What Running a Chiropractic Office Taught Me About Marketing
Lessons from a decade of brick-and-mortar business ownership.
"Those conversations planted a seed I didn't even know was growing."
Managing a small business means wearing multiple hats all day, every day. You probably already knew this, but what if one of those doesn’t fit well? The hat of “marketing.”
I never thought a chapter(s) in my book called "life" would have been devoted to entrepreneurship. I went to college, graduated, worked in corporate aviation for 10 years, and then joined my husband at our family business for the next 10 years. The first photo above was taken around 2013. Taking blood pressure at a church festival. Just babies at the time. Oh my…how time flies.
Let’s talk about the story. Well, a brick-and-mortar business is a whole different animal. If you’ve ever had one or currently have one, you know that it’s not just about showing up and heading home. For me it was the scheduling, the billing, the marketing, and the whole patient experience. Of course, the adjusting was left to the expertise of my other half!
What did it feel like to wear all the hats? Both rewarding and overwhelming. The feeling of having something of our own, something we built, and a place where patients became family filled us with pride and joy beyond words. Overwhelming? Of course. The pressure of checking all the boxes in the medical industry and the day-to-day operations was not for the weak. I was in the trenches; I saw firsthand what it is like to run a small business. You are the one managing every single task and making every single decision. You are the one responsible for bringing people in the door and making sure your presence is known and respected.
I’ll never forget in 2020 when the world suddenly changed, sitting at our dining room table thinking, "If we don’t maintain our presence and keep our business in front of people, there will be no business." I felt the need to make sure we stayed afloat, a way to make the business feel alive in a time when things were fading away.
I started creating and marketing small wellness boxes that could be shipped. We ramped up our email marketing and our social presence. The digital world wasn’t as saturated as it is now, so messaging and content were a bit different then. We used the tools we had at the time to stay “out there."
As a business owner, finding manageable ways to “stay out there” is a non-negotiable. Finding those ways that work for you. Ways that don’t make you hate marketing your business. Those little systems that bring people in the door. The systems that don’t drain you and the systems that make you excited to post and talk about your business.
I learned over the years that consistency in the systems we built, showing up for the business, and building trust with our audience and, in this case, our patients were also part of the many hats that were worn.
I found myself having multiple conversations with patients every day at the front desk about their general wellness. Their struggles at work, their struggles at home, and obviously their physical struggles. I would listen and be their sounding board, offer my suggestions, and simply allow them to use the space we created to be a safe space. A place where when you entered, you felt the calmness and the care.
Those conversations planted a seed I didn't even know was growing 🪴
Fast forward to today, a different chapter built on similar principles. No brick-and-mortar, but a digital space built with similar principles. The chiropractic world taught me how to wear all the hats, create systems that are sustainable, and stand out in a time when the world was changing.
Sharing our services, what made us unique, and how we can get patients in the door turned into a marketing plan for our small business. I grew to love this part of our business and found myself dreading the time I spent on billing and EOBs.
Maybe for you…you love your craft, you love what you do, and you love the people you support, but you despise bringing them in the door. I get it, and I completely understand those hats that you’re wearing. If you’re overwhelmed, it doesn’t have to feel that way. You may be closer than you think. A few small tweaks, focused organization, and someone in your corner rooting for you can make all the difference in the world🧡