April 16, 2024 • 43 mins
When Andy Pawlovich first adjusted a patient's spine as a bright-eyed new chiropractor, he didn't just realign vertebrae; he set his life on an entrepreneurial trajectory that many only dream of. Our latest episode peels back the curtain on Andy's riveting journey from a novice chiropractor to a seasoned clinic owner, revealing the personal growth and business acumen that have been his companions every step of the way.
With a candidness that's as refreshing as it is rare, Andy shares the early sparks of enthusiasm for chiropractic care and how embracing professional business advice revolutionized his clinic, enhancing both operations and patient engagement.
Venture further into Andy's world, where you'll find a harmonious blend of professional dedication and a deeply valued personal life. This episode illuminates the indispensable role played by Andy's wife, Nicole, whose involvement in the clinic extends from financial wizardry to the digital dance of social media strategy. Theirs is a partnership that serves as a blueprint for success, proving that when two forces unite in business and in life, the result can be nothing short of extraordinary.
Join us as we uncover the subtleties of leading a team with kindness yet firmness, and the art of nurturing a thriving practice without sacrificing the joys of family life.
Mackenzie Kilshaw Co. offers comprehensive business coaching, and consulting tailored to your needs.
With Mackenzie's award winning entrepreneurial expertise in strategy, leadership, business development, branding, website development, social media management, SEO, sales and customer service training and more, clients receive personalized guidance to drive growth and success.
Let's make your business unforgettable!
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:19):
Winning will help you learn thehard lessons the easy way, with
guidance from celebratedentrepreneurs and business
leaders.
It's fun, it's informative,it's Winning.
Mackenzie Kilshaw (00:31):
Hello, welcome to Winning.
I'm your host, MackenzieKilshaw.
Today's guest is Andy Pawlovich.
How are you?
Andy Pawlovich (00:37):
Good, good, nice to see you.
Mackenzie Kilshaw (00:40):
Yeah, you too .
It's great to have Andy on.
He's actually a chiropractor,which I know well because he was
my chiropractor, I think, for20 plus years.
We figured out one time.
He started in 1997.
And he's been committed tohelping patients achieve their
health objectives throughnatural chiropractic care.
In November 2014, he opened hisown clinic in Stonebridge and
(01:06):
now, after nearly a decade, he'slooking to expand by welcoming
a new associate.
So we're going to talk a lotabout that.
Andy, that's just kind of abrief bio of you.
Do you want to tell theaudience who you are?
Andy Pawlovich (01:19):
Who am I?
Well, I'm a husband to Nicole,I'm a father to Sophia, Allie
and Joey, and, yeah, that's themost important thing in my life.
But other than that, it wasalways a dream of mine to become
a chiropractor.
I wouldn't say always, butgrade seven was the pivotal
moment where I injured mypitching arm throwing too many
(01:44):
curveballs.
And my arm was just hangingthere and my dad took me.
He just started seeing achiropractor.
I had no idea what one was.
He took me to his chiropractorand instantly it resonated with
me.
They were doctors.
They're helping people withsports injuries.
They seemed to be enjoyingthemselves, it was a busy place
(02:08):
and, like I said, it justinstantly clicked with me.
So I figured, if I wasn't goingto be a professional athlete,
that this might be the next bestthing.
I can help athletes or helpwhoever, and so from then onward
that was my goal was to becomea chiropractor.
So you know, lots of you know Igraduated 27 years ago, in April
(02:35):
.
So life has flown by, butbasically I've always been an
owner in my chiropracticbusiness.
11 years of the 27 I was in amulti-doctor office but
primarily came out of school,opened my own doors at the age
(02:56):
of 24, which is crazy, scary anduh, and I didn't know what I
didn't know.
So ignorance is bliss.
And here we are today.
Ten years ago, pretty muchdecided to go back into solo
(03:16):
practice and open up collegechiropractic.
Mackenzie Kilshaw (03:21):
So you okay, let's just back up here a little
bit.
You're 24, you graduate, you'rea chiropractor, you're like,
I'm just gonna open my ownclinic.
Were you scared?
Or, like you said, ignorance isbliss.
You just didn't know anydifferent, or what was your
thoughts?
Do you remember back then?
Andy Pawlovich (03:41):
I do.
I was reflecting on that.
I was brazenly competent comingout of school because I had a
unique situation where I wasclassically trained in a certain
technique approach when I wasgoing to school in Bloomington,
Minnesota, and this techniqueapproach was not taught at
(04:05):
school, but it was by the doctorI interned with and whatnot.
It's called the Gonsteadtechnique.
Some people may or may not haveheard of it, but it's a unique
approach.
It's been used, you know,widely throughout the profession
, but I was trained by one ofthe greats, but I was trained by
(04:28):
one of the greats in theprofession with regards to the
Gonstead technique.
So, yeah, and I came back toSaskatoon and nobody was
practicing this.
So I felt this was a niche andI didn't want to join an office
where they weren't practicingthis way and I thought maybe
they want to change me for whatI was doing.
In retrospect I don't know ifthat was the right decision or
(04:50):
not.
It's the one I made, but Icould have definitely used some
more business sense and helpalong the way, that's for sure.
And taking on all of that riskdebt responsibility at such a
young age, you know, would needto be scrutinized once again,
(05:14):
for sure.
I don't know if I'd recommendthat.
Mackenzie Kilshaw (05:17):
You know what .
It's something that I meanwe'll never know because it's
past tense now, but I totallyunderstand what you mean.
When I first started, actually,I opened my store right around
the time that you opened yourclinic and I remember thinking I
have a Commerce degree so Iknow all the business stuff,
plus I have 10 years of workexperience, so I know the
(05:39):
practical stuff, so I'm set, andthen I opened my doors and
realized I had no idea what Iwas doing and asked for a lot of
help right, asked forprofessionals, help with like a
bookkeeper and accountant andlawyer and all that.
Asked other friends withbusinesses.
But I kind of was the oppositeof you and I don't even know if
I was really prepared.
(06:00):
So I don't know that there is agood answer.
I mean, clearly, where you arenow, it's worked out well for
you.
Andy Pawlovich (06:08):
Yes, yes.
And what I figured out right inthe onset was that I did need
help and I hired a business, achiropractic consulting group,
and the first thing they did waschange my clinic hours of when
I was seeing patients because Ithought I needed to be 7-11 and
(06:33):
that was so draining and it wasdifficult to be in any kind of
flow and whatnot.
So they concentrated my hoursand it was so liberating once we
did that and, yeah, you know,schedule patients in in more
concentrated time so that youcan be more present and be in
(06:55):
flow, and yeah, that was thebiggest, biggest takeaway
initially, for sure it's sosmart because you're hiring
someone that knows what they'redoing, because they've got the
experience of working with otherpeople and they can give you
that guidance.
Mackenzie Kilshaw (07:12):
And a lot of people are like, oh, it's
another cost, but to me that'san investment.
You made an investment intoyour business and it helps you
out a lot 100% yeah, and I'mstill doing it to this day.
Yeah, even 27 years later.
Andy Pawlovich (07:33):
Yep, absolutely .
That's awesome Because you knowthey hold you accountable.
Um, they ask the toughquestions to make you focus on
things that you aren't, youdon't even think about or, um,
you don't want to think about,right, oh yeah.
Yeah, it's definitely important, and it does give you that
(07:53):
confidence as well, that just tobounce something off somebody
and say I'm thinking of doingthis or I am doing this, and
they're saying that's a goodidea or not.
Mackenzie Kilshaw (08:03):
Or not.
Yeah, sometimes the or not isactually the better, right,
because most of the time whenyou, when you have an idea and
you bounce it off your friendsor your wife or whatever,
they're like that's a great ideaand you kind of already know.
But the questionable ones are,you're like I think this would
work, but I'm not sure those arethe really ones.
