EPISODE 501: Aligning Your Niche with Culture with Lindsay Mumma 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.

00:00:00] Welcome to another episode of Modern Chiropractic Mastery. This is your host, Dr. Kevin Christie, and today we are gonna talk about aligning your niche with your culture, and that's gonna be with Dr. Lindsey Mumma, and she brings a lot of great information in this show. Uh, she was kind enough to present to our West Mastermind back in May.

We were in, uh, Santa Fe, New Mexico, and she presented for four hours on this material and really helping us, uh, you know, with what, what your vision is, uh, you know, your personal core values, and really getting clear on what that is, and then building your, your kinda t- your company core values and your team around that.

And when... Too often I see practices who frankly, uh, are not happy with their patient base, like who they are as, as people or, uh, or activities or whatever, and they've kinda built a practice that, um, is not really aligned with their personal core [00:01:00] values, and so they, uh, are not so keen on growing it even more.

And so we wanna get this right, and Lindsey does a great job of getting clear on that for you in this episode. Uh, before we dive into that, I wanna make mention, uh, she is also one of our, uh, Thrive speakers. She's gonna be speaking on this information a little bit more in depth, and we've got a lot of great speakers at Thrive.

The early bird pricing ends December 4th, so please sign up now. You can sign yourself up, you can sign your associate up. We've had some people signing their team up, your practice managers. This is gonna be designed, it's gonna be high-level information, but it gonna be, uh, able to digest whether you're the owner or an associate or a practice manager, and you're gonna be able to bring this back to your team and get even better.

It's gonna be all practice growth. And again, it's gonna... the, the, uh, it's not till the end of January, January 30th and 31st in Atlanta. We're making it super easy for you to get there. We're making it very [00:02:00] impactful with the speakers. And so check it out. Uh, go to the landing page, sign up, look at it. We've got a lot going on there.

And you can go to Bitly, bit.ly/thrive2027. You do have to put all, like, the HTTPS and stuff in front of that. Uh, you can go to, uh, our website and find it, modernchiropracticmarketing.com. We've, uh... We're, we're really excited about this event. We already got quite a few people signed up, which has been, which has been great.

And, uh, so you can check that out again, bit.ly/thrive2027, and hope to see you there. Without further ado, here is my interview with Dr. Lindsey Mumma.

Dr. Kevin Christie: All right, excited to have Lindsey Mumma on the podcast again, uh, second time. Today we're talking a little bit different, uh, topic, which I always like because I'm gonna put you on the spot here, Lindsey, and, and make you blush, which I know you do. Uh, and, [00:03:00] and, uh, that is the fact that you are really good clinically, and the first time I had you on, we talked about your book, and we talked a lot of things clinical, and that's the bread and butter of, of who you are as a chiropractor.

But you also have done a great job on the practice growth, we'll kinda label it, and we're gonna dive into some of that part of it today. We're gonna put the clinical away, but I love when, uh, I can get people that, you know, are patient-centered and outcome-driven, but also, yeah, they, "I'm gonna take my company culture serious, I'm gonna take my marketing serious, I'm gonna take my business serious."

And so today we're gonna be how- talking about how you've aligned a niche with your, with your culture. And you were kind enough to speak to our mastermind group in Santa Fe this year, and you're kind enough to also be one of our presenters at Thrive in Atlanta coming in January. So what exactly is aligning your niche with culture?

Lindsay Mumma: I get this whole big [00:04:00] intro, and then you're just gonna dive right in. Kevin, you are one of my favorite life coaching clients. Um, in case anyone was wondering, I have been Kevin's unpaid life coach for three years now. Is that right? Well, do we count- He loosely listens to my recommendations.

Dr. Kevin Christie: I did pay you to come out to Santa Fe.

I, and I kinda lumped in a line-

Lindsay Mumma: That was

Dr. Kevin Christie: not in a life coaching capacity ... I li- there was a line item of life coaching in there as well.

Lindsay Mumma: Okay, okay. All right. I'll have to go back and look at the invoice, but, uh- So aligning mission culture for me is making sure that the people who you are attracting into your clinic are the people who are aligned with the culture of your clinic, and that your own clinic is also in alignment with your own inner culture.

So it's kind of a macrocosm and a microcosm all at one time, looking at who it is that you are as a person, who it is that you are as a clinician, who it is that you are as the practice owner, and how all of that actually needs to be in [00:05:00] alignment simply for you to be happy in practice. And I think that there's something that is completely overlooked in business strategy that is like, you know, get more money and have better, uh, outcomes for your practice, but are you happy?

And I've- I guess I just am a little bit of a canary in a coal mine. If, if things are not really, really great, then I will know very quickly. Um, and I, I had some things that were just a little bit off, and I had... And I... That was within me personally, that was then showing up within me clinically, which was then showing up within me as the practice owner, and I ended up being sick and I had some autoimmune diagnoses, and that's...

We're not doing the clinical stuff, and I'm not, uh, talking about that- ... too much, but, like, I got sick as a result of, like, not actually being in alignment. And as a chiropractor, I [00:06:00] hesitate to use the word alignment very much because- ... I just wanna be clear, I don't think that bones fall out of place and that we pop them back in.

Mm-hmm. So just would like to state that for the record. That's a fairy tale. Um, but I think getting in alignment where- Your own values are not in conflict with your practice values is really important. And so I think there are plenty of chiropractors who own their practices who have n- no idea what their business core values are.

