We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Dr. Jennifer Rispoli. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Dr. Jennifer below.

Dr. Jen, appreciate you joining us today. We’d love to hear about how you went about setting up your own practice and if you have any advice for professionals who might be considering starting their own?

The first step was finding a location. For me, I needed to ensure I had a bathroom in my facility, which is actually hard to find when you are looking for a small space. We thought we had a space, but the landlord refused to work with us at all on the buildout despite offering a 5 year lease. We chose to walk away at this time. If someone is completely unreasonable on the front end when they are trying to get you to lease their space, this does not bode well for a future relationship. I contrast this to the current landlord we have, who when he learned about us and what services we provide, was willing to change his rates and work with us. He stated that he wanted a long term relationship. He was willing to look beyond the dollar sign to the person and their heart, and because of this we have a beautiful relationship. If you are climbing into bed with someone financially, make sure they are a good person at heart. 

Another thing I learned along the way is that when you establish your LLC, know that it is way easier to do that after you have a physical space than before. I ran into a lot of problems by setting up the LLC under my home address, and then setting up all other business services/financials under the physical location address. This delayed so many things. So either set up everything under your home address, or wait to get your LLC and subsequent business services established after you have your location set! I thought I was being proactive in doing the LLC early, but it caused more headaches than it was worth.

Know that you will probably fail your inspection, because that is what they do. But stay calm and stand up for yourself. My inspector wanted me to add thousands of dollars of upgrades to my space. I was able to rationalize my way out of it, but it was not easy and took teamwork! Don’t be afraid to work your referral network. Your friends know people that are going to be super beneficial to you-ask for and use them!
Start out small. You don’t need all the newest gadgets and biggest things now! Start simple. Get what you NEED in order to run the business. Once you have things up and going, then you can add more of the wants, the nice perks that make things easier on you.
Keep the customer first. Ask yourself, if this were me, what would I want? The little things matter. I have so many people comment that my office smells good. It does not take much to have an air freshener or a candle going. Buy the nice expensive hand soap. It’s $1 more. Put out a candy dish. Keep bottled water on hand. Play some music. Ambiance is key. Make sure the first impression is the best you can make it.

My biggest advice is don’t let fear stop you. If you would do it if you knew you would succeed-then do it! Yes, it is scary. But if you know you have a good product, sell it! And be confident! If you aren’t confident, how do you expect others to be confident in you and give you their hard earned money?

Dr. Jen, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

My love of physical therapy began when I was 12 years old and I sustained a knee injury while playing travel softball. After undergoing surgery and physical therapy, I was amazed at how much stronger I was than prior to surgery. From that moment on, I wanted to share with others how amazing the body is and how it can heal itself. I have wanted to work in healthcare for as long as I can remember, and while my first thought was to become an OBGYN, physical therapy captured my heart and there was no turning back.
I obtained my Bachelor’s of Health Science from Maryville University in 2010 and my Doctorate of Physical Therapy in 2012. Even in school, I had an interest and passion for women’s health. I spent 50% of my clinical experience working with pelvic floor physical therapists in order to further my knowledge in this area that is not taught in traditional PT school, and I was really excited when I learned I could combine my love of women and babies with physical therapy! I have received post doctorate education through the American Physical Therapy Association and had extensive training in incontinence, pelvic pain, and bowel dysfunction.

Following my graduation in 2012, I began work in the outpatient orthopedic setting, treating a wide variety of surgical and nonsurgical pain and injuries. I have also worked in the home health setting. I am pretty confident, comfortable, and experienced working with patients with all abilities and in all stages of life.
My passion for women’s health has been furthered by my husband’s work as a marriage counselor. Sexual pain and dysfunction are extremely common, especially after pregnancy and childbirth. Pelvic pain plays a significant role in marital satisfaction, and I believe that keeping families together and creating great marriages is of the utmost importance. I am passionate about doing anything I can to address these issues in order to keep families happily intact. Unfortunately, over the years, women have been led to believe that pain and incontinence are typical and unavoidable side effects to childbirth and the aging process. I am committed to educating women that these issues are preventable and treatable, leading to an increased quality of life.
Outside of work, I spend time with my husband, son, and yellow lab. You can frequently find me at Cardinal games, cheering on the Pittsburgh Steelers or Chicago Bears, hiking, traveling wherever and whenever I get the chance, watching dramas and cheesy reality shows, or reading a good book.

That’s great!  Can you tell us more about your practice?

I provide pelvic floor physical therapy services. I am also an orthopedic physical therapist. While I do not strongly advertise this, it is certainly something I also enjoy. My business slogan is “Physical Therapy For Women By Women” and I want to be known as the place where women can go for all their physical therapy needs and be treated by women. Some women are just more comfortable being treated by a woman, and I want to be that safe place for them, as well as provide top notch care. I pride myself on healing my patients faster than the traditional outpatient clinic. I attribute this to my hour long, 1 on 1, no PTAs/techs/other therapists involved care. Most providers are unable to take that amount of time with each of their patients, and I do believe this truly makes a difference that patients can feel and see.

I have a very whole body approach. Many pelvic floor PTs only look at the pelvic floor, but I look beyond this at the whole body. Everything is connected, so I believe it is extremely important to do a full evaluation. My one on one, full hour, no other providers involved in your care business model also sets me apart. This allows me to really get to know my patients, and it allows my patients to be really comfortable with me, which is huge when it comes to pelvic floor therapy.

