EPISODE 477: Getting Out of Your Comfort Zone with Lauren Johnson DC

Hey, chiropractors. We're ready for another Modern Chiropractic Mastery Show with Dr. Kevin Christie, where we discuss the latest in marketing strategies, contact marketing, direct response marketing, and business development with some of the leading experts in the industry. 

Dr. Kevin Christie: [00:00:00] Welcome to another episode of Modern Chiropractic Mastery. This is your host, Dr. Kevin Christie, and today I am excited to discuss getting out of your comfort zone. And I have Dr. Lauren Johnson, uh, to kinda work through this with me and, and tell her story of getting out of her comfort zone in many different ways.

And her and her husband, uh, Ben Johnson, have built a great practice with, uh, really a great vision, but it's taken getting out of their comfort zone. And in particular, we talk about her story today and her getting out of her comfort zone in different ways. And I wanna challenge you, uh, to look at where you are shying away from getting uncomfortable, where you know in your heart of hearts, uh, on the other side of that discomfort would be growth, and you would start to be comfortable with that particular growth, and then you go to the next one.

And that is how we do, um, develop [00:01:00] ourselves, our practice, I mean, our kids, right? Our, our patients, right? We gotta get people and ourselves out of our comfort zone, and, uh, Lauren does a great job of discussing that and what that's meant, uh, for her. Uh, before we dive into that, just wanna make a quick mention that I am still, on June 20th, in London, going to be, uh, co-presenting with Dr.

Chris Chippendale. We're gonna have a, a patient experience masterclass. It's gonna be one day. He'll speak. I'll speak. You'll have heads down work. If you're in London area, if you're in Europe and you wanna get there quickly, would love to have you there. We do have some spots left, but we, we have a nice attendance, which I'm excited about.

It'll be my first, uh, international, uh, speaking engagement. It's been cool to see people sign up for that. Would love to have you there. Uh, you can still register as this comes out, and you can go to bit.ly, B-I-T dot L-Y, forward [00:02:00] slash MCMUK26. That's the number 26. And you will leave that weekend with a new and remarkable patient experience.

It won't be cheesy. It will be first class, uh, and it will be impactful. It'll be the best money you've spent to really change the patient experience for your clinic. I'm sure it's already good, but we'll make it even better. Uh, one more mention, Stop Pain Clinical. They, uh, are a collaborator of ours. They actually donate $20 to the Chiropractic Future strategic plan, um, when you spend $89 on their clinical pack here, their, their clinical starter bundle.

You can go to stop, so S-T-O-P-A dot- I-N forward slash future, and we'll put that in the show notes. Uh, you can also go to Stop Paying Clinical to see what they do, but they are donating $20 to The Chiropractic Future Strategic Plan, which is awesome. The Chiropractic Future is dedicated to increasing [00:03:00] access to chiropractic care and advancing fair reimbursement through technology, research, and collaboration.

They are working to build a more sustainable future, so check them out, Stop Paying Clinical. All right, without further ado, here is my interview with Dr. Lauren Johnson

All right. I've got Dr. Lauren Johnson on the podcast today, and we're gonna dive into getting out of your comfort zone and, and growth on the other side of that. So welcome to the show, Lauren. Appreciate your time today. Hello. Thanks for having me. Yeah, definitely. And, uh, you know, we've gotten to know each other and, and also your husband, Ben, over the last, uh, year or so.

Uh, before we dive into our kind of topic of, of getting out of your comfort zone, uh, tell us, give us a little background on, on your clinic, and I know, uh, you and Ben have, uh, built this clinic together. Uh, but give us a little bit of a background where you're at and some of the details of that. Yeah. So, um, [00:04:00] my husband Ben and I opened up our own practice, Nashville Chiropractic and Sports Therapy, in 2015.

Lauren Johnson DC: We are in Nashville proper. Our office is m- almost, like, a mile south of Broadway. Um- Nice ... so in the kind of the thick of it. Um, so we originally were both associates at separate offices, and an opportunity arose, uh, that we finally decided to open up our own place. Um, it wasn't something that was originally on our mind.

Um, even being married and both being chiropractors, we thought we would just work for other offices for our, our whole career. Um, and then things pivoted, and we decided to open in 2015, so, um, it'll make it 11 years coming up here in May. Yeah. It, it's easy, right? Yeah, yeah, so such an easy choice. Um, yeah, no regrets.

