We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Christy Lee a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Christy, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Being a business owner can be really hard sometimes. It’s rewarding, but most business owners we’ve spoken sometimes think about what it would have been like to have had a regular job instead. Have you ever wondered that yourself? Maybe you can talk to us about a time when you felt this way?
It was 10:30pm one night and my eyes were drying out from staring at my screen all day. My head hurt from trying to think about the best way to redirect and progress my patient with hip pain while organizing my week because I had been behind on admin work. I thought to myself “I wonder what it is like to have a job where you clock out and don’t think about work anymore”.
I have had this thought more than once. And if you are a small business owner, I am sure you have too.
When I do, I usually think about the amazing free time I could have, not thinking about work. Or having a routine of when I got to work and when I get off.
While that may sound delightful at first thought, I immediately begin to think about what that kind of life actually means.
How, if I am not thinking about work once I clock out, I am probably not as passionate about what I do. If I have to clock in and out at a routine time, I can’t just take off in the middle of the day to run errands or take a whole day off to go hike with my husband. If I work for someone in a clinic, I don’t have as much creativity that owning a business affords me.
As a health care professional, I know that insurance and the way a typical physical therapy appointment goes is not ideal. I want patients to be heard and seen. To have the length of care they need, to be educated on how to treat themselves, to not have to worry about a bill coming in 2-3 weeks (or months) that they might not be able to afford.
To give that kind of care, working at all hours of the day is worth it.
As a visionary, I want to continuously look for new ways to optimize the field of physical therapy and personal training. To help my patients achieve more & not fall into cycles of pain, feeling stuck. I want to learn how to use technology, market more genuinely, and produce content that is worth consuming.
As a woman, I want to fight for other women business owners. I want to be present for my family. I want to value rest as much as I value work and have control over that.
So while there are times when I doubt my knowledge or abilities, when I am tired and want to give up, when looking on the other side seeing green grass is tempting, I am absolutely grateful for the opportunity to make a difference right where I am.
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?
My name is Christy Lee. I am just an average human like you, who had a passion for helping people find hope in achieving what they want in life, without pain or fitness holding them back. I started out as a Group Fitness Instructor in 2013, loving the fitness industry and how I had the unique opportunity to empower people everyday. I then graduated with a degree in Athletic Training and Kinesiology in 2017 and began to treat athletes both preventively and post injury so they could play the sport they loved. Three years later, I graduated with my Doctorate of Physical Therapy, and began living out my passion for helping people find hope in achieving what they want in life.
I moved out to Tucson, Arizona in 2020 and started my practice, It Is Well PT LLC because 1) there were no jobs waiting on me with the height of the pandemic 2) people still needed care 3) I could help people in a different way than most.
This was a scary leap of faith and honestly what I am most proud of! Building a business from the ground up, in the middle of the pandemic ,when I had no idea how to run a business let alone start one, was a feat I could not achieve on my own!
And now, 3 years later, I have moved again. While it does feel like starting over in a lot of ways, I am so thankful for the foundation this business was built on and the opportunity to step back and remember why I started it in the first place.
I wanted to give people who need quality care the opportunity to do so with clear cost PRIOR to starting therapy or training. I wanted to treat the WHOLE body not just the injured body part, by addressing whole body mechanics, nutrition, stress, sleep, etc. I wanted to have the flexibility to treat or train patients BEFORE they got injured and to treat them AFTER they healed with goals they want to meet.
I found a niche in endurance athletes and am so thankful for the training I have to help these individuals reach their goals, prevent and overcome injuries, and believe in themselves. If you are an endurance athlete (whether you run 1 mile or ultras) and want to address gait mechanics (form), improve your speed and efficiency, or prevent/treat injuries, I’d love to help you!
Reach out by email at [email protected], via my website itiswellpt.com, or my instagram @itiswellptllc
Any thoughts, advice, or strategies you can share for fostering brand loyalty?
Building relationships with my clients/patients is not only one of the most fundamental parts of owning a business, especially in the service industry, but also one of my favorite parts of my job.
I believe in not only listening and caring about my patients/clients stories but also sharing vulnerable parts of mine.
A recent way I have kept in touch with patients is reaching out to them to ask for reviews. Instead of simply asking them for the review, I asked for an update in their progress or followed up with them about something in their lives I knew about (how their moms chemo was going, how trying to get pregnant has been on their emotional health, etc.).
These simple questions not only brought out beautiful conversation and life giving encouragement (given and received) but I believe built brand loyalty.
I receive texts/emails often declaring I am the best physical therapist my patients have worked with. I do not think they say this because I know the most or have the best skill, but because I care about them as a person first. I follow up, I give extra time, I go the extra mile. People care about that, and honestly, it gives me more purpose in what I do.
Are there any books, videos or other content that you feel have meaningfully impacted your thinking?
Continued education is not just something that I am required to have as a health care professional, rather something I take seriously because I want to be the best Physical therapist/Coach/Business owner I can be.
With that comes lots of books, webinars, and articles.
My favorites recently have been:
1) Do Hard Things by Steven Magness
2) Thinking, Fast and Slow by Daniel Kahnerman
3) Self-Compassion by Kristin Neff
4) The 6 Types of Working Genius by Patrick Lencioni
5) The Brain that Changes Itself by Norman Doidge
6) To Hell with the Hustle by Jefferson Bethke (Ruthless Elimination of Hurry is also good in this category)
7) Mindset by Carol S Dweck
8) Atlas of the Heart by Brene Brown
While there are many more, I think these are amazing for self and company growth!
Contact Info:
- Website: itiswellpt.com
- Instagram: itiswellptllc
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/itiswellpt
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/christy-lee-51570193/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC6PEVEVkXk6CrgaV3_yBEGg