If you’ve ever felt torn between growing your business and protecting your peace, this conversation is a must-listen.
In this episode of As Good As You Are, I sit down with Dr. Sara Nelson-Gray and Dr. Marisa Bauman—two chiropractors, practice owners, and co-hosts of The Heart Work Podcast—to talk about what it really takes to build a business that thrives without burning you out.
Together, they’re rewriting the narrative of what chiropractic—and entrepreneurship—can look like. Their clinics are proof that you don’t have to wear a white coat, work 80-hour weeks, or sacrifice your sanity to succeed.
Healing Begins with the Nervous System
Sara’s story starts with a health crisis that changed her life.
At ten, she was diagnosed with ulcerative colitis and spent years in and out of hospitals. By eleven, she had lost her large intestine. The medical model told her she’d be medicated for life.
Then, chiropractic entered the picture.
“My first month in school, a speaker explained that the body heals from the inside out,” Sara said. “It hit me—I’d spent my whole life treating symptoms from the outside in.”
After a series of consistent chiropractic adjustments, Sara was able to come off all medications and has been med-free since 2008.
That transformation became her mission: to help others heal by restoring trust in their bodies, not just treating symptoms.
From Skeptic to Chiropractor
Marisa’s path looked very different. She started in journalism—drawn to storytelling and performance—but realized her passion was people and health.
After years of sports injuries and failed treatments, she finally gave in to a persistent chiropractor at her gym.
“I started to experience change,” she said. “I realized my philosophy about health had always been chiropractic—I just didn’t have the language for it.”
She pivoted careers, moved to Iowa for chiropractic school, and eventually opened her own practice—first in New Jersey, then back in the Midwest.
What makes her approach different is her focus on the nervous system, not just bones and posture.
“You can’t out-massage a muscle that the nerve keeps telling to contract,” she explained. “We’re not just adjusting the spine—we’re helping the entire system function the way it’s meant to.”
Knowing When to Push—and When to Pause
Both doctors have learned the hard way that hustle isn’t the same as alignment.
Sara described herself as “a 150-miles-an-hour kind of person” who once believed that success meant constant forward motion.
“I can bulldoze anything in my way,” she said. “But when you do that, you end up running over your team and burning yourself out.”
Now, she measures progress differently:
- By how peaceful her pace feels.
- By whether she’s leading from fullness or fear.
- By her ability to rest and recharge when the season calls for it.
Marisa echoed that sentiment:
“There’s a difference between pushing with passion and running from fear. One comes from alignment. The other comes from panic.”
Their rhythm now alternates between hard work and intentional rest—what they call leading from a full tank.
Creating a Five-Star Experience
At Freedom Chiropractic and Homestead Chiropractic, every part of the experience is intentional.
From smiling when they answer the phone to remembering each patient’s name, their teams are trained to create what Sara calls “a Disney-level experience.”
“We want people to feel who we are before they even walk through the door,” she said.
That philosophy extends beyond design and décor—it’s about emotional connection.
Marisa put it simply:
“Your human experience is your human experience. We listen, we partner, and we make care personal.”
They’ve both built practices that are bright, family-centered, and welcoming—places that feel more like home than a doctor’s office. No sterile waiting rooms. No white coats. Just real people helping families feel their best.
Building a Brand That Feels Like You
When Sara started her practice nearly ten years ago, branding wasn’t even on her radar.
“I just knew I needed a logo and a website,” she laughed. “But over time, I realized my brand had to evolve as I did.”
Her first office was dark, muted, and traditional. As she grew, she rebranded—literally brightening her color palette and reimagining her practice as a reflection of her own transformation.
Now, both women use their personal energy as the creative direction for their brand.
They know their ideal client—the mom who’s exhausted, searching for solutions, and scrolling at midnight—and everything from their visuals to their tone speaks directly to her.
“You are the brand,” Sara said. “People buy into your story and your why. If you can communicate that clearly, they’ll trust you.”
Disrupting an Old-School Industry
Traditional chiropractic has long been viewed as stiff and clinical. Sara and Marisa are flipping that narrative.
“We wanted to create the kind of place we’d want to go to,” Marisa explained. “Somewhere you grab a coffee, stop by for your adjustment, and actually enjoy being there.”
Their clinics are intentionally located near local shops and restaurants to foster community. They give birthday gifts sourced from neighboring businesses and host family-friendly events to keep connection at the center of their work.
The result? Practices that are both profitable and personal.
“It’s not about being impressive,” Sara said. “It’s about being real.”
From Friendship to Heart Work
The duo’s partnership extends beyond their clinics. Together, they co-host The Heart Work Podcast, where they talk about leadership, healing, and entrepreneurship with the same honesty that built their friendship.
It started with daily voice notes on the Marco Polo app during the pandemic and evolved into a full-blown show.
“We’d talk about everything—business, identity, relationships,” Sara said. “People told us, ‘You should record this.’ So we did.”
Now, they’re inviting others into those conversations—sharing the lessons they’ve learned about leading businesses that heal, not harm.
The Takeaway
You don’t have to sacrifice peace to be successful.
Sara and Marisa’s story is proof that when you know who you are—and build your business from that truth—your brand naturally stands out.
Because when your work comes from your heart, it doesn’t just grow—it heals.
If you’re a seasoned professional—a dentist, interior designer, chiropractor, therapist, or any other expert who has spent years building a solid reputation—then you may have noticed a shift in your industry. Clients are making different decisions, new competitors are entering the scene, and the way people choose businesses doesn’t feel the way it used to. […]
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