Greg Todd [00:00:00]:
And have you seen a huge need for that in your career?
Michelle Weeks [00:00:03]:
Yeah, I mean, mental health, and it's really difficult for people to find mental health providers that have openings. So there is just such a need for that support. And sometimes moms don't even realize that they need help. They think that what they're going through is normal postpartum, like that depression or that really, that anxiety is what we're seeing a lot more in the clinic, too, that they just kind of brush off when really they could definitely benefit from some extra support. They don't need to suffer.
Greg Todd [00:00:39]:
This is Secrets for Success. Welcome to the Secrets for Success podcast. I'm your host, Greg Todd. Thank you, as always, for joining me. Okay. Third time's a charm, right? I have one of my favorite people on the podcast today. Michelle is a client of mine. She's a member of our inner circle, and I think she has a really, really awesome story, and I wanted you to share it with us.
Greg Todd [00:01:08]:
And this is the third time we've tried to do this interview. And you allegedly just said to me that I stood you up.
Michelle Weeks [00:01:16]:
You did. I flew. I was. I was flying back from somewhere. I don't remember where it was. My. My flight got canceled, and so I had to stay the night. So then I was trying to make sure I was booked, like, the next morning to be back.
Michelle Weeks [00:01:30]:
Cause I was like, Greg's gonna be videoing me. Like, we're gonna be doing our podcast virtually.
Greg Todd [00:01:36]:
Yeah.
Michelle Weeks [00:01:37]:
And so, like, I was all set up. I got back in time, and I didn't hear anything.
Greg Todd [00:01:41]:
Oh, my God. But Brittany had told me that. I know this is a live podcast, but Brittany told me that you were flying back, you were overseas, and you were like, you were going to come back. I don't know where you were. Greece or something like that. Where were you?
Michelle Weeks [00:01:56]:
I don't know. Well, I don't know.
Greg Todd [00:01:58]:
You don't know? You were overseas somewhere? And I'm like, all of this for the podcast. Gosh, let her just get back home. And she's like, yeah, you're right. I'm like, gosh, like, let her get back home. I didn't know you were already. Anyways, Michelle Weeks is on the podcast. Welcome to the Seekers for Success, live in studio.
Michelle Weeks [00:02:17]:
Yes.
Greg Todd [00:02:18]:
Okay, so why don't you tell those that are like, I've never heard of her before. Can you tell people who you are, what you do, and we'll take it from there.
Michelle Weeks [00:02:28]:
Yeah. So I'm Michelle Weeks. I am a physical therapist. I specialize in pelvic. Floor physical therapy. I'm the owner of our practice Weeks Wellness. So we actually have four locations. Well, three and a half.
Michelle Weeks [00:02:41]:
We're opening our fourth one very soon in about a month. So we work with clients on pelvic floor issues. We do functional nutrition. We kind of have this whole collaborative approach that's a little bit different than what anyone else is doing, I think.
Greg Todd [00:02:57]:
Yes. Oh no, it is. And I can tell you this, I talk to so many people that say that in their future they want to do what you're currently doing. And so that's why I wanted to bring you on a podcast, because I felt like this would help to instill a lot of belief in people that this is possible. So let me kind of set the stage for you guys. Number one is Michelle has four. She, she has three clinics and one is about to open. Okay, all right, now here's where it gets funny, gets interesting.
Greg Todd [00:03:31]:
Tell us where one clinic is.
Michelle Weeks [00:03:33]:
Yeah, so my first clinic is in Tallahassee, Florida. That's where I live.
Greg Todd [00:03:36]:
Right.
Michelle Weeks [00:03:37]:
My second clinic is in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
Greg Todd [00:03:40]:
Okay.
Michelle Weeks [00:03:41]:
Third clinic is in Arlington, Massachusetts. So they're about 20ish minutes apart. And our fourth clinic is going to be in Littleton, Colorado.
Greg Todd [00:03:48]:
Okay, did you all just hear that? I tell you, I attract the wacky ones. We're all wacky here, guys. She's in three different states, lives in Florida, has two clinics in Massachusetts, now has one in Colorado. So the south of the United States, the northeast of the United States and the west of the United States. Is it crazy?
Michelle Weeks [00:04:17]:
Yep.
Greg Todd [00:04:17]:
Okay, so how did this all start? Explain this. Have you always been some wily crazy entrepreneur that just happened to be masquerading as a telehealth therapist? Like how did this happen?
Michelle Weeks [00:04:29]:
Well, I did always want to be the boss. Apparently that's what I wrote in like kindergarten on the like what you want to be when you grow up. So I probably always had an entre. I did have an entrepreneurial spirit like growing up. So. So yes, there was always that part of me, but really it was just the Lord and kind of him guiding our business. So my husband and I moved to Tallahassee the like last day, December 2019. And then we all know Covid happened 2020.
Michelle Weeks [00:04:55]:
That's when I first opened up my business. It was supposed to be just a side practice. I had another full time job. I was not interested in ever making this business like my full time thing. And so we started almost four years ago. So October 2020 was when I saw.
Greg Todd [00:05:14]:
My first patient October 2020 is when you saw your first patient. Yeah. You now have four clinics.
Michelle Weeks [00:05:19]:
Yes.
Greg Todd [00:05:20]:
Okay, continue.
