Beyond Hormones, The Business of Wellness

Ep #69 - From Patient to Practice Owner: Tina Jacobs' Journey

• Jody Layne • Episode 69

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What happens when you spend years as a dismissed patient — and then become the provider you always needed?

That's exactly the story Tina Jacobs tells in this episode. As the co-founder of Silk Life Medical, a hormone optimization and wellness clinic, Tina built her entire practice around one core belief: that patients know when something is wrong, and they deserve a provider who believes them. Her journey from struggling with fatigue and weight for over a decade, to PA school, to opening a cash-pay hormone clinic with her husband Nick — it's the kind of origin story that explains everything about how she runs her business today.

Jody and Tina go deep on what it actually looks like to build a practice with your spouse, why Tina finally hired a bookkeeper (and what she discovered when she did), and the hard-won marketing lessons that cost her time, money, and more than a few "I should've trusted my gut" moments.

If you're building a hormone or functional medicine practice and you want a real, unfiltered conversation about standards, team, and growth — this episode delivers.

Topics covered:

• How Tina's personal health journey as a patient shaped her entire approach to running a clinic
• What it's really like to build a business with your spouse — the good, the messy, and the financial blind spots
• How to hire for "relentless drive" when the medical industry is built for hourly-wage workers
• Why Tina looks for failed entrepreneurs when building her team — and why it works
• Her honest take on marketing failures, contractor disappointments, and why she finally learned to trust her gut
• The referral-first growth strategy she used from day one (and why she'd do it again)
• Why she's building a social media presence as an educator — and what she'd tell any provider thinking about doing the same
• Her advice for new practitioners coming out of WorldLink or A4M and thinking about opening their own clinic

Connect with Tina:
Website: https://silklife.com/

Want more tools and strategies for growing your hormone or functional medicine clinic? Visit us at acceleratedmedicalpractices.com!

This podcast is powered by Accelerated Medical Practices, where we believe hormone and wellness care should be both life-changing and profitable.  If you own or run a clinic and are interested in being a guest on the show, please complete the form here and let's connect!  Or email Jody at Jody@AcceleratedMedicalPractices.com.

 🚀 Grow your clinic with proven systems at AcceleratedMedicalPractices.com

For more Insights and Tips on Growing Your Hormone Clinic, subscribe to THE AMP Report sent every other Thursday and follow us on social media for "almost" daily tips! 

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SPEAKER_02

Welcome to Beyond Hormones, the Business of Wellness, the podcast for hormone and functional medicine providers who want a thriving, predictably profitable practice, and maybe a little less stress along the way. Hi, I'm your host, Jody Lane, and I've worked with lots of clinics in marketing, sales, and business development, and I have seen what works and what doesn't. And here's what I believe hormone and wellness care should be available to everyone who wants it. And while providers know the medicine, many struggle with the business side of their cash practice. And that's where I come in. See, this podcast is here to share real strategies, real stories, things you can implement in your practice right away. So I am so glad you're here. Come on, let's go. Hey guys, welcome back to Beyond Hormones, the business of wellness. I'm Jodi, your host, and today I've got someone on my show who I genuinely adore. And I don't say that lightly. I've actually been working with this guest for quite a few months now, and getting to peek behind the curtain of her practice has really been quite the gift. She's doing things the right way. And her name is Tina Jacobs, and she's the founder of Silk Life Medical, which is a wellness and hormone optimization clinic in Colorado, known for its high standards, its deep patient connections, and the kind of care that actually changes lives. Tina built Silk Life alongside her husband with a very specific mission to be the partner to her patients that have never had before. The one who listens, the one who digs in, who refuses to settle for, yeah, your labs are normal. But here's what I really love about her story. Tina spent years being dismissed as a patient herself. She was exhausted, struggling with her weight, doing all the right things, and being told nothing was wrong. Sound familiar? That experience didn't just make her a better provider, it became the entire reason she opened her clinic. And today we're getting into all of it. Building a business with your spouse, hiring for high standards, and what happens when you get it wrong. A really honest conversation about marketing failures and the mindset shift that changed everything for her. This one is for you. If you've ever wondered how other clinic owners actually build something they're proud of, not just something that pays the bills. All right, let's get into it. Hey everybody, welcome back to the Beyond Hormones, the Business of Wellness podcast. I am Jodi Lane, your host, and today's guest is Tina Jacobs, who is the co-founder of Silk Life Medical, which is a wellness and hormone optimization clinic known for its high standards of care and strong connections with patients. I am truly excited about this conversation with Tina. Her and I have been working together now for a few months, and I've gotten to see a little bit behind the scenes and get to know her pretty well. And she has a lot of gems to share with you today. See, Tina built Silk Life Medical alongside her husband with a mission to create a clinic where patients truly feel heard and supported on their health journey. Her approach to medicine is shaped not only by her clinical experience, but also by her own personal health journey, which I'm sure we're gonna get her to talk about today. In addition to running a growing practice, Tina is also building a powerful presence on social media, using it to educate patients and expand the reach of her clinic. Today we're going to dive in and we're gonna talk about what it really looks like to build a business, sometimes with your spouse, sometimes on your own, how to hire a team that delivers the same high standards you expect, and what happens when that doesn't go as planned, and what she learned from a tough year in marketing and how she turned those lessons into growth. Tina, welcome to the show.