Mm-hmm. I think that there are plenty of people who don't know what their own personal core values are, and so even just getting clear on that is such a great starting point. But then realizing, and this is one of the things that we did in Santa Fe, realizing, okay, I actually personally really value autonomy- Mm-hmm

and one of my practice's core values is teamwork. So how do those two work together, and do they? Are they in direct conflict? Because I really value when people are self-governing and they do their own thing, and how does that work with [00:07:00] teamwork as one of my practice's core values? Those, th- can very much be at odd.

If I'm like, "Yeah, you're an individual, do your thing," and then in my practice I'm like, "But you're part of a team, so you have to do the thing for the team." So I need to be really clear on how those values are in alignment or if in kinda worst case scenario my personal values are in misalignment with my practice values, how can we reengage with the practice in a way that serves the practice and also serves the practice owner?

Because if you're not happy in your practice, why the heck do you wanna show up, and how are you gonna get people to be happy to be there? I just... So you give me a big intro, I'll give you a big answer.

Dr. Kevin Christie: Yeah. No, and, and I... Well, you probably thought I was gonna skip on, like, you introducing yourself and, and doing all that.

And besides the introduction I do, you know, more professionally, I wanted to tackle it this way from, like, I w- you know, the person down all the way to the, the patient and the team because [00:08:00] we hear a lot, so much about, you know, core values for our clinic and core values for our clinic and co- You know, that, that, that's great, and if...

Yeah, like, core values for a business, if you're the CEO of a multinational billion-dollar company, th- that company's not gonna base its core values off of one person's core values, right? Uh, that would make any sense. But when we're talking about micro-businesses like ours where we are really the, the, the lifeblood of this whole thing, you do have to take in your personal core values in the business, in the team, and the patients that you're gonna put around you.

O- otherwise, it, it's just not gonna be fun, and you gotta be able to do this for a long time without facing burnout. Um-

Lindsay Mumma: Yep. I think this is- And- ... a little bit of an antidote to burnout, and I don't know if it's the antidote to burnout. I don't know if this works for other people, but I- Uh, I know for me personally, I've been in practice for almost 15 years- Mm-hmm

and I'm still excited to show up here. [00:09:00] Yeah. And, you know, I've had some, like, really hard times in practice, but I'm still really excited to show up- Yeah ... and, and be here, and I think that that is because I've kept a pulse on this for a number- Mm-hmm ... of years now.

Dr. Kevin Christie: Yeah. And I think it's fascinating, 'cause I've...

When I was, uh, you know, at the Santa Fe presentation, it really helped me realize that part of, like, the burnout prevention, we'll call it, aspect of, of what you taught. Uh, I've heard also the other thing that can help prevent burn- or that can cause burnout is chronic financial stress- Mm-hmm ... uh, which can kinda go hand-in-hand.

But I always feel like if you were to tackle what you're gonna talk about today and what you're gonna talk about in Thrive, uh, it will help you mitigate... 'Cause everybody has f- cashflow crunches and financial stress. Like, if you're gonna own a... If you're gonna be a business owner, it's just gonna happen.

And so h- uh, you know, obviously we wanna tackle that and, and limit it, for sure. And, and the more cash competence you have, the, the better. [00:10:00] But I think if you can- accomplish what you're talking about, you can maintain resiliency better, and fascination and motivation of what you're doing, and you can kind of roll with the punches more.

Is that what you've found?

Lindsay Mumma: Yeah, that's what I- you're gonna get knocked off center. You have to be able to find your center again. And so this isn't, you know, this is an exercise that we'll do together at Thrive where- Yeah ... I'll kind of help people walk through what the, what it looks like to make sure that your personal core values and your office core values are in alignment, and then how you can actually use that to set your niche.

Because if you value, like, health and, uh, activity and things like that, that's a personal value of yours, but you're like, "I really wanna, um, you know, work with XYZ population that doesn't have the same values," now you're attracting patients into your clinic who are not a mirror of the values that you have, and it's just not gonna work for a long time.

And so I think the, uh, [00:11:00] the... What I've seen just from, you know, I g- I get the chance to talk to lots of people around the world really, but, um, specifically in the United States, our, just bec- like, the European chiropractors and even the South Americans, like, they just, the, the- their levels of burnout are not at the American levels of burnout.

Mm. And I think there's culturally, like, a, you know, go, go, go type of mentality that, that we really do own as Americans. And if you're go, go, go in a direction that is not, I'm just gonna go ahead and take it in my witchy ways, but, like, it's not in complete alignment with your highest good-

Dr. Kevin Christie: Mm-hmm ...

Lindsay Mumma: like, if you are not actually on your divine path, you will burn out because you should've been going in a different direction.

Yeah. And so if you're, like, balls to the wall on sports chiropractic, this, this, I would be a good example of this. I thought- Uh-huh ... that I wanted to do sports chiropractic And then at the end, ugh, sorry, I [00:12:00] don't know how to tell this without telling a bit of a long story, but-

Dr. Kevin Christie: I love it.

Lindsay Mumma: No, go ahead ... one of my dear friends is Whitney Tressel, whose dad is Jim Tressel.

Mm. So Jim Tressel was the head coach at Ohio State, and there's a whole different story. We could do an entire podcast on this. But- Mm-hmm ... I saw what happened to Jim Tressel, and I now know even more behind-the-scenes stuff about it. Mm-hmm. But he opted to protect 19-year-olds for doing dumb 19-year-old things, instead of, like, ruining their lives.

