This month marks the fourth anniversary of Tandem Physical Therapy so I thought it would be fun to take a trip down memory lane with you, share some funny stories, and hopefully put a little smile on your face.
There is no handbook for opening a physical therapy clinic. The only formal education either of us has had is on how to fix people with aches and pains. So, when it comes to running a business, we’ve had to learn on the fly and figure things out as we go. Plus, there was the whole pandemic after only being open for a year (we certainly didn’t see that one coming).
You may know this, but something like 96% of businesses go bust in the first 10 years. We’re not even halfway there yet, but if you ask me what it takes to make it into that elite 4%, I’d say a couple important factors (aside from cash flow) would be adaptability and how much you enjoy the journey.
Our journey started about five years ago. I remember meeting at Christy’s house a couple times each week to discuss the details of our new adventure. As our ideas started blossoming into a reality, those trips to Christy’s house each week turned into trips to the West Bank so we could get Jefferson Parish to issue all 639 permits we needed to open shop.
Most of the time we had no clue what we were doing or where we were supposed to be. On one of our weekly trips across the river, we even ended up in the wrong judicial building sharing an elevator with a scary-looking gentleman wearing an orange jumpsuit with shackles around his wrists and ankles, his well-dressed attorney, and a prison guard – NOT exactly where we needed to be for our permit that day.
We hit a lot of little snafus along the way.
Before us, our outlet was occupied by a seasonal king cake bakery, and before that it was a tennis shop. Needless to say, the space needed a lot of work. As a new business that was being family-funded we didn’t have a lot of capital, so we took on as many DIY projects as we could handle. One of those was replacing all the old ceiling tiles and insulation with new ones and fresh insulation. Christy and her dad tackled that particular project and all I have to say is, “better them than me”. They may have found more than one fossilized lizard and an assortment of other things which still gives Christy nightmares to this day. Another time, we decided to try and save money by laminating our own front desk, so we bought a giant slab of laminate, and I used a circular saw to cut the pieces while Christy held it in place. Today, the corners are held in place with scotch tape.
No matter what, we always try to see the humor in things.
We have had staff come and go over the past four years. On two separate occasions, Christy and I have both ripped our pants at work on the last day of two former employees. Ripping our pants is now a bad omen.
Always see the humor and enjoy the journey.
When we aren’t busy getting lost, tackling projects outside of our pay grade, and having wardrobe malfunctions, we like to have a good time with you too! Our patients keep us smiling, laughing, and giving us a reason to get up and come to work each day. We want to thank you all for your continuous support throughout the days, weeks, months, years, and pandemics.