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

Alright, Caitlin thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Was there a moment in your career that meaningfully altered your trajectory? If so, we’d love to hear the backstory.

Before starting Physical Therapy school, I had only ever worked with kids — I was a nanny, I coached youth soccer camps, and I volunteered for various organizations assisting children with special needs. When I got into PT school, all I wanted to do was work as a pediatric Physical Therapist. After graduation, I started my first job as a pediatric PT at a large children’s hospital and happily worked in the pediatric specialty for 5 years before I got married and decided to start my own family.

I would have been completely content continuing with my career path as a pediatric therapist, but my world flipped upside down when I delivered my son in April 2020 during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. I was anxious, isolated, and confused as a new mom in a new world. On top of the emotional challenges I was facing, my body felt like it had been run over by a truck for MONTHS after my delivery. Here I was, a movement expert with so much knowledge about helping the human body heal, yet I had no clue how to help my own body recover during the postpartum period.

Fast forward to June 2021 — I was still really struggling to get back to my “former self” when I found out I was pregnant with baby #2. I was scared about what a second pregnancy might do to my body and decided to take action. I pursued a certification as a Pregnancy/Postpartum Corrective Exercise Specialist. Initially I was looking only to help myself heal, but I quickly realized how many prenatal/postnatal women out there could benefit from this information I was learning. If I was struggling as much as I was as PT, I knew there were other women out there who were struggling in silence after having children and I felt obligated to find them and help them.

I started an Instagram account (@theptmama) and began posting content about pregnancy, postpartum recovery, and pediatric development (both informational and some light-hearted humorous content). As my IG account started to gain some local traction, I decided to start my own LLC and really focus on different ways to help educate and empower women in the childbearing phase of life. My business is still evolving, but my overarching goal is to provide mothers with the education they NEED in a FUN, non-clinical manner and to empower them in the postpartum period. I never though in a million years that I would be starting my own business as a mother of two small children, but I don’t ever want anyone to feel as anxious, isolated, or confused as I did as a new mother.

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

My current business started as just an IG account (@theptmama) — I wanted to share with new mothers how to help themselves stay active/out of pain during pregnancy, my favorite tips for postpartum recovery, and how to safely engage with their babies to encourage development. As a kid I LOVED to make up skits/videos/etc., so I had a blast making reels and content on IG. I quickly realized how relatable I was to other new moms, and how I had a lot of good information that they were seeking to help with their baby’s development but also with their own healing (and reconciling with their new identity as a mother). I decided to set up my own LLC (The PT Mama) so that I could provide in-home Physical Therapy services to women in the early postpartum period AND to their infants if needed, which was a type of service I had never seen provided before. I also provide virtual consultations for those who are not local to me or find that virtual PT works better for their lifestyle.

I realized quickly though that many women do not seek out professional services for themselves (like PT) even when they are in pain. I also realized that PT was not accessible to many women in the early postpartum period, whether it be for financial reasons, lack of childcare, lack of free time, etc. So I decided to think outside of the traditional Physical Therapy box and began providing different types of wellness services to pregnant/postpartum women. I began teaching Pilates at a local studio with an emphasis on working with those who are pregnant/postpartum, I frequently hold virtual movement challenges on IG that focus on strengthening during pregnancy/postpartum (right now I am running a “No More Mom Butt” Challenge), and I began collaborating with local businesses to host informational events/workshops about the changes you experience during pregnancy. In November I hosted a “Thankful For My Pelvic Floor” brunch at a local restaurant, I have an upcoming “Run Like a Mother” workshop at a yoga studio, and I am currently in the process of developing a “Pelvic Floor + Pints” event to host at a few local breweries. I also occasionally hold tummy time classes and baby/toddler gross motor classes at local businesses. I really enjoy the “event” dynamic because it seems to reach a wider audience, provide information in a FUN and non-judgmental manner, and it allows new moms to build community with other new moms… individual Physical Therapy just can’t accomplish all of those things!

My business is still very new (it has been less than one year), so I am still figuring out what works best (in both a business sense and a personal sense). I stay home part-time with my two children (who are now 1 and almost 3) so I am also navigating the waters of trying to grow my business without sacrificing my time with my family. I think my ultimate goal would be to own a multi-purpose collaborative space — one where I could provide pregnancy/postpartum Physical Therapy & wellness services, host workshops with other birth providers in the area, and host FUN community events targeted to women/mothers (like my Pelvic Floor + Pints event).

Ultimately, when someone wants to know more about me or my business, I send them directly to my IG page… scroll through that for a few minutes and I think you have a good understanding of who I am and what I stand for!!!

Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?

I have always been quite the perfectionist and very much a planner, so when I initially had thoughts about starting my own business, I thought I had to have the perfect plan in place before I could start anything. I quickly realized that things would NEVER get up off the ground if I wanted to have the perfect plan in place, so I had to unlearn this “plan for perfection” quality I have always had.

Another small business owner in a similar field gave me the advice to just start trying out some of my ideas — she told me I would never now what worked until I tried it out. I have always had a huge fear of failing at anything, but I swallowed my pride and just started putting myself out there. Some of my initial ideas were HUGE flops and I had to completely swerve in a different direction… but almost one year into doing this, I feel SO much closer to what I want the identity of my business to be, and I never would have been able to figure that out without those early flops and failures. It is scary to put yourself out there, but it is also such a RELIEF to stop trying to be perfect all the time.

Can you talk to us about how your funded your firm or practice?

So far, everything in my business has been self-funded. I do a lot of my work virtually right now or in my client’s homes, so there hasn’t been a huge need for capital yet. I also have no business background, so I am still learning some of the business basics in terms of marketing, funding, SEO and promoting digital content, etc. I do feel that I am getting closer to my “next big idea” in my business, so I will likely reach a point soon where I will have to pursue investors in order to expand. I have built a large community of followers and clients through social media who want to see my succeed, so I am confident when the time comes I can find the support I need. But I am kind of wishing we would have a had a crash course about business in Physical Therapy school…

Contact Info:

• Website: www.theptmama.com
• Instagram: @theptmama
• Facebook: The PT mama
• Youtube: in the works!
• Other: Tik Tok: @theptmama0