Muscle & Joint Pain Experts - REACH Rehab + Chiropractic

Interested in starting your own entrepreneurial journey in Health and Wellness but unsure what to expect? Then read up on our interview with RJ Burr, owner of REACH Rehab + Chiropractic Performance Center, located in Plymouth, MI, USA.

What's your business, and who are your customers?

At REACH Rehab + Chiropractic, we know many people suffer from injuries that do more than hurt; they rob them of their ability to do things. When somebody understands what their problem is, how it occurred, and why it hurts in the first place, they can take control of their pain and recovery. We know the fastest path to your recovery. With chiropractic, physical rehabilitation, and massage therapy, REACH takes the guesswork out of healing so you can do more the relieve pain. You can be unstoppable.

Tell us about yourself

Ahh, where to begin. No, seriously, where do I begin? I’m RJ Burr, a chiropractor here in Plymouth, and I’ve never been much of a wordsmith, so I’ve always found writing these bios a little tricky. But hey, if I were a wiz at writing biographies, I probably wouldn’t have been able to focus on my true passion: guiding people down the pathway of health independence.

My approach evolved from my personal experience. I’ll save you the details. But I have suffered from debilitating back pain – I’ve been there. Not to mention, I endured bouts of neck and shoulder pain. I had injuries playing sports in high school and college. I knew how they occurred, and I let my body heal. I had always recovered. It was not until Chiropractic school I developed continuously varying back pain for no apparent reason – go figure! I got chiropractic adjustments multiple times per day. Sometimes it felt good afterward; other times, I felt no change at all. As you can imagine, I was frustrated as all get-up. I’m in my twenties, in chiropractic school, where I had been begrudgingly dealing with back pain for the first time in my life. AND chiropractic wasn’t helping me at all! I had moments where I was ready to drop out of school. I stuck with it. I’m glad I did because, with the help of my colleagues, I discovered the missing piece: ME.

Whether I liked it or not, my behaviors contributed to my back pain roller coaster ride. Ironically, I sat A LOT in chiropractic school. And in crappy chairs at times. It wasn’t that I had “bad posture,” but it was the amount of time I was forced to sit in class and study afterward. I wondered why I felt great when exercising but crappy the rest of the day. Now it made sense. What did I do? I changed my behavior. I sat with a lumbar roll. I got up every 30 minutes for a micro-break. I would take a knee at my desk rather than sit. I made it a point to walk a bit extra in between classes. I would do my spinal “brushing & flossing” exercise I learned that helped me without needing anyone else to “fix” me.

All of this came from what I learned taking my first McKenzie Method course. Since chiropractic school, I have had a handful of low back pain episodes (most for silly reasons like deadlifting too much), and I have successfully self-assessed and self-treated using the McKenzie Method. It’s not always magic because some injuries take time, but it’s guided me down the right path every time.

What's your biggest accomplishment as a business owner?

My biggest accomplishment as a business owner is everything that led to where I am today. There is never "one thing" that was the silver bullet. Rather, it's the accumulation of consistent hard and thoughtful work that has led to where I am today and where it will lead me into the future. I look at it like taking a road trip at night: your headlights indicate what's directly ahead of you, but you don't necessarily know what lies ahead in your journey. You have to start going to see where it takes you next. But if you never start driving because you don't know the path, you may never start in the first place.

What's one of the hardest things that comes with being a business owner?

Uncertainty. There's a "leap of faith" sense of courage you need to be willing to experience to be a successful business owner. It's not easy. And not everyone can do it, which is why not everyone is cut out to run a business. And that's okay. Like the "driving at night" metaphor I used in the previous question, you don't know where you're going until you start driving. And you have to be willing to work with that level of uncertainty, especially when you've had zero formal business training, like me, when I graduated from Chiropractic school. I've often been challenged to the point where I've wanted to quit. But trusting the process, investing in myself, and working on my mindset have helped me weather storms and continue to push forward.

What are the top tips you'd give to anyone looking to start, run and grow a business today?

1. Have a deep purpose of 'why' you want to start your own business. The idea of "I want to be my own boss" is not nearly as glamorous as it looks from the outside looking in. All the responsibility is on your shoulders. Nobody is feeding you; you have to hunt to feed yourself.
2. Be willing to invest a lot in yourself. Growth takes time, money, effort, and grit. Without the growth mindset and the investment it takes to grow, you will cap your success. The fixed mindset will stagnate and ultimately fail.
3. Embrace the abundance mindset. It's easy to get hijacked by fear and think there's not enough to go around. If you don't believe this, then you need to go back to #2 above.

Where can people find you and your business?

Website: https://reachchiro.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/reachrehabchiro/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/reachrehabchiro/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rj-burr-dc-cert-mdt-bb52b465/

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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