Connection in Action: Small Businesses in Community
There’s a lot of talk about CONNECTION these days.
Social media, often promoted as a way to enhance our connection to others, may more likely lead to social isolation.
The health and wellness world talks a lot about connection to Self or connection to something greater than ourselves.
In the business world, we’re told to network but also to differentiate ourselves and be competitive.
As small business owners, are we better positioned for success if we band together or if we stand apart?
Over the past 2+ years of organizing the Denver Holistic Health Collective, I’ve delighted in watching our group grow from a small collection of physical therapists to a vibrant network of 40+ multidisciplinary health and wellness business owners. Our conversations have evolved from business-oriented chats—what are people doing for IG stories? does anyone know a good small business CPA?—to wide-ranging discussions on
integrating treatments for the physical body with mental health interventions
connecting clients with other practitioners who can support holistic treatment of their condition
making holistic care more accessible to those who struggle to afford the often out-of-network (i.e., cash-pay) practitioners
how holistic health providers are caring for our own physical, emotional, and mental health and avoiding burnout
In these conversations, psychologists and massage therapists discuss ideas with chiropractors and yoga teachers. Providers with 15 years of experience share thoughts with those who have recently started practicing. And the consistent feedback I get is that we all get something valuable from the collective experience and knowledge. Even a conversation about a familiar topic can yield a new pearl of wisdom—a fresh way to explain the nervous system to a client, a different position in which to stretch the spine, recent research about how gut health relates to mental state, or how a therapist supports their own mental health after a long day.
We benefit professionally from the group, but we’re also personally supported by this network of fellow health care providers, movement specialists, wellness coaches, and healers. We get to share space with others who understand the unique challenges of working with people who are in pain, who are sometimes desperate in their search for health. It can be difficult at times, witnessing the suffering of others. There are many people in need of care that connects the dots of random symptoms and offers a holistic approach to resolving the underlying causes, and there are still relatively few practitioners who practice this way (although this is shifting!). A lot of health care providers have struggled with boundaries—how do I set reasonable hours for myself when my waitlist is two months long? what should my hourly rates be in order to earn enough to pay for my own health and liability insurance/office rent/retirement plan AND still not price people out of high-quality care? if I offer mobile or in-home services, how far should I drive to see those who cannot leave their homes?
How do we best serve our community while also caring for our own businesses, families, and health?
We CONNECT. We unite to solve problems as a collective. We form networks that fill in each other’s gaps—for example, I treat a lot of people who deal with chronic pain. In my practice, I address movement problems, dysfunctional nervous systems, and joint and muscle stiffness. What I don’t do is design nutrition programs for digestive disorders, or treat mental health, or do blood tests to investigate systemic inflammation. When I believe a client needs any of these things, I reach out to my colleagues—I think of the practitioner who I feel is best suited for my client and I personally connect them.
It brings me great satisfaction to hear back from that client that they are seeing good results with the new treatments, and they often also report that they felt looked after in this personal referral process. What does this mean? That they’re more likely to recommend my services, that we’re strengthening our therapeutic alliance (which research shows promotes more positive outcomes), and that they went into a new therapeutic relationship with an element of trust already built in. Which all means better outcomes and more successful businesses!
Are you a Denver practitioner in the health and wellness field looking for more connection?
Join us for monthly “Meet & Move” events where we connect with fellow health and wellness providers.
Reach out to colleagues you’re acquainted with—or haven’t met yet—as potential new referral partners.
Personally thank people who have referred someone to you!
Invite a practitioner with an adjacent or overlapping skill set to collaborate on a workshop or project.
This is how we learn and grow as individual providers, how we adapt to a changing healthcare landscape, how we thrive as small businesses in an industry driven by large corporations, and how we remain healthy and grounded in our own bodies and lives.