Michelle Weeks [00:05:21]:
Yes, we opened our. Yeah, our fourth. Like, our fourth anniversary was our fourth clinic because we closed on that space, like, in October. So that was kind of my whole, like, big, like, happy birthday to us.
Greg Todd [00:05:31]:
Like, it's crazy. Okay, so no, we. We have to hear this. So how the heck did this happen? You just wanted this side hustle practice.
Michelle Weeks [00:05:38]:
And turn it into four clinics in four states. So really, it was. There was a pelvic floor therapist that reached out in a Facebook group, and she was just introducing herself, like, hey, I'm moving to Tallahassee with my husband and my kid. He's going to be going to law school. Um, so I just, you know, reached out to her via DM private message and, you know, said, hey, you're all the pelvic floor therapists that are in the area. Like, we're so happy to have you. Like, please just let me know if you have any questions or need anything. You know, I wasn't trying.
Michelle Weeks [00:06:13]:
I wasn't thinking of hiring anybody.
Greg Todd [00:06:15]:
Right.
Michelle Weeks [00:06:16]:
So I wasn't trying to recruit her. I just wanted to, like, honestly be her friend and help her with the transition since we had just moved there recently. Right. And so I. A couple of months later. So my side hustle actually was a mobile practice as well, so I didn't have a brick and mortar space.
Greg Todd [00:06:33]:
What made you even want to start the side hustle to begin was just. You need the extra money?
Michelle Weeks [00:06:36]:
No. So we had moved from Mississippi, and when I was in Mississippi, I was a clinic director in a small rural clinic, and I had started their pelvic health program. I got board certified in pelvic floor. And so in order to keep your board certification, every 10 years, you have to jump through all these, like, crazy hoops through, you know, our association. And so I always knew I wanted to kind of practice a little bit on the side to keep my skills up. So really that was the only intention of starting my side practice because my other job was not treating clinically. So this was just to kind of keep my skills.
Greg Todd [00:07:15]:
That is going crazy.
Michelle Weeks [00:07:16]:
My foot in the clinical doors, so to speak. Go. All that to say. So I drove. I had an hour. I said I would drive an hour radius to see people, and I had a client reach out or prospective client that was definitely further than an hour. I knew they were further than an hour. They were like, oh, you could be here an hour and 15 minutes.
Michelle Weeks [00:07:38]:
I'm like, no, you're an hour and 45 minutes away, but really tugged at my heartstrings. And so I went out there for, on a Friday afternoon, my last visit, drove out there, did my evaluation and I was like, look, you know, if we need follow up visits, like, we're gonna have to figure something out because I can't keep driving all this way. Like, it's just not possible. So it was when I was in that visit with that client that I had received a message from this pt. And she said, hey, me and my husband are in town this weekend. Just like looking around. I went over to the hospital. She was currently working as a public PT in a cash practice in Greenville, South Carolina.
Michelle Weeks [00:08:17]:
And so she was like, I went, I went, you know, met the pelvic floor therapist at the hospital. I just can't go back to that setting because they're just so, so different really. And so she asked if I would ever consider hiring somebody. Prn. And so we actually, as I was driving back through town, we met up and we started talking. And she was pregnant with her second child at the time. And so she was like, I don't think I could do mobile visits in Tallahassee. It gets really, really hot.
Greg Todd [00:08:47]:
Yeah, yeah.
Michelle Weeks [00:08:48]:
In the summer you carry with her, you carry your backpack, carry your massage table, like in and out of wherever you're going. And she asked me, she said, have you ever considered getting a like brick and mortar space? And I had just driven way too far to the right side. I was like, well, actually, yes, like, I do think that that's a need. So that was in June. So fast forward August. We bought our first office condo, closed on that. She started, joined the practice. And then about a year later, she came to me and she said her husband was transferring to Harvard Law.
Michelle Weeks [00:09:26]:
He applied and got accepted. So she had started looking for new jobs. She wasn't really finding anything that was gonna be close enough to where they were living. She's like, I can't take two buses and a train to get my kids from daycare if there's an emergency. And so we just started kind of thinking, well, why don't we start a brand new clinic? And then she had reached out to another pelvic floor therapist, the only pelvic floor therapist in Cambridge, Holly Herman. And so she had emailed and asked if she was, you know, would consider hiring somebody. And Holly had responded and said, actually, I want to sell my practice. I sort of want to retire.
Michelle Weeks [00:10:08]:
Are you interested? And she's like, well, I'm not interested, but, you know, Almost an immune, she says.
Greg Todd [00:10:17]:
Buying, who knows?
Michelle Weeks [00:10:19]:
So then we talked, and I turned her down.
Greg Todd [00:10:22]:
Yeah.
Michelle Weeks [00:10:23]:
Cause I was like, it's easy to start a business, which logistically, you know, it is. You, like, you get your llc, you know, you get all that. You know, like, that part's not actually hard. And then a couple weeks later, I was talking to my husband about it, and he's like, that's a great idea. And so then I went back, and that just started the conversation. So I acquired her practice. She actually then came to work for me. She didn't retire, so I mean, it was just amazing.
Michelle Weeks [00:10:46]:
So Allie moved up there, just hopped right in. And then fast forward to August of this year, and she said, hey, my husband's graduated law school.
Greg Todd [00:10:59]:
We're.
Michelle Weeks [00:10:59]:
We're ready to move to Colorado. That was always their kind of dream destination. And she's like, I still want to work for you, so can you open up? Opening up Little Colorado.