You need to get checked out,aren't they?
Andy Pawlovich (08:24):
Yeah, and the thing is is with now bringing on
you know this is the next phaseexciting time bringing on a new
graduate and an associate.
So he had just finished hisinternship with me and literally
met his graduated last week interms of his educational
requirements.
You know how is this going toplay out.
I've been in solo practice for10 years where it's all me right
(08:49):
, or at least I'm the I wouldn'tsay me my gosh, um, but just
the, the practicing chiropractor, um, but uh, you know how are
we going to do, how is this allgoing to play out.
So that's what, um, the currentbusiness coaching consultant is
going to help us with and seehow we can, you know, make this
(09:13):
kind of associateship work and,you know, serve more people.
Mackenzie Kilshaw (09:19):
Yeah, so you're on your own.
And then you joined a groupwhich I know because that's when
I started coming to you.
So my cousin and you werefriends and I was one of those
people that had chronicheadaches and had to um, had to
go to a chiropractor recommendedyou, I started seeing you.
(09:41):
I think half my family startedseeing you, but at that time you
were in a clinic with quite afew doctors, massage therapists,
whatnot.
What made you decide to go backto having your own business
again.
Andy Pawlovich (09:55):
Yeah, great question.
I reflected a bit on thatmyself and it was just more the
situation.
I think that when I joined thatoffice, it was the right thing
to do.
I was in solo practice for abit.
My best friend and I werepracticing for a short time
(10:17):
together and we decided not todo that anymore, and that was
very smart, um, and then, um, Iwas starting to become
overwhelmed with everything.
I was getting pulled in allthese different directions in
2003 and I let.
I built this office on 8thstreet and I decided to walk
away from it and join this otherclinic with you.
(10:38):
You know, multiple doctors andwhatnot and at that time that
was the right move for Nicoleand myself.
We were getting married thatyear.
I was going to Roset own twicea week as a satellite office and
this just was the right thingat the moment, you know.
And then you fast forward 10, 11years.
(11:00):
We had moved to Stonebridgeneighborhood, uh, and then they
were starting to build this, uh,the Stonebridge center where
the Sobeys is and whatnot.
It was just starting to developand I was driving by this place
every day, tilting my head,going, wow, would that be an
amazing place to practice.
I've never practiced in alocation where you were
(11:24):
supremely visible.
I thought that would be neat.
This is an analogy I like touse.
Practicing with multiple doctorsis like living in an apartment
with a whole bunch of roommatesversus solo practice.
(11:45):
Solo practice is like living ina mansion by yourself, and
there's advantages anddisadvantages to both of those
scenarios, and I loved myroommates in my old office, so
it wasn't that.
It was just I felt like Iwanted to do practice more of a
(12:06):
way that might represent AndyPawlovich more than anything
else, and so I did learn wasthat there were a lot of
positives from that, but alsothe situation change.
There was still the guy I hadto look at in the mirror.
(12:30):
That needed a lot of changingas well.
So and over the past 10 years,a lot of that has happened, for
sure.
Mackenzie Kilshaw (12:41):
That's awesome.
I mean, I like your analogy ofthe roommates because it's very
much what it is.
But definitely your lifecircumstances really do push you
towards where you need to be atthat time.
Right, like you said, you'regetting married at that time.
Like you said you're gettingmarried at that time, moving in
with your roommates or havingthat business with other people
(13:04):
really was the best because ittook a lot off of your plate.
But then down the line, moreexperience, different life
situation, like you say, youdrive by you see the spot, you
think, oh, this would be awesome, I can really make it here.
Your life at that time reallypushed you back into that solo
like solo entrepreneurship,which is awesome yep what were
(13:28):
the biggest challenges when youwent back to having your own
practice?
Andy Pawlovich (13:36):
Um, well, the overhead really.
Um, that's a big challenge,right?
So there's the mansion.
Mackenzie Kilshaw (13:46):
Yeah, somebody's got to pay for that.
Andy Pawlovich (13:48):
Yeah, you're going back into a significant
amount of debt in order to startthis place all over again, kind
of from scratch.
Thankfully, I had an existingpractice to bring over.
If I didn't, yes, oh mygoodness, just it wouldn't have
made it 100%, so I needed.
You know it was.
(14:10):
That was a big challenge.
And then also, you know, you gothrough the economic times.
If you can reflect over thepast 10 years, there was a big,
you could say a boom, but that'swhen it was difficult to find
people to work, and maybe stillis.
(14:32):
Yep 100%.
You know those kinds of things.
So there were some staffingchallenges.
Um, again, uh, I'm a nice guyand sometimes nice guys aren't
the best managers or bosses, sothere were some circumstances
(14:54):
along that way where I wasn'tbeing maybe assertive enough or
inspecting what you expect, andso there's a lot of that.
But right now I'm really happythat way I've got a wonderful
and I've had a lot of greatpeople working with me and right
(15:18):
now things are great.
And then, of course, Nicoleshe's like the Swiss army knife.
My wife she does can doeverything in the office except
for what I do.
She's just, she's great backup.
She can answer the phone, shecan train staff, she's our
bookkeeper, she's our socialmedia person.
(15:38):
So I couldn't have done any ofthis without her.
That's for darn sure.
So having a supportive spouseis it's everything.
Mackenzie Kilshaw (15:47):
Oh for sure, especially supportive and the
fact that she can actually helpyou, that's huge.
Andy Pawlovich (15:52):
Exactly and that we can work together yeah
that's huge.
Mackenzie Kilshaw (15:56):
Yeah well, and I remember when I first
started coming to you she wasthe receptionist.
So I've seen Nicole.
I mean, I've known Nicole aslong as I've known you and um,
if you've never been to Andy'soffice and seen Nicole, you
literally walk in there and shelike lights up the room.
She's so just genuine andpersonable and I think,
(16:17):
especially for a business likeyours, when you're dealing with
um patients, that is such anasset that really can be hard to
find, like you said.
So the fact that you have her,I think that's your little
hidden weapon.
Andy Pawlovich (16:31):
Well, that's how we met.
Actually, she worked at the drycleaners and I thought she was
hitting on me, but she was justlike, is who's nice?
And I'm just like, wow, youknow.
And uh, it turns out and I go,I really want to hire this gal,
and it took me to uh marry herfor that to happen.
(16:53):
So well.
Mackenzie Kilshaw (16:55):
It worked out well both ways, for your
personal life and your business.
Yeah, but having greatemployees really does make all
the difference.
Okay, so you have the uniquetechnique that you learned that
you practice.
Is there other strategies orother things that you've done to
(17:16):
differentiate yourself fromothers?
Because I feel likechiropractic care is so personal
, which I think you do a greatjob at that.
You're a very personal person,but how do you set yourself
apart?
Andy Pawlovich (17:32):
Great question.
I, you know I'm and I thoughtabout this too like I like to
cook.
Why do I like to cook?
Well, I want to make peoplehappy.
I want them to enjoy theirexperience, and so when people
(17:55):
come to our office, I want thisto be a place of solace.
I want this to you know them towalk in the doors and feel like
this is where they should andneed to be, and so the whole
experience from when they walkin the door to when they get on
the table to when they leave, ispositive, healing experience,
(18:19):
and we often get that asfeedback.
And then, like the other thingis, there's a lot of fear around
chiropractic.
We see it every day.
There's videos out there thatare terrifying just in the sense
of the reason why they're onYouTube, and people are now
(18:43):
watching these for entertainmentor whatever.
And I always say well, there'sa reason why they're on there
and it's not the way I practice,and a lot of people don't
practice.
So it's putting people at ease.
They come in.
I learned that they'reapprehensive or scared, and so
we need to address that, andusually just having a human
(19:06):
conversation, being genuine andauthentic, starts to put them at
ease.
And then I'll say you know, weoften hear I go.
