EP 639: Pandemic Struggles to $10K Monthly Growth: How One Chiropractic Couple Transformed Their Business

The purpose of this show, the purpose of this show, is to guide you to realign with habits that get you to live the life, live the life you've always dreamed of. This, this is the Habit-Based Lifestyle Podcast with Jesse Ewell. This is the Habit-Based Lifestyle where you can access your full potential right now. Finally break free from destructive habits. Dream like if you want it, you can This is where you transform your health, mind, business, and relationships, or do nothing and keep your life the way it is. But if you're ready for change, you're in the right place. This is where you're gonna learn how to live a habit-based lifestyle. You, you are tuning in to the Habit-Based Lifestyle Podcast with, with your host Jesse Ewell. This is the Habit-Based Lifestyle. Let's go!

All right.

Welcome back to the Habit-Based Lifestyle Podcast. I'm your host, Jesse Ewell. Today we got very special guests, uh, Nancy and Taylor. They are the owners of Better Life Chiropractic. Uh, it's in Indiana and, uh, they got, they've been in the Habit-Based Lifestyle Marketing Accelerator program. Uh, it's been about 6 months, but just want to welcome you guys on the show today.

Hey, thank you, Jesse Ewell.

Thanks.

Uh, maybe for each one of you guys, uh, maybe just kind of do a brief intro on kind of like what got you started in chiropractic and then, uh, what got you to start kind of like your own business.

So for myself, uh, I had an injury in wrestling. I got hurt here. I quickly realized that this could be a future for me after what it did for my injury. It, it just took me and showed me that I wasn't really hurt. I just needed a little help. And so, uh, that kind of started, um, an interest in the business world. And, uh, after I became a chiropractor and, sorry, what was your other question, Jesse?

What, what made you guys, what made you wanna start your own practice?

So when I. Uh, noticed that Nancy was kind of wearing down her own body at her other, uh, practice. I was like, look, like the only way you're going to be able to make these decisions and the only way that we're both going to have the life that we want is to work on our own and, and make these not only decisions for ourselves, but for our clients. Because we both saw how much we could actually help people. So that's kind of why I wanted to become a business owner, because Nancy was adjusting on these little platforms to make it so that she could adjust with other doctors on the same tables. So it's just a little thing, but it, it led me to realize like, you gotta change something.

Now, were you working somewhere else or working for yourself at that time?

I was not. I wanted to start from the ground up and I didn't, I didn't want to have any bad habits develop. So it'd be about a year and I'm just diving in. How do you start a business? I'm nervous, you know?

Okay.

So a person like yourself that says, you know, I, you know, this is my world, that it's really. It's really attractive for someone who just dove right into it.

Yeah. And then Nancy, what about you? What's kind of your background and, and your story a little bit?

Yeah. Um, I actually wanted to be a medical doctor, so all the way up to high school, undergrad, that was on that path. But during high school, my dad got sick.

Okay.

Yeah. They misdiagnosed him from a sinus infection to a stroke. And then, you know, on the whole journey you see so many like specialists and it's, It wasn't like, okay, let's see how we can get you feeling better. It's more like, let's just make you comfortable and wait till you— a miracle happens in a way. And so like with me translating for my parents, I wanted to know why. And that was something that was never an answer was given to me. So that kind of deterred me away from the medical field. And funny enough, I found chiropractic in an encyclopedia. I've learned a little bit more about what it was. I, um, went to the school and basically the profession chose me. And so that's kind of why I chose chiropractic, is to learn why and how to maintain health.

That's awesome.

So how long have you guys owned your own business?

Uh, since 2019. Yeah, late '18.

Tell me, uh, you know, some of the things that maybe you guys struggled with you know, early on from 2019, 2020 and, and some of that?

I would say figuring out the format of how our business should run. It was like we kept giving, getting ideas, but nothing really solidified. And so it was just, we ended up doing like pay-per-visit kind of deal and kind of struggled a little bit because most of the The education to the patients is correct, but it's the marketing part that was also like a missing factor for us.

Okay. Taylor, what about you, man?