Greg Todd [00:11:12]:
Wow.
Michelle Weeks [00:11:12]:
And then her replacement actually was full time at the hospital, and she had her own clinic in Arlington just as a side gig. And she said, you know, I don't want to be a business owner. Like, I would never be able to take the risk to leave a full time hospital position to go all in with my private practice, even though that's kind of the where I want to be.
Greg Todd [00:11:35]:
Right.
Michelle Weeks [00:11:35]:
And so she knew my story from talking with Allie, and she was like, you know, I know I'm not Holly, but would you be willing to, like, just take my practice on if I came to work with you? And so that's what we did.
Greg Todd [00:11:49]:
Wow.
Michelle Weeks [00:11:49]:
So then we have her. Yeah. So her old practice is now ours. So our two Massachusetts are really acquisitions or acquisitions.
Greg Todd [00:11:56]:
Yeah. Okay. And. Okay, there. Oh, my. There's a lot to unpack here. Yeah. I think number one is you guys.
Greg Todd [00:12:06]:
There's so many opportunities. There are so many opportunities for you all that are entrepreneurial in spirit. And I don't even know if you knew you were entrepreneurial in spirit, but there was just some people, some of us, we have a fairly high risk tolerance. We're willing to work in that world. It's just what we do. Right. We have. We.
Greg Todd [00:12:28]:
We're willing to take a risk, and then we start to build a skill set in that world. And when you're an entrepreneur, the skill set that you have to build the most is really an investing skill set. Investing in communication. Right?
Michelle Weeks [00:12:41]:
Yeah.
Greg Todd [00:12:42]:
So we have to talk with a lot of people, and we have to invest in people, talk with people, invest in people, invest in clients, investing in patients, investing in our team, investing our staff, investing in the business, investing, in your case, real estate. It's like it's just a skill set that you've built. And you haven't been building this since 2010. You've been doing it since 2020. It's crazy, right? I mean, okay, so. But not everybody has that and not everybody wants to build that.
Michelle Weeks [00:13:11]:
Exactly.
Greg Todd [00:13:12]:
Yeah.
Michelle Weeks [00:13:12]:
Yeah.
Greg Todd [00:13:13]:
And so so many of you need to understand as you're listening to this, that you don't always have to start a practice from scratch. There are a lot of people that have been practice owners that are masquerading as entrepreneurs, and they've never been an entrepreneur. They're just very skilled at what they do. They're good at what they do. They didn't want to do it in the traditional way of working in a hospital or this, that whatever. Right. They don't want all the business stuff. They don't want this.
Greg Todd [00:13:42]:
Right. But they want to have clinical freedom.
Michelle Weeks [00:13:45]:
Yep, exactly.
Greg Todd [00:13:46]:
That's all they want.
Michelle Weeks [00:13:47]:
And that's what I could give her.
Greg Todd [00:13:49]:
Yeah, and you were able to give her that. And so it's just important for people to understand. And by the way, it's just to identify and be self aware of who are you? Okay, so I'm saying that. And by the way, we could end the podcast here, but we ain't. We go talk more about this. But I think this is so important, Rachelle, that people understand. Some of you, that's really what you're looking for. You're looking for clinical freedom.
Greg Todd [00:14:17]:
You're looking for clinical freedom. You're not looking to make massive amounts of money. You're not looking to have all this crazy financial freedom. You're not looking to have all of this time freedom. You want, really political freedom and maybe a little bit of time flexibility. Okay. You want someone that understands that life is going to life. You.
Greg Todd [00:14:38]:
So sometimes my. My husband or my kid might get into this college and you want to go. My husband might get into somewhere in this state, you want to go. And you just want that flexibility. Right? But if you're working, you're willing to work hard, and you're amazing at what you do, and that's what you were able to find. You were able to find that they needed some crazy person like you that would be willing to invest in them. And not because you've invested in these people, they will go to bat for you. They will do anything for you because they're so thankful that you're willing to Be that for them.
Greg Todd [00:15:16]:
Guys, I hope you're listening to this. Who are you? Are you the entrepreneur? Are you the one that's willing to own and operate the business and you're willing to do so at a high financial risk, or are you the Intrapreneur that's willing to take ownership of the business? Right. Because you're not in Colorado every day. You're not in Massachusetts.
Michelle Weeks [00:15:37]:
No, I've been there twice.
Greg Todd [00:15:38]:
You were there twice. And you. And the Intrapreneur is willing to operate the business, but doesn't have to put up the financial risk, but they treat it like it's their own.
Michelle Weeks [00:15:50]:
Exactly right. Yeah. And that's what they're. That's what they're doing. They're developing programs. They're helping with marketing. They're really taking the lead.
Greg Todd [00:15:58]:
Right? And I think a lot of people really want that. I think a lot of you that are listening right now, that's really what you want. And I say that because in our commandments for ssh. I say that I want to develop the biggest, baddest entrepreneurs in healthcare. And my big reason that I want to develop the biggest baddest entrepreneurs in healthcare is so that we can create what I think is the bigger in demand, which is entrepreneurial opportunities. Shel, you are living proof of someone that has created entrepreneurial opportunities for people. And I just want to thank you. I just want to take applause for that.
Greg Todd [00:16:35]:
Hey, guys, as you're listening to the podcast, I want you to do me a favor. I want you to text me at 813-534-6453 and I want you to say intrapreneur. If you're like, oh, my gosh, I wish I had a situation like that. Okay, if you are, by the way, if you are a pelvic health therapist. Right. And you're not lazy. Okay. You're not lazy.
