Why Owning a Chiropractic Franchise Is A Wise Choice For Entrepreneurs Post Pandemic
Director of Chiropractic and Compliance of the nation’s fastest-growing chiropractic franchise explains why The Joint Chiropractic® Franchise is a best-bet investment
Chiropractic care is a needed business that helps more than 31 million Americans living with back pain. Fortunately, this is where The Joint Chiropractic, the fastest-growing chiropractic franchise in the nation, outshines the competition. Founded in 1999, The Joint excels at helping entrepreneurs prosper in a business that makes access to convenient, affordable and chiropractic care obtainable for millions.
With more than 500 locations across the country, our thriving chiropractic franchise is growing due to our unique ability to introduce millions of Americans to chiropractic care, but also because of our easy-to-understand business model, as well as our low barriers to ownership, making us a best-bet investment.
And the industry has taken notice. Recently, Entrepreneur magazine ranked our dynamic chiropractic franchise on their prestigious Franchise 500 list. This is the fifth consecutive year that The Joint has made the list.The best part? There’s plenty of room to grow in the booming $15 billion chiropractic industry. This is why The Joint is seeking savvy entrepreneurs and chiropractors looking to convert their existing business to join our franchise as we continue to expand across the nation.
In this interview, Dr. Steven Knauf, Executive Director of Chiropractic and Compliance with The Joint Chiropractic, shares everything from how our chiropractic business model is designed to help our franchisees maximize profitability, to why franchising is more attractive than ever and what makes The Joint Chiropractic a best-bet investment.
How has The Joint being an essential business helped its franchises owners through this unfortunate time?
Dr. Knauf: A lot of businesses have felt the huge impact of losing revenue, having to close, and terminate or furlough employees and we’ve not experienced that. We haven’t because we are an essential business. That means throughout the entire COVID-19 pandemic, we have been able to remain open and available to provide our services and care to the patients who really need us. It really limited the impact on our business because what we saw clearly demonstrated throughout this time is that chiropractic care is highly valued by patients who need it. That is really what has contributed to the strength and stability of our overall model.
The Joint’s ability to provide affordable and convenient chiropractic care is really a true differentiator, especially at a time like this because patients need your services whether there is a pandemic happening or not. Would you agree?
DS: Certainly. I think the best thing to do is to look at it from the consumer standpoint. They themselves might have been those employees who were let go, furloughed, or have to work from home full-time. For myself, I even did it for a bit. I was working off of my kid’s desk because I didn’t have a proper work setup at home. You experience a lot of different kinds of stress just going through this situation, including financial stress. So being able to offer an option for patients to still access the care that they need is really important, even though their financial situation may have changed.
How does chiropractic care help people who are stuck at home, stressed out, and may not be moving as much as they should be?
Dr. Knauf: In conversing with some people, the pandemic is creating a more sedentary lifestyle than what many of us are used to. It’s a longer time spent not moving and more time spent watching Netflix or some sort of screen. Additionally, you may not be eating well, especially if you have access to food delivery services, which is a contributor to how your body reacts and responds to stress. What chiropractic does at its core is it allows your body to react to its environment. Your brain and your nervous system have to be able to sense all of the things you’re throwing at it and then it has to be able to react appropriately. Chiropractic care restores motion, allows your body to deal with stress and get back to the things you love to do. That’s why recovery is going to be important and that’s why we’re focusing on access to care as people are getting back into their normal routines because they’re going to need it.
Even before the pandemic The Joint was introducing chiropractic care to millions of people who hadn’t tried it before. Now that the economy is reopening, do you think that the focus on health and wellness is going to increase going forward?
Dr. Knauf: I think we’re already trending that way — even without COVID-19 hitting. I think society was really starting to embrace health and wellness more than it had traditionally, which is a growing trend that was supporting our brand’s growth. However, what’s highlighted in this current situation is the value of health and wellness, and how resilient it can make your body if you’ve adopted these measures. So I have to believe that our patients who have been with us prior to this have weathered the storm much better than those who hadn’t seen chiropractors or hadn’t valued health and wellness before this. As we move forward, I think we’re going to see a lot of consumers being educated by concepts like ours. Maybe you didn’t take advantage of us, or didn’t understand what we’re about, but this situation has alerted us to how valuable our health and wellness is, which is why now is the time to start taking it seriously. The best thing is that it’s not too late — you can get into a routine, start taking better care of yourself and get on a better track for overall health and wellness.
In the coming month, The Joint is offering free adjustments to people who haven’t tried it before. After coming out of months of being sedentary, being stressed out and not knowing what to expect, do you think a lot of people are going to need the services The Joint provides?
Dr. Knauf: Absolutely. I think there’s going to be a lot of awareness. I think most people have some kind of ache or pain happening that they didn’t have prior to this situation. So it’s our responsibility to educate them on the options that they have for getting back on track. Moreover, it’s really a responsibility of ours as a leader within the profession to provide this offer. There is no larger clinic system of chiropractic in the world that is able to provide a service to people that they need, especially in a time like this. It’s an obligation for us because we have to be there to serve our communities and get them back on track.
As the largest provider of chiropractic care in the world, franchise owners and chiropractors with The Joint have the advantage of being part of a franchise system that works hard to ensure they have all of the necessary resources they need to make it through these times. What’s your take on that?
Dr. Knauf: What’s important is that everyone stays safe through this entire time period. Safety and support has to be top of mind and we’ve really embraced that safety and support, to keep us directionally focused on how we’re going to get through this. I’m incredibly honored that our doctors have taken up the call to continue to serve and deliver the care from the profession they chose to join. It’s important to us that we provide our staff and their patients all of the tools of support that we can so they can practice safely within our clinics.
Even through this pandemic, The Joint has continued to grow, add new franchise owners and open new clinics. How does that make you feel to be a part of a brand that is not only resilient, but also helps entrepreneurs open a business that is necessary to their communities?
Dr. Knauf: It’s an amazing feeling to be a part of a company that is able to grow through the services that we provide in such a trying time like this. I’ve conversed with many chiropractors around the profession — whether it’s associations, people from school, other colleagues, private practice owners — and that’s not the story for every chiropractor out there. Unfortunately, chiropractors are losing their business, just like other small businesses are. And it’s incredibly sad to see that they didn’t have access to robust support for their business to make it through a situation like this. What’s heartening is that there is a proven business model with proven systems for chiropractors where they can receive the necessary tools and support, which will help them not only weather difficult situations, but also continue to grow in them.
Ready to bring the fastest-growing chiropractic franchise to your community?
For in-depth details about The Joint franchise opportunity, download the free franchise information report.