My goal is at the end of this,your first visit is for you to
go.
Oh, that's's what I was scaredof, and that's often what it was
.
And then, and then we go fromthere.
But they're always in charge.
I'm always going to tell themwhat I'm going to do.
(19:28):
Um, I have now a percussing typeinstrument called arthur stem
I've been using for well over 10years to tell the kids.
It's called a tickle gun, butbasically it's something that is
very effective, very gentlepeople like love, subtle and
effective.
So, um, yeah, I guess it's.
It's just understanding thatthis is something new for a lot
(19:52):
of people and that, um, I'mgoing to meet them where they're
at, not where I'm at, and we'llgo through this together.
And you know I'm not going toforce anything on anybody, it's
just let's just figure out whatyou want and how we can achieve
that.
Mackenzie Kilshaw (20:13):
Yeah, and being a patient of yours, I can
say I was one of those people Iremember first going I think I
was like 19 or 20 years old andbeing like I don't want my neck
cracked like freaked me out, tobe honest with you, and you
really were great at putting meat ease and the gun, as I used
to call it but it's not, itwasn't a crack per se and it
(20:35):
really was a great experienceand I had zero fears after I
went to see you.
And I think part of that too isyou explain things as you were
doing it.
So it was kind of I knew whatto expect then and why you were
doing it.
I understood it and that I meannot that I was knowledgeable
(20:57):
enough, but just having thatlittle bit of education I think
really was what helped me, and Ithink you're unique in that
because I moved away fromSaskatoon.
I have a great chiropractorhere too, but I did see a few
other people in the middle ofthe move who didn't do that, and
even someone that was going toa chiropractor for a long time.
You kind of get uneasy.
(21:18):
So I can say for you as apatient you're really fantastic
at putting people at ease andmaking sure that they know what
you're doing and understand it,which is great.
Okay, I want to talk a littlebit.
I call people like you.
You kind of have a doublecareer because you're a
(21:40):
chiropractor, really, but you'realso a business owner.
So how do you prioritize ormake sure that your patients
care and that you're physicallythere, obviously, to see the
patients, but also that theoperational side is is running
smoothly and I know you haveNicole as your your kind of
(22:04):
secret there, so that theoperational side is running
smoothly and I know you haveNicole as your kind of secret
there.
But how did you set that out tomake sure that you can spend
time with your patients and youdon't have to worry about
everything else?
Andy Pawlovich (22:15):
Right, having systems and procedures,
basically Having a manual, youknow, basically Having a manual.
Am I a manual maker?
No, I was basically told to dothis because you need to have
this so that it's replicable andwhatnot.
And so in the training processand just having that in place,
(22:44):
you know, there's three parts ofthe chiropractic practice.
There's the technician, whichis me, the chiropractor doing
performing chiropractic.
That's the easiest part, that'seasy.
Then there's the manager okay,so you're managing your staff,
your business and whatnot, andthe systems, procedures,
(23:08):
accounting and all that kind ofstuff, and who does what,
where's everybody's seat on thebus.
And then there's theentrepreneur okay, and that's
where you are out and about inthe community or making
decisions with you know.
Just you know with your team,as to what's going to be best
for the business and thepractice, for it to be
(23:29):
profitable.
Businesses, number one thingthat has to happen is you have
to make a profit or else youwon't exist.
Mackenzie Kilshaw (23:38):
Yes.
Andy Pawlovich (23:39):
Flat out right, yep, and so it's providing that
service.
So that it's, you know it allworks.
So there's a lot of different.
There's those three differenthats but, like I say, the
easiest one is the now is thetechnician component of things.
(23:59):
But yeah, you got to piecethrough this.
What can I do myself, what canI delegate?
And you know, and that's wherethose decisions come in, you
know.
And hiring a coach, youraccountants, your other
(24:20):
professionals, your lawyers,those kinds of things, drop
contracts for bringing inassociates, those kinds of
things.
So there's all these differentmoving parts and it's sure nice
to have, like I say, have Nicole, who is able to undertake that,
but other people that don'thave that luxury have to.
You know you've got to hiresomebody to undertake that.
(24:41):
But other people that don'thave that that luxury have to,
you know, you got to hiresomebody to do it.
It's really tough to do it allyourself.
You can burn yourself out.
Mackenzie Kilshaw (24:49):
A hundred percent.
You literally like music to myears when I hear you talk about
systems and procedures andmanuals.
I'm a firm believer that everybusiness it doesn't matter if
you have three people employedwith you or 300, you have to
have things set out and customerservice.
(25:10):
For me, that's one of mypassions, for sure.
But it's true.
When everybody's trained thesame way and everyone knows what
they're doing, then if apatient of yours comes in, it
doesn't matter whether it'sNicole or one of your other
staff members.
They're getting that sameexperience and that's what makes
people be loyal to you andthat's what makes people keep
(25:30):
coming back right and tellingtheir friends and recommending
you.
And that's how, as you said,you need to make money.
That's really one of the bestways for you to make money is
having that consistency.
Andy Pawlovich (25:43):
Right, exactly yeah, representing the brand
right.
Mackenzie Kilshaw (25:47):
Yes.
Andy Pawlovich (25:50):
Yeah.
Mackenzie Kilshaw (25:51):
Yeah, and if you don't know how to do it, you
pay someone to do it, or yourguidance, so that you know it's
done.
And the best is to do it whenyou first start.
(26:11):
But if you're already inbusiness, you can start now.
Right, it's not a lost cause.
Andy Pawlovich (26:16):
Right, exactly, you know.
And another concept that one ofmy business coaches said is,
you know, is, whatever youractivity you're doing, is this
dollar per hour work for dollarper minute work.
So in my, in my practice, I I'mfortunate when I'm adjusting
(26:38):
people and that's my widget um,I'm doing dollar per minute work
where, you know, am I?
You know, am I going to?
You know, I'm not um cleaningthe toilets or something, um
well, anywhere, quite honestly,but uh, and I'm not saying that
it's snobby, it's just no, butit's not worth your time,
(27:01):
because you're not making moneydoing it.
Yeah, exactly, making moneydoing it.
Yeah, yeah, exactly.
Um, but you know, otherwise Ican go out and do something I'm
passionate about, like cookingor playing sports or something
like that.
I'm not making any money atthat, but I'm getting my needs
met.
Uh, yes that way um, you know,dopamine being secreted, those
(27:24):
kinds of things dopamine andserotonin versus doing some work
that someone would gladly do ifyou hired them to do it.
So, as a business person,understand what your widget is.
That comes from the book JimCollins' Good to Great.
(27:47):
Your widget is that comes fromthe book Jim Collins, good to
Great and the hedgehog principleof what is your driving force
behind your business.
You can get kind of distracted,get all these things people
want you to do, but mine is thechiropractic adjustment and
anything that takes me away fromdoing that is just a
distraction.
Mackenzie Kilshaw (28:09):
I couldn't agree more.
Yeah, and if you actually sitdown.
I'm a big fan of time auditsand I know lots of people are
like what the heck is a timeaudit.
But if you actually sit downand write out everything that
you do in a day and everythingthat has to be done in your
business in a day and how muchtime is spent on that, and if
(28:32):
you take that what I mean foryou patience like you have to
see the patience right.
Well, now with your newassociate which we're going to
talk about, you have that help,but you have to see them.
So what things can someone elsein your office do to take that
load off of you?
And if you try to do everything, you will get overwhelmed and
you will burn out.
(28:53):
It's not will I or won't I.
It's when will you?
It's going to happen for sure.
You kind of mentioned communitya little bit and you are very
involved in the community.
You do a lot of um, um,volunteer things and raising
money and Andy and I have talkedabout this before I did
(29:15):
Swinging With The Stars.
We were on the same year.
We both raised a really greatamount of money and we danced on
stage in front of like athousand people.