Greg Todd [00:16:54]:
And you, I don't know, want to open up a clinic somewhere. Hey, reach out to us. Okay, I'm doing it.
Michelle Weeks [00:16:59]:
I will, I will. I'm already thinking, like, what am I going to do next year?
Greg Todd [00:17:04]:
Yeah, we're here to answer. Okay, so now let's fast forward. We have to be four clinics. There'll be four clinics by time this podcast is released. Are you still treating? Yes, you are. And how much do you treat?
Michelle Weeks [00:17:18]:
Anywhere from, like 10 to 15 clients a week.
Greg Todd [00:17:20]:
Okay.
Michelle Weeks [00:17:21]:
And that I always want to treat to some extent. So that's why. I know.
Greg Todd [00:17:25]:
Right.
Michelle Weeks [00:17:26]:
And some people want to be completely out of their business, which I think is Fine. But.
Greg Todd [00:17:31]:
But you enjoy the treat. Now you're also working on the business part as well. So how much time are you spending a week, like developing the business, working on the business? Obviously you're here this week with me, but like how much time are you doing that? I think it's just interesting for people to understand how this would look if they were an entrepreneur. They were a clinic practice owner and they've got clinics out of state. How are you making all this work?
Michelle Weeks [00:17:57]:
Yeah, so really. So I treat like three days a week and they're partial days, so they're not full days. So I have either time in the morning or time in the afternoon within like your normal like 9 to 5 working schedule. Right. So I use that to do some admin tasks and then I have Monday and Friday are definitely non treating days, generally speaking. Gotcha. And so I don't necessarily spend the entire day doing business stuff. Sometimes it's a few hours.
Michelle Weeks [00:18:23]:
It really is gonna depend on kind of what's going on. I've really been able to, with your help with ChatGPT and automation, really there's a lot less burden on me from an admin perspective. I've learned to be so much more efficient, which I love efficiency. It's great.
Greg Todd [00:18:42]:
It's awesome.
Michelle Weeks [00:18:43]:
So, you know, if it takes less time and less energy for me, like, that's definitely what I'm trying to incorporate.
Greg Todd [00:18:49]:
Okay, cool. I'm going to ask you a couple more questions. I think this is really fascinating. All right, so you're pretty much in the Tallahassee Clinic, right?
Michelle Weeks [00:18:57]:
Yep.
Greg Todd [00:18:57]:
When you're treating, so the two up in Massachusetts, what involvement do you have with that? Are you doing like meetings on a maybe monthly basis? Are you talking with this, the therapist, like, like what are you doing? And then how much are they doing? Just so that we could set the expectations for people that if you're going to try to pull this off, this is what you would need to do.
Michelle Weeks [00:19:20]:
So we do a monthly all staff meeting because I really want everyone, regardless of where they're located, to feel like they are part of the team because our. So we do have two registered dietitians, they're licensed, so they can treat patients in all of the states that we work in, but they actually live in Virginia and Portland, so they're not local to any office. Right. Okay. So they're kind of our virtual staff.
Greg Todd [00:19:44]:
And it's cool because you basically can have them give services at any institutions.
Michelle Weeks [00:19:48]:
Yeah.
Greg Todd [00:19:49]:
So awesome.
Michelle Weeks [00:19:50]:
Yeah. And so we do an all staff meeting once A month just on zoom, so everyone can kind of see each other. We talk through cases, which is really helpful for all of our clinicians to hear, and that's how we're learning from each other. Aside from that, I'm available by phone, in email, in text, as issues come up. But I am generally a hands off employer. I give a lot of trust to my employees.
Greg Todd [00:20:19]:
They appreciate that, don't they?
Michelle Weeks [00:20:21]:
They do. And I think the reason why is because I have the people that I have. So my therapist that's up in Massachusetts right now, she's phenomenal. She's been doing this for 15 years, she's double board certified, she's a brilliant clinician. So she doesn't really need a lot of my hand holding or mentorship. It would definitely look different if it was someone that was new to the pelvic health realm or a newer grad, which that's what we actually have in Tallahassee. So they're not newer grads, but our one therapist is an occupational therapist. But she was completely new to pelvic health when I hired her.
Michelle Weeks [00:20:58]:
So we trained her from the ground up. But I'm there on site so I'm able to provide more of that hands on mentorship and that one on one attention. And the same with our other PT that just came on in August. She came from the outpatient neuro world and so we've trained her in pelvic health. She's a great clinician. She's been doing it for a while, but was just completely new.
Greg Todd [00:21:21]:
Okay, this is fantastic. I want you guys. I'm hoping that this episode is helping to break some of your false beliefs. I know for myself. When I had my first practice, I was so scared to open up another location because I was so knee deep in that practice. I'm like, how am I going to double the output? But the reality is that the work changed. Okay, Meaning that. And by the way, I was kind of like you.
Greg Todd [00:21:51]:
I was treating a couple days a week. But when you're going to now grow and expand, you have to do different levels of skill. And so you guys have heard me talk about the four levels of value. Implementation is the lowest level. That's what we do when we treat. Okay, now here's the deal. There are certain things in life that give you joy. So treating gives you joy, right? You can't do it all day, but you treat enough to where it settles you, you're good.
