Episode 1: Welcome to Practice Growth Unfiltered

Natalie Mullin: Welcome to Practice Growth Unfiltered. I'm your host, Natalie Mullin. And I'm so glad you're here. This show is for all you solo and group practitioners who love the work you do with your clients, but you feel like the business side, the marketing, the scaling, the hiring, is this big mystical thing that nobody ever taught you.

Here's a secret. It's not. It's learnable. And the best way to learn it is through people who've actually lived it. Every episode I sit down with practitioners, practice leaders, and industry experts who've been through it, hit the walls, and figured out how to build something sustainable. So you can learn from their experiences and even their mistakes. Real stories. Unscripted. Unfiltered. Let's get into it.

Hi, everyone. I'm so excited for our first ever episode of Practice Growth Unfiltered. I couldn't think of a better place to start than the person who built the very software behind this podcast. The co-founder of Practice Better, Nathalie Garcia. Long before she was a founder, a co-founder, a CEO, she was a holistic nutritionist, a practitioner just like all of you, listening, drowning in admin and wondering if there was another way.

Nathalie, welcome to the show.

Nathalie Garcia: Hi everyone, great to be here. Excited to be kicking off this first episode of Practice Better's first podcast.

For those of you that didn't know, I used to be a holistic nutritionist. Really just wanted to help people live better lives, and there were no tools that were meant for me and the way that I wanted to work. So it was really overwhelming, really fast. I just didn't see a path to scaling the work and really having the impact I wanted to have and bring nutrition to more people.

Natalie Mullin: Why did you care about that?

Nathalie Garcia: Yeah, I kind of threw myself into nutrition as the result of someone really close to us became really sick. What ended up happening as a result of that was also, to me, improving my own health and realizing the power of what I put into my body, also to my lifestyle habits, and which made me just want to learn more and more. And I think as you learn more, you want to share that, you're like, wow, I see these improvements, there are other people that could benefit from this. And that kind of started the why then go into practice?

Natalie Mullin: Yeah, that makes sense. You know, when I'm listening to other practitioners, when I'm on a webinar, so many of them start with that personal story. And it's nice because actually, I didn't even know that. I didn't know that that was your your personal story of how you got into it.

But I think it's so important for practitioners to remember their why. Right. It kind of keeps that fire. And it makes sense because it's not always easy to be a practitioner. But if you have a deep why, if you've had a personal experience or a change, it kind of helps you to keep going.

And even for myself, like, you know this already, the audience might not know, but I'm a certified holistic wellness coach. And so I feel like I went through a period of life to where I went through a lot of struggle in my personal life, and I was facing burnout, and it wasn't taking care of myself at all. I kind of lost sight of myself altogether. And so for me, when I pursued my certification and when I decided I wanted to be a wellness coach, it was to help other people.

How do you find yourself again? How to prioritize yourself, especially as women are so many things that are burdening on us, whether our families, we're taking care of our communities, different roles. How do we show up for ourselves? Because when we fill our cups, it's from the overflow that we can support others. So it's always good to kind of reflect on that one, because sometimes you can forget.

Nathalie Garcia: You know, we'll see more of this kind of across these episodes, but you know, you see community all the time, the encouragement, and the advice. But then also sometimes it's easier to give than to take, take your own advice, take care of yourself. So that is actually is a big part of what we try to build into the platform, because the work is incredibly important.

Access that work is also incredibly important. But what couldn't happen — like when we built Practice Better, it was meant to — from day one was meant to be for both practitioner and client. You need both to be successful. And part of that meant building features and functionalities for the clients. That gave them more access to the information that they needed to make decisions in their day to day sessions.

It also meant giving them access to their practitioner. And the reality is, you know, clients are maybe reaching out. In my case, they certainly were reaching out between sessions. But the channels were so difficult to manage because questions were coming from different areas. The threads were not connected. There was really a lot of opportunity for missing important details, but also to like it's a lot of work to manage multiple kind of communication channels.

So we really wanted to give clients access to their practitioner, but wanted to be mindful of how we did that and understand that the way I work with my clients might differ from the way you work with your clients might differ, or even the way I work with certain clients in their journey might differ from how I work with other clients at different points of their journey.

So we were really, really intentional about what are the tools we're empowering clients and practitioners with, but then how do we make sure that we're not adding too much load by giving more access, because then we're just putting the practitioners in this position where they can be burnt out. Burnt out for different reasons, but still burnt out. And then that doesn't get any closer to practitioner and client success.

Natalie Mullin: Yeah. I really love the idea that you, when you thought about Practice Better, building it out, that you were building for two different needs. I think that's very rare, like I've heard of a lot of EHR systems or practice management platforms, and most of them are just built for the practitioner.

