Micro versus Macro Demographics for Practices

"I heard that Indiana sucks."

"I heard the Phoenix is overcrowded with dentists."

"I heard that you can't swing a dead cat in Salt Lake City without hitting a dermatologist."

No kidding. I have heard it all and much more besides. And what is most interesting is that none of these statements is necessarily wrong. The problem is, they are irrelevant.

A practice area as small as three Zip Codes will define a signficant number of practice types. These include dentists, chiropractors, and veterinarians along with many others. You just don't need to look to the entire metropolitan area to determine the viability of a site. Rather, it is a unit of geography much smaller than this that will define the viability of a site.

So, does Indiana suck?

It is hard to deny that the statistics for the state overall are challenging. Even if we took a fairly middle-sized city like Gary, we could say, it is not positive. But does that mean that no new practice can or should open in Gary?

Of course not!

As we consider the work of a major downtown developer (New Gary Development Group), it seems that someone finally figured out that Gary is an easy drive and train-ride from Chicago. They are taking the "rust belt" image and making Gary a little mroe "people friendly." More suburban developments are going in on reclaimed farm land on the south side of town. This is useful when you consider that the Median Price for a home in Chicago is $261,000 but is only $124,600 in Gary.

Can we recommend practices in ANY part of Gary will be a good idea? Nope. But we can say confidently that even a site that has had such a poor image and bad reputation can hold promise if we look at the Micro versus Marco Economics (and Demographics) of a community.

In conclusion, be creative in your location selections and you will be well-served. There are some gold nuggets in MANY markets others have considered dead, dead, dead.