SPEAKER_00

Thank you so much, Jody. I really appreciate you having me on here because I feel like this podcast has been even just helpful to me hearing other people's perspectives. And so it's really cool to put my voice in the game too.

SPEAKER_02

Hey, I'm so happy to hear that. Well, since I know you well and the listeners don't know you as well as I do, let's start off by just sharing, you know, like two you are and what inspired you to start Stealth Life Medical.

SPEAKER_00

Hmm. I mean, most of it is from my own health journey, you know, which you mentioned briefly. But, you know, I went through like 10 years of really struggling with my weight, really struggling with just always being exhausted. And, you know, even with all that, I still like went through PA school and did all the things. But then by the time I got to the end of it, like I realized like standard healthcare wasn't giving me any answers. You know, like the experience of going to your doctor and them listening, but then being like, Yeah, let's look at some labs, see what's going on. And then like you're like, okay, let's figure this out. And then you go back and they're like tested like four things, and they're like, Well, everything's normal. You're like, I'm pretty confident it's not normal. Exactly. It's like, you know, when you know it's not normal, like you're exercising, eating healthy, and still dealing with all this stuff, like there's there's a piece missing. And, you know, it unfortunately at that point, like I was, you know, I just trusted as someone who was becoming a PA, like I just trusted my doctor so much, you know. And so then when they said it's not anything on our end, it was the answer was like, okay, what's wrong with me? And that was really, you know, demoralizing. And so I really want to have a practice that talks to those women, even talks to those men who are have been in that place of like intuitively they know things aren't right.

unknown

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00

And they want a partner that's gonna figure it out and give them the option of not just getting to like barely normal, like, let's do all the things to make it amazing.

SPEAKER_02

I love that you said they want a partner because that really takes a look at how you think. So during that journey, so you were you were going to school, you were you're becoming a PA, no matter what, whether your problems got solved or not.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02

At what point did you say to yourself, I don't want to go join a practice, I want to own my own practice? What happened there?

SPEAKER_00

I mean, to be honest, like I never thought that was an option. Like growing up, like owning your own business, like that was for like somebody else. You know, that wasn't possible for me. Um, or you know, especially to be successful with it. Um and one of the things that attracted me to my husband was, you know, I met him and he just like had this amazing mindset of like every everything's possible. Like if if somebody can do it, you can do it, you know, and like so it just kind of got my mind going in that direction and digging in more and seeing like, you know, what as a PA, we're not necessarily set up to perfectly to run our own business, but like what's possible. Um, and then when I found BHRT and you know, as a PA wanted my own business, like the BHRT was such a part of like, you know, hormones were such a part of figuring out what was wrong with me. So like it just was a perfect match.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah. So I mean, so your husband's name is Nick, correct? Yeah, yeah. So so Nick saw had this personality actually naturally show up.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02

But it wouldn't have spoken to you if there wasn't some kind of drive inside of you that also believed that you could do it. So what conversations did you guys have where you you decided together, let's just do this, let's just open a clinic.

SPEAKER_00

It is just that like you have one life. Like if anything was possible, what would you do? So why not go for it? Like yeah. Um, and yeah, I mean, I feel like you have to have some sort of mental resilience. And as much as like I've I've suffered with I still struggle with my physical health, you know, and it's always been a struggle for me through most of my life. And but I didn't let that stop me from you know excelling. You know, I I knew PI school was gonna be twice as hard for me than it was someone who's has their health, you know, and everything's perfect. Um so if you can prove to yourself that you can still do that, even with all the cards stacked against you, everyone saying like, hey, uh like you should probably just do something easier. You know, you should probably that's probably not a good fit for you. I mean, even I remember running into so random. I running into a Spanish teacher from middle school and telling her I was going into medicine and she was like, Oh, I are you sure? I just thought you would like be an artist or something. Oh, goodness gracious. You know what I mean? And so like just like I was never the smartest kid in my class, and a lot of that was like my, you know, anxiety and unrelated things. So like I was not made to believe that was possible. And so early on I had to decide for myself. And so I feel like that's really worked in my favor in the long run. It it was hard then, but definitely like something valuable to allow me to do this now.