But when I think about care, honestly, if the patient or client can be involved in their care journey, you're going to see stronger outcomes because they're engaged, they're participating, they're being a part of the process. They know what's happening. So many times everybody can talk about their, you know, maybe their primary care provider that we go to, and they just follow these recommendations blankly. And, you know, they don't know why or they don't get any additional information. It's just kind of like ten minutes in the office and that's all you've got. So I really love that you were so intentional about building these tools that would allow for an ongoing relationship based care.

I want to go back to those days that you were practicing. And I want to talk about what was your work week like, because, you know, there's practitioners listening to this that they've got their own work weeks. And I'm curious, was your work week like their work week? So just walk me back to that time. And what was your day to day like? Where were you spending your time? What was your schedule like?

Nathalie Garcia: Yeah. It was. I would say first and foremost overwhelming. It wasn't as, it wasn't structured the way I needed it to be. It was, you know, there was both client work and my research and follow ups and chasing down payments and marketing and like, learning how to run a business on top of that, which I never wanted to do. I never wanted to run a business. I wanted to just help people.

So it was a lot of context shifting. I felt like it was a lot of trying to grab balls before they drop. And it was not nearly as structured as I wanted it. And even as much as I tried to restructure into like, let's say the nine to five, there's still all this work that had to happen after 5 o'clock because the systems, again were disjointed. They didn't speak to each other, you know, too much opportunity for important information to fall through the gaps. If I didn't kind of manually kind of sync those programs or update things, stay on top of things.

So it was like it just felt chaotic, no matter how much structure I tried to bring and before, you know, like a lot of the features in Practice Better are, you know, are built off of like some of the templates I used to create for myself so that I could introduce structure. But again, it was still very paper based at that time or again based in softwares that were not meant for me.

So I would just say it was chaotic and I did not understand how there was any possible way that I could have the impact I wanted to have, how I could help more people without just absolutely burning myself out. And the truth of the matter is, from every everything I could observe from like, mentors or from, you know, that I seen or known. Like I didn't see a model of anyone, like, really crushing. I saw everyone struggling.

And so I was like this, like, this is a hard place to be starting because ultimately, you know, yes, I wanted to do what I was so passionate about doing and bringing, you know, healthier lifestyles, to people and helping them accomplish the goals. But I also wanted to make living out of it, right? And it felt like it was hard to imagine how I'd be able to do both of those things at the same time.

Natalie Mullin: You obviously figured it out, so that's good. And you kind of want a different path. But before we get to that different path, there was something that you said that I think about all the time. And I've heard it from many, many people in our community. You didn't want to be a business owner. You wanted to be a practitioner and help people.

I speak with a lot of practitioners, and it's interesting because, you know, almost everybody, they want to heal, they want to help. They want, you know. But there is in order to have a sustainable career and actually in order to even make the impact that you want to make, you actually do have to think like a business owner, because you have to have certain structures in place that can allow you to use your time wisely. Otherwise, you're going to burn out kind of because of all the things that you've said.

So that decision in your mind before, you know, before you started Practice Better, but just even in your own practice of shifting from practitioner to business owner. Can you, like, walk me through what that was like for you?

Nathalie Garcia: A whole lot of trial and error, that's for sure. Geez. I mean, I was fortunate enough to have stumbled across some communities, and business coaches which were helpful and like, you know, kind of I would say not a true blueprint, but giving you kind of some direction. And you could just giving you some awareness of, like, these are the things that are going to come up. These are some of the things you might need.

It looks different for every person. For example, for me, it's really hard for me to sell myself for some people. And I would say like you like that comes so naturally. Right? So the approach I have to take or the I would take would have to deviate slightly from like this blueprint or this model that was kind of being taught.

I would say like I stumbled through a lot of it. I think I tried to build relationships. That was what came more natural to me was build relationships where like, we both benefit. I think that's where I had to move in a place that was like authentic to me.

And the other thing that became really apparent to me was start with the systems that like replace the work that you're doing most frequently now. And then add a little bit more. It's the small incremental steps every single day.

And I think if I could go back, I go back and give myself an advice. I think I found my way there eventually, but I would have liked to start that earlier where it's like, okay, you had a direction, you know what's important to you. You know what you're trying to accomplish. Keep that in mind. But understand that it's okay. And it's really kind of expected that is going to build little by little, just on the sheer compounding effect of continuing to take action.

Natalie Mullin: When you were building out Practice Better, is it that you were just building something for yourself, or did you intentionally plan for it to be a company that other people would use from the beginning? It was the intention that other people could use it. It was not the intention that it would be what it is today.

