We were lucky to catch up with Kristina McDaniel recently and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Kristina , thanks for joining us today. The more we talk about good leadership the more we think good leadership practices will spread and so we’d love for you to tell us a story about the best boss you’ve had and what they were like or what they did that was so great?
Debbie was my supervisor and mentor when I worked at UPS as a sales and marketing representative for the small business side. Debbie was a single mom, with one small child, a child that she went through artificial insemination to have because she wanted so much to be a mother. We had sales meetings every week and Debbie always rallied the team, she knew the market well and with kindness and patience, she inspired us all to keep reaching for our goals. Debbie was always available if you needed to talk or if you needed extra help with a client to close a sale. As I got to know her, I shared with her that I had not finished college. Debbie made it her mission to get me back in school. She helped me to see that I could go back in the evenings after work because there was an annex for La Tourneau University not far from my house. Debbie helped me with enrolling and getting all of my transcripts in place and I started soon after. It took me 5 years going year round but I finally graduated with a 3.8 GPA Summa cum laude. At the time it seems so daunting, but with a strong inspiring leader to cheer me on and help me to see that I could accomplish my dreams, she made everything feel like it was in reach.
Kristina , before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?
My name is Kristina McDaniel and I have been practicing posture alignment therapy for over 11 years now. I was first introduced to posture alignment therapy by an orthopedic surgeon, Dr. Mark Adickes. Dr. Adickes uses posture alignment therapy for himself and felt like we needed to have a local clinic in Houston for his clients and others to experience and heal from chronic pain. I became very interested in the concepts and became certified in all levels of exercise and posture alignment therapy before opening the clinic in 2011. Posture alignment therapy is a method of gentle exercises and stretches created to rebalance the joints and muscles to hold the body in proper alignment, thus relieving chronic pain. We analyze the client through 3 different methods, posture photos, palpation (pressing on the surfaces of the body to feel the joint locations), and gait analysis. This allows us to see the dysfunctions and compensations in the body and gives us a clear path to design a series of gentle stretches and exercises to bring the body back into proper alignment. We have helped over 2,000 clients over the last 11 years to get out of pain and back to doing the things they love. We not only help people with chronic pain, but we also work with athletes to improve their performance, as well as people who may not be experiencing pain but just want to improve their posture. We work with those experiencing knee pain, back pain, shoulder pain, neck pain, ankle, and elbow pain as well as sciatic and ulnar nerve pain. Stenosis, herniated, slipped or bulging discs, plantar fasciitis pain, heel pain, headaches, vertigo, and more. We have a 95% success rate and most of our clients are referred by other clients who have become pain-free along their journey. We help clients to put their health back into their own hands, allowing them to not only understand their bodies but to break the fear cycle around the pain and to learn to trust their bodies again. Our method is a natural way to bring the body back into alignment, without drugs, surgery, and prescribed physical therapy plans that do not work because they are not addressing the root cause of why the pain exists. Our clients tell us that they come in pain and leave with hope. We like to say “life begins when the pain ends”
How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?
We have recently gone out on our own, prior to this we were part of a franchise. Last year the franchise hired a new CEO. This CEO decided to make big changes to how we do business and to charge 3 times as much in royalty fees. After confiding with 8 other clinics we all decided to leave the franchise for the health and well-being of our clients and our small businesses. It wasn’t something we took lightly but after seeing the changes that were expected to take place we decided that it would not be beneficial to us and most of all to our clients. There are more franchises expected to leave over the next year. This in itself was a huge pivot with a lot of changes including new software, and scheduling system, and now marketing for ourselves. It’s like starting over in a sense but with a complete understanding of what our clients need and want from us. We are excited about our new path and what it can do for both our small business and for your current and future clients.
What’s worked well for you in terms of a source for new clients?
Our best source of new clients is referrals from other clients. We get about 85% of our new clients from others who have come to us and have successfully gotten out of pain. We always honor our clients who refer, if the referred new client purchases a package from us, we thank the referring client by giving them an additional free session that they can use or share with a friend or loved one. Our other resources are from orthopedic surgeons, pain management doctors, massage therapists, and others who know that this method works. Most people will feel a difference after their first visit.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.painfreeposture.clinic
- Instagram: painfree_posture_clinic
- Facebook: @painfreepostureclinictx
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kristina-mcdaniel-317b882/
- Youtube: https://www.google.com/search?q=pain+free+posture+clinic&sxsrf=ALiCzsbAcR2oSEKhX5bx-zcWigBckZyDeg%3A1658784443747&source=hp&ei=uwrfYvTNJ-uiqtsPkOKSoAI&iflsig=AJiK0e8AAAAAYt8Yy8If5MO2aTqWV2CnLo7eGfhMqj6M&oq=pain&gs_lcp=Cgdnd3Mtd2l6EAEYADIECCMQJzIECCMQJzIECCMQJzIFCAAQgAQyDggAEIAEELEDEIMBEMkDMgUIABCSAzIFCAAQkgMyCAgAEIAEELEDMgsIABCABBCxAxCDATIFCAAQgAQ6BwgjEOoCECc6EQguEIAEELEDEIMBEMcBENEDOggILhCxAxCDAToOCC4QgAQQsQMQxwEQ0QM6EQguEIAEELEDEMcBENEDENQCOggILhCABBCxA1CSEliXFWCpJmgBcAB4AIAB6gGIAcgDkgEFMy4wLjGYAQCgAQGwAQo&sclient=gws-wiz
- Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/pain-free-posture-clinic-houston