Mm-hmm. And he knowingly did that, and therefore he got thrown under the bus and he was relieved of his position. Um, I was so upset to see that because there were 30 people at my wedding. Jim called me on my wedding. So it wasn't, like, this big production, right? Like, my- Yeah ... husband and I and our very close friends were at a beach house after an Ironman, half Ironman, excuse me.

And th- we got married there. But, like, Jim called me on my wedding day. Like, just a nice guy that I've known since I was in eighth grade, and his [00:13:00] daughter and I started playing volleyball together. And to see this man, like, just torn apart in the news, and I was like, sports are so much not about the sport.

And, like, as a collegiate athlete, I stopped watching college sports.

Dr. Kevin Christie: Mm-hmm.

Lindsay Mumma: I was done. I was like, "This is so frustrating," because Jim is one of the, like, just salt of the earth best people. He's such a great guy, and I'm seeing his name dragged through the mud as if he's, like, a horrible person. And then the next year was the Jerry Sandusky situation at Penn State.

Oh, yeah. And my husband was a collegiate swimmer, and ki- so I don't know if you followed that story, but Joe Paterno- Yeah ... actually, like, went through the chain of command exactly what he should've done, and then JoePa got drug through the mud again. And it was, like, two years in a row of these people that we, like, personally knew.

Like, I knew Jim better than my husband knew Joe Paterno, but, like, he knew him. Like, he would go and, like, rev up the swimmers, you know. And just to see these good humans dragged through the mud, I was like, "I'm so [00:14:00] done with college sports." Right. And now, like, the Ohio State players that, you know, sold their stuff- Mm

that would be totally fine in today's- Yeah ... sports world and the NCAA. All of that to say, if I was still trying to be a sports chiropractor, I would have quit. Yeah. I would have quit chiropractic, not I would have quit trying to be a sports chiropractor. I would have quit chiropractic because I would have been so burnt out because my personal values were not in align with what it was that I was doing in practice, and I would have been bringing in all of these athletes, and I would have been trying to get them better for their game on Saturday, and I would have been focused on a thing that I no longer wanted to focus on myself personally.

So the college football situation that happened in my life, like, I grew up in Ohio, and, like, m- people would be mad that you were getting married on a Saturday in the fall because, like, there's a game on. What are you doing? And my dad was a football coach at the high school level, so, like, I just, I grew up in a football family, and football was [00:15:00] supposed to be important, and it was, until it wasn't.

Yeah. And so if I continued, I'm a sports chiropractor and I really wanna help you with your turf toe and your post-ACL reconstruction surgery, like, I just... I would have burnt out a long time ago. Yeah. I have kind of had to continue re-niching myself- Yeah ... which is actually, like, where this presentation came out of because my interests led me in such a way that I was like, "I need to follow this because I'm actually getting really lit up treating these patients, and this is so exciting for me seeing these patients, and I'm still happy to see these humans on my schedule, but, like, that case type is not what I wanna chase right now."

Dr. Kevin Christie: Yeah.

Lindsay Mumma: And so chasing the case type that actually lines up with my own personal values is kind of what I've done, and it's kept me really happy in practice for 15 years.

Dr. Kevin Christie: Yeah, no, I, I, I love it, and I think it also, one of the things is that sometimes your personal values do change over time, and you have to honor that in a lo- in a lotta ways.

Um, so what, what would be... Give us a couple of [00:16:00] your, uh, personal values, and then we'll kinda dive into, like, the next step of that.

Lindsay Mumma: Uh, so my personal values are freedom and health and family. Those are my top three personal values. And so one of the things that, uh, you probably have questions, but one of the things that I do, uh, kind of once a year-ish is I will prioritize my priority list.

Um, we... Priorities shouldn't really be a word because, like, if it's a priority, then it is the priority. Mm-hmm. Um, but if you kind of look at what are your priorities and you compare that to your calendar, you will find out if you're in alignment or not. Like, are the things that are on my calendar having to do with me having freedom, having to do with me being healthy, and having to do with my family?

And if tho- the things on my calendar do not look like that, then I need to do some reorganization of my life. Um, I started bullet journaling a couple of [00:17:00] years ago, and so my bullet journal also kind of, like, on a regular basis helps me keep up to date on that. If you're not familiar with bullet journaling, it's a very, like, just cool way of organizing thoughts- Mm

into a succinct manner that I, I daily journal without it being overwhelming, um, or cumbersome at all, and just actually, like, really great feedback. Um, and so I'll use that in my, uh, like, prioritization of my priority list, and I just kind of review what's my year been like, and has it looked like I'm in alignment with those values or not?

Dr. Kevin Christie: Mm-hmm. So how, um, if- Put you on the spot here a little bit. You got the personal values you just mentioned, and then, uh, we kinda... We obviously talked about sports chiropractors. There's a lot of different types of, um, chiropractors, or, or let's call them niches, and obviously you've done a great job of niching really great with w- let's just call it women's health for right now.

Um, how did that alignment happen there? So tying in your personal value, [00:18:00] values, or one of them, uh, into that particular audience of, of patients. How did that, how did that connect?

Lindsay Mumma: It was exactly what I just described, where, like, my interests- Mm-hmm ... started to change a little bit. Mm-hmm. So, uh, the very first presentation that I did on niching and re-niching for practice growth, that was...

