Interested in starting your own entrepreneurial journey in health and wellness but unsure what to expect? Then read up on our interview with Erik Isaacman, Owner of Inner Gate Health and Wellness, located in Portland, OR, USA.
What's your business, and who are your customers?
Inner Gate Health & Wellness is a health care clinic located in Portland, Oregon. We are a multidisciplinary clinic that offers acupuncture, massage, chiropractic, and naturopathic medicine. Our clinic focuses on treating many different people and different needs. Our acupuncture team has advanced sports medicine training and works with many athletes and active people. Our chiropractic and massage team is excellent at helping people recover from auto accidents. Our naturopath focuses her knowledge on helping our patients make healthy and positive lifestyle choices so they can continue to thrive. She practices functional medicine using a combination of specific labs and testing with nutritional support, supplementation, and diet and lifestyle changes. She also works with bio-identical hormones to help women age naturally.
Our patient base ranges from young people who have hurt themselves playing sports to middle age patients struggling to return to an active lifestyle because of nagging injuries to older patients who want to remain agile and mentally sharp.
Tell us about yourself
Oliver and Erik, the co-founders of Inner Gate Health & Wellness, met during graduate school at the Oregon College of Oriental Medicine. While they came to Chinese medicine from different backgrounds, Erik as a student of China and Oliver as a yoga practitioner and organic farmer, it quickly became clear that they both possessed a love of learning and a desire to help people recover from pain and injuries.
They were very frustrated by the allopathic response to pain and suffering and wanted to offer an alternative to pain medications and surgical interventions. From the time of Inner Gate’s inception, the mission has been to create a custom treatment plan for each patient while educating them so they become empowered to take charge of their health and wellness.
We gain a lot of joy and satisfaction from seeing our patients recover, find relief and live more balanced lives. This has been our greatest motivator. We are also passionate and committed to creating a work environment that supports our staff with opportunities to advance their education, improve their skills and make a livable wage.
What's your biggest accomplishment as a business owner?
We have been able to grow slowly and carefully. We have consistently added excellent clinicians to our team that is devoted to the central mission of the business. We have stayed afloat through several economic downturns, oppressive insurance company policies, and a global pandemic. Through all of that, we are still a great team and great friends and continue to provide great service to our patients. We are proud of our team and their excellent skills.
What's one of the hardest things that come with being a business owner?
Being in the service industry forces us to balance the needs of the business with those of our patients. We recognize that patients have choices, and while we think of ourselves as leaders in our industry, in a city like Portland, there are numerous other modalities and clinics people can choose from. We practice from a place of understanding and empathy, and we go out of our way to see the best in our patients, but sometimes this leads to Inner Gate carrying large balances or not being compensated fairly.
Providing a living wage for our employees. While we have seen expenses like rent, supplies, electricity, and more increase, the compensation we receive from insurance companies has remained unchanged for many years. We want all of our employees to share in the profits and find ways to grow professionally and financially. We are forced to balance the needs of the clinic and the needs of our clinicians and staff.
What are the top tips you'd give to anyone looking to start, run and grow a business today?
- Be intentional about the culture you want to create in your company. We all work a lot, particularly entrepreneurs, so why not spend your time and energy around people that energize you and in a space you.
- Find a mentor or business coach. No matter how original your idea or concept, at the end of the day, you still need to run a business. There are so many skills and tools that other business people have mastered, and when time is in short supply, it is a lot smarter to utilize their expertise than to struggle alone.
- Clearly define what success means to you. So often, when launching a business, you are working tirelessly for months on end, moving from one project to another, that you rarely have a moment to step back and realize the direction you are moving toward. Without a clear “definition of success,” you can get caught in the moment, putting out fires, and forget to ask yourself if this is where you should be investing your energy. With a goal in mind, it is much easier to look up and quickly assess if you are still moving in the right direction.
Is there anything else you'd like to share?
Inner Gate Health & Wellness has strived to outperform the competition. The leadership has instilled a clear understanding of mission, superior service, education, and results. We couldn’t have done it without the help of our staff, clinicians, and business coach. Thanks to everyone for making Inner Gate great.
Where can people find you and your business?
Website: https://innergatepdx.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/innergatepdx
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/innergatepdx/
If you like what you've read here and have your own story as a solo or small business entrepreneur that you'd like to share, then please answer these interview questions. We'd love to feature your journey on these pages.
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