We recently connected with Lexi Meleski Guerrero and have shared our conversation below.

Lexi, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Setting up an independent practice is a daunting endeavor. Can you talk to us about what it was like for you – what were some of the main steps, challenges, etc.

Tell us the story of the early days — from deciding to start your own practice to where you are now.
I was really young when I started, and honestly, I didn’t have a roadmap. Before I even opened my doors, I had to figure out how to build something from the ground up. I found a tiny room down the street — very inexpensive — and that became my first office. I stayed there for fifteen months, learning what worked, what didn’t, and what I actually needed to grow.
From there, I found a house that I eventually bought in 2018 — but we actually started practicing out of it at the end of 2015, working out of three rooms and a bathroom in the front. As we grew and added practitioners, I even had to convert my own bedroom into space for more services, 2 or 3 times. That’s when I knew we’d truly outgrown that model.
In 2020, after signing two commercial leases, we finally landed in our current commercial space. By 2021, we had expanded into the second half of that building — now sitting at around 6,000 square feet. And here in 2026, we’re expanding again into the upstairs, adding just under 4,000 square feet more. The growth has been exponential — probably faster than our resources could comfortably keep up with. And through all of it, it has been just me managing and handling everything behind the scenes.
What were some of the key challenges?
The challenges have always come down to two things: time and money. There’s never quite enough of either to expand the way you envision or grow at the pace you want. I’m in full-time practice serving up to two hundred people a week — as one human being. There’s a very real capacity to that.
But here’s what I’ve learned: we all have our own capacities, and mine happens to be high. When you’re creating something bigger than yourself and your why is bigger than you, the how always figures itself out. The money has always come in. The time has always shown up — however it needed to look. That’s been my experience, and I hold onto that.
The other ongoing challenge has been finding a team that truly understands and can carry the vision forward — people who get not just what we’re doing, but why we’re doing it. And that why is everything.
What is the mission?
To create access to affordable, holistic healthcare. To create change within our community through education, health, and empowerment — so that people can be consistent in their care. Because consistency is the only way we’re ever going to see real change.
People tell me regularly that I need to raise my prices. And I understand where that comes from. But that’s not the mission. Think about it like diet or exercise — you can’t do it one day and expect transformation. It takes time. Our bodies have gotten to a place where they need a lot of healing, and that healing requires showing up consistently — whether it’s chiropractic, massage, physical therapy, counseling, whatever the modality. If people can’t access it regularly, how will we ever see change?
That’s why affordability is non-negotiable for me. And that’s the standard I hold for every practitioner in our space — offering accessible hours, weeknights, weekends, sliding scale, insurance, packages. I provide more affordable commercial space so they can operate sustainably without passing impossible costs onto clients. That’s where the collective model really comes to life.
What’s your take on the collective model versus going fully independent?
It’s something I feel strongly about — and it’s exactly what we’ve built. Every practitioner in our space is their own entity, their own business. We share a curated, aligned space — and that creates something really powerful.
It builds an internal referral base organically. It creates cohesiveness. It creates community. And for practitioners who want to serve people well without the full weight of running everything alone, it’s a genuine alternative to striking out completely on your own.
It’s cold out there. Commercial space is expensive. The isolation of going it fully alone is real. A collective, when the values are aligned, changes all of that.
Would you have done anything differently?
If I had to do it over — honestly, I wouldn’t do it over again. But if I could go back, I would have found a partner earlier. Not a large team, just someone truly aligned to share the weight with. I’d also encourage any young practitioner to start small and grow into what they have, rather than overbuilding from day one. So many chiropractors come out of school and immediately invest in the full team, the full buildout, everything at once. Let it breathe. Let it grow naturally.
Any final advice for a young chiropractor considering starting their own practice?
Start small and don’t be ashamed of it. Know your capacity — and respect it. And if your why is bigger than you, trust that the how will find its way. Consider whether a collective might serve you better than going completely alone, especially early on. The practice will reflect who you are and what you believe, so be clear on your mission from day one and don’t let anyone talk you out of it.
Affordable care is not a weakness. It’s a calling.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