SPEAKER_02

You know, I've always felt like you and I understood each other at a level, and now I get it. And I took, I didn't know what I wanted to do with my life, and so I took an aptitude test. And the teacher that conducted the test came to me and sat me down, and she said, Okay, Jody, you need to be a kindergarten teacher. That is what you are set up for. And I was so pissed off that that's what I was set up for. That that's where the first first inkling I had to be an entrepreneur. It was like, I'm gonna show you.

SPEAKER_00

Yeah. I love and I feel like to be an entrepreneur, you almost need something like that. Yeah. Like you have to almost have that like, I'm gonna freaking show you, right? Like kind of attitude, because otherwise, when it hits the fan, like you're not gonna keep on going because it's hard.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah, especially, and we were talking before the show started that you had a really hard week. So it's very present for you. We'll get there in a second, but before we get there, I have a question about you as somebody who has struggled. How do you think that makes you a better partner provider for your patients?

SPEAKER_00

Yeah. I mean, I just, you know, sometimes maybe too much, but I just really connect with what they're feeling, you know. And, you know, that's the biggest feedback I got, you know, when I first started the business was like, you know, you just really took the time to listen and wanted to understand, you know, which is the difference between what people are getting in standard medical care. And so it, you know, it really kind of focusing on that and making that, you know, a key part of my business was really important.

SPEAKER_02

Do you think that hormone providers or or wellness providers that don't have a background like yours can still connect with their patients? Or do you think that having that really is like the the final piece of the puzzle?

SPEAKER_00

I mean, that's a good question. I feel like it's very possible in many ways, not just like having the experience yourself. Like sometimes it's you, you know, your mom went through menopause and it was horrible, you know, um, or you know, other experiences like that. But I feel like a lot of the times when I see providers that are a little dismissive, especially of women, it's because they don't get it.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.

unknown

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02

I would think that if a provider has not had the experience, then what they can do is relate to it from a different perspective of an experience they've had. So maybe it's not hormonal, but it's something else that they've struggled.

SPEAKER_00

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00

Exactly. And most of us can find something.

unknown

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02

And if you can't, maybe this isn't the right profession for you. Exactly.

SPEAKER_00

Life's been that easy. You're not going to enjoy this process.

SPEAKER_02

For all you longtime listeners, you know how much I love supportive hormone clinics to become the best version that you can be. So if you don't mind, I want to stop and share for just a quick minute about a product of ours that I think can make a real impact for you. And it's called Practice Automation System. Now, here's something most clinic owners I've spoken to never realize. They think their marketing doesn't work. When the truth is, most clinics are often wasting up to 75% of their marketing budget without even knowing it. Not because their marketing is bad, no. It's because of what happens after the lead comes into the clinic. Now, according to studies, 87% of people don't answer calls from unknown phone numbers anymore. Can you believe that? I know I didn't know the number was that high. So when your office calls back a lead and the lead doesn't pick up the phone and you don't follow back after that, the money you spend to get that lead is gone. Look, the practice automation system is what we built to fix this problem. The moment a lead comes in, the system texts them in five minutes. It sends nurturing emails for weeks if they're not ready. It helps them move through a sales pipeline your team can actually keep up with. We built the foundation for this inside an actual hormone clinic, the one I worked at, the one I helped to scale to over $4 million in revenue. So every campaign tactic, every text, and every email language and timing was tested on real hormone patients before it ever became a product. For most clinics, as few as four patients a year covers the cost of the entire system. To find out if practice automation system is right for your clinic, go to accelerated medical practices.com slash automation. That's accelerated medical practices.com slash automation. All right, guys, now let's get back to what we were talking about. What's something that you now know about hormones that you wish every woman on the planet knew about it right now?

SPEAKER_00

I mean, the most important thing being like those normal ranges don't tell us anything, you know. Um and it's unfortunate, but like we can't just trust that those normal labs are telling us what's going on and that one provider is going to tell us what's going on. Like I wish more importantly, every woman knew to trust their intuition. You know, like I feel like especially as women, we know when something's off.

unknown

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00

When we're like doing the right things and not getting results. Like, we don't need a doctor to tell us like this specific number is off for you to be validated. Like it's real. Let's figure it out.

