Elevate Springfield featuring Dr. Daryl Allen: Elevating Through the Power of Reputation, Positive Mindset, and Personal Connections

Summary

In this conversation, Dr. Daryl Allen shares his journey as a chiropractor, discussing his background, the development of his practice, and the importance of personal connections with patients. He emphasizes the significance of movement and holistic health, while also reflecting on the challenges of marketing and building a reputation in the chiropractic field. Dr. Allen offers insights into maintaining a positive mindset and the value of community involvement.

Takeaways

• Dr. Allen has been practicing chiropractic for over 22 years.
• He emphasizes the importance of personal connections with patients.
• Marketing strategies have evolved over the years, with a focus on word of mouth.
• Movement is essential for health and wellness.
• Chiropractic care focuses on allowing the body to heal itself.
• Building a good reputation is crucial in the chiropractic field.
• Community involvement enhances personal and professional growth.
• Positive mindset can lead to better outcomes in life and business.
• Dr. Allen values family and community support in his practice.
• He encourages treating others with kindness and respect.

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Transcript

SPEAKER_01 0:00

Welcome to Elevate Springfield, where we will dive into strategies and stories that help you rise to your full potential. Each episode, we'll talk about how you can take intentional steps to elevate your life and your business while making a meaningful impact on those around you. Along the way, we're gonna bring in the change makers from our community that are already elevating. We'll bring the actionable strategies, you bring the discipline and follow through, and together we can elevate Springfield. Alright, let's go, Springfield. Time to 10X your life, your business, all of it. Time to crush those goals, time to get after it. Let's go. You are listening to the Elevate Springfield Podcast. Robert Farrell here, certified 10x coach, speaker, and mentor here to bring you actionable strategies. You bring the discipline and follow through. And together, we're gonna Elevate Springfield. We're coming to you again from beautiful downtown Springfield in the Big Dog Construction Studio. Hey, we've got so much going on in Springfield right now. Make sure you are participating. Get out there, network with folks, be a part of the community, support local businesses, support local nonprofits, and let's go, we can all grow together. So, hey, another great episode for you today. We're gonna get right to our guest after the break. Hey, Springfield, when it comes to reliable, high-quality roofing, you don't want to leave things to chance. That's why you should reach out to Acosta Angeli Roofing, your local roofing expert serving Springfield and surrounding communities, from quick dependable repairs to full replacement, from residential to commercial. They are your trusted pros. Call them today at 217-993-2748 or visit their website to book your free quote and inspection. Don't wait. A little leak now could lead to major damage later. Trust the local experts, protect your home, and get peace of mind with Acosta Angeli Roofing. All right, and we are back. Joining me in the studio now, Dr. Daryl Allen from Allen Chiropractic. Daryl, how are you doing today?

SPEAKER_02 2:22

I'm doing great.

SPEAKER_01 2:22

Thanks for having me. Absolutely. Appreciate you coming down. Yeah. You know, looking forward to learning a little bit more about you and also uh chiropractic practice that you've had in the area for quite a few years now. 22. 22 years. There we go.

SPEAKER_02 2:35

In the Springfield area for sure.

SPEAKER_01 2:37

Well, before we get into that, let's just learn a little bit about you. Tell me a little bit about your background.

SPEAKER_02 2:40

Well, my background, I I'm a local guy, so I've been here my whole life. But uh my background graduated Logan Chiropractic College many years ago and uh had a great education down there. Uh, learned a lot about the the body and the spine and and how it can help so many people. And bringing that back to the to the Springfield area has been great. Just helping so many people over the years and getting the spines moving again.

SPEAKER_01 3:04

There you go. So you said grew up around here then, so like went to local schools and all that?

SPEAKER_02 3:09

Southeast, graduated Southeast High School and a good old class in 99.

SPEAKER_01 3:13

Go Spartans. That's right. There you go. Yeah. So when you were in high school, did uh I mean, was that the plan where you graduate and say, hey, I'm gonna go be a chiropractor and that's what I'm gonna do. Here we go. Let's roll.

