We recently connected with Cristina Padilla and have shared our conversation below.

Cristina, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today We love asking folks what they would do differently if they were starting today – how they would speed up the process, etc. We’d love to hear how you would set everything up if you were to start from step 1 today.

I spent the first 3 years of practice working as an associate or independent contractor in different Chiropractic clinics, from wellness based to personal injury and rehab based, multidisciplinary practices. While none of these practices provided me with the opportunity to serve the population I truly love working with, I did learn a lot about the type of business I wanted to have, the “do’s and dont’s” and it solidified that working in the pediatric and perinatal space was my calling.

However, if I had to start over, I would 100% pick the same career but with a different starting point. Instead of waiting for the right opportunity to come by and join or take over a large practice with large amounts of overhead, I would have started small, like I eventually did, maintaining overhead to a minimum and really focusing on delivering quality care and growing the practice organically. Growth is the best problem to have in business, so rather than starting with a lot (more) debt and be constantly worried about meeting revenue to cover expenses and staff, you can start small and go fast – small space (maybe rent a room) and grow within that space, then move on to something larger (if desired) or see how your business evolves and transform it into the business you always wanted.

When i first opened Thrive Family Chiropractic, I was exclusively mobile. A few years in, I had enough revenue to afford renting a room within a business – still maintaining expenses affordable – and just watch the practice grow from there. This is something we don’t learn in school as a business model, and I think it is a really smart way to manage starting capital and have less stress about running a business.

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 background and context?

I am originally from Puerto Rico, born and raised – transplanted to Central New York in 2011 to attend New York Chiropractic College (2014 Alum, now Northeast College of Health Sciences). In 2015, I relocated to Jacksonville, FL where I currently reside.

In 2017, I founded Thrive Family Chiropractic, a house call/mobile practice that provides Chiropractic services to families in the comfort of their home or to business professionals on-site. A large percentage (about 75%) of the member population in the practice are infants, children and women during the perinatal period (preconception to postpartum). Having the ability to provided in-home and on-site services allows for an additional level of comfort, convenience and ease of access to Chiropractic care, from the moment a child is born and through the most important stages of a woman’s life.

As part of my ongoing specialty within Chiropractic, I have completed certifications and ongoing training with the International Chiropractic Pediatric Association (ICPA) and I am 1 of 3 Pediatric Chiropractors in Northeast Florida with the CACCP certification. I have also completed continuing education with Birthfit as a Leader, a platform that provides wellness services for women during pregnancy and postpartum with a focus on support, mindset, functional fitness and nutrition.

The purpose and mission of Thrive Family Chiropractic is to provide evidence-based care to families and promote a culture of medical and body autonomy for women and their families as well as a space that encourages informed choices and a wellness, holistic lifestyle. I believe that Chiropractic care is crucial during a child’s first years of life and women’s most important stages of life in order to allow them to express the best version of themselves and function optimally.

Besides providing vitalistic care to families, I focus on helping infants with challenges during their first years of life, including but not limited to: birth trauma, colic, breastfeeding and latching difficulties, plagiocephaly (flat head syndrome) and ensuring that they are developing optimally and achieving developmental milestones that are so important during the first year of life.

Women are cared for during all stages of life, with a special focus on the prenatal and postpartum stages, preparing them from early on in their pregnancy for labor and birth. Programs include a combination of pelvic floor and breathing rehab, yoga, Chiropractic care and nutrition. These services promote optimal health and conception of a healthy baby but also help improve the outcomes of birth as well as decrease the need for interventions during labor and birth and decrease labor times while improving recovery during the post partum period.

Our mission is to create a space where women feel empowered, safe and heard, while creating a health plan that addresses their concerns as mothers.

Outside of practice, I am involved locally in supporting the children in downtown Jacksonville as a board member of the Sanctuary on 8th street, a non-profit that offers tutoring, counseling and educational support to kids in school. I have also been serving as a board member and mentor for the non-profit Women Chiropractors, a national organization that supports women in the profession with mentorship, scholarships and connection.

We’d love to hear the story of how you built up your social media audience?

The easiest part – for me – with social media was finding my audience and my voice. I know this is the hardest part for a lot of new businesses or entrepreneurs but there are a few key points you need to get clarity on in order to maximize your social media presence, be profitable and build a brand and following:

* Who are you speaking to? Get as clear as you can with this audience: age, gender (if applicable), what their core values are, what matters to them, what problems do they have that you can solve.
* Why are you speaking to them? Are you trying to gain followers, go viral, educate the population to create a following, get business. You can do all of them but be clear on what your goals for content are.

Once you know this, consistency is key – I will admit, this is one of my most challenging parts of running a business but I am good at admitting it and therefore, outsourcing it. Just like I am the expert at pediatric and prenatal Chiropractic, I was determined to find someone who is the expert at creating content and a brand for me.

If this is the route you choose to go – interview! Take your time to learn as much as you can from the content creators or social media marketing companies you are going to work with. They can be great at what they do, but are they great at delivering your message and brand? Can they speak your language and are they unique in their approach or a “cookie cutter”, “plug and play” approach. I believe this is what made my social media and content so much better. I found someone who understood me, my brand and my goals and writes beautifully to meet those goals.

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

Networking within the channels where your ideal client is. This is why knowing your business identity and ideal client profile is so important. Networking and stablishing relationships can be very overwhelming at times – and time consuming!

Because I knew I wanted to work with women of reproductive age and their families, people who value health and wellness and are passionate about holistic living, informed choices and body autonomy, I decided to connect with businesses that also share that vision or that work synergistically with my business: other health care providers for women, lactation consultant, birth workers, pediatricians, etc.

These connections are even easier to establish with constant communication with these businesses or providers, especially when sharing a mutual client. It is a great opportunity to showcase what you do, how you do it and how well you do it by using your common client as a bridge in communication and introducing your services.

The second most effective strategy – and at this point, my #1 strategy – is word of mouth. Delivering outstanding care and services to your clients is the best way to grow your business. Word of mouth referrals are the gift that keeps on giving. If a client trust you, they will refer their friends and family to you and so on. Be authentic, honest and efficient; take care of your clients as if they were your family or as you would like to be taken care of and your business will grow exponentially.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.jaxmobilechiropractor.com
• Instagram: @jaxmobilechiropractor
• Facebook: @jaxmobilechiropractor

Image Credits
The headshot in white is from Kory Torjussen at K. Torjussen photography.