SPEAKER_02

So you've got a patient in front of you, and she has spent her whole life not believing that she's been told these things she's feeling are made up, it's just aging, it she may be suffering from some sort of mental health issue. How do you connect with her so that she understands? I'm asking you this question because I feel like newer providers that get into this industry really struggle with that. So, how do you like get the patient to hear what you're saying so that they can tell you everything that's going on so that you can really like formulate your treatment plan to give them the best result?

SPEAKER_00

Yeah. I mean, uh, first off is like really listening and showing that you're actually listening, not just you know, waiting to say the next thing, like really hearing what they're saying and asking follow-up questions so they know you're actually hearing them because they're not used to that.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00

And then as far as messaging, it's you know, the most important thing to get across is like your symptoms are real. There your symptoms have a cause. Whether or not we know it or not, we're gonna figure it out. We're gonna find, you know, those numbers that help explain it. And there's real solutions. And like those three steps, I feel like really lead showing patients what's possible and kind of turning that page.

SPEAKER_02

You know, it's interesting. Um, as I'm listening to you, I'm thinking the the insatiable personality trait of being insatiable, you need as an entrepreneur. And you need as this kind of medical provider as well.

SPEAKER_00

Yeah, especially in this field. Like it, I mean, you don't need it. Like there's obviously businesses that are just gonna, you know, uh skim the surface and it's gonna work for some people and unfortunately turn some people away from hormone's, but yes, it it definitely does match up that like you know, to be an entrepreneur, you need that like relentless drive and to be a really good provider, you need that same energy. And patients can tell if you're invested or not.

SPEAKER_02

So this always comes up at some point during the podcast. Knowing all of that, how do you feel about the massive amount of online big box franchise type hormone clinics that are popping up everywhere?

SPEAKER_00

I mean, I feel like it's just an opportunity for us to provide better service than ever. That's okay. Yeah, like it really, you know, we know we're different than that. And I know because I've seen it that there are men and women that really are willing to pay for it. Yeah. And so it's really important not to chase that price because the places that are like testing three markers so that you can take testosterone, like aren't gonna be cheaper than someone digging in like this. It just is. So, like you're it's not worth comparing and just really like okay, we're not gonna sell people just on testosterone anymore. Because if they want it, they can get it somewhere cheaper. Exactly. Like, you have to know like what makes you different and worth paying for.

SPEAKER_02

Absolutely. I love that approach because it is frustrating to try to compare yourself. Like, you know, uh, Bergdoor's doesn't compare itself to Target, like there's a different distinction between the two, which kind of leads me to this next section that I wanted to talk to you about, which is your high standard. Like you, I work with a lot of providers and they're all good in so in certain ways. But one thing I I love about the way that you conduct your clinic is that high standards are across the board. Where do you think that comes from in your personality and how do you keep that going in the clinic?

SPEAKER_00

Yeah, I mean, I think I got the advice early on because I think there's it's just so easy to do. Like when you're it like when you're starting a practice, you're gonna like compare prices and be like, well, I can't charge that much or I can't do this. Like, and someone told me, like, yeah, but you're not them, you're trying to do something completely different. And so, like, I ran with that. I just, you know, I'm like, hell yeah, like this is like, you know, always wanting to differentiate myself, um, and knowing that that was, you know, a really important step.

SPEAKER_02

Okay. And so knowing that you value your your quality of work, you value what you offer, how do you bring team members on board that align with that? Like hiring is always an issue for all clinics across the board because the medical industry as a whole kind of focuses on hourly wage, you know, like you have very high volume. And then you get these cash pay practices that have really high standards. How do you how do you search for somebody who matches that quality that you have?

SPEAKER_00

Yeah. I mean, first off, nobody tells you that like half of running a medical practice is managing people. Yes. Like make sure that's something you want to do. Yep. Because that's not something that's ever going to be solved. It's something that's there's always gonna be something to work on with your team. Um, but I would say I've grown in that area for sure. Like when you're when I was starting out, you know, I definitely believed in my ability for success, but didn't know how long it was gonna take. So uh, and you know, we were all self funded. So I'm like, you know, I think and some. Sometimes taking too much of other people's advice um was trying to conserve money, you know, which you have to balance. Absolutely. But I feel like that was a huge lesson, is like it is worth to invest in your team because you're only as good as your team because you as one person can only do so much. And yeah, and that one person is amazing. So like if you want to make your business bigger, then those people also have to be amazing. And you're not going to get that, you know, at minimum wage.