I’m a chiropractor, a doula, a nonprofit founder, and a believer that holistic healthcare should be accessible to everyone — not just those who can afford it. But my story doesn’t start there.
At sixteen, I was working the night shift at a fast food restaurant across the street from a chiropractic office. The chiropractor would come in every night for a medium Diet Coke, and one day he asked if I wanted to make more money. Of course I did. He told me to come apply with his wife. I worked for them for six years — through college and back home during breaks — while pursuing what I thought was my calling: obstetrics and gynecology. I wanted to be a surgeon. I wanted to deliver babies.
But life had a different plan. My last semester of undergrad, I learned about midwifery and thought, yes, that’s it. I started nursing prerequisites. And then something shifted. I realized I didn’t just want to serve — I wanted to lead. I wanted to be a doctor, to run my own practice, to have autonomy in how I served people. So I applied to chiropractic school almost as an afterthought. I was accepted on January sixth, 2011, and they asked if I could start that Monday. I packed everything into my little Corolla, drove from Milwaukee to Dallas with my parents, and never looked back.
Halfway through chiropractic school, I discovered the world of doulas — and that’s when everything clicked. I realized I could marry my two passions: chiropractic care and birth. I didn’t need to be a surgeon cutting women open. I could serve women through pregnancy, birth, postpartum care, and lifelong wellness — all as a chiropractor and trained birth doula.
What do you offer?
My practice is rooted in whole-life care. Pregnancy and birth are my specialty — that’s where my heart is — but I serve people from babies through adulthood. We offer chiropractic care, massage therapy, physical therapy, counseling, and doula services. Everything under one roof, designed to work together.
But here’s what really sets us apart: we’re affordable. We’re accessible. We created Our Wellness Community and Take Care Health and Wellness as a 501c3 nonprofit specifically so that financial barriers would never keep someone from getting the care they need. When people can’t afford our regular services, we have a fund to cover them.
I serve single-income families, working families, people living paycheck to paycheck — like my own parents were. That’s my primary focus, along with babies, children, and pregnant women. They make up the largest percentage of who we see. Everyone deserves access to care that helps them thrive, not just survive.
What drives you?
Serving God’s people every single day. That’s the real engine here. When you show up for others — genuinely, consistently, no matter what’s happening in your own life — you’re taken care of in return. I’ve seen it in the darkest moments. Showing up for others isn’t about me; it’s about how we serve, who we serve, and understanding that this life is about so much more than what we accumulate here on earth.
What are you most proud of?
Creating almost ten thousand square feet of holistic wellness space from absolutely nothing. No handouts. No initial loans. Just vision, faith, work, and the support of family who believed in me even when they couldn’t fund it. That alone still amazes me.
I’m also proud that I waited. I waited a very long time to marry the right person, and I did. That patience and commitment to integrity — I’m genuinely proud of that.
What do you want readers to know?
I’m here for the betterment of society. For empowerment. I see your potential — even when you can’t see it yet. And I want you to know that you are capable. Each of you is special. Each of you is created for a purpose on this earth. I hope to facilitate a little bit in helping you find that purpose, to build more community, and to remind you that we’re in this together.
There is a different way. A way where healthcare is accessible. Where people aren’t trapped by cost. Where we actually see each other, serve each other, and recognize our shared humanity.
That’s what I’m building. That’s what I believe in. And I’d be honored to serve you.

What do you think helped you build your reputation within your market?

Early on, a group of women asked me point blank: how do you do it? At the time, I was seeing a lot of people — a hundred to a hundred twenty five a day at one point. I don’t do that anymore because it just wasn’t sustainable, but when they asked, my answer was simple: I can speak the language (basic, but enough to serve), which is Spanish. We’re affordable. And I always say yes.
That combination opened doors in this community in ways I didn’t fully anticipate. But beyond that, I think what really built my reputation was availability and willingness. When you’re starting out and nobody knows who you are, you have to show up. You have to network. You have to build real relationships. And I’m a relationship creator and builder — not a salesperson. It was never about pressure or convincing anyone. It was just, “Hey, I’m here. This is who I am. This is what I do. If you want to come by, cool.”
The affordability piece made all the difference in sustaining that. Over twelve years now, people keep coming back because they can actually access the care they need without financial stress. Word of mouth in this community is everything, and when people feel seen, served well, and not broke after a visit — they tell their friends. They tell their family. They come back themselves.
That’s how reputation gets built. Not through marketing, but through showing up authentically and consistently for people.

How did you put together the initial capital you needed to start?

Honestly, I didn’t have any money. My last semester of chiropractic school, I was charged with practicing without a license. The money I had saved — every penny I’d set aside — went to pay my lawyer. That was February 2014. I graduated in April, the case closed in June, and I got my license immediately and started practicing that same month.
I started with nothing but a table and my hands, working out of my apartment. After a couple months, I moved to a very small space for a hundred fifty dollars a month. A year in, they wanted to raise it to two hundred because apparently my clients were using too much toilet paper. By then, we’d outgrown it anyway, so I moved to the house I mentioned earlier.
Still no loans. No initial investment from anyone. No debt. I was bootstrapping every step, reinvesting whatever came in back into the practice. That carried us through for years.
Then 2020 happened. As the world was ending, the SBA was sending out significant loans — and I qualified. That’s how we were able to do a full buildout in our nearly 6,000 square foot commercial space. It was honestly a miracle and an amazing opportunity.
But I’ll be transparent: that money was gone very quickly. I’m going to be paying that loan for thirty more years. I wouldn’t recommend taking out a loan that large again. It got us where we needed to be, but the weight of it is real. If I could do it differently, I would have been more conservative and strategic about how those funds were used.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://owcdallas.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ourwellnesscommunitydallas?igsh=MTd1OG4xaWFvMGdqdg%3D%3D&utm_source=qr
• Facebook: https://m.facebook.com/ourwellnesscommunityoakcliff/

Image Credits

JerSean Golatt, Ashley Freese, Lizbet Palmer