This week we have Dr. Andrea Luise, owner of Lakeway Spine Center and author. Andrea has been a practicing chiropractor for 17 years and for the past 8 years has been the sole owner of her practice and a single mom. An insightful question from her daughter two years ago sent her down the path of becoming a published author.
The Start
- School focused on the science of chiropractic even though they were told 60% of chiropractors fail in business…there was no business aspect of their education
- Practiced for 2 years in Virginia before moving to Texas
- Fell into entrepreneurship after she and her then husband (also a chiropractor) weren't happy with jobs or prospects
The Shift
- Single mom and sole business owner was never on her radar
- All her eggs are in one basket, pandemic has made it nerve-wracking
- A lot of pivoting during the pandemic, changed protocols completely
- A major part of the business, massage therapy, was shut down for 2 months, chiropractic was limited (just acute patients)
- Down about 80% for 2 1/2 months
- Two years ago, daughter asked her, 'Mom, what would you be if you could be anything?' and 'Author' flew out of her mouth, surprising them both
- Concept for book evolved over the pandemic with all the extra time
The Strategy
- Narrative driven non-fiction style book - inter weaving personal experiences/life with life in her practice and themes that keep coming up with the patients that she treats
- Started by getting used to writing, sitting down and writing to strengthen that muscle
- Took a class called Author School, led by literary agent Rachele Gardner (Jen Hatmaker's literary agent) 8-week course taught you to go from typing on your laptop by yourself to being on the shelves at a book store.
- Learned how important building your platform is, learning how to connect, meet other writers, find her people.
The Action
- At first, hiring was on craigslist to find a massage therapist, front desk help, office coordinators but now it's Indeed and local Facebook pages
- To get chiropractic clients:
- Mostly word of mouth
- Weekly post on social media for local Facebook sites, and Instagram post on Small Business Tuesday
- Some print work (hit or miss, people not reading as much mail as they used to)
- Local neighborhood newsletters
- Great group of doctors that refer patients to her regularly
- To build audience and community around her upcoming book, having a strong following if trying to publish traditionally is expected.
- Focused on building that following
- Huge underground community of bookstagrammers that support each other
The Mindset
- Up at 5 or 5:30am to work out
- Lunch break to decompress, reading and breathing
- Compartmentalize loose ends at work so the can be present at home
- Prayers and gratitude at bedtime
- Goals and Vision
- For the practice - maintain a good team, keep the practice moving forward
- For writing - start the query process, become represented and published
The Wrap-Up
If you could listen to one music artist for the rest of your life, who would it be? U2
Where can people find you online?