SPEAKER_02

You know, what's a non-negotiable for you and a staff member?

SPEAKER_00

Um I have to see evidence of that relentless drive. And that could be from, you know, it might be from the last place they worked, it might be that they've lost a hundred pounds, it might be, you know, some other, you know, financial goal. Like they have to like set an impossible goal and made it happen to understand like what you're doing here and when you're working with a small business. And if you have that, then you're trainable. I feel like, you know, if someone's hardworking and is willing to grind and believe, like that's most of the time trainable. But if you have somebody who knows all the technical skills, but is not gonna push themselves, is gonna just, you know, they're gonna do the work and check out, then that's only gonna get you so far.

SPEAKER_02

You know, um, when I was always when I was hiring for anything, whether it was in clinic or before I got into medicine, I always looked for failed entrepreneurs to hire.

SPEAKER_00

Yes, yes, those are the best if you can find them. Or like, you know, the ones that like have their own business on the side or you know are have experience with, you know, the small business, because that's it really is just such a different animal. And when you take someone on who's used to just working in a hospital, yeah, it's a shock. It's very different. And it's sometimes harder to train those employees, even though you sometimes think the opposite of like, oh, like they're at that high level, you know.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah, no, I I I definitely agree with that. I've seen a number of hospital employees, and it's just it's it's almost like the culture beat down in their brain that it, you know, they probably are, like you said, like high quality, fast-paced, very task-oriented, very skill capable, but something has almost died inside. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00

Yeah. And they haven't been trained to look at the big picture, they've been trained to just be a wheel in the machine. And that's, you know, when you have a small team, you have to be more than that.

SPEAKER_02

So speaking of teams, so you started the business with your husband, a topic I know a lot about because I've worked with my husband in four different times of my life. Yeah. What was it like to work with your spouse? I know a lot of clinic owners that have kind of a relationship like that, whether they both own or they both work in it. What was it like for you?

SPEAKER_00

Yeah, I mean, there's good and bad, right? You know, like as you've probably experienced. Um you're uh, you know, like with my husband specifically, I've mentioned how, you know, he really helped with my mindset, which I think was essential to being successful here and not giving up. Because there were plenty of times where like all my friends were like, just close the business. Yeah. So um, you know, having a partner like that, you know, I really appreciate because I talk to other women, entrepreneurs, and a lot of times they don't have that support from their spouse. And that's really it's it's hard, it's manageable. Don't don't make it a deal breaker. But um, so that's the cool thing is that you have that shared belief, right? Um honestly going into it, I just didn't know how to prepare. I feel like it's just like with having kids. Like people are like, uh like you're surprised when your husband isn't doing enough. And then people are like, Well, did you guys talk about like those things before having kids? And you're like, I've never had a kid before. I didn't know why would I know to ask that? You know, and the same with the business, like right. I I just saw it as, you know, yes, we're both gonna be working hard, doing it, you know, doing all these things, and we're gonna put our efforts together. And, you know, yeah, we'll we'll take it one step at a time. Cause I don't, you know, even now I don't know what the next year looks like, you know what I mean? And but um it it turned into mostly me doing the business. And like he did he was an important part because he has a huge following on on social media and was referring, um, which obviously can be one of the hardest things of growing a clinic, but like as far as actually making a clinic work, managing people, um, managing when there's no people, it was it was on me. Um and you know, that causes there's gonna be whether it's that or other issues, there's gonna be issues at the office, and it's hard not to bring those home. Yeah, you know, for sure. And then I feel like specifically as a woman, like we are men are taught a lot more about managing money, I feel like. And you know, my husband went to school for finance, like I'm like, you do the numbers, you know. Um and it wasn't until just these past couple of years that you know I realized, like, no, you're the one in it running the business. Like, if you don't know what's going on with the numbers and you're just getting a general idea, it it doesn't work. And like part of that is like you have so many different parts of running a business, right? Like you have to give up parts of it. You have to, like, you can't know every single detail of every single thing, otherwise, you're just not gonna get anywhere. But I think like knowing the numbers and you know, willing being willing to pay somebody to update you on that weekly, 100% worth it.

SPEAKER_02

So glad you said that because whether it's your spouse or a bookkeeper or an accountant or a friend, whoever is like, because I know most people that are the talent that start a business. Like you're the talent, you're the provider. Everything else around is just a product of the fact that you want to see. And so it's it's natural to want to give the financials over. And it's fine to do that, but like you said, once a week, once a month, once a quarter, having those sit-downs to really know what those numbers are. I'm glad you said that. That's important.

