The Challenge
New practice. No patients. No reputation. No referral network.
We opened our doors in both Mesa|Florence, Arizona and Salina|Manti, Utah where established chiropractors had settled in and claimed many of the open-minded patients. The question wasn't just "how do we get patients?"—it was "how do we become the practice people think of first?"
I knew we couldn't outspend the competition. We had to out-hustle and out-connect them.
What I Owned
As Co-founder, I wore every hat except the clinical one:
- Negotiated the practice purchase—handled the deal that made ownership possible
- Business development—cold calls, contracts, and partnerships from scratch
- Marketing strategy—zero ad budget meant creative grassroots outreach
- Community events—planned and executed events that drove word-of-mouth
- Sports partnerships—positioned us as the go-to for local athletes
Key Accomplishments
Landing the Trucking Contract
I cold-called a local trucking company and pitched something they'd never considered: on-site chiropractic care for their drivers.
Truckers sit for 10+ hours a day. Back problems aren't a "maybe"—they're a "when." I positioned us as preventive care that would reduce their workers' comp claims and keep drivers on the road.
They said yes. We became their exclusive provider.
Community Day Event
One event. Months of word-of-mouth momentum.
- A professional baseball player from the St. Louis Cardinals attended.
- Activities for kids and families
- How you promoted the event
- Attendance and community response
- Long-term impact on the practice's reputation
Football Sideline Partnership
Becoming the Town's Team Doc
Friday night football is religion in small towns. I approached the high school athletic director with an offer: free sideline chiropractic care for every home game.
No charge to the school. Just our name on the banner and our doc on the field.
Pattern Recognition: This project demonstrates my approach to community building: identify key stakeholders, create value-driven partnerships, and leverage events to build authentic relationships. The same methodology I apply to organizational change management.
Results & Impact
Within 18 months, we went from zero patients to a steady schedule:
- Trucking contract delivered steady monthly revenue and referrals
- Sideline partnership made us the default choice for sports families
- Community Day generated press coverage and dozens of new patient inquiries
- Word of mouth became our primary growth engine—$0 ad spend
That small town practice helped really launch Gardner Chiropractic and taught me many valuable lessons about people, entrepreneurship and is still operating 27+ years later.
Skills Demonstrated
From Arizona to Utah & Back: 5 Years of Growth
I managed marketing, community outreach, and office operations as we grew from one practice to three locations—then moved on to a bigger opportunity.
Community Roots Before Opening Day
Pregnant with our 4th daughter, I participated in the Florence community Halloween event with our three little pigs. Building relationships before the practice even opened.
My Role: As co-founder, I handled all marketing materials, coordinated community events and outreach, managed patient communications, and ran day-to-day office operations while we grew from one Arizona location to three locations across two states—then transitioned to a larger opportunity managing training across 15+ practices.
Behind the Scenes
My entrepreneurial foundation started here—building a business while raising a young family. Four kids just under five at a grand opening? That was just Tuesday.
Where It All Started
Grand opening ribbon cutting, February 1999. That's my husband holding our 4th child, born just weeks earlier. Entrepreneurship doesn't wait for convenient timing.