I, I was a triathlete at the time, which just, like, the timing of this is funny. I just did- Mm-hmm ... my first triathlon in 14 years on Sunday. That's right. Um- That's right ... and, uh- Congrats ... but I, my husband and I had gotten into triathlons. Like I said, we did a half Ironman on our wedding day. Mm-hmm. That, uh...

Like, we were fairly competitive. Like, I wasn't, like, podium on these triathlons. It was just, like, this was the thing that I was excited about doing, and it was a way of, like, continuing fitness, and for both of us having been collegiate athletes, like, just having a sort of organized, like, training schedule that leads to an outcome.

Um, and I, uh... But, but I [00:19:00] found CrossFit because of Rich Alm. Mm-hmm. And so I love Rich, and he and I have been friends s- since we were both reps for MPI in chiropractic college. And, uh, I told him... I had found a video of Kelly Starrett, and I was like, "This guy reminds me of you- ... but he's in that cult, CrossFit," because I-

legitimately thought that CrossFit was a cult. Uh-huh. Because there were people this... There were people- I mean- ... who were working out at Palmer- It's, it's

Dr. Kevin Christie: a cult. ...

Lindsay Mumma: who had been part of a practice management group that was pretty culty. And they got kicked off campus from their practice management group.

They were not allowed to be on Palmer's campus anymore, so then they started doing CrossFit. And I was like, "It's a cult. They're just doing more cult things." So I legitimately had in my mind that CrossFit was a cult.

Dr. Kevin Christie: Mm-hmm.

Lindsay Mumma: And when I told Rich that, he was like, "Actually, no, Jackie," his wife- Yeah ... "has been working out there.

It's, like, one of the only places that incorporates Olympic lifting, and so, like, we've loved it." Yeah. And I was like, "Oh, [00:20:00] really?" So then I started, like, shopping around for some CrossFit gyms that had reasonable, uh, owner mindset, right? Yeah. Like, "Hey, I'm really into, like, functional fitness," and that means different things to different people.

But, so my husband and I found a, a gym, and we worked out there for a number of years. And I was planning on getting pregnant, and I was doing CrossFit, so I was like, "I need to figure this out." And as I was, like, fi- on that journey, I got really excited. So like my CrossFit athletes with lateral epicondylitis because they just did 30 snatches for no reason- Mm-hmm

they, I'm talking to them about like the prenatal stuff that I was finding. Yeah. You know? And so those conversations then led to them referring me patients- Mm-hmm ... because those were the things I was talking about. And then when it came to, uh, like actually starting to see the prenatal patients, I realized like how much of a gap was missing in taking care of postpartum patients- Mm-hmm

and really kinda dove in there. And through all of this, I'm just like learning more and more pelvic floor stuff, and so that kind of led me [00:21:00] to, uh, what, you know, eventually turned into me writing a book about the pelvic floor. Mm-hmm. And but everyone has a pelvic floor, so it sort of like opened up instead of like niching down into one specific point of like- Yeah

a pregnant patient or a postpartum patient. It was like, well, everyone has a pelvic floor, so like I'm working with men, I'm working with women, I'm working with kids. Like bedwetting is a big thing from a pelvic floor dysfunction standpoint that happens in youth, and they're also, like it's multifactorial.

Um, but the j- like each of the kind of interest points led to a different one. And I- Mm-hmm ... and sometimes I would be like, "Oh, this is a really cool thing about the shoulder," but it like just wouldn't light me up. So I'm not like thrilled about rotator cuff injuries- Mm-hmm ... right? But I see them, and they come in, and I love the people that are here with rotator cuff injuries.

Uh, but like each one of the niching down hasn't eradicated the other part of the population. So I still see weekend warriors. I actually do still see- Mm ... like athletes who are getting ready for competition. Like I never really lost the like I do like [00:22:00] taking care of athletes, I just lost the interest in sports chiropractic- Mm-hmm, yep

'cause I was like, I'm not watching games. I'm done with that. Um, so each one of those just kind of put me on a different, like a different focal point, and in those focal points- Mm-hmm ... I was able to figure out what lit me up just by like the, the case types who were coming in. It's like, oh, I want more of those.

Yeah. And so then, like it's just, it, it is actually simple. If you want more of a certain type of patient, keep talking about that type of patient. Yep. Right? Mm-hmm. You're talking about it with the patients who are in your office, not to make them feel unwelcome by any means, but just like, "Yeah, is there anything going on?"

Like if, if you're like, "Oh my God, I, you know, have-" digested everything that, uh, Courtney Conley has put out, and I love gait, and I'm, like, a Tommy Shaw super fan, and I just wanna do foot stuff all day, and I'm so excited about it," like, then make sure that you talk to your patients who are coming in with low back pain.

Like, "Hey, why don't you take your shoes off? Can I take a look at what's going on in your ankle and foot joint?" And don't bypass that even though that's not their complaint. And the- Yeah ... and just like, [00:23:00] "Yeah, I've been learning a lot more about the feet," and blah, blah, blah. You just, like, drop that little nugget.

Well, now that patient, when somebody complains about foot stuff, they're referring you-

Dr. Kevin Christie: Mm-hmm ...

Lindsay Mumma: their, you know, neighbor who they just was like, "Oh yeah, I can't go for a walk today because my foot's hurting." "Oh, well my chiropractor does that," right? So, like, then people start being the mouthpiece for you about the things that you're interested in, and then you also make your social media posts about- Mm-hmm

the thing that you're interested in. So, like, I'm not doing a lot of low back pain social media videos because-

Dr. Kevin Christie: Yeah ...