Greg Todd [00:22:20]:
You're still in tune with the client base and understanding all that stuff. Okay, great. But in order to have four locations in three different states. So let me explain what has happened next. You have to do some unification work, which is where you are overseeing the implementers. Right. So Michelle does that on Mondays. Okay.
Greg Todd [00:22:40]:
Where we bring the team together, get everybody on board, et cetera, et cetera. Okay. And then what she does a lot with me is I'm helping her with the communication and visionary work. Okay. All right. When we were getting the Colorado facility, there were some little bumps in a row. Right. My job as coach is to help her to see the big picture.
Greg Todd [00:23:04]:
How help her to see the vision so that when she's in the mundane muck of it, like, she can continue to push forward even though she's dealing. And I'd help her with a couple little things here and there, but really that's all. That's the main thing that we did. And then over the last couple days, we've been doing all communication. Right? It's all communication. So it's creating systems and processes that we can communicate with the clients whether they're in Tallahassee, whether they're in Massachusetts, whether they're in Colorado. So. So we are creating systems and processes so that could work for each of the clinics.
Greg Todd [00:23:34]:
So it's just different type of work. That's all it is. Right. But you've got to have the right people in play at each of those masses. Okay, so here we go. We have four clinics, three states. All right, now let's talk about the other part. Your clinic is called Weeks Wellness.
Michelle Weeks [00:23:49]:
Yes.
Greg Todd [00:23:49]:
Okay. You quickly talked about that. You have dietitians, one in Portland and one in Virginia. In Virginia. Okay. You also have other people on staff. So can we talk about that?
Michelle Weeks [00:24:00]:
Yeah, we can.
Greg Todd [00:24:00]:
What does that actually look like?
Michelle Weeks [00:24:01]:
Yeah. So we have a reproductive psychiatrist who is based in Tallahassee, but she is also licensed as a physician in Colorado. So she's able to provide psychiatry services. So that's really great. She specializes in kind of that prenatal pregnancy, postpartum. So really adding that.
Greg Todd [00:24:23]:
And have you seen a huge need for that in your care?
Michelle Weeks [00:24:26]:
Yeah, I mean, mental health. And it's really difficult for people to find mental health providers that have openings.
Greg Todd [00:24:33]:
Right.
Michelle Weeks [00:24:33]:
So there is just such a need for that support. And sometimes moms don't even realize that they need help. They think that what they're going through is normal postpartum, like that depression or that really, that anxiety is what we're saying. Seeing a lot more in the clinic, too, that they just kind of brush off when really they could definitely benefit from some extra support. They don't need to suffer. And so having kind of that arm alongside of our pelvic floor therapist. And then we have our registered dietitians, we've added in, or we're starting to add in functional medicine at our Tallahassee location, which we also have massage therapy there as well.
Greg Todd [00:25:16]:
Wow.
Michelle Weeks [00:25:16]:
And then just our virtual kind of wellness programs.
Greg Todd [00:25:20]:
Guys, that is week's wellness. Is that amazing? Okay, so let me ask you a few things. What have you learned? Give like one or two things of what. Of what you have Learned in this 4 and a half year experience that you have gone through something that you can share with with the practice owner out there.
Michelle Weeks [00:25:45]:
I mean, gosh, I think I probably knew it, but learned it definitely just this weekend when we were talking, which was in business, you really want to lead with your mind and not your heart. Yeah. I think sometimes as business owners, you know, we want to love our employees and make sure that they're taken care of. But sometimes if the right person is not in the right position or isn't the right fit fit, we really need to, you know, it's up to us as the business owner to make that tough call and have those sometimes difficult conversations. Right. And so I think the sooner you do them and the more direct you are at times. Doesn't mean you have to be mean about it. But, you know, we really owe it to the people that work for us to do that as well.
Greg Todd [00:26:35]:
Yeah. So this is some conversations that we've had as a group. And there are certain things that, you know, I just feel very compelled to share with my people. And, you know, a lot of what I do is through my heart. I think you guys can hear it when I'm speaking, when I'm sharing. I like to have a personal relationship with my clients. For me, at this point in my life, I just want to be around my friends. So if I can't do business with friends, I got to do it with people that I really don't like.
Greg Todd [00:27:08]:
I just. I just. I'm going to choose to opt out at this point, so. So a lot of times I can get caught up in that crossfire as well.
Michelle Weeks [00:27:16]:
Yeah.
Greg Todd [00:27:17]:
Leading with your heart. But then you get yourself into trouble. Right. Because you stop looking at things. You're not looking at things logically. You're not looking at the numbers, you're not looking at the math. You're just taking someone's word for it. And then what can happen is that if you're leading with Your heart.
Greg Todd [00:27:31]:
And then you really didn't want to. The decision didn't make sense. You didn't want to do it, but you're doing it because you just want to make everyone happy, understanding that there are lots of decisions that we're making. If we're trying to do it to make people happy. Not everybody's agenda is to make us happy. So when they're needing to be happy, even though it doesn't make us happy, they do what they need to do. And then we get bitter and we get resentful, and we're like, how did you do that to me? I, I, I, I did this for you. So it's a very, very dangerous thing.
Greg Todd [00:28:01]:
I believe in speaking with your heart. Okay. Speak with your heart. And when you speak with your heart, people will like, they love that and they want to follow after that. And everybody is looking to be led. I'm looking to be led. You're looking to be led. Right.
