TRICKS OF THE TRADE
Our Experience for Your Use
This website was created created and co-founded by us – Sarah Breymeier and Ann Dosen.
Both of us have spent nearly ten years in the podiatry industry, attending dozens upon dozens of podiatric meetings and trade shows.
Therefore, we want to put our experience to good use!
Below are some helpful “tricks of the trade” from us to you… enjoy!
GOOD ADVICE – PLAIN AND SIMPLE.
No matter if you work in the podiatric profession as physician, vendor, or meeting organizer/planner, utilizing the tips and resources supplied below will serve you well!
Increase your Productivity and Without Getting Overwhelmed.
I read this book cover to cover in just a couple of days. It’s been a few years since I read it, but it always stands out as one that I recommend to anyone that wants to continue to achieve. Whether you own a small business (like a podiatry practice or a device company), it’s easy to get overwhelmed with all the things you should be doing.
The Slight Edge provides practical/doable advice to help you set your goals and break down the activities that must take place to achieve those goals – step by step. By doing a little bit every single day, you will see big changes over time. There’s no need to do everything in one day, one week, one month, or even one year.
Do one action item every single day and the result will show itself!
-SARAH
Every day I listen to at least one podcast episode while I’m driving or working out to give me inspiration for the day. There are days when I wake up and don’t want to do a single thing other than catch up on episodes of Outlander, but after listening to one of these podcasts, I know I can take over the world! No matter what your daily life brings you, every single person on the planet will get something out of listening to these individuals.
John Maxwell Leadership Podcast – a weekly podcast from the leadership authority John Maxwell. This podcast focuses on the principles, practices, and process of becoming a transformational leader. Even if leadership is not one of your primary goals, the principles translate to any project or position you are in. I always come away with new motivation or a fresh outlook on a current project. Each episode comes with a downloadable resource to work through.
Online Marketing Made Easy with Amy Porterfield – Amy Porterfield is considered the GIANT in the online marketing space. She is so inspiring to listen to. Her episodes include expert interviews, mini execution plans, and secrets from her product and service launches; all tied together by her mission to make each episode as actionable and profitable as possible. Every episode I listen to of hers gets me thinking about the next big thing I want us to tackle. Her advice is tangible and for real life.
Rise Podcast with Rachel Hollis – hosted by the best-selling author of “Girl, Wash Your Face”, this podcast is a series of conversations with business powerhouses and personal development leaders where each episode provides listeners with tactical, valuable takeaways.
-ANN
TRICKS OF THE TRADE
Tips for DPMs
CHECK OUT OUR LIBRARY OF DPM DOWNLOADS – CLICK HERE!
How to Find a Job or Relocate as a DPM – Quick tips from Guest Contributor: Christopher Hood, DPM
Looking for a job, and even more so a new job, can be a stressful process. For those coming out of residency, the decision to start looking has been made for you with the impending graduation after PGY-3 (or 4). But for those currently in practice, the decision is entirely of your own discretion. Regardless of your situation, the process is generally the same. Personally confirm the need for a (new) job. New resident graduate = “I need a job.” Currently employed = Why do you need a new job? What are you missing in your current employment that you [...]
Find Yourself a Study Buddy
Quick Tips from Sarah Hopefully as we forge on after two years of pandemic stress, you are starting to feel more comfortable going to public places - and especially going to meetings that require travel! I know I have missed the on-site meeting scene as well as my "travel buddies" that I'm used to seeing on the road. Speaking of travel buddies - do you have one?! If you haven't noticed, you will rarely see me without my other half - Ann. And while we are besties for the resties, the bonus is that we make an awesome meeting duo [...]
Making Your “A-Ha Moments” Come to Life
Looking back at the last several conferences you've attended, I'm sure there have been some unique moments where you think, "Wow! That's brilliant... I am going to start implementing this in my practice right away!" And then it sits... and sits... and sits... We're all familiar with the concept of, "a great idea means nothing if you don't act on it." It's so easy to get swallowed up by the day-to-day activities and responsibilities that we often don't ever get to the new and exciting ideas that are presented to us during the conferences and events we attend. It's dreadfully [...]