Lindsay Mumma: fine, the ... I don't ... Like, everyone has low back pain, and I'm happy to- Yeah ... see them, but it's not, like, the thing that lights me up. Yeah. Did you have a question that I was answering? Yes.

Dr. Kevin Christie: No, that, that was perfect.

Um, but a couple, uh, spotlights on that was, yeah, I think when you get, when you get the majority of the patients that are really, you know, fascinating you and in line with that, then you can handle the other percentage that's not, right? It's just when that gets too much. Yeah. So I, I don't want [00:24:00] people to think that, uh, you know, if someone wants to be a sports chiropractor that 100% of your patients are gonna be, uh, high-level athletes.

Like, it just doesn't happen. '

Lindsay Mumma: Cause they're not, because those, those patients have family and friends, and they trust you- Exactly ... and they wanna refer to you. Yeah. And they'll be like- Mm-hmm ... "Can you see my 74-year-old dad?" "Yeah, I

Dr. Kevin Christie: sure can." Exactly. Yeah. Yeah, exactly. So as long as the percentages are really in a good favor, uh, you know, whatever that is for the person, I think that's a key part of that.

The second thing you kinda mentioned was, I love, is that it does make it so much easier to kinda market and promote yourself because it's your passion, and you're, like, excited about it, and, you know, and you're, and you're, and you have an energy around it. So it makes that a, a whole lot easier. Um, then I wanna segue a little bit to you, you mentioned, um- You mentioned is, is family is one of your personal values, and so we've talked about some of the personal values.

We've talked about, you know, niching into that patient base that serves those values and how that happened for you, and obviously everybody's gonna [00:25:00] have their own story there. Uh, but you mention a, a personal value of, of family. That's where it's cool, 'cause I know that, um, I believe you still probably maybe homeschool and, and I think- Mm

you're home a little bit more, like a few days or two or three days during a week to, to

Lindsay Mumma: help- How many days do I, do I get in a week? It sounds like I have more than I get. I like it.

Dr. Kevin Christie: I... Yeah, no, it's great. Um, but I know you're, you're, you're not practicing in the clinic five days a week, full days a week.

Right. And, and so you were able to know what your, your family and, and personal values were there, and then did that help you build the team you have now because it was serving that personal core values?

Lindsay Mumma: Yeah, so I think, uh... So just to be clear, I see patients four days a week. Um, Monday mornings-

Dr. Kevin Christie: Mm-hmm

Lindsay Mumma: Tuesday for, like, a long mor- like 7:00 to noon, so it's a f- five-hour morning. Wednesday... Thursday, I see patients 7:00 AM to 6:00 PM. I just have a big break in the day, and I don't see [00:26:00] patients on Friday. Um- Perfect ... for a really long time, I saw patients on Tuesday and Thursday only for 10-hour days, and the reason I did that was because my oldest child would not take a bottle.

And so- Yeah ... because family is a value of mine, that d- definitely played into that, but I also legitimately didn't have- an option. Yeah. Like, I, I understand that I could have, like, let my child scream until he was hoarse again. Like, I c- Mm-hmm ... but as a new mom, I could not, like, be okay with- Yeah ... my child literally would not take a bottle, and we were trying everything that we could.

Like, I had left the house because I was j- just, like, giving all of the effort that I could. Mm-hmm. After my second son was born, I had learned about high lipase. So I discovered that I had a reason why my first child would not take a bottle, and I had a solution for it, which if you're listening to this and you have a child who won't take a bottle, [00:27:00] you could check if you have high lipase just by doing a taste test of your milk.

Milk breaks down because of the enzyme lipase. It's perfectly fine for your baby to breastfeed, but it is not actually delicious if the lipase continues to break down the milk. It just kind of, like, gets sour. And so he was like, "Hell no, I am not drinking this," Mm-hmm ... and he wouldn't take a bottle. So I had gone from seeing patients five or six days a week- Yeah

'cause I would frequently come in on Saturday. Like, I w- I didn't have open appointments, but, like, if somebody needed to be seen again, I would absolutely come in on Saturday and see patients before having kids. And then after having kids, like, I don't, I, I don't know that family was a value of mine before having kids, and I don't know that I had ever done actually, like, a core values- Mm-hmm

exercise for myself to even just s- have that process of self-discovery. But after having a child, it completely changed. And I, I mean everything, from the cellular to the metaphysical changes when you have kids. Mm. It just... Like, your brain chemistry changes. The things that you care about, the things that matter.

[00:28:00] I was changed as a human from having humans move through me as a portal. Um, but the But so I, I felt like I didn't really have an option. My nanny is actually who, the woman that we hired, is who suggested like, "Well, he could come to the office with you."

Dr. Kevin Christie: Mm-hmm.

Lindsay Mumma: Um, so a- and I could just come with and you could nurse in between patients, and that's how we'll kind of coordinate this.

And so I was like, I cannot do that five days a week. Yeah. I can do that two very long days, and then in the evenings he can go and be with my husband for, like, those couple of hours. And then when we started introducing food, it was like, okay, cool, he can now go longer without being in the office. But I didn't wanna not be with him-

Dr. Kevin Christie: Mm-hmm

Lindsay Mumma: because I really loved being a mom, and I still really love being a mom 13 years later. Um, and that, it was really important to me then that my own, like, needs as the business owner were met- Mm ... in [00:29:00] addition to helping meet my patients' needs. Like, I didn't wanna stop being a chiropractor, and I- No ... couldn't stop being a mom.