Dr. Kevin Christie: Yeah. Um, but, uh, but no, it really is. Uh, I think, um, one of the reasons we wanted to, uh, open up our place was just to fill a gap that we [00:05:00] felt we weren't finding jobs in, um- Yeah ... in Nashville. So having a sports rehab, uh, focused office is what we both came from. We both- Mm ... were mentored by ... I was from Illinois, Chicago area.

Lauren Johnson DC: Ben was in, um, at UT Knoxville. Uh, and those were kind of our first exposures to chiropractic. And both of us were athletes, and we just happened to have very parallel experiences around doctors that were, um, multimodal, like, in their whole- Mm ... facility. They had athletic trainers working for them. They had PT.

They had, um, a lot of sports rehab. So that's just what we knew, even going into- Mm ... Logan, uh, where we happened to meet, um, several years later, so. Yeah. Um, so that's been good. Uh, another reason we opened our practice was we did wanna build a place that would have the potential to hire associates that would wanna stay, people who don't wanna own their own practice.

Um- And I think that's where we're starting to get [00:06:00] into now is really envisioning that future for ourselves in the practice, and how we can build roles and associate positions for people who don't want to open up their own place, and we want to make a place that they don't want to leave either . So- Yeah

um, I think that that's been hard to find traditionally, um, in the chiropractic, uh, like, business structure. Uh, we were both in spaces that couldn't really hold another associate for very long, and so it was a nice taste, but it wasn't going to guarantee a future for either of us. Um- Yeah ... so hopefully our practice can provide that in the future, and I hope a lot of other practices consider that, too, um, versus it always being an entrepreneurship.

Um, I think that that's great, and if you have the energy and the time and the interest, you should. Um, I wouldn't talk anyone out of opening their own place, but I think it'd be really cool if there's more places that can really host and, and develop a team, so. Yeah. I love your vision on that because there's, you know, there's kind of, um, you know, you're the [00:07:00] entrepreneur like you mentioned, but there's the intrapreneur also where- Mm-hmm

Dr. Kevin Christie: there's a lot of really good chiropractors that would thrive under the kind of, with the rails of a practice that's already been established without all the heartache and s- struggle and, and challenge of, of, of owning and operating a, a practice. Mm-hmm. 'Cause a lot of chiropractors just want to be really good chiropractors and, and be able to grow within the structure of a, of an existing business, and I, I, I love that you both have that vision to create a clinic that excels for the intrapreneur that can come in- Mm-hmm

and have an awesome career and get compensated well. Yeah. Absolutely. And I think that's what Ben and I wanted when we graduated. I think, um, a lot of people might have that vision, "Oh, I'll, I'll get plugged into an office that's really great," and like, you know, has the wheels turning, "and I'm gonna just fill this role as a really great clinician."

Lauren Johnson DC: Mm-hmm. Um, and just through the experiences we both had, we realized in the [00:08:00] city we wanted to be in, that wasn't existing. So we did have to step into opening up our own place, um, but it, it's not to just make another island and to just, you know, it just be Ben and I forever. Um, it is, uh, designed and hopefully, um, you know, going the right direction to feed the profession so that it can feed the, the community, um, outside of just our, ourselves, so.

Dr. Kevin Christie: Oh, I love it. I love it. And so as we, uh, we do record this, you, uh, recently had your second child. Congratulations. Yes. Thank you. Um, yeah, we welcomed a little boy, um, on Groundhog's Day. Uh, we were joking if he would see his shadow and go back in or stay out. Um, but- ... uh, we, we do have two kiddos. I have a daughter who is five, and we have a son now who's, uh, yeah, just over two months old.

Yeah. That's, that's, uh, that's exciting, and I know it's, it's a lot to, to navigate. How have you found... Uh, [00:09:00] you know, we've had a lot of mom chiros on the podcast over the years. I always love, uh, kinda hearing how you, you do navigate it, and, and how has that been for you guys? Um, man, honestly, I was really naive.

Lauren Johnson DC: Um, I heard- ... moms and dads, you know, especially moms in the chiro world, talk about managing their career and pivoting and, you know, a lot of passion around wanting to have children and have a family, and I just took it as, like, all right, well, you know, I guess you just make it happen. Um- Yeah ... and we waited a long time, not only in our marriage, but also in, in the concept of having our practice.