Pelvic floor PT can treat: Incontinence (urine, gas, or stool)
Nocturia (waking more than once a night to go to the bathroom)
Urinary frequency (urinating more than once every 2 hours)
Overactive Bladder (OAB)
Pelvic and perineal pain
Interstitial Cystitis (IC)
Pelvic Floor Tension
Vulvodynia
Dyspareunia (Painful sex)
Postpartum Muscle Weakness
Sexual Dysfunction
Muscle Spasms
ConstipationCoccyx or tailbone pain
Pelvic floor Muscle Weakness
Prolapse management
Pre and Postoperative (hysterectomy, laparoscopic female procedures, etc)
Symptoms of Endometriosis and PCOS

I am most proud of my success rates and the difference I make in patients’ lives. There is no better feeling than improving the quality of someone’s life. Knowing that you are making someone’s life better is very rewarding, and I love that I get to do that every day. Knowing that I am lifting mental and physical burdens from women is priceless. I love what I do.

I also love to give back to the community. I have given away free services as a fundraiser for SHARE pregnancy and infant loss support, as well as advertised in a fundraiser for the Pujols Family Foundation. I give talks to women throughout the area in both large and small groups.

What do you think helped you build your reputation within your market?

I think people want to feel seen, understood, and supported. When I initially began networking with both patients and business owners, I knew there was a need for pelvic floor PT in the community. There are few providers, and they often have very long wait lists and may require patients to attend PT 2 to 3 times a week. Many providers do not get the opportunity to spend prolonged time with their patients, and are frequently bouncing back and forth among people or rushing through appointments. This is not necessarily their fault, but this is the setting patient’s have to deal with nonetheless. I think those in the community know that I genuinely care about my patients and will work to resolve their issues. I am also extremely passionate about working with this population. There is no reason women should have to keep peeing their pants when they run, jump, laugh, cough, or sneeze, no reason to suffer through painful intercourse, no reason to constantly be running to the bathroom, etc. So many doctors tell patients these things are normal after pregnancy and delivery or with menopause, and this is simply not true. I think my passion for this population and educating women that they don’t have to continue living this way really comes through, and patients and business owners alike feel my commitment to this population.

I think my women feel validated and know I have their best interest at heart. I only see my patients once a week. I know they only have a finite amount of time and money, and I want to respect that. I don’t need them coming in to see me multiple times a week for weeks on end. I give them the tools that they need to fix themselves on their own at home, and we progress as efficiently as we can. I know moms and business women alike are extremely busy, and I want to make my care effective but easy to fit into their day. I allow mothers to bring their children to treatment with them and even provide toys, bouncers, etc to help ensure childcare is not a barrier to patients receiving the treatment they need.

I also spend prolonged time explaining everything to my patients. I believe women should know, and are perfectly capable of, having a good understanding of their issues and what we are going to do to fix them. I believe knowledge is power, and when women have a good understanding of everything, this sets them up for success.
This approach of knowledge, experience, passion, and commitment to women comes through in everyone I meet, and I think my colleagues feel very comfortable referring women to me. I think my patients feel how much I care about them and that I understand mom life and know that I will work with them in whatever stage of life they are currently in. Knowing that I care more about the patients than the money/number of visits I need to see someone definitely builds a reputation of putting the patients first. At the end of the day, people want to know you care about THEM, and I think this is the secret to building a good reputation.

Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?

I had joined a physical therapy practice in August of 2021 where I was doing exclusively pelvic floor physical therapy. I was establishing local clientele, building relationships with people and businesses in the area, and finding a good marketing strategy. Business was really picking up, and I was looking at cutting hours at one clinic and expanding my available hours here. I vividly remember having a business meeting in January and the owner of the practice laying out a very clear plan for growth in 2022. And then in Feb/March, he let me know that he was going to be closing the practice and getting out of PT. This left me with a few options. Buy his practice, start my own practice, or give up my flexibility and go back to working for a mainstream physical therapy company in the area. Given the goals and priorities that I had, buying his practice and working for someone else did not make sense, so I made the decision to bite the bullet and start my own business. I never expected to be a business owner-we are not taught in PT school how to start, market, grow, or manage a business. I am blessed to be married to a man who has a strong business background and provides me with unconditional support. Taking what I learned from growing the pelvic floor program with my previous colleague, as well as what I have learned from my husband through the years, I was able to open my own clinic in Oct 2022.

Going into this, I had been told that my business model would not work in my local community and that there was not a market for my services in this area. I had also run across a quote from someone who helps pelvic floor PTs launch and grow cash based clinics throughout the US saying “If you knew you wouldn’t fail, would you do it?” They strongly feel that if the answer to this question is yes, then the only reason you are not moving forward is the fear of failure. And fear of failure is not a valid reason to not open your own clinic, or a reason to stall opening. I have to say that the community has embraced my services as well as my business model and I have been welcomed by fellow colleagues, business owners, medical professionals, and patients alike.

I never planned to be a business owner. I certainly did not think I would get only a few months notice that I would either be starting a new job or opening a new clinic. But everything has worked out beautifully thus far, and I know this unexpected pivot was supposed to happen.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.stlwomenspt.com
• Instagram: drjen_pelvicpt
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/StLwomensPT
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jennifer-rispoli-a58a031b2/