Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Cheyenne Allen. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Cheyenne, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today What was the most important lesson/experience you had in a job that has helped you in your professional career?

If it feels sketchy, it’s probably sketchy.

This is a long story, so I’m going to attempt to shorten it. So here we go:

My hubby and I are both physical therapists. We were scouted out during school by a company to go work in the middle of nowhere with a competitive salary PLUS a yearly bonus for the first three years. (You catch any red flags yet?)

We visited the company, visited the location, got to talk to the overhead people and the people who worked in that specific space. Everyone seemed nice enough and the pay was going to be more than we ever could have imagined as new graduates. The job was fine, the clinic director there was great. The big dogs were nice enough.

We worked for a couple of months and started to notice that the majority of our patients were sent to us from one physician- the same physician that owed our building. This physician had lots of rumors around him, and it was something we weren’t big fans of. People were saying we were “his therapists” which was not true at all.

So then… our clinic director got a 1 month notice we had to move locations. That physician that the PT company rented the building from had sold the building and gave us a month to move. The doc was nice enough to offer a space within his location- the PT company just had to pay for renovations and rent. The big dogs in our company said yes before asking the clinic director. If the company had asked the clinic director’s opinion (who has lived in this small town her whole life), it would have been a hard no. This physician was starting to look more and sketchy, and we didn’t want to be correlated with his group. But what was signed was signed.

We were there for a few months and the local news station dropped a bomb. The physician had been charged with a LIST of crimes. He was the primary supplier for drug trafficking organizations in 3 different counties. He was handing out pre-written prescriptions that were filled at the pharmacy he co-owned next door. He was prescribing 1,600 pills every day.. that’s 18 million dollars in 6 years. He was using our PT company to send his patients to so it would look like he was trying to getting them help through more than just drugs.

A week after these charges were placed in public record, the building burned to the ground. The building we were working in was up in flames. We ended up all being interviewed by the TBI. We were not even there for a year before our job literally went up in flames.

Life lesson? If something feels sketchy- even though the money sounds great- it’s probably sketchy. And if you don’t follow your gut feeling, sometimes God will burn it down.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

I’m Dr. Cheyenne Allen, physical therapist for babies and young children. I teach concerned parents how to help their child reach goals and milestones through exercise, education, and encouragement. I became a PT in 2018 and started my own business in 2022. I offer in home PT and wellness services- meaning I come to you, do an evaluation to figure out what’s going on with your child, make goals, and set a plan to reach those goals. In the online space, I have a go-at-your-own-pace course that covers birth to two years old. My main goal is that parents feel confident in how to help their child succeed. I am most proud of starting my own business while pregnant and watching it start to grow this year.

Putting training and knowledge aside, what else do you think really matters in terms of succeeding in your field?

I think to survive in the world of pediatric physical therapy, you have to have two things: 1- creativity to make exercises fun for the children
2- understanding that parent’s are busy

Are there any books, videos or other content that you feel have meaningfully impacted your thinking?

PROFIT FIRST. I had multiple people suggest this method including my Co.Starters group- shoutout to knoxville entrepreneuship center and two different CPAs. Starting my business with this mindset allowed me to feel like my business was working for me. I didn’t feel guilty taking a vacation. I could use my business’s profit for myself and not just to feed back into the business.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.milestonestw.com
• Instagram: @milestonestw
• Facebook: @milestonestw
• Youtube: @milestonestw
• Other: Tiktok: @milestonestw

Image Credits
Audrey Stephens Photography