Our Transition

In 2020 the economy came to a screeching halt. I was running my (very slow) acupuncture clinic in Leawood Kansas and picked up a part time job in my fall back field of veterinary medicine.

I was trying to decide what to do and couldn't see how I could balance two kids and two jobs. One day, on a whim I opened Indeed and the first ad to show up said "You May Be Qualified". It was a position as an associate acupuncturist at Julie Bear Don't Walk Acupuncture and Integrative Health.

It wasn't a hard call to make, but it was an emotional one to reach out to Julie Bear Don't Walk. If I got the job I'd have to close my clinic and leave my patients behind. I'd put three hard years into building that business. I had to be honest with myself. My clinic was floundering and so was I due to my Qi being stretched in too many directions.

Fast forward about 3 years. In this time, I had grown a following of patients and I worked up to seeing over 50 patients a week. I took time off to have my third and last child and I now felt completely confident in my career. I was balancing home and work beautifully.

Julie had stepped back from seeing patients, knowing they were in capable hands. She was coaching acupuncturists with new and growing clinics to lead without burnout. Her coaching was growing and thriving. She, on the other hand was noticing that she wasn't enjoying some aspects of running the acupuncture clinic. Her heart was in coaching.

She too had to make a very hard choice. That choice was to close her clinic.

When she called me to give me the news I was blown away. She was so open and honest and already had a plan in mind for my growth. She would support me and Michelle in our desire to transition our practices to a new location, under a new name.

I learned during this time what I was made of. I worked every day, as close to around the clock as I could in the two months between learning of the clinic closure and the planned open date of my new clinic, Tripoint Acupuncture Plus. I learned that I had cultivated such good relationships with my patients that many of them were excited about the transition and asked how they could help. Their support meant everything to me.

Fast forward another 6 months to present day. With all of the gratitude I can muster to Julie, my clinic is thriving! I'm working with a hand-picked team who supports the best interests of the clinic each and every day. We've built a team culture of caring for ourselves and eachother first and foremost. This makes us vibrant and ready to help anyone who needs us to the very best of our abilities. We've been cultivating our own Qi and watched the Qi build around us. The community is drawn to this community of calm, quiet, steadfast positivity and vitality.

So, my first blog post truly is a love letter to the people of Lawrence, the kindness of Julie Bear Don't Walk and the fortitude of the most amazing staff ever: Michelle Truckey, Stephanie Stuhlsatz and Joey Chino.

I couldn't have built this thing without them and I can't wait to watch it continue to thrive for the betterment of anyone who gets to interact with this amazing place.