So we started kind of right before things got kind of interesting with the pandemic situation. So it dropped our books, you know, halfway, and we had to find a way to market in this, you know, how do we market in person? You know, how do we, how do we not market in person in this new world? And so it came back, but we didn't have this core structure like Nancy was saying of this is how you run a business. We were both, you know, young accomplished in some way, uh, clinically, but we had no idea what to do in accordance of just protocol, uh, because we wanted to do everything right and everything we wanted to adapt to, but that takes so much time to go into every specific situation, um, without having a way to do it.

Got it. Okay, cool. So kind of fast forward, you make it through the pandemic, you know, we, we meet, uh, back in, I think, January, somewhere around there, right? And, um, you guys, you guys get started. So like, what was something maybe you guys, I know you kind of briefed on like, hey, we, we struggle with your marketing, but like What was maybe the bigger thing you're struggling with marketing? 'Cause obviously there's a million companies out there, so like offering you different ways to market your business, like what was maybe the biggest frustration in, you know, trying to figure out who to go with?

I think someone that actually has a reason behind what they're doing. And that they're, they're actually getting results. And I know that that word is repeated a lot in your, in your world, Jesse Ewell. But I could understand by talking to you that you weren't just, you weren't just guessing. You weren't just, you weren't just throwing out like numbers from some other, like you were like, these are my results, man. Like, this is, this is, these are people that work with me and I'm actually doing something and this is why. So you gave me the why and all these little habits that, that lead to bigger things. So I could see the funnel going to the right place. And you showed me, you showed me that before I invested a dollar. So cool.

Uh, Nancy, anything you want to add to that?

Um, no, I think Taylor said most of it. And the thing is, like, we get approached by a lot of marketing and it's always be a cold call kind of idea, but it's not like personal in a way. So I'm on the other end, I was like, well, I don't know if you're fake or not. So I'm automatically, no, I'm good, I'll figure it out. And with your approaches, it's like you're doing the work, so you have to know how to do it, and it's more organic and more personable. And so I, I'd rather that than an automatic AI do everything for me.

Right.

So that's what drew me upon your, um, coaching.

Awesome.

So tell me this. Okay. So you guys sign up, start working with us. You begin to implement this in kind of your first 30 days. Like what was that implementation process like for you kind of individually? You know, Taylor, you can kind of talk about this a little bit. Um, but like, what was that like for you? And then maybe what was like the one or two things that you learned?

My implementation process, uh, was, I mean, it was, you kind of stressed the gradual, um, kind of implementation. And I understood that retroactively a little better cuz I, when I started this, I kind of have this idea that I'm just going to do everything that's involved, and that's just simply like, I, I mean, I'm a dude, I'm a new dad, I'm just trying to make it all work. So it was, it was a lot of lifestyle changes, and I, I just noticed that I was healthier. And you kind of— one of the biggest changes is starting my day, getting my head right. So that I can get up and going on this, uh, Facebook stuff. So, and all these little habits that you had me doing with just, uh, you know, I don't need to tell what exactly the program is, but it's like all these little habits that I'm, I know that I'm doing the right thing. All I have to do is just do it. You just have to follow the, the thing you're doing.

So.

That's good, ma'am.

I made it very simple. Cool.

Uh, Nancy, what about you? And I know you're kind of a newer mom at the time, so.

Oh yeah, it was, it was challenging being able to juggle what to do as a mom, but then at the same time partner in business. Um, I mean, being in this program implementation, it, at the beginning it was hard. It was different to adjust, to add into your my routine. But as you kind of go through it, you kind of coach us how to just embrace the suck. And the, my, the major goal is just, just to get it done, even though it may be late. Just as long as you get it done, rewards would come in a way. Um, major benefit that I do notice is communicating with him a little bit more. Being— I don't advise everybody to be a business partner with their spouse, but being able to go to your, through your coaching, gave me another outlook of like how to view things, especially when I'm talking with. So that I knew that was a major benefit. But as a practitioner myself, it's a lot more confidence with how I inform a potential patient or a patient in the office.