Greg Todd [00:28:16]:
So if I lead you, and then I'm getting led by somebody else, and if that just continues, and then all the people at your place are being led by you, and then they're, they're leading somebody else, like, that's how it grows. And, and it's really awesome. Right. But, yeah, I think that's a, that's a big one. That's a big one. Okay. Any other advice or counsel?
Michelle Weeks [00:28:35]:
I mean. Yeah. So, you know, this year, like, I actually closed just some places this year too. And so, you know, don't be afraid of failure.
Greg Todd [00:28:44]:
Yeah.
Michelle Weeks [00:28:46]:
As long as you learn something from it.
Greg Todd [00:28:47]:
As long as you learn something from it. You guys, let me tell you something. In business, the biggest thing that you have to manage is not just your time, it's your energy.
Michelle Weeks [00:29:01]:
Yeah.
Greg Todd [00:29:02]:
Okay. I mean, you gotta manage money, but I think even more important than the money is you gotta manage your time. And even more important, at times, you gotta manage your energy. So Michelle had. Can I say it? Yeah. So she had another clinic, and she entered a clinic in Florida, and it just, it just wasn't making sense because it was stretching her so thin. Now, the other locations she has, she has people that are running them, and there has to be very little, like, daily direction.
Michelle Weeks [00:29:35]:
Yeah.
Greg Todd [00:29:36]:
And with this facility, I did it feel like that was the case, and I could just feel it. I can sense it. This is why I like to just meet with my people, because there's no way I would have, I would have caught this. I would not have caught this, like, on a zoom call.
Michelle Weeks [00:29:50]:
Yeah.
Greg Todd [00:29:50]:
You know what I Mean, but I sure as hell can feel it. And I'm like, this is not good. And I, you know, I mean, obviously she's going to do what she wants to do anyway. She's not going to just listen to me. But I did give her the recommendation that I feel like we could make so many of the other things better if we could just get back some of your energy that I don't feel like you're really getting a huge return on your investment for the amount of energy that you're giving there. By the way, that could be perceived as filler. That's a big win. I bet you if you didn't do that, Colorado would not have happened.
Michelle Weeks [00:30:20]:
Oh, yeah.
Greg Todd [00:30:21]:
No, it would not have happened.
Michelle Weeks [00:30:22]:
I wouldn't have the. Yeah, the capability.
Greg Todd [00:30:25]:
Yeah. You don't have the bandwidth for it. You don't have the bandwidth for it. So that's awesome. Okay. Gosh, there's so many things I can ask you. You guys, this is just the coolest story because it's really been four and a half years. Four and a half years.
Greg Todd [00:30:40]:
Four clinics, three states. You know, it would have been better if it was four years, four clinics, four states. Okay, maybe not get carried away.
Michelle Weeks [00:30:50]:
Okay, so maybe.
Greg Todd [00:30:53]:
Okay, calm down. Calm. Calm down. We're not doing anything yet. All right, now, I think this is really cool. Let's talk to people now that have a practice, and they're trying to add some type of online component. Okay. You have.
Greg Todd [00:31:08]:
You've done something quite unique in that you do have a hybrid way that you're doing things. You have employees in different states that are serving people in different states. So can you talk about that a little bit?
Michelle Weeks [00:31:21]:
Yeah. So really, I mean, I think that's one of the big benefits that we saw from COVID right, Was this ability now to have virtual services and show kind of proof of concept that, hey, this works. Yeah, there's definitely a time and place for in person. I believe that we have brick and mortar clinics, obviously, but there is just so much that we can do from a virtual aspect. Like, it's. It's insane. And really, if you are not adding some type of virtual component to your clinic, I really feel like you're missing out on a. A large.
Michelle Weeks [00:32:00]:
Not only an opportunity for you as a business owner, but really, if our goal is to help as many people as humanly possible, like, we're. We're missing the mark if we're not opening up virtual services to help more people.
Greg Todd [00:32:13]:
Okay, guys, this is really huge. I want to talk about something That I discuss with my, like, everyone, I've discussed this to you all. I discussed this on challenges, I discussed it in my inner circle group with my platinum mastermind, and that is levels of opportunities. Okay, so I'm going to just quickly review this and then tell you where Michelle is at and typically where someone that's in her situation gets capped at. But how she was able to add this to move her opportunity level up. Okay, so a level one opportunity is where you are only able to give value with someone in front of you. That's the only way you can ever exchange value for money. Right.
Greg Todd [00:32:51]:
That's us coming out of school our first day that we were treating as a healthcare professional. Me, a physical therapist, you a physical therapist, other people, RDs, OTS, whatever. Okay. Kairos MDs. That's a level one opportunity. All right. There is a distinct cap on that.
Michelle Weeks [00:33:09]:
Yep.
Greg Todd [00:33:09]:
All right, so now let's Fast forward to 2019. Da da da da da. Okay, now you start this whole thing and say, okay, let me go and let me start, you know, doing my little, you know, practice. Okay, great. She's still at technically a level one.
Michelle Weeks [00:33:22]:
Yeah.
Greg Todd [00:33:23]:
Right. Then we add a staff member. One practice, you're now at a level two. Okay. All right, then staff member leaves, goes to another state. Okay, now we're opening up multiple. Now we have, we have not just one staff, we have two staff. We're kind of moving to a level three.