I still don't know how we didthat.
It was fun, but crazy as well.
Andy Pawlovich (29:29):
It was awesome.
Yeah, I was so glad to do thatwith you as well, I know that
was cool.
Mackenzie Kilshaw (29:37):
Well, considering we knew each other
for so long, we startedbusinesses around the same time.
It was such an honor to be ableto do it the same year.
But I know you do communitybecause you're that kind of
person and it's out of thegoodness of your heart.
But how has that also helpedyou in your business and you
know working with others in thehealth industry?
(29:59):
I know you do too.
So how has that communityaspect really been a success for
you?
Andy Pawlovich (30:07):
Well, you know, it's kind of the circle of life
.
Things come full circle, karma,all those kinds of things.
You know, when you go from a,like I say, a server's mindset,
people I guess maybe recognizeor see that you know what you're
all about, I guess, and you can.
(30:27):
It's just being genuine andauthentic and people are
appreciate that.
I think I know I do.
So you know, when you're doingsomething for others, um, you
know that just kind of shows whoyou are versus.
You know mine, I'm only doingthings that you know what's in
(30:48):
it for me, that kind of thing,you know people can sniff that
out pretty quickly.
So, and you know, Saskatoon andcommunity is that's what I love
about this town, is there's alot of people like that who you
know, you know, have allridiculous amount of
(31:09):
volunteerism in the city withall of the things that have been
, all of the events that havebeen brought here because of
people who volunteer.
So, yeah, you know, I've beeninvolved with my church, I do
for the Chiropractic Association, I'll do some of the PR stuff
(31:30):
with the news.
They've come up with a greatprogram called the Toasty Toes
Sock Campaign and our office hasjumped all over that and I
often go down and speak inregards to that with the
Salvation Army, to that with theSalvation Army, and we continue
(31:54):
to raise and collect socks forthe needy every November so they
can get distributed forChristmas time.
Part of the NSBA, part of theChamber of Commerce.
I'm the past president of the722 Breakfast Club, a group of
entrepreneurs, so shout out tothem.
If there's some entrepreneursthat think they want to join a
(32:17):
very, I would say, casual yetwonderful networking group
called the 722 Breakfast Club,just Google that and we can chat
.
Yeah, I guess I'm more.
And then I play rec hockey andrecreational baseball and that's
(32:38):
where I'm getting some of myneeds met there.
And then my kids are girls, areinvolved in dance and my son's
involved in hockey, and I alwayswant to be a part of that as
well.
Mackenzie Kilshaw (32:54):
Yeah, it's awesome and volunteering and
doing all these things like yourSOX program, it's a lot of work
, but that intrinsic feeling andwhat you get from it is 100%
worth it, isn't it?
Yeah, yeah, it is veryrewarding, um, and so let's talk
(33:24):
about that, because I'm surethat was a big decision.
Um, so maybe, why?
Why now, after 10 years, areyou doing it?
And also, how is that going tohelp you to expand and grow?
Andy Pawlovich (33:38):
Well, um, so I've been in solo practice for a
while and that's what I wasdesigned, designing things to do
.
I just turned 51, and it's beendifficult to take time off.
Really, I love to travel, Ilike to experience new things,
(34:03):
and it's been very difficultover the past 10 years to go and
do something like that.
When I was in the prior office,it was a lot easier to do
something like that.
So there's, you know, the giveand take of all of this.
And so, adding the right personto the office.
(34:25):
He interned with me and observedfor six months as well as
worked on a lot of things.
You know, he's highly motivatedand he's excited and he's brand
new and that's exciting and Ienjoyed mentoring him him he's
(34:46):
the second intern that I've had,uh, and so I feel, you know,
he's ready for the next step andat the very least, um, you know
, I, I think you know we, the,the practice has the ability to
grow, um, and that's the goal.
(35:06):
But because we want him tobuild his practice and I want to
maintain mine at the very least, and so for the next, you know
for sure, six months is going tobe some growing pains with all
of that I understand that it'snot like, oh okay, I got a new
doctor, see, you see in twoweeks, kind of thing, yeah, um,
(35:29):
but uh, I am excited at just thechange, um, and you know,
having a bit more time, somefreedom spend with nicole and my
family and experiencing a fewother things where I just, you
know know it was just I couldn'tdo it.
Mackenzie Kilshaw (35:48):
Yeah.
Andy Pawlovich (35:49):
Well, you're right back now.
Mackenzie Kilshaw (35:51):
Yeah, you're right back now where, at this
point in your life, this is thebest move for you and when you
are your business like youreally are your business,
because if you're gone, peoplecan't come to your clinic and
then you don't have any incomeback to profit, right?
So this is a great way for youto be able to have those life
(36:11):
experiences but still have yourbusiness thriving.
It's awesome.
Andy, do you have a mostimportant lesson that you've
learned along the way?
Andy Pawlovich (36:28):
Hmm, along the way, most important lesson that
I've learned along the way, Ijust, I think, being yourself,
being genuine, being authentic,you know, I guess, believing in
yourself.
When I opened this office, my,when I was going to open this
(36:49):
office, my parents sat me downand said are you sure you want
to do this?
And I said, wow, yes, I do.
I just feel like I have to, forvarious different reasons, and
(37:11):
it's just basically investing inyourself.
There's no better investmentthan investing in yourself, I
guess, to be one of them andbelieving in yourself.
And it's not easy, it wasn'teasy, it's not going to be easy.
Nothing ever is easy.
Nothing good is ever easy.
It wasn't easy, it's not goingto be easy, nope, nothing ever
is easy.
Mackenzie Kilshaw (37:30):
Nothing good is ever easy, nope.
Andy Pawlovich (37:32):
No, and.
But then you look back and go,man, like I've gotten pretty
much everything I dreamt, dreamtabout, in a sense everything
down to my golden retriever andmy beautiful wife and three
beautiful kids.
(37:53):
Yeah, so I'm blessed and I needto be often more grateful for
that.
I guess.
So authentic, genuine, begrateful.
Mackenzie Kilshaw (38:07):
I love that.
I love that.
Is there anything you wish youhad known?
Or maybe you could tell your 24year old self when you first
started out?
Andy Pawlovich (38:16):
That really would be an important thing to
know yeah, I think, being opento possibility that practice
with somebody else, I don't know, if I had, I wouldn't.
I wouldn't recommend a 24 yearold coming out of school and
(38:47):
hanging a shingle.
Mackenzie Kilshaw (38:47):
Yeah, I get you.
Andy Pawlovich (38:49):
Like I said, I had 10 years of experience, so I
still didn't know what I wasdoing.
So, yeah, exactly for you knowyou could you know some of my
colleagues.
They did the same thing, butthey had a partner or a spouse
or something like that uh, tooffload the responsibility, the
financial and the managerial andentrepreneurial responsibility.
So, yeah, that would beprobably the biggest one is
(39:16):
analyze your risk.
Maybe have some outside partiesanalyze that risk as well.
Thankfully, I had very goodparental support as well, and so
shout out to my parents forthat as well.
Mackenzie Kilshaw (39:36):
That's great advice.
I know people are going to wantto know more about you and your
clinic and I can be your firstperson to recommend you always
if you're looking for achiropractor, go see Andy.
Andy Pawlovich (39:50):
But where is the best place for them to find
you?
Well, our website ispawlovichchiropractic.
ca, or you can just Google us.
I think that's the best placeto start.
I think our website kind oftells the story and represents
what we're all about as well aswhat you've heard today.
I think that would be your best.
(40:11):
The old internet would be yourbest place to start.
Mackenzie Kilshaw (40:16):
That's great and we will tag you in our
social media posts so people cango onto our Instagram and
Facebook and find links to youas well.
So thank you, Andy, for beingon.
I really appreciate it and foreveryone listening.
We'll see you on the nextepisode.
