YOUR BUSINESS AUTHORITY
Springfield, MO
YOUR BUSINESS AUTHORITY
Springfield, MO
Drs. Eric and Tania Reavis, owners of a hip joint Springfield LLC, are attempting to break the mold for chiropractic offices. Aside from being a husband-and-wife team of adjusters, they delve deep into the business side of the operation and aspire to franchise their model.
“A lot of chiropractors are solely the only provider under their roof,” Eric Reavis says. “And we have tried to make it a multidisciplinary office.”
The pair, who met in grade school, both graduated from Cleveland Chiropractic College in Overland Park, Kansas, and then worked for more than nine years at Wellness Concepts Clinic with Eric Reavis’ acupuncturist and massage therapist mother, Jill Reavis-Aleman.
“We’ve been together 20 years,” he says.
They opened their own office in March 2016, with a meticulously redeveloped business plan, detailed all the way down to the cotton ball vendor. But the business plan didn’t account for every possible contingency, and the entrepreneurs ran into problems, such as banking issues, disconnected phone lines and unprofessional contracted staff. The first month they lost nearly $4,000.
But they kept tweaking their efforts and found stability. A year after their shaky opening, they grossed almost $22,000 this March. Improvements include heated and padded tables, towel warmers, new decor and an improved sound system.
They are not losing money anymore, and Reavis says he’s also happy about the impact he and his wife are making on the residents of midtown Springfield. Their 309 S. Jefferson Ave. office serves the university and center city populations.
“We see a great number of working class,” he says.
Their business practice also helps people on a tight budget by forgoing many of the common clinical tests and long treatment plans. Reavis hopes patients will decide on their own when they need more care.
“We spend a great deal of time putting a good knowledge base into each patient,” he says, “and more or less teaching them how to take care of themselves.”
Today, the staff includes five massage therapists, an office manager and two front-desk employees. Reavis says they hope to hire more people soon.
“We wanted to be able to show that we’re trying in our little office, compared to the great big businesses of Springfield, that we do play a pretty good part,” he says, noting the company has about 1,140 clients. “Us working on the population of Springfield helps them be more productive for their businesses. So it’s not so much about employing in large numbers, but keeping that employee base working efficiently, effectively, out of pain.”
All of this work has been a preparation for a franchise campaign. The couple are working with a broker to market the model to franchisees.
“We want to be able to scale it larger,” he says.
In Springfield, a hip joint adds community work to its mission, helping such organizations as Rescue One, Habitat for Humanity and Community Partnership of the Ozarks.
Moseley’s Discount Office Products was purchased; Side Chick opened in Branson; and the Springfield franchise store of NoBaked Cookie Dough changed ownership.