Greg Todd [00:33:41]:
Now we move to another location. Now we're at a level four. Okay, now we have three locations. We're technically at a level five now. Can you really, even though you have a location, it hasn't opened yet. But, but, but even though you have a location in Colorado, you're still technically at a level five there. But here's where the hack has come into play. Okay, now she has other providers that are able to work cross states.
Greg Todd [00:34:10]:
They're able to help people locally, but they're able to help people in other states. This is as high as you can get. As a practice that only has three locations, you are at a level six to level seven opportunity. And that's how you do it, you guys. That's how you do it. Multiple services, multiple locations, multiple clinics. Is everybody understand that? Does everybody understand that that's how you do it and you've been able to do that and you've been able to do it in a very condensed period of time?
Michelle Weeks [00:34:46]:
Yeah.
Greg Todd [00:34:46]:
Okay, so I guess now you've been in my world for a little bit, so why don't you, why don't you tell them what this week has kind of been like, and, and then we'll take it from there.
Michelle Weeks [00:34:58]:
Yeah.
Greg Todd [00:34:59]:
And we'll do our rap.
Michelle Weeks [00:34:59]:
Yeah.
Greg Todd [00:35:00]:
After. Yeah.
Michelle Weeks [00:35:01]:
No, it's always great to be in person. Like that's, I mean, just having that time dedicated, you know, we know that we're gonna be here for three days. We are going to be hyper focused on what we need to for our business. And it's not even just like what everybody, sometimes it's what everybody needs. Cause everyone needs the same thing, which kind of happened. But really just, you know, specifically like what do I need to be doing these three days to move my business forward and to keep that going and just having that dedicated time and then also just to be able to learn how we can do things smarter.
Greg Todd [00:35:40]:
Right.
Michelle Weeks [00:35:41]:
Not harder.
Greg Todd [00:35:41]:
Right? Yeah. So for those of you that are listening, the way that I do it with my inner circle group, it's a small group and because I knew this year I was going to have a small group, I was able to change it around on how we do it. Typically, most coaching consulting programs, they're coaching and consulting you. Then after that they say, go ha, go have at it. Right. The problem is, is when you're a small business owner, we are battling between working in the business, working on the business, and then like living our other life, right? You're, you're, you have a spouse, you have, you know, you have other things you're doing, right? And so that's really, really difficult to work on the business when there's a lot of things that need to get done, right. So what I decided this year is I'm going to, I'm going to force them to have to work on their business. And, and I know a lot of people get so, they get so frustrated because they want to work on their business when they're at home, but life doesn't really allow it.
Greg Todd [00:36:50]:
And it takes, it takes putting you in an environment of like quiet and focusing. It's just so hard to create that. So even though, yes, we push each other and we network with each other and you know, we do all that stuff, we actually have like, like we're really tired. Like, because we, and what I do is I find out, okay, well what, what is, what is this person needing, right? And then after they leave on the first day, I usually find out on the first day. And after they leave, I'm like, okay, what, let's see what we need to do here. And now, the first time around that we did this, this Year. Okay. There was a lot of people that needed different things, but now it was like, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa.
Greg Todd [00:37:34]:
This is a huge hole that we have here. So we worked on something in particular. We won't have to go over that. You aren't here, you ain't paid for it. Okay. But that's what we did. And it's really, really powerful. And so, yes, they leave tired, they leave exhausted.
Greg Todd [00:37:47]:
But I think there's also a relief of like, damn, I would have never done that. That's it. And so, so, yeah, it's been great. It's been great. So this is the end of our time together. So she's done a pretty good job on the Internet. Okay, fantastic. Fantastic.
Greg Todd [00:38:01]:
All right. Any parting thoughts, Any parting comments to someone that is on the fence with trying to decide, should they go into business for themselves, should they be an entrepreneur or should they just work really hard for someone else? Like, you're living it. So can you come to that point?
Michelle Weeks [00:38:22]:
Yeah, I mean, I think that's a really good distinction to make because I especially think in the pelvic health world, I mean, I really do think a lot of people are kind of becoming a solopreneur, so going and opening their own practices and I don't know that they all want to really be doing that.
Greg Todd [00:38:42]:
Right.
Michelle Weeks [00:38:43]:
And so I think looking at really what's motivating you, what energizes you, what are your, you know, what are your long term goals and your vision and so maybe taking a little bit of time and just kind of reflecting to decide, like, you know, do I, do I want to go into business for myself or have a cash practice or an insurance based practice that I own? Because you want freedom and how you can treat clinically or what's kind of driving that motivation? And then I think that's kind of your, your answer too, because, you know, are you someone that's willing to take those risks? Because it is. There's no guarantee, there's no guarantee that, you know, your business is going to make it right.
Greg Todd [00:39:24]:
Right. Yeah. So, so what is your risk tolerance? What are you looking for freedom wise? You know, is it, is it clinical freedom? Clinical freedom. You really don't need to open up your own business.
Michelle Weeks [00:39:36]:
Yeah, exactly.
Greg Todd [00:39:37]:
Okay. Financial freedom, financial freedom, a whole different ball game. Okay. And if you're gonna, if you're going to achieve financial freedom, you're probably going to have to become very risk tolerant. Okay. Time freedom. Time freedom usually comes with financial freedom, but also if you have a good, good level of communication with the person that you report to in your boss, you might be able to get maybe not time freedom, but some time flexibility. Yeah, absolutely.