Thanks for listening to Winning.
Be sure to subscribe to get allof our new episodes.
If you enjoyed this episode andyou'd like to help support the
(40:39):
podcast, please share it withothers, post about it on social
media and leave a rating andreview wherever you listen to
Winning it.
To catch all of the latest fromus, you can follow winning
podcast on Instagram @ winning_podcast, Facebook @W inningP
odcast and on Twitter @winningpod.
(40:59):
Winning was created and isproduced by me Mackenzie Kilshaw
music created by Summer Firbyediting.
Editing by Seth Armstrong.
Special thanks to Shauna Fosterfor voicing our opening and, of
course, a huge thank you tothis episode's guest.
Thanks again for listening andI'll see you on the next episode
.
Winning will help you learn thehard lessons the easy way, with
guidance from celebratedentrepreneurs and business
leaders.
It's fun, it's informative,it's Winning.
Mackenzie Kilshaw (00:31):
Hello, welcome to Winning.
I'm your host, MackenzieKilshaw.
Today's guest is Andy Pawlovich.
How are you?
Andy Pawlovich (00:37):
Good, good, nice to see you.
Mackenzie Kilshaw (00:40):
Yeah, you too .
It's great to have Andy on.
He's actually a chiropractor,which I know well because he was
my chiropractor, I think, for20 plus years.
We figured out one time.
He started in 1997.
And he's been committed tohelping patients achieve their
health objectives throughnatural chiropractic care.
In November 2014, he opened hisown clinic in Stonebridge and
(01:06):
now, after nearly a decade, he'slooking to expand by welcoming
a new associate.
So we're going to talk a lotabout that.
Andy, that's just kind of abrief bio of you.
Do you want to tell theaudience who you are?
Andy Pawlovich (01:19):
Who am I?
Well, I'm a husband to Nicole,I'm a father to Sophia, Allie
and Joey, and, yeah, that's themost important thing in my life.
But other than that, it wasalways a dream of mine to become
a chiropractor.
I wouldn't say always, butgrade seven was the pivotal
moment where I injured mypitching arm throwing too many
(01:44):
curveballs.
And my arm was just hangingthere and my dad took me.
He just started seeing achiropractor.
I had no idea what one was.
He took me to his chiropractorand instantly it resonated with
me.
They were doctors.
They're helping people withsports injuries.
They seemed to be enjoyingthemselves, it was a busy place
(02:08):
and, like I said, it justinstantly clicked with me.
So I figured, if I wasn't goingto be a professional athlete,
that this might be the next bestthing.
I can help athletes or helpwhoever, and so from then onward
that was my goal was to becomea chiropractor.
So you know, lots of you know Igraduated 27 years ago, in April
(02:35):
.
So life has flown by, butbasically I've always been an
owner in my chiropracticbusiness.
11 years of the 27 I was in amulti-doctor office but
primarily came out of school,opened my own doors at the age
(02:56):
of 24, which is crazy, scary anduh, and I didn't know what I
didn't know.
So ignorance is bliss.
And here we are today.
Ten years ago, pretty muchdecided to go back into solo
(03:16):
practice and open up collegechiropractic.
Mackenzie Kilshaw (03:21):
So you okay, let's just back up here a little
bit.
You're 24, you graduate, you'rea chiropractor, you're like,
I'm just gonna open my ownclinic.
Were you scared?
Or, like you said, ignorance isbliss.
You just didn't know anydifferent, or what was your
thoughts?
Do you remember back then?
Andy Pawlovich (03:41):
I do.
I was reflecting on that.
I was brazenly competent comingout of school because I had a
unique situation where I wasclassically trained in a certain
technique approach when I wasgoing to school in Bloomington,
Minnesota, and this techniqueapproach was not taught at
(04:05):
school, but it was by the doctorI interned with and whatnot.
It's called the Gonsteadtechnique.
Some people may or may not haveheard of it, but it's a unique
approach.
It's been used, you know,widely throughout the profession
, but I was trained by one ofthe greats, but I was trained by
(04:28):
one of the greats in theprofession with regards to the
Gonstead technique.
So, yeah, and I came back toSaskatoon and nobody was
practicing this.
So I felt this was a niche andI didn't want to join an office
where they weren't practicingthis way and I thought maybe
they want to change me for whatI was doing.
In retrospect I don't know ifthat was the right decision or
(04:50):
not.
It's the one I made, but Icould have definitely used some
more business sense and helpalong the way, that's for sure.
And taking on all of that riskdebt responsibility at such a
young age, you know, would needto be scrutinized once again,
(05:14):
for sure.
I don't know if I'd recommendthat.
Mackenzie Kilshaw (05:17):
You know what .
It's something that I meanwe'll never know because it's
past tense now, but I totallyunderstand what you mean.
When I first started, actually,I opened my store right around
the time that you opened yourclinic and I remember thinking I
have a Commerce degree so Iknow all the business stuff,
plus I have 10 years of workexperience, so I know the
(05:39):
practical stuff, so I'm set, andthen I opened my doors and
realized I had no idea what Iwas doing and asked for a lot of
help right, asked forprofessionals, help with like a
bookkeeper and accountant andlawyer and all that.
Asked other friends withbusinesses.
But I kind of was the oppositeof you and I don't even know if
I was really prepared.
(06:00):
So I don't know that there is agood answer.
I mean, clearly, where you arenow, it's worked out well for
you.
Andy Pawlovich (06:08):
Yes, yes.
And what I figured out right inthe onset was that I did need
help and I hired a business, achiropractic consulting group,
and the first thing they did waschange my clinic hours of when
I was seeing patients because Ithought I needed to be 7-11 and
(06:33):
that was so draining and it wasdifficult to be in any kind of
flow and whatnot.
So they concentrated my hoursand it was so liberating once we
did that and, yeah, you know,schedule patients in in more
concentrated time so that youcan be more present and be in
(06:55):
flow, and yeah, that was thebiggest, biggest takeaway
initially, for sure it's sosmart because you're hiring
someone that knows what they'redoing, because they've got the
experience of working with otherpeople and they can give you
that guidance.
Mackenzie Kilshaw (07:12):
And a lot of people are like, oh, it's
another cost, but to me that'san investment.
You made an investment intoyour business and it helps you
out a lot 100% yeah, and I'mstill doing it to this day.
Yeah, even 27 years later.
Andy Pawlovich (07:33):
Yep, absolutely .
That's awesome Because you knowthey hold you accountable.
Um, they ask the toughquestions to make you focus on
things that you aren't, youdon't even think about or, um,
you don't want to think about,right, oh yeah.
Yeah, it's definitely important, and it does give you that
(07:53):
confidence as well, that just tobounce something off somebody
and say I'm thinking of doingthis or I am doing this, and
they're saying that's a goodidea or not.
Mackenzie Kilshaw (08:03):
Or not.
Yeah, sometimes the or not isactually the better, right,
because most of the time whenyou, when you have an idea and
you bounce it off your friendsor your wife or whatever,
they're like that's a great ideaand you kind of already know.
But the questionable ones are,you're like I think this would
work, but I'm not sure those arethe really ones.
You need to get checked out,aren't they?
Andy Pawlovich (08:24):
Yeah, and the thing is is with now bringing on
you know this is the next phaseexciting time bringing on a new
graduate and an associate.
So he had just finished hisinternship with me and literally
met his graduated last week interms of his educational
requirements.
You know how is this going toplay out.
I've been in solo practice for10 years where it's all me right
(08:49):
, or at least I'm the I wouldn'tsay me my gosh, um, but just
the, the practicing chiropractor, um, but uh, you know how are
we going to do, how is this allgoing to play out.
So that's what, um, the currentbusiness coaching consultant is
going to help us with and seehow we can, you know, make this
(09:13):
kind of associateship work and,you know, serve more people.