Um, so we were six years into having our practice before we had our first kiddo. Um, and I know a lot of people, you know, they had kids in, in grad school, like, before they were even ready to practice. Um, and so when it came time to think about having children, like, we knew it would come with some responsibilities.

Mm-hmm. And it had some freedoms with us being practice [00:10:00] owners, but it honestly had a lot more responsibilities to navigate, uh- Yeah ... than we were ready or, like, credited our preparedness for. So, um, some of the freedom we had was around choosing how much time to take off for maternity and paternity leave.

Um, you know, no one's telling us we have to be back. Um- Yep ... but the responsibilities were, you know, how would we pay ourselves? Would we pay ourselves? Are we going to hire someone who's, like, a temp to cover for us, or are we gonna hire a new associate, um, an independent contractor? Just, you know, what, what could that look like?

Um- Yep. Yep ... so yeah, it took a lot of thinking, um- Yeah ... and processing, and you think you have time. You think like, "Oh, it takes nine months to, like, have this baby," and you think you're gonna be totally ready when that baby arrives, and you're like, "Where did nine months go? I'm not... Like, I need to get my notes done.

I don't have this, like, squared away. I need to figure out who's coming into the practice." [00:11:00] So it goes by very quickly. Um- Yeah ... and, uh, yeah. So I think, um, you know, that did cause us to step outside our comfort zone, 'cause what we decided to do was hire an associate. Yeah. We decided, hey, we need to bring someone in.

Mm-hmm. That happened very smoothly, which is not the case for a lot of people. Yeah. So I will say that that experience for us was a, a huge blessing. Um, but it was vulnerable. We had to- Yeah ... realize, like we have to open up our doors to someone. We have to look at our finances. We need to really reflect on our systems or lack thereof- Mm-hmm

because when you're just working with each other, you know, work becomes home conversation, home conversation becomes work conversation, and we had to really prepare ourselves to bring in another person to something that only we, you know, were used to being in together. Yeah, and, and it's hard because you're not only trying to onboard a new associate, you're also preparing to off-board [00:12:00] yourself for a period of time- Mm-hmm

Dr. Kevin Christie: and you're, like you said, you got... It goes by fast. Like nine months does sound like a while. As we know, it's not. It's not. I mean, when you feel sick, it feels like forever, but when- Yeah. ... when you realize all the other things that need to get done, you're like, "What happened?" So, but- I never thought about that from like a, a chiro mom's perspective.

It's like on one hand, the longest nine months ever being pregnant- Yep. ... and then on the other hand, the shortest nine months trying to be a business owner that's gonna do a maternity leave. Mm-hmm. So- Yeah, yeah, I think it did, um... I mean, it challenged me personally too. Like, I mean, the business side was definitely a growing experience, stepping out of the comfort zone, and we had to, you know, tackle that with reaching out to other people and resources and, and really become vulnerable to, you know, sharing our, our practice with them to get their advice about hiring someone.

Lauren Johnson DC: Yeah. But then personally, like comfort zone was really challenged by, I just knew myself as a doctor that [00:13:00] owned a practice. I didn't know myself as a mom. I didn't know myself as someone who took off time from work. Um- Mm-hmm ... and I didn't know, you know, how and where to navigate my patients to, if I wasn't gonna be available for them.

Yeah. So I had to start, you know, making sure I had some good people in the community that could step in for techniques- Mm-hmm ... that maybe our associate wasn't necessarily hired to do. Um, and then also have to pivit- just pivot my own mindset. Like, I had so much pride in my work, um- Yeah ... it was hard to step away and have maternity leave or take days off when I just felt so sick, um- Yeah

'cause I just wasn't used to that, so yeah. Yeah. And that's part of getting out of that comfort zone. Obviously the, it's kind of the ultimate of getting out of your comfort zone is- Mm-hmm ... as a mom having kids, uh, of any, of, of any work, uh, career, uh- Yeah ... or just in general. But, um, yeah, it's been cool to see how you guys have, um, built something that has allowed you to make the [00:14:00] decisions.