I had to figure out a way to make those two work together. Yeah. And so then now I actually just have maintained the policy that your kids can come to work with you as long as it works for all parties.

Dr. Kevin Christie: Mm-hmm.

Lindsay Mumma: Interesting. And so that has forced me into some, like, challenging conversations in different points, but it's always been so- beautiful to see how it works out.

Because most of my front desk attendants in the past would have a kid. Yeah. And they worked for me because I was the only place they could work- Yeah ... where they could bring their kid. Yeah. And they were like, you know, they had, like, tried daycare and it wasn't working or, like, they just- Mm-hmm ... kept getting out of daycare, whatever.

Or they were like, "I just... We had a nanny and then she flaked out," or, like, "We used to have family in the area and we don't now, and I have my three-year-old, and, like, is it okay if I come and work a couple of hours- Mm-hmm ... and he or she comes with me?" And so that's just been a policy of mine. Yeah. And then it's also helpful, like, we have a bunch of year-round schools in the area, so kids will track out.

Okay, well, your kid can just come [00:30:00] to the office and, like, give them something to do. Mm-hmm. Um, not manual labor. I'm not putting the children to work. I'm just saying, like, give them activities. Um, but so, like, the family value for me then shows up in my business in the- Mm ... policies that we put into place.

So-

Dr. Kevin Christie: Yeah ...

Lindsay Mumma: we're currently navigating this. One of my CAs is back from maternity leave, and her kid won't take a bottle. Um- Yeah. And so figuring out what that looks like because- Mm ... she can't actually function in her CA role because providers can't have their kids with them when they're working with- Yeah

patients. Yeah. So, like, just navigating what that looks like. But because it's a value, we're gonna figure out how to make that- Mm ... happen. So- Yeah ... that-

Dr. Kevin Christie: And that's, uh, that's just awesome because, I mean, a lot of times, uh, you'll see, uh, you know, owners have a personal value, but then it doesn't cross the chasm into the, the team or business value or, or core values for everybody, and there's a little disconnect there.

And it sounds like, you know, y- you were able [00:31:00] to do it, and other people are able to do it. You're making it work. That's gonna really lend itself to the culture, for sure. And obviously that's gonna look different for everybody, everybody's practices, but you get the idea where this is what bled into the company and the, and the company culture.

Lindsay Mumma: Yep. And that's what I think when you were saying about us as micro business owners. Yeah. Like, the... I don't really... I, I could completely, you know, remove myself from the practice. The practice is still known-

Dr. Kevin Christie: Yeah ...

Lindsay Mumma: to be mine, and it- Mm-hmm ... I th- I think that we- Like actually infiltrate our own- Mm-hmm

personal culture into the business. And if you're paying attention to it, then you can do that on purpose instead of doing it- Yeah ... on accident. And so that's kind of one of the things too that we work through in the presentation is just, like, you, you have a niche.

Dr. Kevin Christie: Yep.

Lindsay Mumma: Was it on purpose?

Dr. Kevin Christie: Yeah.

Lindsay Mumma: Or was it not?

You have a culture. Was it on purpose or was it not? [00:32:00] And so if you just kind of take a step back and realize, "Oh, there is this whole culture and I am the one who is like the root of it as the person who started this business." Even if you bought a business- Yeah ... like took over that. And even within, like even if you're an associate within a practice, you have your own little culture of just the patients who come into your room or rooms.

And I think that doing that on purpose, like from the way that you have your room decorated to the way that you have the room set up to the things that you have available. Like there are toys in my room for kids because kids are welcome to be in my room. Yeah. And so then that like, without me even having to say it, parents know that their kids are welcome here because there are- Mm-hmm

things in the waiting area for kids. There are things in my room for kids. There are things in Dr. Bailey's rooms. We're a very like kid-friendly place and that they might not even realize that we see pediatric patients.

Dr. Kevin Christie: Yeah, yeah.

Lindsay Mumma: They just know that their kids are welcome to come to the office- [00:33:00] Mm-hmm

with them.

Dr. Kevin Christie: I wanna ask you a question and I want the listeners to answer along if they are as well, but, uh, would you say you're, you're proud of your patients, like the patient base you have?

Lindsay Mumma: Uh, pride comes before the fall, Kevin. Be careful, but, uh,

Dr. Kevin Christie: Like, you're proud of what you b- ... Okay. You don't complain too often about your patient base?

Lindsay Mumma: No. I, like, you, there are, um- Uh ... heart-sink patients, like you see them on your schedule like, "Ugh."

Dr. Kevin Christie: Yeah, but it's a small

Lindsay Mumma: percentage. I don't have a lot of them, and that's what, uh, like, my f- former back office manager- Mm-hmm ... she had come from dentistry, and she was like, "We have the best patients here." Yeah.

"Everyone here is amazing." Mm-hmm. People were not happy to go to the dentist, and they were just angry. And there was actually a contractor who was next door, uh, building up the space that got- Mm-hmm ... rented out next to us. And, um, and I was leaving one day, and I, you know, just like smiled and waved at him.

I had met him in passing, and he's like, "Hey, I just gotta ask you, [00:34:00] like, what are you guys doing in there?"

Dr. Kevin Christie: Mm-hmm. Yeah.