Mackenzie Kilshaw (09:19):
Yeah, so you're on your own.
And then you joined a groupwhich I know because that's when
I started coming to you.
So my cousin and you werefriends and I was one of those
people that had chronicheadaches and had to um, had to
go to a chiropractor recommendedyou, I started seeing you.
(09:41):
I think half my family startedseeing you, but at that time you
were in a clinic with quite afew doctors, massage therapists,
whatnot.
What made you decide to go backto having your own business
again.
Andy Pawlovich (09:55):
Yeah, great question.
I reflected a bit on thatmyself and it was just more the
situation.
I think that when I joined thatoffice, it was the right thing
to do.
I was in solo practice for abit.
My best friend and I werepracticing for a short time
(10:17):
together and we decided not todo that anymore, and that was
very smart, um, and then, um, Iwas starting to become
overwhelmed with everything.
I was getting pulled in allthese different directions in
2003 and I let.
I built this office on 8thstreet and I decided to walk
away from it and join this otherclinic with you.
(10:38):
You know, multiple doctors andwhatnot and at that time that
was the right move for Nicoleand myself.
We were getting married thatyear.
I was going to Roset own twicea week as a satellite office and
this just was the right thingat the moment, you know.
And then you fast forward 10, 11years.
(11:00):
We had moved to Stonebridgeneighborhood, uh, and then they
were starting to build this, uh,the Stonebridge center where
the Sobeys is and whatnot.
It was just starting to developand I was driving by this place
every day, tilting my head,going, wow, would that be an
amazing place to practice.
I've never practiced in alocation where you were
(11:24):
supremely visible.
I thought that would be neat.
This is an analogy I like touse.
Practicing with multiple doctorsis like living in an apartment
with a whole bunch of roommatesversus solo practice.
(11:45):
Solo practice is like living ina mansion by yourself, and
there's advantages anddisadvantages to both of those
scenarios, and I loved myroommates in my old office, so
it wasn't that.
It was just I felt like Iwanted to do practice more of a
(12:06):
way that might represent AndyPawlovich more than anything
else, and so I did learn wasthat there were a lot of
positives from that, but alsothe situation change.
There was still the guy I hadto look at in the mirror.
(12:30):
That needed a lot of changingas well.
So and over the past 10 years,a lot of that has happened, for
sure.
Mackenzie Kilshaw (12:41):
That's awesome.
I mean, I like your analogy ofthe roommates because it's very
much what it is.
But definitely your lifecircumstances really do push you
towards where you need to be atthat time.
Right, like you said, you'regetting married at that time.
Like you said you're gettingmarried at that time, moving in
with your roommates or havingthat business with other people
(13:04):
really was the best because ittook a lot off of your plate.
But then down the line, moreexperience, different life
situation, like you say, youdrive by you see the spot, you
think, oh, this would be awesome, I can really make it here.
Your life at that time reallypushed you back into that solo
like solo entrepreneurship,which is awesome yep what were
(13:28):
the biggest challenges when youwent back to having your own
practice?
Andy Pawlovich (13:36):
Um, well, the overhead really.
Um, that's a big challenge,right?
So there's the mansion.
Mackenzie Kilshaw (13:46):
Yeah, somebody's got to pay for that.
Andy Pawlovich (13:48):
Yeah, you're going back into a significant
amount of debt in order to startthis place all over again, kind
of from scratch.
Thankfully, I had an existingpractice to bring over.
If I didn't, yes, oh mygoodness, just it wouldn't have
made it 100%, so I needed.
You know it was.
(14:10):
That was a big challenge.
And then also, you know, you gothrough the economic times.
If you can reflect over thepast 10 years, there was a big,
you could say a boom, but that'swhen it was difficult to find
people to work, and maybe stillis.
(14:32):
Yep 100%.
You know those kinds of things.
So there were some staffingchallenges.
Um, again, uh, I'm a nice guyand sometimes nice guys aren't
the best managers or bosses, sothere were some circumstances
(14:54):
along that way where I wasn'tbeing maybe assertive enough or
inspecting what you expect, andso there's a lot of that.
But right now I'm really happythat way I've got a wonderful
and I've had a lot of greatpeople working with me and right
(15:18):
now things are great.
And then, of course, Nicoleshe's like the Swiss army knife.
My wife she does can doeverything in the office except
for what I do.
She's just, she's great backup.
She can answer the phone, shecan train staff, she's our
bookkeeper, she's our socialmedia person.
(15:38):
So I couldn't have done any ofthis without her.
That's for darn sure.
So having a supportive spouseis it's everything.
Mackenzie Kilshaw (15:47):
Oh for sure, especially supportive and the
fact that she can actually helpyou, that's huge.
Andy Pawlovich (15:52):
Exactly and that we can work together yeah
that's huge.
Mackenzie Kilshaw (15:56):
Yeah well, and I remember when I first
started coming to you she wasthe receptionist.
So I've seen Nicole.
I mean, I've known Nicole aslong as I've known you and um,
if you've never been to Andy'soffice and seen Nicole, you
literally walk in there and shelike lights up the room.
She's so just genuine andpersonable and I think,
(16:17):
especially for a business likeyours, when you're dealing with
um patients, that is such anasset that really can be hard to
find, like you said.
So the fact that you have her,I think that's your little
hidden weapon.
Andy Pawlovich (16:31):
Well, that's how we met.
Actually, she worked at the drycleaners and I thought she was
hitting on me, but she was justlike, is who's nice?
And I'm just like, wow, youknow.
And uh, it turns out and I go,I really want to hire this gal,
and it took me to uh marry herfor that to happen.
(16:53):
So well.
Mackenzie Kilshaw (16:55):
It worked out well both ways, for your
personal life and your business.
Yeah, but having greatemployees really does make all
the difference.
Okay, so you have the uniquetechnique that you learned that
you practice.
Is there other strategies orother things that you've done to
(17:16):
differentiate yourself fromothers?
Because I feel likechiropractic care is so personal
, which I think you do a greatjob at that.
You're a very personal person,but how do you set yourself
apart?
Andy Pawlovich (17:32):
Great question.
I, you know I'm and I thoughtabout this too like I like to
cook.
Why do I like to cook?
Well, I want to make peoplehappy.
I want them to enjoy theirexperience, and so when people
(17:55):
come to our office, I want thisto be a place of solace.
I want this to you know them towalk in the doors and feel like
this is where they should andneed to be, and so the whole
experience from when they walkin the door to when they get on
the table to when they leave, ispositive, healing experience,
(18:19):
and we often get that asfeedback.
And then, like the other thingis, there's a lot of fear around
chiropractic.
We see it every day.
There's videos out there thatare terrifying just in the sense
of the reason why they're onYouTube, and people are now
(18:43):
watching these for entertainmentor whatever.
And I always say well, there'sa reason why they're on there
and it's not the way I practice,and a lot of people don't
practice.
So it's putting people at ease.
They come in.
I learned that they'reapprehensive or scared, and so
we need to address that, andusually just having a human
(19:06):
conversation, being genuine andauthentic, starts to put them at
ease.
And then I'll say you know, weoften hear I go.
My goal is at the end of this,your first visit is for you to
go.
Oh, that's's what I was scaredof, and that's often what it was
.
And then, and then we go fromthere.
But they're always in charge.
I'm always going to tell themwhat I'm going to do.
(19:28):
Um, I have now a percussing typeinstrument called arthur stem
I've been using for well over 10years to tell the kids.
It's called a tickle gun, butbasically it's something that is
very effective, very gentlepeople like love, subtle and
effective.
So, um, yeah, I guess it's.
It's just understanding thatthis is something new for a lot
(19:52):
of people and that, um, I'mgoing to meet them where they're
at, not where I'm at, and we'llgo through this together.
And you know I'm not going toforce anything on anybody, it's
just let's just figure out whatyou want and how we can achieve
that.