Dr. Kevin Christie: And I, I think one thing I, I would recommend to those listening that might either, uh, be navigating it soon or in the future is- Is nine months is not a long time to prepare business-wise, but- Yeah ... um, if your, let's just say your practice is, is profiting, doing well with, uh, the, the mom chiropractor working full time during pregnancy- Mm

is to try to tuck some money away in a sinking fund. Uh- Yeah ... you know? Right. Did, did you guys do some of that, like get prepared financially? Yeah. Yeah, we started to put money aside. Um, and I mean, incremental, but- Yeah ... week by week it, it adds up. Mm-hmm. Um, uh, we had connected with Dr. Holly Tucker for- Mm-hmm

Lauren Johnson DC: uh, Profit First, um, a few years, like, before we- Yep ... had, uh, become pregnant with our first kiddo, and that was huge. I mean, it wasn't necessarily on our radar to be like, "Hey, we need to save for this," but as it became on our radar, then we [00:15:00] knew, um, to discuss that with her- Mm-hmm ... and, like, her advice and just kinda shifting some of our percentages on how that model works.

Dr. Kevin Christie: Yeah. Um, and then also just personally putting that money aside. It's not just about the percentages we're getting from the office in our payroll, but, um, what we were doing personally at our home and how we were navigating, uh, those potential expenses. Yeah, yeah. Mm-hmm. And I think, you know, if you're a, if you're a chiro owner that, uh, let's say, has a female chiropractor working for you that's not your, uh, significant other, uh, but is of childbearing age- Mm

and i- and that, like, you know, it's something also that the chiro owner should, should have, um- Yeah ... a plan in place for that. I, some years ago, had Rebecca Dey on, and we talked about a lot of the- Mm-hmm ... things to consider. She's great. Yeah, it was a really good episode- Mm-hmm ... and I, and I wanted to... Because I, I, uh, you know, I want chiropract- Y- obviously the, the husband/wife chiro thing is a little bit of a different thing.

You guys are in it together and, you know, and it's a whole thing [00:16:00] and- Mm-hmm ... but, um, we also need to navigate it when you're a, a chiro owner- Yeah ... and you have a, a, a female associate that is of- Mm-hmm ... of childbearing, uh, age and stuff, so- Yeah, and even- ... uh, something to consider ... our associate we hired, he, um, is, uh, you know, he's getting married this spring.

Lauren Johnson DC: Yep. And his, you know, his soon-to-be wife and him look forward to having children, and that's one of Ben and I's, uh, values as the owners of the practice is to also offer, uh, paternity leave, um, to have paid paternity leave for him. And- Mm-hmm ... I think that just speaks to some of our, um, our values around, like, benefits for our- Mm-hmm

our employees, um, and hopefully, you know, keeping them attracted to the job. Yeah. Yeah. But yeah, it does add that, uh, dynamic in where you have to be preparing for things, um, and looking, looking towards the financial, uh, support around that. Yep, definitely. So I'd, I'd like to transition a little bit [00:17:00] and- Mm-hmm

Dr. Kevin Christie: um, I'd like to discuss your decision to, and, you know, kinda why you joined the mastermind. You're in our West Mastermind group and joined, uh, last year, and so 2020, uh, five. And, and you've been the, the member, uh, between you and Ben, you've been coming out. Uh, what was the decision that you two had on joining the mastermind and, and, and, and why was that?

Lauren Johnson DC: Um, I started listening to the podcast, the MCM podcast- Mm-hmm ... and I think that was, like, by way of FTCA and CSA, um, you know, just getting exposed to those resources. And Ben and I, well, I decided I wanted to join MCM, and I brought it- Mm ... you know, up to Ben. Like, "Hey, I'm, I'm interested in doing this." And I was just craving an opportunity to discuss business, um- Mm-hmm

and it not be with my, with my husband. So, um- That's a good point. Um, I- ... I felt like, um, I, I had more interest in learning about the [00:18:00] business, marketing- Mm ... um, having, uh, you know, opportunity to discuss things with people. And I felt like I, I was just craving an opportunity to, to learn and bring something back to our business, to- Mm

to be more than just the doctor seeing patients. Um, obviously we're owners, but I really wanted to sharpen my tools around business decisions, marketing decisions. And, um, uh, you know, Ben, I think, would be the first, and if you're in business with any partner, it doesn't have to be a, a, a spouse, but you recognize each other's strengths.