Lindsay Mumma: I was like- Yes ... "Well, I mean, we, like, we kinda talked about this already. Like, I'm a chiropractor. I have a wellness practice, and you know, we have workouts and plunge and sauna, and we, you know, we're, we're doing things.

Uh, we also have a traditional Chinese medicine doctor." And he's like, "No, I just, like, when the people come in the morning, like, the people who work for you, they come and they unlock the door. They're already smiling."

Dr. Kevin Christie: Mm-hmm.

Lindsay Mumma: He's like, "And then when they leave they're also smiling. " Yeah. "And the people who come in are smiling, and they're still smiling when they leave.

And I just don't understand what you're doing in there that is making people so happy."

Dr. Kevin Christie: Yeah. No, I, yeah.

Lindsay Mumma: I was like, that's actually like the best compliment and feedback at the same time. Like, what I'm doing is working because the peop- people who come, like, people literally come in and fill up their water bottles here, 'cause we have- really bougie water.

Um, it's very nice. Probably reverse

Dr. Kevin Christie: osmosis or something.

Lindsay Mumma: Baseline, Kevin. Baseline. Okay, it's also alkaline at 8.0. It is restructured and hyper-oxygenated, as a matter of fact. But anyway. Um, but like [00:35:00] they'll come in and they'll just like get a cup of tea and hang out- Mm-hmm ... because they love to be in this place.

It's almost like a third place for people. Yeah. Uh, which they're just like in the area and they'll pop in. Mm. They're like, "Oh, I needed some Element." And I'm like, "Okay." Yeah. But yeah, I mean- No, that's great.

Dr. Kevin Christie: That's great ... it's like

Lindsay Mumma: wanted to hang out for a reason. Well, and that's what- And that's beautiful. I love it.

Dr. Kevin Christie: It is. 'Cause a lot of people, they can't answer that question with a yes. Like their, they, you know, they're proud of or, or they don't complain about their patient base, and a lot of times they do. The second question I was gonna have, and i- i- it sounded like it, but it sounds like you're, you're proud of like the actual office you have in the sense of like the aesthetics and the design and all that, right?

And that's-

Lindsay Mumma: Yeah, this is actually one of our rocks for this quarter is- Mm ... to do a little bit of a refresh. Like we just- Yeah ... have kind of had things- Mm-hmm ... in the same way for a little while. It throws people completely off. I don't change my room a ton, but every- Mm-hmm ... once in a while I do. So like I changed it about a year ago.

People are still commenting. Like, "Oh-" Yeah. "... is that where the table was last time?" I'm like, "Yes." Yeah. [00:36:00] Yeah. "I've seen you since last November when I moved it." Oh. Um, but it just sort of, like it, it lends itself to some new conversations.

Dr. Kevin Christie: Yeah.

Lindsay Mumma: Um, so, uh, it's actually my associate's rock for Q4- Mm-hmm ... to do a kind of refresh thing.

He doesn't get the credit card to do that. Yeah. He, you know, those things need to be- Yeah ... uh, approved first. But the, but just to... Like I, I love the way that things like... I mean, like my wall- Mm ... is really fun, and it just ends up being a- Mm-hmm ... like conversation piece for people. That's just all of the certificates that I have from continuing ed class.

Yeah. It's actually not all of them. I stopped pasting them a while ago- ... because I wasn't sure if I was gonna stay here forever, and so I, I have another wall full that I could still put in the new space if I don't wanna move drywall. Um, but like I have the UV lights- covered with trees. Like, they're just like- Mm-hmm

little covers that just make it more aesthetically pleasing. Yeah. I have plants and things that, like, h- little, uh, hangy- And it's- ... dangly things. It's very me- The- ... in here, you know?

Dr. Kevin Christie: In a, in a nutshell, [00:37:00] the office design is in line with your personal values, for sure.

Lindsay Mumma: 100%.

Dr. Kevin Christie: And

Lindsay Mumma: then the,

Dr. Kevin Christie: the-

Lindsay Mumma: And then Dr. Bailey's room is, is different, right?

Like, it's- Yeah ... it's in alignment with him. The office space- Right ... in general is in alignment with the company values, which are informed- Yeah ... by my own personal values. Yeah, yeah. And Dr. Robinson, who does traditional Chinese medicine- Mm-hmm ... and acupuncture and herbal medicine, like, her rooms are very in alignment with her, but they all- Yeah

all of the rooms do match the ongoing aesthetic of the rest of the clinic. Yeah. The gym also matches, right? Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Like, it's, it's just an interesting kind of vibe- Yeah ... that we have going on here. But, like, the window sills in the gym have plants on them.

Dr. Kevin Christie: Yeah.

Lindsay Mumma: And, you know, we have, like, a cyclical training, and here's- Mm-hmm

training by the moon cycles if you don't have a menstrual cycle. Uh, like, that's in my gym next to the RPE chart. You know, I just-

Dr. Kevin Christie: Yeah, yeah. Exactly ... mashing

Lindsay Mumma: it all together.

Dr. Kevin Christie: Um, my office doesn't look like that. Um, but that's- It's, it's a

Lindsay Mumma: little different.

Dr. Kevin Christie: It's great. Uh, [00:38:00] but, you know, ultimately I just hear too many chiropractors, you know, they, they complain about the patient base they have, they complain about their office space or whatever.