SPEAKER_00

Yeah, yeah. I mean, like the the one I told you was like my husband was in the beginning, be like, you know, we're he was always like, We're close to profiting, you know, and you know, we just we just gotta keep putting our heads down and going. And then like I finally got a bookkeeper and she's like, You have a you have a very profitable business. I'm like, what like you know, and he was wanted you to be motivated? Yeah, he was like, you know, for me, like until we're further past that line, like this is just much more motivating and it works for me. And like that doesn't work for me.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah. You know, we figured that out. That's so funny. All right, let's pivot for a second because you know, one of the ways that you profit in a business is by doing something that's almost a dirty word in the hormone clinic space, which is you have to be marketing.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02

And that's a topic that I know you know a lot about.

SPEAKER_00

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02

So um, what is one thing that you did early on in marketing that really just did not go well? And you wish you could like take it back.

SPEAKER_00

Um, I mean, so many. I mean, uh, you know, like I think like I was telling you before this call, like marketing is definitely one of those areas in entrepreneurship where like you have to dive in head first, like ready to fail. Yeah. Like market the way you succeed is at marketing is not, you know, preparing so much and finding the right person. It's trying, you know, something based on what you know at the time and failing so you can learn about it and try again. And if you, you know, put too invest too much into that one thing and then you're just devastated every time you fail, like you're not gonna make it because like it's gonna take a lot of fails before you figure something out.

SPEAKER_02

I'm gonna cut that clip and just put it on repeat on my social media because it's and I never really heard about it the way you just described it. But everything you do as a business owner and a provider is work hard first, research, figure it out, execute. Yeah, with marketing is the other way around. It's execute, research, learn, re-execute. Yeah. Yeah, perfect.

SPEAKER_00

Yeah. And so yeah, I mean, I've hired so many different people that I was excited about that, you know, are contractors and you know, did all kinds of things that like 100% are gonna work and then do nothing.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00

And probably if I could take like one other thing to learn from that, it's like actually trusting your gut and intuition as the business owner. Because I think that took me years to learn is like you you know more about your business than anybody. You know, I had a lot of people, you know, that were the professionals who have been doing this a long time, and I'm just this little entrepreneur, you know. So like you they tell you, like, no, you gotta structure it like this. This has to be your message, this is the way we have to do it. You're like, even though it doesn't feel right in your gut, you're like, Yeah, but I don't know anything about this. Yeah, you know, so there was a lot of times where I was like, okay, if it brings in patience, do it, you know, and it didn't bring in patience because it didn't like it didn't match with my practice. Right. And so if someone's like comes in and is like, this is you know what's worked for everybody else, and this is how clinics like you make money, um, and isn't interested in you know exactly who you are and who your clinic is, then move on.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah. That's a really great point. You know, I've been in marketing a long time and it used to be more plug and play. You really could have a strategy that worked across industries, but marketing is so muddy now with what they call it the middle, the the oh, oh, the the messy middle. That's what Google calls it. Like it's the time that somebody becomes a lead to the time that they purchase that middle ground is the messy middle because there's just so much noise in between.

SPEAKER_00

And if you don't show up as authentic you, then people won't naturally resonate with which is you have to be something different than what they're seeing elsewhere, yeah. You know, and so if you're trying just to, you know, do what everybody else is doing, like good luck anyone stopping when they're scrolling.

SPEAKER_02

But you are successful. So what what is something that you did um in the realm of marketing or sales that you really think was a good choice and that other providers who are listening can say can you know maybe take some lessons from?

SPEAKER_00

Um, I mean, so much of our, you know, our patients come in from referrals. So I think like from day one, like if you have less patients, then take that opportunity to treat them amazing. Because they're gonna be your base that is gonna tell everybody. And like even at the beginning, like I would definitely wasn't charging enough. But like if everybody refers five people, like it it doesn't matter, you know? And like I was putting way more work into those people, not to say I don't put work into people now, but um don't make that a bad thing, you know. Take advantage of that and really take that opportunity for referrals. Because if you're not getting referrals, then you don't when things aren't working, then you're not getting anything. At least all the time ads don't work, you're still getting a a flow of people.

SPEAKER_02

That's a controversial statement what you just said. I agree with you 1000%. This is an area my husband and I disagree on all the time. Yeah. I think when you're starting out, whether it's a new business or even a new product line, you've got to charge low, you've got to get people in, you've got to overdeliver. And it sets this expectation that this company is going to give you high quality, high standard service. Yeah. And then when you've got all the case studies and the examples and you know, and the money to repromote, then you can, you know, increase. I love that you said that.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02

So let's talk about you on social media because when we met, we met um to do some business planning together. And very quickly, I got the impression that you wanted to be more online as an educator than just a provider sitting and working with patients. I'm sure it's a a dichotomy between the two. Like, where do you prefer to spend your time? Is it balanced? How do you want to approach this as you move forward into the future?