Nathalie Garcia: You know, we thought originally maybe 20 practitioners here in Toronto might want to use Practice Better. And it was really quick to notice that, like, wow. There are a lot of practitioners really feeling these same pain points as me.

Natalie Mullin: I love that. And just for those listening. If they don't know, Graham is the co-founder and your partner as well. And so he was kinda helping you on the back side, right? So you were the one with the need. You were the practitioner and you had somebody who was kind of able to help you with the tech side, which I think is so important because again, just talking to the fact of, could we do it all? Like, do you think you could have built Practice Better just you, yourself? (Yea, absolutely not.)

Right? So sometimes it is nice to have someone else in your life and, you know, whether it's in a relationship, whether it's a partnership, whether you talked about community beyond as well, you talked about, you were in some practitioner communities. You talked about having business coaches, even people that you admire, that maybe you didn't know closely, but from a distance you took them on as mentors. And I think that's great advice for anybody in practice, because it can be lonely sometimes, and sometimes you're working towards a goal and you're trying to build something, but you feel like you're all by yourself. And so thinking about how can you bring people into that community with you? Or how can you put yourself in other communities where you can feel supported?

Yeah, I do love our Practice Better community, so shout out! It's free to join so you can join even if you're not a Practice Better user. Because when you go in there, people are just encouraging each other. They're supporting each other. They're asking questions. The questions are getting answered. There's activity every single day and people are sharing their best practices and it's just a supportive place. And I think support is so necessary. You know, you run faster together, right? So if you could hold hands with someone or multiple people and just put yourself in the right environment, that will really set up for your own organic growth, and it also builds your confidence at the same time and it shortcuts your learning.

Nathalie Garcia: I think it's really cool when you put yourself in those environments. But I think what's also cool is when you start to see that it's not just a take. You start to see and you start to see. You talked about confidence. It's like you start to build that confidence, not just in like, I know what to do next. But in terms of starting to share what you've already done.

Because sometimes we don't give ourselves enough credit for the things that we've done. We look at what everyone else has done and we think, oh, well, what I've done to this point is so small. I still do that, right? And but once you start sharing your experience and you see other people learning from you, like, that's really also powerful and giving you some confidence and understanding while like what I've done to this point, it doesn't matter if it's your first couple of months of practice, your first year doesn't matter if you just set up your website. It doesn't matter what it is, you had to figure that out on your own. Like, let's make some time to celebrate those wins, right? Those things don't happen by accident. You took the steps.

So I think community is really important. It's become one of my non-negotiables because it does like, to your point earlier, it's like if you're not filling your own cup, you can do that in so many different ways. It doesn't have to just be community, but like, how do you then give to others, right? So yeah, it's pretty cool.

Natalie Mullin: So Practice Better, it launches live. What does that launch look like? How did Practice Better make it to the world.

Nathalie Garcia: Oh geez, I just want to rewind because I just want to say this. I remember before Practice Better launched and Graham, we were kind of tweaking what we had built and we'd gone through a beta, and I remember just saying to him, like standing over his shoulder as he's, you know, making some adjustments and like, you know, working his magic because he's brilliant and I don't know how he built what he built.

But standing over his shoulder and going like, hey, you just build it and I'll sell it. And in my mind going like, I have no idea how I'm going to do that. And so, yeah, but and I guess I want to share that because like, it was scary. And we had spent all this time building and getting feedback on it. And so there was a big commitment. And so it's like, now I got to do my part. I got to show up and I didn't know what that was going to look like. And so and it was just so out of my comfort zone. But anyhow.

We did our beta and got feedback from my community. And it just started with like, hey, asking permission of some the kind of the business coaches that were leading these communities and just saying, like, this is what I've been doing, this is the feedback we've received. Like people in this community have tested it out. Like, would you be okay with me sharing with the group that this live now?

And it just started simply like that. And I just remember, like, getting emails from all of a sudden, like from people in Europe. And I'm like, how do you know about us? You know. But it was, you know, like, we really really intentional about leading with value, making sure that Practice Better was exceptional in quality. Incredibly valuable to both our practitioners and their clients.

And that if you build kind of with that mindset, like people will find it. And so it started in these small communities and then they just started sharing it. And I think that that is definitely one of the things I'm most proud of, is that they saw the value. Because they have choices.

Natalie Mullin: You know, I find it so interesting just kind of listening to this story, because there's two things I pick up on, and this will be a moment where I give you your flowers because — not everybody gets their flowers — but, you know, you said something where, you know, Graham is building this and you told them you're going to sell it. And then you realize, like, okay, I just got to show up. And it's like, you know, that there's practitioners who are listening and, you know, you have this idea, you have this vision, you want to help people, but then you're like, I don't know how to do the marketing. But it's like, just show up. Because it benefits not just our practitioners, but it benefits their clients and their patients.