They, they also complain about their, their team, uh, you know, their employees or whatever. And, and I just wanna leave everybody with the fact that it, it doesn't have to be that way, and I loved about, like, when you walked us through that i- in Santa Fe in What You Will and Thrive was, like, getting very clear on the personal values, the core values, and then how you can, you can turn the ship around.

You can turn the ship around, and then you can at a future date, if you're currently not able to answer that you are proud of your patients and you're, you know, proud, the pr- the patient base you have and the team that you have and the office that you have, you can get that way, and you need to get that way 'cause otherwise you, you're gonna burn out.

You're... And sometimes it's not even as, as, like, drastic as burning out. It's that kinda death by a thousand cuts of your, your [00:39:00] practice just is, is kinda eh and it's not growing and it's stagnant. Yeah. How do you wanna

Lindsay Mumma: attract new patients if-

Dr. Kevin Christie: Exactly. Yeah ...

Lindsay Mumma: you don't even wanna be there?

Dr. Kevin Christie: Yeah. And sometimes it's hard because, like, what I love so much about what you taught us was that it was a lot of things you just don't kinda think about.

Because a lot of people will have a feeling about their practice and it's not working, but they can't pinpoint, and so they try to layer on a, a tactic or a strategy or an ad or a, you know, whatever, and it doesn't solve it. And, and a lot of times you, you gotta get a little bit deeper-rooted with it.

Lindsay Mumma: Yeah.

It's, uh, it's a little self-reflective to kind of figure it out. Yeah. But also, if you're complaining about your patients and your team and your practice and all of that, like who's at the center of all of that? It's you. Yeah. Mm-hmm. And so you really kind of have to turn the lens inward and say, "Okay, where is it that I'm not aligned right now?

Because I'm letting that play out in my life, and how can I take ownership and stop being a victim to like, 'Oh, I hate this practice, and I don't even wanna come here.' Okay. And then- Well, what can I, as the practice owner, do about that right now?" Yeah. Well, I can- Yeah ... [00:40:00] change a lot of things, but the first thing that I'm gonna have to change is that I'm currently not aligned myself.

Yeah. And so- Yeah ... where do I need to start? And it can be a complete overhaul or it can be just like really simple changes. Yeah. And it just depends, like how much of a mucky situation you're in. And it, like, so the example that I gave it, of autonomy and teamwork, those can work together, right? Mm-hmm. Like, I was a track athlete.

That's an individual sport in a team setting. Like- Yeah. Yeah ... autonomy and teamwork working together, right? Swimming is the same thing. You have these individual autonomous pieces within the framework of team. And so, but if you don't do that on purpose, then you just have a bunch of like one-off Usain Bolt doing his own thing instead of being part of team, you know?

And so if you just start to pay attention to, "Okay, well am I... Do I have these core values? Are they actually in alignment with what my-" My office core values are. [00:41:00] Mm-hmm. Can I make them work together, or do I need... What you don't change your personal values, right? Yeah. Just in case this wasn't clear. You actually have to change your company core values.

Mm-hmm. Because if you're still in the company and you have these core values, that's not gonna be reflected in a company that is actively, like, you know-

Dr. Kevin Christie: Yeah ...

Lindsay Mumma: antagonist-

Dr. Kevin Christie: I, I'm glad you, I'm glad you mentioned at the end, it's like don't change your core, your personal values, you change the company core values.

And then, you know, like a lot of times we'll even get people that are just like, they blame the profession. Like chiropractice- Mm-hmm ... is, is, is the problem and is the reason. Yeah, I mean, there's challenges, but every industry has its challenges. And for every person that's complaining about the scenarios or, or realities of our profession, I can talk to 100 chiropractors that are killing it and doing great and enjoying it.

And so if you get deep, deeper rooted into this and work it from the inside out versus trying to fix just, you know, Medicare for all- Right ... or Medicare for chiropractors, like, yeah, that'd be great [00:42:00] too, awesome, but let's not wait for that. Let's, let's start from the, the kind of, you know, knock it down to the studs like they would say, and, and build it from scratch.

Lindsay Mumma: Yeah. Yep. Uh- 'Cause you already did. Yeah. Right? Like you actually already built a practice, so w- just kinda go through and kick the tires, make sure it's still running as well as you want it to be. Exactly.

Dr. Kevin Christie: Well, Lindsey, this has been great. I appreciate all your knowledge. How can they find out more about whether it's the book or stuff you're teaching and everything like that?

I know we're gonna put a bunch of stuff on there for Thrive in Atlanta. I'll do a whole thing on that. But where can they reach out?

Lindsay Mumma: Uh, so I am really excited about Thrive in Atlanta, so I hope that I will see you there if you are listening to this. And also, if this just sort of like tickled your fancy a little bit, that's, we'll, we'll do some workshopping together there.

Um, LindseyMumma.com will take you to me, and that will show you where I am teaching. That will also have my book. There's, you know, if you wanna do a consult with me, there's, that's available, too. Mm-hmm. I am also, dun dun dun, on social media. I was off for five years, but I am- Mm-hmm ... on social [00:43:00] media again.

Um, so if you wanna find @LindseyMumma. My practice is Triangle Chiropractic and Rehab, which is trianglecrc.com or @TriangleCRC. And then my book is Your Pelvic Floor Sucks! So if you search for Your Pelvic Floor Sucks! on Amazon, you will find it. You can also get it from my website.

Dr. Kevin Christie: Awesome. This has been great, and I appreciate your time.

Lindsay Mumma: Yeah, thank you.