SPEAKER_00

Yeah, I mean, I just in the long term just want to have a much wider reach. You know, like I want to, like, I feel like what I'm able to offer each patient I talk to is so amazing. And I really believe in it. And I feel like every woman needs to have that. Like, I can't talk to every single one of them. Right. But I can make, you know, videos that could get out there and everyone could see. And so I, you know, right now it's just, you know, some early on basic social media stuff. But like I just imagine in the long term that being something that I really focus on because it that's what's going to change the world. Yeah. You know. Um, one person at a time is still amazing, don't get me wrong. And I still love doing that. Like, that's what excites me. That's like the most fun part of my day right now, is like when I have that connection. So like I it's hard to imagine not doing that at all. Um, but yeah, I think if if you understand this field, especially as a woman, like you need to, your voice needs to be out there because like there's just too many women that need to to hear your message. Do you think every provider can do that? I mean, I think you know, some people are naturally, you know, have an easier time with it for sure. I think it's possible for any provider who really wants it to start off making really horrible videos. You can get better every time.

SPEAKER_02

That's a very good point.

SPEAKER_00

You know, like if you uh it's all comes back to that belief. Like, I don't know what I'm doing in business, but now, you know, five years later, I I I'm a boss. I know what's up. Yeah, you know, so like yeah, I I think if anyone really believes in it and wants to do it, that it's possible. It just some people take longer than others.

SPEAKER_02

Are there any tips or things that you could offer as advice if someone's just first getting into social media that they can do it effectively?

SPEAKER_00

Just getting just getting out there. Because like really the way you get good at it is by putting stuff out.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00

You know, like especially in the beginning, you're like so careful about like each video being perfect and then you put it out. Yeah, and then nobody sees it. Right. And you're like, I spent like the whole day on that video and it didn't show anybody, you know, and then it's like those aren't even the videos that people end up connecting with. It's the one where like you had a thought and you recorded it and you weren't had no makeup on, and they were like, oh, I get it, you know. And so like I feel like I'm still working on that, even of just being, you know, just putting putting it out there faster because that's I feel like that's what it takes. And you're not, you know, you're not just not gonna get anywhere trying to make everything perfect.

SPEAKER_02

Well, it's it's back to the statement you made earlier. It's about authenticity, it's about knowing who you are, not trying to be something that you're not. Sure. Don't worry about connecting with everybody, just be yourself and you'll find the people that connect with you will find you.

SPEAKER_00

Yeah. Yeah. You know, it's like they say if you're talking to everybody, you're really connecting with nobody.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00

On social media, at least. You know, it's like you you really have to like it has to stop the scroll. It has to really connect with one person.

SPEAKER_02

I think that's that's true in all marketing, whether it's a blog or it's your website or it's your social media. If if yeah, if you're trying to try to be the source for everybody, then you're not going to be good for anybody.

unknown

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02

So, what's one piece of advice that you have for a new practitioner who's just coming off of World Link or just coming off of A4M and just getting into this, into this world and they want to open a clinic? What's your advice to them?

SPEAKER_00

Be ready to fail. Like get good at it. Like, if you go into it, like knowing that's what you're signing up for, it's a night and day experience. Then if you think like, I'm gonna start a business and everything's gonna go perfectly. Like, if you go into it knowing, like, no, that's exactly what owning a business is is like trying something and failing and learning and trying something and failing, and it never ends, even when it's a very profitable business. Yeah. Um, and trusting your gut um because it knows more than you realize. And it's especially, you know, as a mom, like it's really easy to like try and burn yourself out because it all has to happen right now. Um and someone told me a couple years ago, like, no, like you're the asset. I'm like, what? Like, no, like the business doesn't exist without you. So if you're not taking care of your mental health and physical health, there's no business. So it don't think of it as like I need to go for a walk every day. That's just like icing on top. If I have time for, you know, if I if I'm not at home with the kids, I need to be grinding or at work or I'm, you know, getting it all done at home. And that was like all I was going between was those two. And that's I love both of them, but it's not a it's not a great life. You know what I mean? Like I do. Because you're just you're just burning yourself out. If you're going nonstop at business, and then every time you get a break from the business, you're going nonstop with two little kids. Like, um you're it doesn't give you the chance to actually enjoy the process. And if your mental health isn't there, like your employees know it. You're not giving the the care that people that you really want to give them. So, like before you schedule your week, make sure you're taking care of yourself. And it's okay, it's not a luxury, it's like a necessity as someone who is the main part of a medical practice.

