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

Andy, looking forward to hearing all of your stories 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 biggest step that I had to take while establishing my practice was figuring out what to work on next. When starting out on your own, you don’t have a clear roadmap. I tried to navigate the first couple of months on my own before realizing that I needed a coach. I think it’s imperative to find someone that is in a position that you want to be in and learn from the. Some people might not offer formal coaching but informal coaching is just as useful.

One thing I would have done differently is get a coach sooner. The beginning stages of business are usually exciting because everything is a “first” but that spark can leave you quickly if you get frustrated without a clear plan on how to move things forward. I’d highly recommend young professionals to seek that guidance and mentorship. It doesn’t even matter if you are starting a business anytime soon because these relationships will help you continue to develop.

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 got into the field of physical therapy when I had a back and neck injury with nerve related symptoms going down both of my arms. This prevented me from training the way that I wanted to so I decided to seek out the care of a physical therapist. It was the best healthcare experience that I ever had. I remember seeing the smile on my physical therapist’s face when I told her that I was able to get back into my regular gym routine without any pain.

Her reaction was priceless and her job seemed so fulfilling so I decided to pursue physical therapy. I graduated from the University at Buffalo with a Bachelor’s Degree in Psychology then went on to get my Doctorate of Physical Therapy at the University of St. Augustine. I worked at one of the top facilities in New York City before pursuing my own business.

In the summer of 2021, I co-founded Moment Physical Therapy and Performance with my wife Dr. Kristianna Fata. We wanted to provide a different model of healthcare where sessions were completely one-on-one, programs were custom-tailored, and the delivery of care was of the highest quality. The difference was felt because our practice scaled beyond ourselves within three months of starting.

I had no idea how to hire because I wanted to find the best of the best when it comes to rehab and performance training. That’s when I founded Moment Education in January 2022. The goal was to teach other coaches and clinicians our framework and now we actively mentor 200+ people throughout the world. We show them everything from communication and developing rapport to functional training and mobility training. Every single physical therapist on our team has gone through our programs and demonstrated a well-rounded skillset.

What sets us apart is that we are constantly refining our craft and making our product better. It’s easy to be stagnant after a couple of years in the profession but what makes you great is consistently figuring out how you can be 1% better every day.

Can you tell us about what’s worked well for you in terms of growing your clientele?

The most effective strategy for growing our clientele has been supporting our community and fostering long-term relationships. We live in a world where everything is so transactional and it did not jive with the way I wanted to live my life. My goal has always been to figure out how we can do something sustainably because if it is sustainable then we can do it for a long time.

People hop on trends, the next cool social media platform, and try everything under the sun besides providing actual value to those around you. There are so many small businesses, health/wellness professionals, and people in New York City that we can support.

How’d you build such a strong reputation within your market?

I think what’s helped build my reputation in the market is that I have documented my process. I show people what I’m creating, how I am adapting, what I am learning, and more. That means I’m sharing the knowledge that I’m gaining from courses, sharing snippets from books that I am consuming, and making sure that it’s known that I am not a finished project.

I’ve built a reputation in the health and wellness space as someone who is constantly pushing himself to be better and people resonate with that. Most of the people that we work with are passionate about their physical, mental health, and their craft so when they see a healthcare provider invest heavily in themselves on that end then they know that person has skin in the game.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.momentptp.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dr.andychen/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/andy-chen-momentptp
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/drandychen
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@dr.andychen
• Other: https://www.moment-education.com/