Making Your “A-Ha Moments” Come to Life
Looking back at the last several conferences you've attended, I'm sure there have been some unique moments where you think, "Wow! That's brilliant... I am going to start implementing this in my practice right away!" And then it sits... and sits... and sits... We're all familiar with the concept of, "a great idea means nothing if you don't act on it." It's so easy to get swallowed up by the day-to-day activities and responsibilities that we often don't ever get to the new and exciting ideas that are presented to us during the conferences and events we attend. It's dreadfully [...]
Step Outside Your Comfort Zone
We've hit on this concept in a different way before... meaning, we've previously recommended that you mix up your meeting choices in an effort to experience new ideas (i.e. hear faculty members you've never heard before; attend a niche meeting to sharpen your skills in a specific area; try more management meetings to make your practice more profitable, etc.) But let's take this a step further. I specifically want to focus on meetings that will grow your skillset BEYOND MEDICINE. It's not uncommon to see lectures at foot/ankle meetings which focus on the following: marketing, patient communication, and overall practice management. Most of the time [...]
Getting Back to the Good ‘Ole Days
For the last 18 months, most of the seminars you’ve attended have been virtual. In-person meetings are returning, but attendees have gotten used to being able to earn credits and learn new skills, all while still staying to see patients and have dinner at home. The "old days" of packing up and going to a conference meant traveling to a destination and taking half of the week away from the office. While those days are a bit of a distant memory now, what we don’t realize is that we’re cheating ourselves by not taking full advantage of what in-person [...]
TRICKS OF THE TRADE
Ideas for Meeting Planners
Plotting Your Next Meeting Site
Sarah Breymeier Recently Ann and I have been scouting out sites for a meeting we're helping to organize in November of this year. Obviously, a major part of this process is site selection. BUT this is simply a very short and quick tip for all the meeting planners out there, whether you've done this for several years or are new to the game. I know there are often not hotels that are available on your meetings specific dates that would make EVERYTHING you want possible... but one thing that I feel goes overlooked more times than not is the proximity [...]
The Importance of Coaching Your Speakers
Now, more than ever, conferences must deliver dynamic, engaging content to grab attendees' attention - and keep it. Whether your meeting is in-person or delivered online, meeting planners should work closely with their faculty and coach them on ways to ensure their lecture provides value. Online seminars struggle with this even more. Consider your presenter's volume, lighting, background, and presentation slides. Ensure they have a stable internet connection or consider pre-recording. PRO TIP: if you decide to pre-record, enlist the help of other faculty to form a mini-audience that will encourage the speaker to be energetic while recording. If you have sponsors [...]
Your Meeting Has a Life of Its Own… And That’s a Good Thing!
As you get closer and closer to implementing your educational event, there's going to be a solid amount of time when you reflect on what you've accomplished in years past. When you look back, there are likely some common themes that you always incorporate into your meeting - the aspects that both attendees and exhibitors can depend on and the features that make your event unique. What usually also happens during the planning season, is observing what everyone else is doing. Which you should! It's important to be aware of what other meetings are doing in order to better understand [...]
Scrimping + Saving – and Reallocating
Quick Tips from Ann Meetings can save money by reevaluating the services they think of as standard – such as food during the break times. This year at the FPMA SAM Conference, there were only drinks set out during the breaks and I didn’t even notice there wasn’t any food until one of the organizers mentioned it. Even a lover of food, such as myself, didn’t notice the absence of snacks during the breaks. So ask yourself, how many things are you paying for that wouldn’t be greatly missed if they weren’t there? We saw the APMA National do something [...]
MEETINGS! UNITE!
Quick Tips from Sarah My partnership theme here can't stop, won't stop. For meeting planners, however, it's a little bit different and it could get REALLY tricky. Over the last few years, Ann and I have heard many people (both DPMs and exhibitors) talk about how there are just too many meetings. More feedback needs to be gathered here to really have it stand on two legs (note next month's DPM and exhibitor polls have just been created organically), but I'm sure this concept isn't blowing your mind right now as if you've never heard this complaint. Considering the meeting [...]
Struggling to Reach Young Physicians? We hear you.
Article by Ann Dosen Recently we scheduled several sessions with Young Physicians to discuss their thoughts on in-person meetings. Our goal is to find out what young physicians are looking for when selecting their meetings, including locations, content, cost, time of year, and more. Here’s the problem we ran into – only 10% of people that signed up for a session actually showed up! We did our best to schedule sessions on days and at time when we felt physicians would be able to attend and we even gave away prizes to get their attention. This was frustrating, to say [...]