SPEAKER_02

That is such great advice. You know, when I first became a mom 20 plus years ago, everybody said that same thing to me. You know, your your daughter will be better taken care of if you take time to take care of yourself.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02

And you're so right. It's the same thing with the business. And everything you said would be the outcome is is right on point. And in addition to that, I also think that you're less reactionary if you're not overwhelmed.

SPEAKER_00

Oh, yeah. Well, because like, you know, if you're, you know, with some with a medical background, like it just makes sense. Like when you're in that sympathetic, like fight or flight all the time, like your body literally takes energy away from the prefrontal cortex, which is your decision making center. Like it makes you not be able to think as clearly. And so, like, you have to, if you're doing like juggling those two things, like you have to actually force yourself into that parasympic parasympathetic nervous system. Where you're resting and digesting. Otherwise, you're you can't make as good as decisions and it's all gonna feel overwhelming. But if you if you stop for a second, you can actually have a moment of clarity. I feel like some of my best business decisions came from going on a hike.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02

Well, I read you'll know this better than I do. I read somewhere that um when you are moving, you make better decisions and you're more creative. Whether that's riding a bike or or walking or taking a hike or whatever it is, that that's where your most creative ideas come. I don't know why that is. Why is that blood flow?

SPEAKER_00

I mean, there's there's so many factors, right? Like we know uh the research shows that even just being outside, your brain is working completely differently. Um, but then when you're moving, yeah, there's there's blood flow. It's I feel like there's also factors involved that are more related to evolution that like our brain like gives us rewards for movement because that's what kept us alive. And so like our brain just functions better.

SPEAKER_02

That's very interesting.

SPEAKER_00

I like that.

SPEAKER_02

You've dropped so many golden nuggets today. Like, you've given so many great pieces of advice. I could talk to you all day, but I know that I'm gonna let you get back to your to your work. I have one last question. So at the end of every episode, I ask a question from a past guest. It's a thing I stole from my favorite podcast. I love that podcast.

SPEAKER_00

I always imagine like, what if I was the person being asked?

SPEAKER_02

So this is a perfect opportunity. Well, I mentioned his name on every every show in hopes that somehow the algorithm puts my podcast in front of him. Yes, Jody, let me fly you out to LA and have you. Yes, come here. So this is the question I have from my last guest. If AI could dramatically change one aspect of your work, what would you want that to be?

SPEAKER_00

Mmm. I mean, I'm like my brain is really going with the short term right now, but like I know there's so much more we could do long term, but like as this evolves more. But like right now, like if I want, you know, and this is something we were talking about, like if I want to be able to prescribe medicine and have those appointments with my patients, I need to have, you know, uh certain people to do other things. And that means all of this knowledge that I've you know uh accumulated during this process that's not directly related to what I'm talking to my patients to, just gets goes to waste. But really, what AI can allow us to do is like dump all of that, all of our, you know, the way that we think about something, all of the knowledge base that creates the way we talk about something, and put that in one place and spit something out for a patient. I mean, I just think that like there's just so many things like that that could be really cool. Um, like right now, you know, we're trying to come up with more creative ways to um, you know, with medical weight loss, having really keeping keeping the nutrition and the exercise component and lifestyle at forefront. And like AI can definitely allow me to do that. So I'm excited to figure it out.

SPEAKER_02

Awesome.

SPEAKER_00

Awesome, awesome.

SPEAKER_02

Thank you so much. I really appreciate not just your time, but also just your willingness to share everything about your life with nothing held back. No problem.

SPEAKER_00

Thank you so much for having me on. Absolutely.

SPEAKER_02

All right, I'll see you soon.

SPEAKER_00

Okay, bye.

SPEAKER_02

Thank you for listening to Beyond Hormones, the business of wellness. I hope that you're walking away with fresh ideas and real strategies you can use to grow your practice with profit and purpose. If you enjoyed today's episode, be sure to follow the show so you never miss a conversation. And if something you heard today resonated with you, do me a favor, share this episode with a friend or colleague. It's one of the best ways you can support the show, and it might be exactly what they need to hear right now. If you want even more tools and support, go ahead and head over to accelerated medical practices.com. Until next time, keep doing the work that matters. Your patients need you, and I am cheering you along every step of the way.