I'll tell you, I don't even know. I don't think you know this story. This is a true story, by the way. My sister stole my Practice Better shirt from my room. She was wearing it on a call at her work and nothing related. She works in government, very different, and she happened to get on the call with somebody and that person said, "Oh my gosh! Practice Better. I love Practice Better!" And my sister was like, "What? Oh, how do you know about Practice Better?" And she was like, "My practitioner uses Practice Better, I love it. I love that she sends me all my protocols, and I love that she sends me all the information. And I love the patient portal." And my sister is telling me this and I'm like...

That's when it kind of hit me like, oh, this thing is kind of, it's kind of bigger than what I imagined. For a client to say they love the company because of how it helps them to be a part of their care process and how it's transformed their lives. And then they actually chose to share that with my sister who stole my shirt. I was like, wow, this is really awesome.

So, you know, it ties back to showing up and then it ties back to sometimes we don't even realize what the impact is going to be, what the ripple effect is going to be, that people in Europe are going to know. And it's not about the numbers, but the numbers are there. But it's just like for every life that you touch and you talked about values and you know, I love a company who is aligned to values and does what they say they're going to do. And who's important to them. You know, all of that stuff matters.

And so I think like, wow, this impact you talked about wanting to impact your clients and like, whoa, just take a step back and realize how many more people you're actually impacting. You know, there's a practitioner who's listening, who's feeling overwhelmed. And I know this because I speak to practitioners every day. Right? They're buried in admin. They're scared to grow. Maybe they want to expand and add on practitioners, but they don't know what that looks like. What advice would you give to a practitioner who might be in one of those moments right now?

Nathalie Garcia: I think I would start saying to practitioners that start with kind of taking an audit of where you're spending your time. Is at the best use of your time? I think investing in systems, you can never do that early enough. That's something that I can't stress enough how everything that you put in place for your practice has an impact on the client experience. And I think don't put so much pressure on yourselves that it has to be perfect today.

The other thing I would say is like, take time to come back to the systems that you've put in place, though. Like it? Yes. Especially if we're using like a Practice Better. There's so much of it that's like set and forget, but it's also come back to and like, how do you how you evolved in terms of how you practice?

Maybe you start with like, hey, I'm automating all of these things and everyone's getting the same experience because that's what's going to take it off my plate today. I mean, that's where you are when you're starting, but maybe two months from now as you gain confidence and you've gone through multiple cycles with these systems, maybe you're like, okay, I want to create differentiated paths and experiences with clients depending on what they're working on with me, for how long. They're working with me, whatever the case might be.

So the systems, they're only going to benefit you. And I can't say this enough, they will benefit your clients.

Natalie Mullin: Thank you. This has been a really great conversation. And, you know, as we get closer to the end and wrapping things up, I would love to invite you and also the audience to just take a moment of pause. Just to kind of allow for reflection, allow for stillness, allow for space. And so we'll take 30 seconds. And by the end of the 30 seconds, I'd like for you and also for the audience, to identify one area where you can do something for yourself this week, whether in your practice and your personal life. So we'll take 30 seconds and then we'll regroup.

Nathalie Garcia: I just want to say thank you for creating that space. I think that, that 30 seconds or those few moments, is really important because there are not enough of those moments when you're managing all those different things that our audience is managing. I think for me, this week, it sounds, maybe it doesn't sound silly. And I'm not going to say it's silly because nothing that any of us are prioritizing is silly. For me, it is moving in the mornings. The days are so busy, and I find that if I don't move in the morning, when it comes to the end of the day, I'm a little out of balance. And it's nothing crazy. It's just go take 20 minutes and move my body. And that really helps make sure it's not running empty.

Natalie Mullin: No, I love that. And I mean for myself this week in particular, I'm like, I'm just going to focus on water. You know, I have an empty water bottle beside me that I need to go get filled. And that's the thing is that you're always going, going, going. So if you have to fill the water bottle and it's like, let me just pause deep for 30 seconds and just fill the water. You know what I mean? Sometimes you're just on to the next thing. But that's just a basic thing that I'm like, yeah, I can do that for myself. And you know, for those listening, hopefully you've identified something that you know you can do for yourself this week, that kind of moves the needle for you and whatever you feel is right for you.

Thank you, Nathalie, for being our first guest for Practice Growth Unfiltered. And thank you everyone for joining. This podcast is brought to you by Practice Better. I can't wait to share more conversations with all of you who are figuring things out right alongside me. And together we're finding our balance of growth and success and the journey in between. If you found this conversation helpful, let us know in the comments, leave a review, subscribe, and let us know what aspects of practice growth you want to hear about next. Until next time.