We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Alyssa Kuhn a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Alyssa , looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. We’d love to hear the backstory of how you established your own practice.

After feeling burnt out in traditional healthcare only 3 years out of school, driving 1000 miles per week and doing hours of documentation when I got home- I knew it was time for a change. I decided to go all in on my own practice, all while moving to a state where my husband and I didn’t know anyone.

The learning curve was huge, especially with a background in physical therapy. I had to immerse myself in learning all things business. I never received any formal education on how to start or run a business so I was starting from the ground up. I think one of the biggest things I needed to realize was what you build when you start is setting yourself up in the long term. That building a business involves constantly testing different strategies and failures are the key to learning. That was initially very hard to accept.

I started seeing patients in person initially and learned a ton about what people wanted as well as what they responded best to. This helped me to learn the type of content to create and how to speak in the language of the patients that were coming to see me. I think starting with in person care truly was able to accelerate my ability to market to the right group of people online. Creating an online business was my ultimate goal.

I then committed to the process of building an online presence. I immediately went all in on youtube, a blog, instagram, facebook, and later went on to create a podcast. It was a ton of work and it took a while before I had an audience. Many times I felt like I was making content for no one. But, I stuck with it. I think consistency was one of the biggest drivers in my growth- I kept showing up.

I grew into my niche- I didn’t have it figured out right away. I started creating content and I took note of who it was resonating most with. I also considered the type of content I loved making.

I’m not sure I would’ve done anything differently because the failures are what taught me the most. I think one thing I would’ve changed though is the belief I had in myself. There are so many times I wanted to give up. There are so many times I asked myself “What am I doing?! I should just go back to a full time, stable job”. I am so glad I didn’t.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

My name is Alyssa Kuhn and I am a physical therapist. I live in Utah and love playing in the mountains, especially skiing. I have had a long history in the fitness industry and have always been interested in health. I wanted to do something in the healthcare field but I was not interested in going to medical school. I decided on physical therapy pretty early on in my college career.

Before graduating from physical therapy school, I was able to lead a new fitness program at a local independent living facility which is essentially like a college dorm but for people 55 and older. People living in the same area and around similar ages. Through leading this program, I was able to learn that just because you’re 70, 80, 90+ doesn’t mean you have to live in pain. These residents were thriving! They were moving, they were socializing, they were loving life. Sure, they didn’t have a shortage of aches, pains, arthritis, and other health complications. But they had the resources around them that prioritized exercise and other habits that lead to healthy aging like socialization. So often people are led to believe that once you reach the later years, pain, weakness, and sadness is inevitable.

I then started working in home healthcare where I would see patients in their homes, primarily after total knee and hip replacements. Here I saw the opposite side of the spectrum. People were 40, 50, 60 and unable to leave their homes. Some had to move out of a two story home into a one story home because of the inability to climb stairs secondary to pain and weakness. People were getting premature surgeries as they weren’t given any other options. People had lived for years in debilitating pain because they thought it was “normal” as you get older.

After working a few years in home healthcare, I realized the traditional healthcare system is broken. In a reactive industry, people end up waiting until until their pain is so bad or they become so sick to seek out treatment. I realized, especially when it comes to osteoarthritis and joint pain, that there is so much misinformation out there and people are missing out on opportunities to improve pain. I knew I had to share quality information to offer a solution to all of these people that were hurting. I had to reach these patients before they got to the point of no return. That’s when I started my business.

Research continues to show the power of exercise and other lifestyle factors over chronic disease, in particular osteoarthritis. I made it my mission to spread hope and positivity. I want people to believe there is something they can do about their pain. So much of the information out there right now is negative surrounding arthritis. I want to bring forth a new perspective and a new way of thinking that adventure is actually possible even with osteoarthritis- that’s how Keep the Adventure Alive was born.

Now, I help people all across the globe build healthy habits to reduce arthritis pain, avoid surgery, and/or optimize healing from a joint replacement. I consistently show movement doesn’t have to be complicated and it can be so powerful when it comes to reducing pain and stiffness. Strength can unlock the ability to do things you never thought were possible again.

I am truly proud of how much of an impact all of the work I’ve put into this business has had on those with osteoarthritis. My heart is full every time I hear of someone going up and down a steep hill again without pain. Or someone feeling hope for the first time in years after being diagnosed. Or someone who was able to go on a trip and actually enjoy it without being held back by their pain. That is truly powerful and keeps me going.

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

Understanding your audience is one of the most powerful things when it comes to success with both an online business and physical therapy. One of the best compliments I can recieve right now is “I feel like you are speaking directly to me and can read my mind!”. When I hear that from followers, patients, supporters- I’m so proud.

You have to be able to break away from the thousands of other people out there trying to do a similar thing. I had to learn how to make myself different. I had to learn how to connect with people on a level that others weren’t.

I spend so much time reading comments, answering messages, polling my audience, asking so many different questions to continue to understand my audience on a much deeper level. That I believe is one of the most important aspects of success in this field.

Any advice for growing your clientele? What’s been most effective for you?

Consistency is the most effective strategy and I stand behind that. I have been able to grow a large audience across social media platforms. I continue to show up. Even in the beginning when my audience was small, I continued to show up. I continued to create content. Sometimes it felt like no one was watching or listening.

One of my posts when viral after 1.5 years of posting consistently on instagram, youtube, tiktok, and facebook. My audience exploded and so did my business.

I was very impatient through this process don’t get me wrong. It can be frustrating, putting in so much work for little return. But now, looking back, I am so glad I kept going.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://keeptheadventurealive.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/adventurealive/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCrA-zi9rqRQsPGinrwVhISQ
• Other: Tiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@arthritisadventure?lang=en Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/adventurealive/