Yeah, let's talk a little bit about that because I think, you know, in your industry we tend to kind of oversell, um, you know, and kind of over-inform people versus like focusing on the results and just focusing on kind of the key that they, they wanna know what you have to offer. Like what, what's that been like for you guys kind of learning a new communication style?

For me it wasn't, let's tell the person how much I know. It's, it's more of like, okay, let's take a step back. Let's listen. And how can I serve you? What is it that you are looking for that I can help?

Yeah.

Or see if I can qualify in helping you in a way. That was one thing. Hey buddy. I lost my train of thought with him.

Yeah, it's all right. Taylor, what about you, man? What's been like the, maybe the biggest thing you've learned and how you communicate with your patients?

I think it's just keeping the waiter mindset in that I do not need to tell them all that I know. I, I need to know the number one thing. That are maybe the 2 or 3 things that I can help them with. Because if I'm helping them with the wrong thing, then I'm not— I may just be going down the wrong path and I'm wasting everybody's time. So just meshing with and asking them just, hey, what, what do you think? Uh, you know, what is the biggest thing that you need from me? And just kind of getting into that, like, curiosity. I'm just a lot more curious now. And I think a lot of people have a lot more time for that kind of person that is curious. So not only does that help me in that, in that visit, but it helps me develop a relationship with my wife or my family. So it's awesome. I get what I want.

That's awesome. It's so when you speak of like the waiter mentality, you're thinking of like, hey, how can I help serve you versus how can I help sell you?

Yeah.

Right. Okay, good. So let me say this, man. Um, let's talk about, we also, one of the things that we worked on was transitioning you guys from pay-per-visit. To, uh, getting people to do kind of a higher-ticket health protocol, right? Um, what was that transition like for you guys, going to from where everybody would just come in and pay per time to now you're selling, you know, something that's a couple thousand dollars, right?

I mean It was a little bit of a challenge. It was a little bit different than how the other practice that was structured that I used or was exposed to. But I mean, it was, it was good to be able to provide something that I can also make them be committed to instead of like me wasting my time and chasing the next dollar. It's more of like, pay it up right here. This is what I have to offer. This is up to you now. The ball's in your court. Kind of that deal. So, right. A lot of confidence when it comes to that part.

Okay. Well, uh, Taylor, what about you, man? What was that like for you?

So I remember honestly just being excited to just launch something that wasn't like something that I had to convince somebody every single time, cuz I'd just be thinking about it the whole time that visit. Like, how am I gonna get this person to, get that reason to come back in. So it was really exciting because I actually have results that are of higher quality. So like, I would not have been able to get somebody to invest this much time with me without having a real reason or, uh, a, a way, a way to even do that. So it just gave me this way to get a little bit more nuanced and it gave me different clients. It gave me better clients, clients that I wanted to work with.

Nice.

So let me ask you this, the results you're getting with clients now doing those programs versus someone who might just pay every time, what are you guys seeing that's different about that client?

They understand a lot. They understand why we do it, what we do, and why the program is the way it is, is to give them a little another, another insight of what is going on with their body and how to prevent it. So it's— and at the same time, I would say being 6 months in now that we're having a whole handful of people getting done with their program, We're finding a lot more commitment like, oh, I'm not going to leave. There's too much to still learn. And so I'm going to continue to commit to this, the next phase, the wellness program.

That's awesome. Let me ask you guys this. What's been kind of a tangible result from a money perspective? I know we chatted a little bit about how much you added in revenue, but like, what would you say you've consistently added in revenue per month? Since you've been doing this?

I would say consistently $8,000 to $10,000, like just increase, just straight increase. Um, so, and we also increased our, our best month, um, by a couple thousand. And that was, that was repeated at least 2 times and we had Um, just, uh, a lot better outlook. Okay. Awesome.

So you guys increased your revenue by an average of $8,000 to $10,000 a month, which, you know, I know the biggest thing for you guys, you were looking for some consistency in, you know, the results you were getting. Uh, what would you say has maybe been an unexpected result you guys got out of the program?