You recognize each other's passions and interest, and I think that these types of conversations just sparked a lot more of my interest, and it was a place I wanted to serve the practice. Mm-hmm. Um, and so we decided that it would be an opportunity for me to join. Um, and I, just looking to get, you know, outside of our bubble, um- Yeah

was great. Um- Yeah. It's been awesome having you. And, uh, one of the things that [00:19:00] we do is we have, you know, again, go- getting out of our comfort zone, and being in the mastermind definitely can be getting out of your comfort zone for people. Mm-hmm. Uh, but then it becomes a comfort zone. It's, like, an interesting thing.

Dr. Kevin Christie: Yeah. Right? Yeah. It is. Um, I was really nervous, uh- Uh-huh ... joining. Um, and I was nervous about showing up to the first meeting. Um, and I think it was me and, and maybe one if not two other docs that were, like, brand new that, that meeting. Mm-hmm. Um, so everyone else, you know, had, had some history, uh, together.

Lauren Johnson DC: And I, it just so quickly became my comfort zone. It just did. Like, it's a perfect way to say it. Like, it, the mastermind has been, you know, a place for me to learn how to contribute to my practice, but I've just continued to lean on the mastermind and learn from it, um- It, it's just been really, really a, a, a no-brainer.

Like, I'm so glad I joined. Uh, [00:20:00] it's probably one of the best things I've done, if not the best thing I've done for my mental health as a business owner- Mm-hmm ... for my, um, uh, uh, like, m- my resource availability as a business owner, and I think that the... I found, like, cheerleaders there to motivate me. Uh, I found honesty to get me out of my own way.

Um- Mm-hmm, mm-hmm ... and I found a lot of friends who care about me personally. They, they, you know, you start to know each other. They care about me as a athlete, as a mom, as a clinician, um, and as a boss. Like, you know, I have people who... We now have four employees, uh- Mm-hmm ... that I am learning how to communicate with, and learning how to communicate at Mastermind has helped a lot in my communication skills to Ben, to our associate, and to our other three staff members.

Mm-hmm. And it's been a huge, um, a, a huge benefit to the practice and to myself personally to be a part of Mastermind. Uh, it's awesome, and it's been great to have you. And we, one thing we do is we have our members [00:21:00] doing each one, teach one, which, you know- Mm ... the members are made up of a lot of really good, smart doctors with great practices, and we have things we can learn- Yeah

Dr. Kevin Christie: from each other. And I think it was the second, uh, meeting that we had you do the each one, teach one, and you did it on, uh, gait, the foot-ankle. Mm-hmm. And it was really good. We, you know, it was one of those things where I know a lot of people applied some of that to their clinic, and it's just a way of, of, of educating the group on something that you have, and then it's, um, it's also, I think, you might find it's, it's hard to get in front of your colleagues and do a 30-minute presentation to Mm-hmm.

Yeah. But you did great. You did great, but it's something that gets you out of your comfort zone. Yeah. I am not naturally a public speaker or, um, you know, wanting to get in front of people. I get very nervous, and it does not come naturally to me, or it doesn't feel natural to me. Um, I parallel it, uh, when I talk to people at [00:22:00] public speaking, I'm like, I enjoy skiing.

Lauren Johnson DC: Um, Ben and I like to go ski every year, and I see these, um, badass skiers and I'm like- Mm-hmm ... I wanna be that awesome, and I get up there and I'm, like, all pumped, and then I'm like, "Oh, no, I can't do this," and I freak out. So I see people speak, I hear your podcast, I, I go to seminars, I listen to people, and I, I admire their ability to s- to speak, and I want to.

I'm like, "Oh, I wanna be able to do that." And I get up there, and I just freak out. So- ... um, it was definitely a, um, nerve-wracking situation, but not, like, because everyone's so nice and so, um, just- Wonderfully accepting and engaged. No one's just like scrolling and ignoring you. Like, they are truly engaged 'cause they care not just about what you're presenting, but you building that skill to present.

