As I mentioned in my last post, God used an MLM health coaching experience that I didn’t love, to slowly weave a path to Revelation Wellness®, who taught me to die to my strongholds (fears) and say YES to starting my own business. I originally kept the name “Refining Wellness” as my business name b/c I had used it for so long, and then created subtitles of fitness, women’s health physical therapy, and holistic health. I did some health coaching using “The Wellness Revelation” study, continued teaching my fitness classes, and began my women’s health physical therapy practice by partnering with Guiding Star Orange City (which is a non-profit women’s health center in our community) as an in-house partner. I was able to help remodel and use a clinic room there as my space which was a tremendous gift of grace.
If you’ve ever thought about starting a business but couldn’t see beyond the “normal” business model, I’d invite you to try thinking out of the box! Most PTs work in a hospital or outpatient clinic setting with multiple PTs, a gym space, lots of equipment, a receptionist, someone who bills insurance, and PTA’s or techs that help them. I would never be able to afford nor would I care to manage a practice like this.
BUT, specializing allowed me to do things in a different way. Women’s health is a unique niche. It really requires little to no equipment or gym space. Would these things be nice? Sure. But necessary? No. I knew I wanted to give my patients longer appointment times, the opportunity to tell their stories, quality one-on-one care with someone who has advanced specialized training, and the ability to market my skills, education, and experience my way. Health and wellness are not one-size-fits-all, and it’s not just purely physical. If we don’t allow room for individualized care, and opportunity to also include the mental/emotional/spiritual, we are not truly doing justice to our care. By making the decision to become a cash-pay practice, I now had the ability to see my patients for as long as they
needed, and evaluate and treat with what was truly going to help them, not just what insurance dictated. By keeping my prices lower, this is now an affordable option without insurance (and often will actually SAVE you money), and I’ve still been able to help many women submit their visits to their insurance personally.
In addition, because I’m able to provide better care with this model, my patients need fewer visits and have improved results. Another benefit: I have a very high buy-in with my patients (I’ve never had a no-show) and I get to work with women who are VERY compliant with their exercise programs, so they GET BETTER because they do the work! Finally, every single one of my patients has been an absolute JOY to work with. I’ve literally never had a bad day at work or a day I didn’t WANT to go to work!! BUT GOD! What a gift that is!! 🙂
