We recently connected with Michelle Stauffer and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Michelle thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. We’d love to hear about how you went about setting up your own practice and if you have any advice for professionals who might be considering starting their own?

I have always had a dream of owning my own practice, but I never knew how it would come to fruition. I had glamorous visions and dreams of an extravagant brick n mortar business. Then came the pandemic and a little over a year of working as a physical therapist treating COVID-19 patients. I became burnt out by the workload. I also was able to see the growing gap in quality and available healthcare for the queer community. It was then I knew I needed to build this business I had been dreaming about for years. The main steps I needed to take was researching what was needed to own a healthcare business in Colorado based off Colorado laws and my own practice act laws. I wouldn’t have done anything different in starting up my own business, I was fortunate to have multiple connections in different careers to provide a free snipbit of information to help me along. To those looking to start their own practice I would give this piece of advice: be trusted in your community first. The world is becoming a trust focused, word of mouth growing community and if you don’t have either, scaling your business larger will prove difficult.

Michelle, 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?

I am the founder of Coast 2 Coast Wellness, a mobile physical therapy and online wellness coaching business. Physical Therapy can be completed from anywhere in Colorado, offering online services for those outside the Denver Metro Area. Online Wellness Coaching can be completed from anywhere in the United States.

Coast 2 Coast Wellness is a mobile company. I bring the tools to you, by providing services within your own home whether that be in-person or online. This removes the need to find transportation to get to an appointment on time.

Coast 2 Coast Wellness is a flexible company. I provide appointments outside the standard 9-5 workday allowing individuals to focus on their work and save money by not taking PTO to attend a physical therapy appointment.

Coast 2 Coast Wellness is an efficient company. You can schedule an appointment as soon as tomorrow, no more waiting 3-6wks to get in to be seen.

Coast 2 Coast Wellness is a inclusive, affordable company. As a cis, lesbian (she/her) myself, you can know you are truly with a queer-friendly and safe provider. I recognized the financial struggles of many a part of the queer community, so prices are set to not become a sacrifice to one’s family.

Coast 2 Coast Wellness is a client-first company. If you cannot tell by the various points above that set me apart from others, In building this business I considered all of the various barriers I have heard from patients when I worked for big corporate places and tried to fix the problem through the structure of Coast 2 Coast Wellness.

Any stories or insights that might help us understand how you’ve built such a strong reputation?

What helped me build my reputation was showing up regularly and being myself. Once I got clients it was finding willing ones to write a review for me. Between being 100% me, having clients achieve their goals, and solid reviews my reputation became cemented as the queer sports PT and wellness coach.

What’s been the most effective strategy for growing your clientele?

Growing my clientele and reputation go hand in hand. The queer community will support itself before another, bred from years of systemic oppression. What I needed to do was get multiple people from multiple social circles to entrust me to get them well, and my clientele would grow, and it did. Word of mouth for any small business is the driver for growth, but being a female and queer owned business, it takes growth to another dimension. I am very thankful for my community for such reasons.

Contact Info:

• Website: Coast2Coastwellness.com
• Instagram: instagram.com/dr.stauffer.pt
• Facebook: facebook.com/coast2coastwellness
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michelle-stauffer/
• Twitter: twitter.com/dr_stauffer_pt