mentality of--we are fine-we don't need any more patients/clients--they know where to find us...that kind of thinking will keep you "stuck" in an average spot of your business potential. There should always be room for more people who want the services your company has to offer and will pay you for it!If you get so busy that you can't handle the rush--you can always add more support staff. Wouldn't that be the ultimate success!! I can already hear the rebuttal argument: "Have you seen the cost of traditional print ads?" True--the general ad in a newspaper or other print media is quite costly. There are other smaller-and less expensive ways to get your name out to the public and to keep name recognition. What may seem to be cheap-throwaway items like pens, magnets, notepads, etc. are actually useful tools that help your patients/clients to remember you and have your information quickly. These items are things that most people have around them on a daily basis and serve as a reminder of what services you have to offer them.

Click on the following links for useful, one-stop shopping of your practice needs and be sure to utilize the coupons for extra savings.

One of the companies I've been using for years is the National Pen Company. They have high quality promo products at very low prices. Often they offer two for one deals and introductory specials that give you a lot of product without spending too much money.Click on their "free products" link to take advantage of these excellent deals. Search their site for products that can help generate company recognition and customer satisfaction. Many of our patients tell us that they look forward to our giveaways and often hand out our promo products to their friends and family to generate in-house referrals--the best-and most lasting customers come from this type of marketing. Be sure to use the coupon code ps65zt at checkout to get free set up and 20% off on most items.



Shop here for other great deals on personalized pens and promo items with free 24 hour rush delivery on specific products.



Another great shop for promo items...



Need a unique logo for your business?? Here is a truly affordable site that helps you to create your very own logo to help make your business stand out and get noticed. They also have promotional products to help solidify your logo recognition.


$20 LogoWorks Coupon

A really "sweet" and memorable way to promote your business is to use personalized M&Ms-They make excellent gifts and are perfect to use at trade shows or fairs.


MY M&M'S For Business Gifts - Free Logo Setup - $100 Value!

For those of you who wear scrubs/uniforms-this link has deeply discounted items along with shoes and accessories to fit your daily comfort needs. Free shipping is often offered-click on the site for details.



For your office supply needs-here is a link that offers some good deals. The selection may not be as vast as some of the larger office supply vendors-but I can't say that they are a bad site. Enter code BON55 at check out to get $5.00 off your purchase of $50.00 or more.


Free Shipping on Office Supplies & Office Furniture

A really good site that offers club warehouse type savings when you increase your order sizes to case quantities is Bulk Office Supply. They do have fair and competitive prices plus a large selection of items to fulfill your office needs. There are no membership fees and you may also order items individually if a case is not something you want to order.



Here is another interesting office supply site that offers free shipping on orders of $75.00 or more and has a large inventory of items that you can use to help run your office effectively.



One of the biggest expenses I have are printer supplies-toners, drums, etc-these items are so crazy expensive and of course are things that you must have in order to have a functioning office. I have to admit that I was leery at first about buying printer/ink supplies from a vendor other than Staples/Office Depot etc--but wow-what an amazing difference in price when I found these guys--and-I can't say that I've encountered any issues. The printing quality is exactly the same at a FRACTION of the prices I was used to paying. This is definitely the site to see to get huge savings on all your ink/toner needs plus more. Click on the site to save even more with a 10% coupon and free shipping on orders of $45.00 or more.


Save $10 off all orders over $40 and receive FREE SHIPPING from Carrot Ink today!


Here is a fairly good site where you can browse for your printing needs. They offer high quality brochures that you can personalize to showcase your business services.
Look on the site for discounts and shipping promos.



Talk about incredible savings on your printing needs. If you've never been on it before-you have to click on this link for unbelievable discounts on all your business cards, labels, stamps, letterhead, cards, and so may more items. The best part is their "FREE" section where for a small handling fee-you can get many items of your own choice-customized for you-for FREE. The quality is fine and the prices can't be beat!



Remember-to get these savings-you must shop directly from my site!


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