We were lucky to catch up with Michael Balk recently and have shared our conversation below.

Michael, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. We’d love to hear the backstory of how you established your own practice.

My wife Amy and I have always dreamt of owning a business specializing in health and wellness. For a while, we thought it would a fitness center, or even a local gym that offered fitness classes. We realized early on, this was an incredibly tough industry for small business owners to compete and stay relevant in, especially with all the other larger names and franchises to contend with. It wasn’t until I became a family nurse practitioner, working for a private practice specializing in medical/surgical weight loss, that the idea of opening an IV therapy lounge, while incorporating my knowledge and experience in medical weight loss, came to fruition. There are always challenges with opening a business, especially in the medical industry. Ensuring we open a business prioritizing integrity, patient safety, and therapeutic effectiveness based on the highest standards was paramount to us. To ensure we could offer this, we enrolled in advanced practice courses highlighting how to open a reputable health clinic, specifically in IV therapy, along with IV Nutrition Therapy certification courses, created from evidenced-based literature, to provide us the next-level competencies in the industry. We didn’t just want to open an IV therapy lounge, we wanted to open a reputable health and wellness business incorporating the most up-to-date safety measures and protocols . These certification courses provided a wealth of knowledge and have since become a staple in how we onboard our nursing staff to ensure highest level of competencies, patient safety, and customer satisfaction.
From the business aspect, it was a matter of hiring the right attorney, a good CPA, and insurance broker. We performed a market analysis and researched competitors near and far to see what they do and how we can do it differently. Each place we came across had the “sterile” environment of a health clinic. Our vision was not only to provide safe and effective treatment options, but to offer a relaxing experience in a comfortable environment that didn’t feel “medical”. With that, we brought in an interior designer (Lauren Figueroa), shared with her our vision, and she brought it to life ! With Amy’s vast experience in marketing, we were able to develop what we thought was a healthy marketing budget and brought in a marketing agency to help spread the word on who we are, what we offer, and what makes us unique.
For those who may consider opening their own practice, be it IV therapy or other health-inspired clinics, the best advice I can give is to not rush it. Spend a few years in the industry to gain the necessary experience. Patients, clients, customers are all going to expect you to be an expert in the field, and you really should be. Continuously try to better yourself in terms of knowledge and education. When the time is right, put the effort in to ensure you are opening a practice you’re passionate about. If available, obtain specialty certifications for the services you will offer to further your knowledge and truly separate you from everyone else that hasn’t. Ensure you aren’t just opening a practice but put in the effort to do it the right way!

Michael, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

I first began my medical career as a paramedic for a local EMS agency. I did that for roughly six years until I decided I wanted to further my education and become a registered nurse. In this role, I worked in the operating room, alongside surgeons, anesthesiologists/CRNA’s, and surgical technologists for a little over a decade. Working with so many advanced practice professionals drove my passion to become one myself. With that, I decided to pursue a degree as a nurse practitioner and graduated/passed boards amidst the Covid pandemic. Fortunately for me, the bariatric surgeons I had spent the last decade working alongside were looking to hire a new provider! This landed me a job as a nurse practitioner working for them in their clinic, primarily performing history and physical exams for both the surgical and medical weight loss patients, as well as prescribing and managing prescription medications aimed at promoting weight loss. Little did I know at the time this experience would play an integral role in the future development for creating my own practice, and I am incredibly grateful for that opportunity! For patients undergoing bariatric surgery, it became routine that we would order post-operative IV infusions for patients as they often would struggle with dehydration, inflammation, and nausea along with certain nutritional and vitamin deficiencies. Patients greatly benefited from these infusions! In one specific instance, I distinctly remember attempting to place an order for an IV infusion for a patient who was really struggling with nausea and dehydration; however, there were no openings for this patient at the only available infusion clinic in Grand Rapids. Ultimately this forced me to send them to the emergency room instead. Of course, this was during the thick of a Covid pandemic, and local hospital emergency departments were already overloaded and understaffed. I remember thinking if there were more infusion clinics available, it would provide for a greater community service as we could effectively treat patients that don’t necessitate a trip to an emergency room, lower their risk of exposure, and help do our part in lessoning the burden of an already overwhelmed ER. The services we offer at Vivid IV Health include IV therapy, oxygen therapy, and medical weight loss. Our IV therapy services have played a big role in helping patients with a wide array of ailments. Our treatments can help treat fatigue, headaches/migraines, and hangovers. Our IV therapy treatments have also been instrumental in helping patients with inflammatory bowel disease such as Crohn’s Disease, Ulcerative Colitis, and other conditions that cause malabsorption. Because the IV treatments bypass the stomach, and thus the digestive system, the bioavailability and overall absorption is superior to oral supplementation of vitamins and other nutrients. We also have drips that can boost your immune system that have been shown to help aid in the prevention of the cold/flu or even to speed up the recovery process. We have IV treatments that have helped ease stress/anxiety, increase metabolism, and symptoms of long-haul Covid!
Our oxygen therapy can be done with or without aroma therapy and, especially when coupled with IV therapy, have also shown to significantly help in headaches/migraines, nausea, anxiety/depression, and fatigue. The oxygen therapy coupled with our IV drips aimed at alleviated migraine symptoms have even become a preferred treatment modality for several of our patients that suffer from chronic migraines, who would previously spend hours in an emergency room.
The medical weight loss we offer, through our Weight Management program, offers what few others in the industry offer. It’s not a situation where you show up, get your medication, and then you’re on your own. We start with an initial consultation where we go over options and set individualized dietary, behavioral, and exercise goals. There are follow-up appointments each month to help with accountability. Plus, we offer preferred partner discounts with Camille Adams RDN, a registered dietitian nutritionist, that helps to ensure not only timely results, but also places an emphasis on long-term health and wellness goals. Our program is built to advocate for long-term success!
In terms of our direct competitors, there are a few distinct differences in what we have to offer. For one, we are the only local, family-owned practice committed to Grand Rapids that isn’t a franchise or with multiple locations in and out of Michigan. We love Grand Rapids and West Michigan, are excited to bbe a part of its growth, and have felt the love and support the communities have in advocating for local businesses. This ultimately has a trickledown effect on each of our customers as I feel it allows us to build a greater rapport with them. There’s no corporate policy that obstructs us from tailoring patient-specific needs or that takes away from the overall positive experience our clients get, which I feel demonstrates not only how much we value every client, but also the nursing staff that we bring on as well. When you visit a place of business where you (the consumer) and the staff who care for you are well-valued, that’s palpable and ultimately ends up offering an overall better experience. Additionally, our providers are certified in each specialty that we offer, and our nurses are trained from this, which demonstrates enhanced competencies in a field that really shouldn’t offer anything less!

Putting training and knowledge aside, what else do you think really matters in terms of succeeding in your field?

I think the key to success in any field is having the passion behind what you do. If you truly love what you do, there is little to get in the way of your drive and motivation to be successful. It helps spark creativity, enhances job satisfaction, the longevity of your career, and the capability to do it at your very best!

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

I believe my experience and credentials have played a big role in the initial phases of reputation development. From there, building a rapport with our clients, providing top notch services, ensuring every client feels valued, and offering a relaxing environment have all been key. We continuously strive to develop partnerships with reputable businesses as well, which I believe will be very helpful in maintaining and even furthering our growing reputation as Grand Rapids number one IV therapy and medical weight loss clinic!

Contact Info:

• Website: www.vividivhealth.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vividivhealth/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/vividivhealth/
• Linkedin: www.linkedin.com/in/vivid-iv-health-3340072a0

Image Credits
Andi B Photography