I would say we are not only communicating better, but we're, we're looking forward to what we're doing next. So you helped us with how our, our office flows and, and, and how we, how we actually operate, communicate with people. But an unexpected result that you may not think about is just how you feel when you're, when you're in the moment kind of conversing or just working or living life in general. Like, I kind of speak about this little suggestion, and I don't know if it was, if it was early on with you or not, but this this little book that you told me to read, and not that it matters what the title is, but this Pocket Samurai, and it has all these little ways to be a, a man. So that's, that's expanded a lot of different things. I could go on and on, but I'm a better father. So that's awesome.

That's a pretty big unexpected result, man. Be a better husband, father, leader.

I mean, yeah, my eyes are widening just thinking about it, but like, it's, I, I don't know where I'd be without it, dude.

So that's awesome, man. Well, uh, Nancy, what about you? What's an unexpected result that you got?

Yeah, besides what, uh, with motherhood and, um, business, like, uh, the getting outta your skin kind of that deal, challenging yourself to be a little bit uncomfortable and embrace it. Because being like just going to stores or going to random events, I'll get random people like, "I know you, you talk to me on Facebook." And so it's like now it's not like I have to cold physically like say hello to you in person. It's more like I'm already acquainted with you now, let's learn a little bit more. I mean, being in this program, I've connected with a lot of therapists, a lot of practitioners, and so That's something that wouldn't have happened as quick as it was being in this program.

That's awesome. I, I will say the biggest thing I saw from you guys is, you know, not that you weren't working together as a team before, but like, I can tell that you guys are more intentional about each other now and how you work together. Um, and then the other thing is you guys are way more confident in just how you present yourselves, how you communicate, um, you know, so like those are things that I've noticed. I mean, yeah, I've noticed that you guys obviously have made sales and stuff like that, which is great, but like, I think the important thing is you guys are working together as a team and it feels a lot more intentional. Um, you know, and then obviously like, I think the thing is, is like you guys could have easily said no, hey, we're really busy right now. We got a newborn. And I think what's cool is you really like stepped in and embraced it and, you know, you guys got the results out of it. So super proud of you guys and the work you're doing. Can't wait to see what you guys, um, are going to be doing next. And, uh, just want to thank you guys for being on today. Uh, do you have any last words for, you know, maybe someone who's on the fence or like, hey, there's so many marketing companies reaching out to me. Um, how do I choose? You know, why is this one so much better than all the others?

Just don't waste your time. Just, just start in with it. I mean, the guy— I mean, Jesse guarantees results. I mean, any, any which way he can. So if you don't do it now, you're just wasting your time, is, is all that you're doing. So you're, you're gonna gain time, you're gonna gain money. So you really, you just You're just kind of like not living your best life. Get out there, man. Have fun, man.

All right, come on, Nancy. Give me, give me one last, uh, one last thing.

Yeah.

I am, for those that are listening, it may seem a lot. It may seem like it's like, oh crap, do I really wanna have time? Um, I wish I invested on year 1, honestly. I'm in year 5 and I wish I. Have seen you or like heard of you on year 1 where I can start implementing your thought process, how you have succeeded, how you have helped other chiropractors instead of just hesitant. You know, I have— for those that question, just dive in and reach out if you have any questions, really, because Jesse's here. He would answer any of your questions or concerns.

Yeah. Thank you, guys. Well, hey, we appreciate you guys being a part of Habits of Base Lifestyle family and excited to see you guys grow and then obviously see Thomas grow too.

Yeah, thank you.

We appreciate it, Jesse.

If you guys want to be a part of the Habit Based Lifestyle community, uh, you can go into the show notes and you can be a part of the Habit Based Lifestyle and Business Secrets group. If you have questions or need specific help on ways to build your business, reach out to me, Jesse Ewell, habitbasedlifestyle.com. Until next episode, have a great day.

The purpose of this show, the purpose of this show is to guide you to realign, guide you to realign with habits that get you to live the life, live the life you've always dreamed of. This, this is the Habit Based Lifestyle Podcast with Jesse Ewell.