Greg Todd [00:40:08]:
With the workplace that you're working in, these are really important things that you should ask yourself and become self aware of. And, and then if you're like, you know what? I don't, I'm not a risk taker. Okay. Red flag. Okay. No entrepreneur, I'm, I really could care less about, about financial freedom. Like, I'm good, just pay me and I'm good. And for entrepreneurship.
Greg Todd [00:40:33]:
So that starts to say, but you know what? I want clinical freedom. Okay. That means that you, you might want to look into the entrepreneurial path. So now here's my question to you. Yeah. To the entrepreneurs that are listening right now, they're like, oh my God, I wish I could have somebody that would be in another state and they work so hard for me. There are certain things that you're doing as an entrepreneur that's attracting and making not only entrepreneurs want to come work for you, but want to stay with you.
Michelle Weeks [00:40:57]:
Yeah.
Greg Todd [00:40:58]:
So can you talk to that entrepreneur that wants what you have, tell them what you do for those people to make them want to do what they're doing for you?
Michelle Weeks [00:41:04]:
Yeah. I mean, number one, you have to know how to hire.
Greg Todd [00:41:08]:
Yeah.
Michelle Weeks [00:41:09]:
So you can't just kind of willy nilly interview people and you know, so you have to know what your really, your core vision and mission and values are and what's important to you in an employee. And make sure that when you're developing your hiring and interview process that you're coming up with a way to answer all of those questions to make sure that whoever you're talking to is either a good candidate to work for you or potentially is not. So I think a lot of people sometimes hire because they're really in a desperate situation. So they're just trying to get somebody or anybody in, even if it's not the best fit.
Greg Todd [00:41:49]:
Yeah.
Michelle Weeks [00:41:49]:
Which that then sets you up for, for so many headaches and you know, on so many different levels. So I think definitely be patient in hiring, making sure that you know who is a good fit for your company and for your business. And then you, you have to treat them well. I am, I am loyal to the, you know, there's a loyalty between me and my employees. So I'm loyal to them. They're loyal to me.
Greg Todd [00:42:20]:
Right.
Michelle Weeks [00:42:21]:
You know, being, making sure that they feel valued. And that's different for every person too. So then really taking the time how, you know, how does each Employee feel like they're valued and recognized in a workplace. And then.
Greg Todd [00:42:36]:
And you could still do that being virtually.
Michelle Weeks [00:42:38]:
Absolutely.
Greg Todd [00:42:38]:
You can. You can still do that being virtually.
Michelle Weeks [00:42:41]:
Yeah.
Greg Todd [00:42:41]:
Yeah. So I hope you all are listening. There are some of you that you have employees that you see every day and they don't feel valued.
Michelle Weeks [00:42:51]:
Yeah.
Greg Todd [00:42:51]:
Okay. And if you can't get your employees that you see daily to feel valued, you sure as hell ain't going to get no employees that you don't see every day that you know to, To, to, to value and so. Or to feel valued by you. These are so important. You gave a masterclass. Homegirl. Good job.
Michelle Weeks [00:43:11]:
Thank you.
Greg Todd [00:43:12]:
Wow. Wow. Very good. Very good. Well, I want to finish out the podcast by just saying I'm grateful for you. I don't know if you really understand what you have done. It's pretty darn impressive. I, I have had another client who was the first person that I knew that had pulled off what you had pulled off.
Greg Todd [00:43:34]:
That was Amanda Fisher. And so Amanda was in Kansas and in Kansas City. She did that in her third year of being with him. Like, you are multi state. You're a pelvic health therapist. And she's actually like cash on one side of an insurance on the other person. This is even more dysfunctional. Right.
Greg Todd [00:43:58]:
Are actually now in three different states and you've kind of paved the way. I, I don't even think you understand this, but you have paved the way and you're so humble about it. And I, I just, I, I understand why people, people want to, want to go to bat for you.
Michelle Weeks [00:44:14]:
So make me see it up over here.
Greg Todd [00:44:16]:
It's really. No, it's a really awesome thing. And that's why, you know, I kind of just wanted you. And I was like, wow, this is something special. This is really cool. I want to be a part. I want my wacky self to be a part of her wacky stuff. This is really, really cool.
Greg Todd [00:44:29]:
Let's have some fun this year. This is really great. So anyways, really proud of you. How can people find out about you? What, What? Where should they go?
Michelle Weeks [00:44:36]:
Yes. So you can follow me on Instagram. So we're. Our main one is at Weeks Wellness. We do also have at Weeks Wellness MA and Weeks Wellness Co for those states. Our website is also www.weekswellness.com. so if you want to look us up.
Greg Todd [00:44:53]:
Yeah, awesome.
Michelle Weeks [00:44:54]:
Follow us.
Greg Todd [00:44:54]:
We'd love it, you guys. I would. She busy. Don't. Don't bother her too much. But if you're. She's got a wealth of not only knowledge, but expertise and living it on so many things that many of you I know want to do. And I can help you, but I can only help you so much.
Greg Todd [00:45:13]:
There's someone here that's living it, especially in the public health world. I would highly advise you to reach out to her, follow her, see what she's doing. And who knows, maybe she'll give you a job in Mexico or something in. I don't know. That's right, International. Yeah. Yeah. Thank you so much for being on the podcast.
Greg Todd [00:45:29]:
Appreciate you.
Michelle Weeks [00:45:30]:
Thank you.