So yeah, it was great. Um, with the each one, teach one, I, like you know, you can p- pick any topic you want. It doesn't [00:23:00] have to be clinical. Yeah. Um, I had a pretty good craft beer presentation ready, but I pivoted, uh, last minute to the- ... to the tools and resources of Dr., um, Tom Michaud. So- Yeah ... um, I personally have brought in the ToePro, um- Mm-hmm

and, uh... Oh man, so many of his devices. Um, uh, the Varus Valgus Post. Um, and so those were the- the products I talked about the most in my each one, teach one- Yeah ... and how I like to work with runners. I like to work with anyone with, um- Mm-hmm ... you know, foundational foot issues. Uh, Dr. Nick and, and Ben tend to just send me everyone with foot problems, 'cause I think they just don't wanna touch their feet.

Yeah, yeah. But, um, but yeah, I spoke on the clinical application of those devices- Mm-hmm ... but also how to, um, be an affiliate to those products through Human Locomotion- Mm-hmm ... and selling those products to your patient, uh, population, and even just selling things in my office has [00:24:00] been outside my comfort zone.

When I first opened, like I didn't have any devices- Wow ... anything for sale. Like, I thought like, oh- Mm-hmm ... my hands and my technique and my education is supposed to do the job, and quickly you learn that people are gonna ask for your expertise. They're gonna ask what you recommend, and- Mm-hmm ... having those tools available is really, you know, how someone goes home from their appointment and gets to say, "Hey, I really got this great advice, and I got this tool I can work with from home, and I can, you know, continue these exercises," and really hit their goal of feeling better.

So- Mm-hmm ... whether that's, you know, devices from Human Locomotion and you're, you know, wanting to get into that population and that service, or if it's bringing in, um... We- we have Thorne products for like supplements at our office. Yeah. Um, you know, it s- it started simple. We just had TheraBand- Mm-hmm ... and some lacrosse balls for like trigger point work- Mm-hmm

some foam rollers, I think, in the office. But even that, like presenting can be outside the comfort for me personally. I know some people are just like natural at [00:25:00] it. Um- Mm-hmm. But then also what I spoke about, like getting to, you know, work outside of the spine on people, getting to bring products into your practice, and getting a balance on how you sell something, but really for the value and the convenience for the patient.

Um- Yeah ... it's not just about the bottom line. It's nice. It adds a little bit of, um- Mm-hmm ... financial support in your sales category, but, um- Patients love it. They love having those tools- Mm-hmm ... available to them, and it's been a really great addition to our practice that I wasn't, um, always aware of, uh, that opportunity.

Dr. Kevin Christie: Yeah. And like you said, you're getting out of your comfort zone. It helps with growing the clinic and getting better results for your- Yeah ... for your patients. And I think that's what I always- Yeah ... love about our members is it's, it's always patient-centered, and having conviction around what the patient is gonna benefit from.

And then- Mm-hmm ... then, yeah, not being afraid to, to make that, uh, recommendation. I know you mentioned skiing and, and comfort zone. Skiing is definitely out of my comfort zone. The, the first, the [00:26:00] first Mastermind weekend that you were a part of, we were in Park City- Mm-hmm ... Utah, and I remember, um, you were on the bunny slopes with Ben, but it was because of your daughter.

I was o- I was on the bunny slope because of myself. And I remember looking back and seeing you guys, and I'm by myself trying to, like, get, get this together here. I, I think you've come a long way, Kevin. And- Oh, thank you ... I, I was on those slopes for myself as well. I, I- Oh ... gotta warm up before I go, uh, too hard.

Lauren Johnson DC: So, um, I think, uh, you've, you've come a long way. We both have. I'm getting there. I'm getting there, for sure. But we do also try to do things on the weekend, not every weekend, but get out of the comfort zone. I remember, um, the- Mm-hmm ... the year prior to you being there, we were in, uh, Jackson, Wyoming, where our members- Mm-hmm

Dr. Kevin Christie: um, Laura and Tyler Wright live there. They're now in Alaska, but- Yeah ... they f- they, they took us on this hike, and we're, we were on this rock where we could jump in the water. And it was just, like, high [00:27:00] enough, I don't know, 20 feet, give or take, where you were safe, but it was not f- like, it was scary. But I did see- Yeah

a bunch of people jumping off it. So... Yeah. It's like when you, you, you're safe, but you're like, "Is that guaranteed?" Like, am I... Yeah. Is there... Um- Yeah. So I did do that. Yeah. And I got out of my comfort zone there, and it's invigorating, for sure. Well, I mean, the members of Mastermind, especially in my experience in the West group and in my one experience meeting the East group as well, I mean, it's just full of people who go outside their comfort zone.

