In part one, The Dark Side of Chiropractic Coaching, I shared a story about a Rock-star Chiro coach who misrepresented himself and his program, costing me $15,000.
Sadly, I’ve heard similar stories: young chiropractors lured into coaching and franchise programs by chiropractors who haven't achieved the level of success they claim to teach others to reach.
Fortunately, I recovered almost half of my money, but the incident turned me off chiropractic coaching for a while.
Years later, close friends attended a large chiropractic coaching seminar and convinced me to join them one weekend.
This time, I was impressed. The room was filled with nearly a thousand young, healthy chiropractors who were passionate about chiropractic. Best of all, there were no gurus in the room.
These successful chiropractors were teaching others to serve more people and become successful. The group of 7 or so mentors on stage were still in practice and still refining their methods every day.
I felt like I had found my tribe and stuck around for a few years.
While this new coaching group was occasionally ridiculed in the chiropractic community for being overzealous, their procedures and business fundamentals were better than anything I had encountered.
These weren't your mom-and-pop-shop chiropractors. They were playing a bigger game, building real businesses, and driven by a sense of mission.
They weren't teaching gimmicks and parlor tricks that used to work in the 70s to attract new patients. No chicken dinners here. They were teaching modern business strategies for retention, cutting-edge chiropractic techniques, and new patient acquisition methods designed to evolve with the times, instead of staying stuck in the past.
I realized that I had been doing it all wrong: I was trying to build a big practice for myself, while they were building big practices to serve the public.
I was impressed with this coaching group. I rarely encountered chiropractors with such a big vision. They projected a sense of purpose I had been lacking.
To be fair, not everything was perfect in this group. There were unscrupulous characters that were exposed, including clients and coaches. Also, they would occasionally partner with fraudulent and corny organizations.
One year they invited a prominent anti-vaccine neurosurgeon to speak at one of their events. She was heralded as an authority on neurodegenerative conditions and vaccine-induced injury. Supposedly, she had testified before Congress and was often called as an expert witness in vaccine injury trials.
I was anxious to see a smart presentation on vaccination that didn't rely on emotional appeals. I thought we'd get legitimate science. However, when she began speaking, it was clear she was nuts. After she blessed the audience with a nasally “Namaste Everybody,” I knew we were in for a bumpy ride.
The next 30 minutes were spent talking about her vindictive ex-husband and their divorce. She even listed “legal stress” alongside physical, chemical and emotional stress, which are commonly held chiropractic causes of subluxation. Apparently, there was a fourth law now.
Despite some slip-ups, I thrived in a coaching environment, taking quick action and doubling my practice. It was great to be part of the group, for a while.
I eventually grew tired of chiropractic coaching and joined more general business and investment groups, but I left chiropractic coaching on a positive note.
Is coaching for everyone?
Nope. Coaching only works if you follow the program, just like a chiropractor's treatment recommendations. Success isn't guaranteed unless you put in the work.
The level of effort and engagement varies from one chiropractor to another, making it essential to find the right fit when considering coaching of any kind.
Ultimately, the effectiveness of coaching lies in the chiropractor's willingness to actively participate and implement the strategies provided.
Dr. Reggie Gold was asked once if he would ever offer chiropractic coaching. His reply was something to the effect of:
“Go make a list of 10 things you know you should be doing to be successful in your practice and then go do them. That will be $300 dollars please.”
This might be the best coaching advice ever given to a fellow chiropractor.