Mackenzie Kilshaw (20:13):
Yeah, and being a patient of yours, I can
say I was one of those people Iremember first going I think I
was like 19 or 20 years old andbeing like I don't want my neck
cracked like freaked me out, tobe honest with you, and you
really were great at putting meat ease and the gun, as I used
to call it but it's not, itwasn't a crack per se and it
(20:35):
really was a great experienceand I had zero fears after I
went to see you.
And I think part of that too isyou explain things as you were
doing it.
So it was kind of I knew whatto expect then and why you were
doing it.
I understood it and that I meannot that I was knowledgeable
(20:57):
enough, but just having thatlittle bit of education I think
really was what helped me, and Ithink you're unique in that
because I moved away fromSaskatoon.
I have a great chiropractorhere too, but I did see a few
other people in the middle ofthe move who didn't do that, and
even someone that was going toa chiropractor for a long time.
You kind of get uneasy.
(21:18):
So I can say for you as apatient you're really fantastic
at putting people at ease andmaking sure that they know what
you're doing and understand it,which is great.
Okay, I want to talk a littlebit.
I call people like you.
You kind of have a doublecareer because you're a
(21:40):
chiropractor, really, but you'realso a business owner.
So how do you prioritize ormake sure that your patients
care and that you're physicallythere, obviously, to see the
patients, but also that theoperational side is is running
smoothly and I know you haveNicole as your your kind of
(22:04):
secret there, so that theoperational side is running
smoothly and I know you haveNicole as your kind of secret
there.
But how did you set that out tomake sure that you can spend
time with your patients and youdon't have to worry about
everything else?
Andy Pawlovich (22:15):
Right, having systems and procedures,
basically Having a manual, youknow, basically Having a manual.
Am I a manual maker?
No, I was basically told to dothis because you need to have
this so that it's replicable andwhatnot.
And so in the training processand just having that in place,
(22:44):
you know, there's three parts ofthe chiropractic practice.
There's the technician, whichis me, the chiropractor doing
performing chiropractic.
That's the easiest part, that'seasy.
Then there's the manager okay,so you're managing your staff,
your business and whatnot, andthe systems, procedures,
(23:08):
accounting and all that kind ofstuff, and who does what,
where's everybody's seat on thebus.
And then there's theentrepreneur okay, and that's
where you are out and about inthe community or making
decisions with you know.
Just you know with your team,as to what's going to be best
for the business and thepractice, for it to be
(23:29):
profitable.
Businesses, number one thingthat has to happen is you have
to make a profit or else youwon't exist.
Mackenzie Kilshaw (23:38):
Yes.
Andy Pawlovich (23:39):
Flat out right, yep, and so it's providing that
service.
So that it's, you know it allworks.
So there's a lot of different.
There's those three differenthats but, like I say, the
easiest one is the now is thetechnician component of things.
(23:59):
But yeah, you got to piecethrough this.
What can I do myself, what canI delegate?
And you know, and that's wherethose decisions come in, you
know.
And hiring a coach, youraccountants, your other
(24:20):
professionals, your lawyers,those kinds of things, drop
contracts for bringing inassociates, those kinds of
things.
So there's all these differentmoving parts and it's sure nice
to have, like I say, have Nicole, who is able to undertake that,
but other people that don'thave that luxury have to.
You know you've got to hiresomebody to undertake that.
(24:41):
But other people that don'thave that that luxury have to,
you know, you got to hiresomebody to do it.
It's really tough to do it allyourself.
You can burn yourself out.
Mackenzie Kilshaw (24:49):
A hundred percent.
You literally like music to myears when I hear you talk about
systems and procedures andmanuals.
I'm a firm believer that everybusiness it doesn't matter if
you have three people employedwith you or 300, you have to
have things set out and customerservice.
(25:10):
For me, that's one of mypassions, for sure.
But it's true.
When everybody's trained thesame way and everyone knows what
they're doing, then if apatient of yours comes in, it
doesn't matter whether it'sNicole or one of your other
staff members.
They're getting that sameexperience and that's what makes
people be loyal to you andthat's what makes people keep
(25:30):
coming back right and tellingtheir friends and recommending
you.
And that's how, as you said,you need to make money.
That's really one of the bestways for you to make money is
having that consistency.
Andy Pawlovich (25:43):
Right, exactly yeah, representing the brand
right.
Mackenzie Kilshaw (25:47):
Yes.
Andy Pawlovich (25:50):
Yeah.
Mackenzie Kilshaw (25:51):
Yeah, and if you don't know how to do it, you
pay someone to do it, or yourguidance, so that you know it's
done.
And the best is to do it whenyou first start.
(26:11):
But if you're already inbusiness, you can start now.
Right, it's not a lost cause.
Andy Pawlovich (26:16):
Right, exactly, you know.
And another concept that one ofmy business coaches said is,
you know, is, whatever youractivity you're doing, is this
dollar per hour work for dollarper minute work.
So in my, in my practice, I I'mfortunate when I'm adjusting
(26:38):
people and that's my widget um,I'm doing dollar per minute work
where, you know, am I?
You know, am I going to?
You know, I'm not um cleaningthe toilets or something, um
well, anywhere, quite honestly,but uh, and I'm not saying that
it's snobby, it's just no, butit's not worth your time,
(27:01):
because you're not making moneydoing it.
Yeah, exactly, making moneydoing it.
Yeah, yeah, exactly.
Um, but you know, otherwise Ican go out and do something I'm
passionate about, like cookingor playing sports or something
like that.
I'm not making any money atthat, but I'm getting my needs
met.
Uh, yes that way um, you know,dopamine being secreted, those
(27:24):
kinds of things dopamine andserotonin versus doing some work
that someone would gladly do ifyou hired them to do it.
So, as a business person,understand what your widget is.
That comes from the book JimCollins' Good to Great.
(27:47):
Your widget is that comes fromthe book Jim Collins, good to
Great and the hedgehog principleof what is your driving force
behind your business.
You can get kind of distracted,get all these things people
want you to do, but mine is thechiropractic adjustment and
anything that takes me away fromdoing that is just a
distraction.
Mackenzie Kilshaw (28:09):
I couldn't agree more.
Yeah, and if you actually sitdown.
I'm a big fan of time auditsand I know lots of people are
like what the heck is a timeaudit.
But if you actually sit downand write out everything that
you do in a day and everythingthat has to be done in your
business in a day and how muchtime is spent on that, and if
(28:32):
you take that what I mean foryou patience like you have to
see the patience right.
Well, now with your newassociate which we're going to
talk about, you have that help,but you have to see them.
So what things can someone elsein your office do to take that
load off of you?
And if you try to do everything, you will get overwhelmed and
you will burn out.
(28:53):
It's not will I or won't I.
It's when will you?
It's going to happen for sure.
You kind of mentioned communitya little bit and you are very
involved in the community.
You do a lot of um, um,volunteer things and raising
money and Andy and I have talkedabout this before I did
(29:15):
Swinging With The Stars.
We were on the same year.
We both raised a really greatamount of money and we danced on
stage in front of like athousand people.
I still don't know how we didthat.
It was fun, but crazy as well.
Andy Pawlovich (29:29):
It was awesome.
Yeah, I was so glad to do thatwith you as well, I know that
was cool.
Mackenzie Kilshaw (29:37):
Well, considering we knew each other
for so long, we startedbusinesses around the same time.
It was such an honor to be ableto do it the same year.
But I know you do communitybecause you're that kind of
person and it's out of thegoodness of your heart.
But how has that also helpedyou in your business and you
know working with others in thehealth industry?
(29:59):
I know you do too.
So how has that communityaspect really been a success for
you?
Andy Pawlovich (30:07):
Well, you know, it's kind of the circle of life
.
Things come full circle, karma,all those kinds of things.