Lauren Johnson DC: I think people just signing up alone to join the Mastermind is a challenge to their comfort. They're willing to be vulnerable and expose their style of practice, their, their financial stability- Mm-hmm ... um, and, and their interests. Like, it can feel vulnerable to be like, "Hey, I, I don't wanna work anymore," like, on- Mm-hmm

on patients. "I wanna do something else." Like, to admit that pivot is really, um, can be [00:28:00] hard. And- Mm-hmm ... I think the West group, um, just because that's, you know, the group I'm in, getting to know these people, they are like the definition of examples of, of c- getting out of your comfort zone. Yeah. I've seen people straight up move their practice across the country.

Um, I've seen... Well, not just the country, the hemisphere, it feels. Like, it- Yeah, yeah ... I've seen people You know, add completely new services to their practice. I've seen people, um, pivot from patient care to, um, more hands-off admin and, like, business ownership. Um- Yeah ... it, it... And then outside of work, like, we've seen people, you know, tackle great, um, personal tasks.

Having a kid- Yeah ... joining a, a team, picking back up a hobby or a physical athleticism interest. Like, there's just so many people that are constantly looking to, um... It's not just about improving yourself. Like, c- stepping out of your comfort zone isn't just to improve. Like, I think sometimes we get, [00:29:00] like, overwhelmed with, like, be better, do better all the time.

Mm. And I think I would just encourage people to take a step back and not feel like you always have to improve, 'cause that can kind of insult, like, all the wonderful, successful things you're already doing. Yeah. Um, I think getting out of your comfort zone is almost a way to express the success you've had, and to- Mm-hmm

look internally and, and think, like, "Wow," like, "I'm really proud of us." Like, "We did open this practice, and we are doing great." And it's not just about making it bigger, better every day. It's about how to have a passion around it, and now how not to burn out from it. Mm-hmm. Um, so getting out of your comfort zone doesn't have to just mean, like, "Oh, I got better at something I haven't done before," or, like, to make something you've done before i- you know, exponentially greater.

I think it's, it's to, to really shine light on where you do have skills that are just getting maybe buried by the mundane, um- Mm-hmm ... day-to-day [00:30:00] stuff. Um- Yeah ... and that's a, you know, being at the mastermind has been a huge help in that professionally and personally. It becomes this... It, it is my instinctual place to go to when I have a question.

Um, if I wanna figure out something, know someone's experience, being in the mastermind has been, has been, become, become the comfort zone where, like, you can ask anything and everything. Mm-hmm. And a lot of ser- a lot of communities, you're not gonna get that relationship with the neighboring doctors. I think some doctors like to keep their, um, you know, their cards close to their chest, and I think that's reasonable.

Um, but it is nice to find people who you're not in direct competition with- Yeah ... that you can actually have honest conversations about things- Mm-hmm ... and it not feel like you're, um, maybe- Like, getting too much friction around the other docs that might be directly in your community, so. Yeah. And a couple things we've tried to establish from the beginning was definitely, um, [00:31:00] you know, coming at it with a, a beginner's mindset 'cause we- there's people of all, like, dominations- Mm-hmm

Dr. Kevin Christie: of chiropractic doing well, and people- Mm-hmm ... still working to get there. But it definitely, it's a, it's a higher level group. But the other part is, is, is having that, um, discretion, right? And being able to share and- Yep ... a- and do all that, and it's been great. Mm-hmm. And I think one of the things you mentioned, it's, it's not about, like, it's not...

W- We haven't created this, like, hustle culture thing where it's just like- No. Mm-mm ... you grind till you, till you die type of thing. Yeah. It's, it's about, it's about working hard and strategically, and most chiropractors do. And then depending on your ad, like, you know, we have some members that are in their early 30s, and we have some members that are in their 50s and even into their 60s, and- Yeah

and a lot of the in between. And so everybody's at a little bit of different stage. But what's been cool is seeing some of the younger DCs bring a lot of fresh ideas and, and, um, not these preconceived notions, and that's been helping the, the, let's call it the more seasoned veterans. And then obviously the wisdom [00:32:00] from the seasoned veterans help out, and it's been a nice mix of, of all that.