You know, when you go from a,like I say, a server's mindset,
people I guess maybe recognizeor see that you know what you're
all about, I guess, and you can.
(30:27):
It's just being genuine andauthentic and people are
appreciate that.
I think I know I do.
So you know, when you're doingsomething for others, um, you
know that just kind of shows whoyou are versus.
You know mine, I'm only doingthings that you know what's in
(30:48):
it for me, that kind of thing,you know people can sniff that
out pretty quickly.
So, and you know, Saskatoon andcommunity is that's what I love
about this town, is there's alot of people like that who you
know, you know, have allridiculous amount of
(31:09):
volunteerism in the city withall of the things that have been
, all of the events that havebeen brought here because of
people who volunteer.
So, yeah, you know, I've beeninvolved with my church, I do
for the Chiropractic Association, I'll do some of the PR stuff
(31:30):
with the news.
They've come up with a greatprogram called the Toasty Toes
Sock Campaign and our office hasjumped all over that and I
often go down and speak inregards to that with the
Salvation Army, to that with theSalvation Army, and we continue
(31:54):
to raise and collect socks forthe needy every November so they
can get distributed forChristmas time.
Part of the NSBA, part of theChamber of Commerce.
I'm the past president of the722 Breakfast Club, a group of
entrepreneurs, so shout out tothem.
If there's some entrepreneursthat think they want to join a
(32:17):
very, I would say, casual yetwonderful networking group
called the 722 Breakfast Club,just Google that and we can chat
.
Yeah, I guess I'm more.
And then I play rec hockey andrecreational baseball and that's
(32:38):
where I'm getting some of myneeds met there.
And then my kids are girls, areinvolved in dance and my son's
involved in hockey, and I alwayswant to be a part of that as
well.
Mackenzie Kilshaw (32:54):
Yeah, it's awesome and volunteering and
doing all these things like yourSOX program, it's a lot of work
, but that intrinsic feeling andwhat you get from it is 100%
worth it, isn't it?
Yeah, yeah, it is veryrewarding, um, and so let's talk
(33:24):
about that, because I'm surethat was a big decision.
Um, so maybe, why?
Why now, after 10 years, areyou doing it?
And also, how is that going tohelp you to expand and grow?
Andy Pawlovich (33:38):
Well, um, so I've been in solo practice for a
while and that's what I wasdesigned, designing things to do
.
I just turned 51, and it's beendifficult to take time off.
Really, I love to travel, Ilike to experience new things,
(34:03):
and it's been very difficultover the past 10 years to go and
do something like that.
When I was in the prior office,it was a lot easier to do
something like that.
So there's, you know, the giveand take of all of this.
And so, adding the right personto the office.
(34:25):
He interned with me and observedfor six months as well as
worked on a lot of things.
You know, he's highly motivatedand he's excited and he's brand
new and that's exciting and Ienjoyed mentoring him him he's
(34:46):
the second intern that I've had,uh, and so I feel, you know,
he's ready for the next step andat the very least, um, you know
, I, I think you know we, the,the practice has the ability to
grow, um, and that's the goal.
(35:06):
But because we want him tobuild his practice and I want to
maintain mine at the very least, and so for the next, you know
for sure, six months is going tobe some growing pains with all
of that I understand that it'snot like, oh okay, I got a new
doctor, see, you see in twoweeks, kind of thing, yeah, um,
(35:29):
but uh, I am excited at just thechange, um, and you know,
having a bit more time, somefreedom spend with nicole and my
family and experiencing a fewother things where I just, you
know know it was just I couldn'tdo it.
Mackenzie Kilshaw (35:48):
Yeah.
Andy Pawlovich (35:49):
Well, you're right back now.
Mackenzie Kilshaw (35:51):
Yeah, you're right back now where, at this
point in your life, this is thebest move for you and when you
are your business like youreally are your business,
because if you're gone, peoplecan't come to your clinic and
then you don't have any incomeback to profit, right?
So this is a great way for youto be able to have those life
(36:11):
experiences but still have yourbusiness thriving.
It's awesome.
Andy, do you have a mostimportant lesson that you've
learned along the way?
Andy Pawlovich (36:28):
Hmm, along the way, most important lesson that
I've learned along the way, Ijust, I think, being yourself,
being genuine, being authentic,you know, I guess, believing in
yourself.
When I opened this office, my,when I was going to open this
(36:49):
office, my parents sat me downand said are you sure you want
to do this?
And I said, wow, yes, I do.
I just feel like I have to, forvarious different reasons, and
(37:11):
it's just basically investing inyourself.
There's no better investmentthan investing in yourself, I
guess, to be one of them andbelieving in yourself.
And it's not easy, it wasn'teasy, it's not going to be easy.
Nothing ever is easy.
Nothing good is ever easy.
It wasn't easy, it's not goingto be easy, nope, nothing ever
is easy.
Mackenzie Kilshaw (37:30):
Nothing good is ever easy, nope.
Andy Pawlovich (37:32):
No, and.
But then you look back and go,man, like I've gotten pretty
much everything I dreamt, dreamtabout, in a sense everything
down to my golden retriever andmy beautiful wife and three
beautiful kids.
(37:53):
Yeah, so I'm blessed and I needto be often more grateful for
that.
I guess.
So authentic, genuine, begrateful.
Mackenzie Kilshaw (38:07):
I love that.
I love that.
Is there anything you wish youhad known?
Or maybe you could tell your 24year old self when you first
started out?
Andy Pawlovich (38:16):
That really would be an important thing to
know yeah, I think, being opento possibility that practice
with somebody else, I don't know, if I had, I wouldn't.
I wouldn't recommend a 24 yearold coming out of school and
(38:47):
hanging a shingle.
Mackenzie Kilshaw (38:47):
Yeah, I get you.
Andy Pawlovich (38:49):
Like I said, I had 10 years of experience, so I
still didn't know what I wasdoing.
So, yeah, exactly for you knowyou could you know some of my
colleagues.
They did the same thing, butthey had a partner or a spouse
or something like that uh, tooffload the responsibility, the
financial and the managerial andentrepreneurial responsibility.
So, yeah, that would beprobably the biggest one is
(39:16):
analyze your risk.
Maybe have some outside partiesanalyze that risk as well.
Thankfully, I had very goodparental support as well, and so
shout out to my parents forthat as well.
Mackenzie Kilshaw (39:36):
That's great advice.
I know people are going to wantto know more about you and your
clinic and I can be your firstperson to recommend you always
if you're looking for achiropractor, go see Andy.
Andy Pawlovich (39:50):
But where is the best place for them to find
you?
Well, our website ispawlovichchiropractic.
ca, or you can just Google us.
I think that's the best placeto start.
I think our website kind oftells the story and represents
what we're all about as well aswhat you've heard today.
I think that would be your best.
(40:11):
The old internet would be yourbest place to start.
Mackenzie Kilshaw (40:16):
That's great and we will tag you in our
social media posts so people cango onto our Instagram and
Facebook and find links to youas well.
So thank you, Andy, for beingon.
I really appreciate it and foreveryone listening.
We'll see you on the nextepisode.
Thanks for listening to Winning.
Be sure to subscribe to get allof our new episodes.
If you enjoyed this episode andyou'd like to help support the
(40:39):
podcast, please share it withothers, post about it on social
media and leave a rating andreview wherever you listen to
Winning it.
To catch all of the latest fromus, you can follow winning
podcast on Instagram @ winning_podcast, Facebook @W inningP
odcast and on Twitter @winningpod.
(40:59):
Winning was created and isproduced by me Mackenzie Kilshaw
music created by Summer Firbyediting.
Editing by Seth Armstrong.
Special thanks to Shauna Fosterfor voicing our opening and, of
course, a huge thank you tothis episode's guest.
Thanks again for listening andI'll see you on the next episode
.
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