Lauren Johnson DC: Mm-hmm. Yeah, I think the, the advice, mentorship that I get from more seasoned, uh, veterans, more seasoned doctors there helps me realize that, um... How do I say this? K- Uh, I shouldn't be so sensitive. Like, d- d- making a decision isn't gonna make or break you. Like, you, you can make a choice and it can change.

Like, you- Mm ... can trial something out. Um, and I remember... I mean, one of the best things that we did for our practice, just clinic, like, clinically and, and business-wise was, um, I remember I got to sit next to, uh, Dr. Donna King, like, at my first- Mm-hmm ... um, event at MCM, and I was like, "Wow, this is just solid gold."

Um, and- ... she convinced me to have a 10-minute appointment option, and we didn't have that. We were like, "No," like, "They need our time all the time, and- [00:33:00] Mm-hmm ... we need to do everything for everyone." And she's like, "You should have a 10-minute." And she just kept repeating it to me. No excuses, no, no, like, she wasn't trying to defend it excessively.

Mm-hmm. She was just like, "No, I think you should do this." And I, I took it seriously and I was like, "All right, I'm gonna, I'm gonna try it." And I mean, worst case we offer it and then, like, a few weeks later we don't, um, and we go back. And here we are, um, you know, a year and a half later, we've implemented that and it's been one of the best things for our practice because it's helped i- on a number of, of- Mm-hmm

capacities when you look at your stats, and, and your outcomes, and your patient, um, satisfaction. Like, some people want that, and it's been great. Yeah. So, um, some of the younger docs, um- I've learned that I'm not alone in having a bunch of ideas and trying to learn how to execute them. Mm-hmm. Um, and getting really great ideas from them.

And all- everyone's given great ideas around [00:34:00] balance, l- life balance Mm-hmm Uh, a- and I think there's probably better ways to say that, but just making sure you're checking in with your, with yourself and your, your interest and your mental health and your physical health and not just getting all consumed by work, um- Yeah

has been great, so. Yeah. Mm-hmm. Well, Lauren, this has been great. I could do this for another hour. But, uh, we've, uh, polled our audience, and 45 minutes is the ideal- Great. ... podcast length. Uh, but I'm looking forward to seeing you in our next mastermind together and working with you and, uh, continuing to help grow.

Dr. Kevin Christie: I, I got one more question, though. Mm-hmm. Like, as it comes to comfort zone in your, in your clinic, uh, is there anything you and Ben have on the horizon that you're, you're wanting to as far as your vision for the clinic, something that's, that you're not currently doing? Is there anything that's there in the future that you're thinking?

Lauren Johnson DC: Um, we've been exploring a lot of AI, um- Yeah. There you go ... opportunities, so trying to see what [00:35:00] we can automate. Mm-hmm. Um, I literally have a list here in front of me where I'm just writing down every task as soon as I walk into the office that gets done, and just seeing what we can automate, um, and what we can really keep, um, you know, as a human task and what can be done with all this amazing tech that's in the world.

Mm-hmm. So, um, I think that's probably the next step. I'm horrible at tech. My, my password to my computer is, "I'm great at tech," 'cause I'm just trying to convince myself I'm great at it. And so I think it's, like, one of those mantra goals. But, um- Mm-hmm ... but otherwise, if I look at a computer, it just stops working.

Um, so this is definitely outside my comfort zone, and, uh, I think that we can use a lot of this AI to augment the, the- Mm ... services we do, but also the automations and the, the, um, computer-based work that it does require to, to run a practice, so. Oh, love it. Yeah, AI is, uh, stretching a lot of people's comfort zones, and I know that's something we tackle kind of in each of our meetings [00:36:00] now is- Mm-hmm

Dr. Kevin Christie: uh, we don't make it all about AI, but we're trying to keep our members up to speed on it for sure. Yeah. I'm no, I'm, I'm no Jay Greenstein. Like, that- that's another level. I'm just trying to- Yeah ... figure out how, like, Google Gemini works, so. There you go. Yeah. Well, well, keep at it. Thank you. Well, Lauren, this has been a pleasure.

I really appreciate your time, and, and keep on, uh, getting out of your comfort zone. Cool. Thanks, Kevin.