SPEAKER_02 3:23

No, that was a last-minute pivot. Uh there was always something in the medical field that uh health and wellness of some kind. And one day I just realized, man, I'm not cut out for late night hours and emergency room calls and this and that. And I was like, oh, chiropractic. That helped my mom. Maybe I should go check into that.

SPEAKER_01 3:40

Okay.

SPEAKER_02 3:40

Yeah. So that's how it all fell into place.

SPEAKER_01 3:42

There you go. Did you take any health-related classes while you're there at Southeast? Did they have anything like that for you back then?

SPEAKER_02 3:48

Oh, we weren't that fancy at that point. Uh just the standard uh standard stuff.

SPEAKER_01 3:52

Okay. Yeah. Yeah, because nowadays they do have some some pretty good pathways for some of the kids.

SPEAKER_02 3:57

I've I've heard about some of those in into the different career fields of medical uh areas.

SPEAKER_01 4:02

Absolutely. So Logan chiropractic, where's that at?

SPEAKER_02 4:05

It is just outside of St. Louis. I I think it's it's one of the more popular schools around this area. Uh at this point, maybe there's only about 15 chiropractic schools in the country. So there's not too many around. That's all there that there is. Yeah, there's not too many.

SPEAKER_01 4:18

I didn't realize there was that few of them.

SPEAKER_02 4:20

Yeah. I think it was even less when I was in school, but I think a lot of them have opened up satellite schools in other parts of the country. So Okay. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 4:29

So was that always the plan to after you finish school down there to bring that back to Springfield, or was there a thought, hey, I'm going to go branch out somewhere else?

SPEAKER_02 4:37

No, I I always figured I'd come back home or at least in the area. You know, being close to family is important and having that support is is great to have, especially in the in the early stages of starting an office from scratch and needing as much help as possible.

SPEAKER_01 4:52

Right. So when you first start, is that what you did? Just started from scratch, all you, nobody else. I'm I'm the chiropractor. We're rolling here.

SPEAKER_02 5:02

I I did share some office space, but he had his own office and I was all on my own. So it was me getting out, giving presentations anywhere that would have me. Let's talk chiropractic. I remember heck, there was a time where uh I met two or three little ladies uh at a Panera uh to give a presentation. Any presentation I could give, I would give. I will remember walking into the Panera with my spine in hand, sat down at the table with these three ladies and started talking about how the spine works and how to get adjusted.

SPEAKER_01 5:31

Yeah. No, that's a great way to get in front of people, is to have some of those presentations like that.

SPEAKER_02 5:36

Yeah, it was tough. It was a tough go for a long time.

SPEAKER_01 5:39

Did you have uh bank of a dozen talks that you gave, stock talks that you did?

SPEAKER_02 5:43

It was pretty much just the one and only uh a variation of it. But like I said, anybody that would have me, it was mainly, you know, how the spine works, why it's important, and maybe some take-home little exercises that you could do. A lot of the presentations that I gave were at uh, you know, like the the labor halls and that kind of stuff, how how to prevent an injury. So that that was an easy in. Hey, uh, I'll hope you guys not get hurt on the job if you if you let me come give a presentation.

SPEAKER_01 6:10

That works, that works. So, where were you located at when you first opened up?

SPEAKER_02 6:14

Uh, I was up on North Grand, uh, just uh about North Grand and first. So that was that was the first office. And uh that was a good home for many years, and probably about 12 or 13 years I was there, and then uh for about the last 10 years, I went out on my own, just me, myself, and I, no, no staff or anything. So I was at the back of the house getting people adjusted, doing the front desk, everything in between. And I was over there, that was over by Mariah's steakhouse in that little strip mall. Uh, and that was the last 10 years. And here recently, I I just went down and uh have an office inside of Wagner and Allen Chiropractic now.

SPEAKER_01 6:50

So yeah, no, we love Dr. Sammy.

SPEAKER_02 6:52

Yeah, that's that's right. She's great.

SPEAKER_01 6:53

No doubt about it. So those the practice on grand, was that also just you? You were running the whole thing, or did you have an office staff at that one?

SPEAKER_02 7:01

Th there were there was somebody at the front desk. By the time I left there, I think there were what four different chiropractors in there, but we were all doing our own separate thing. Uh, we just shared some space and passed each other in the hallway half the time. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 7:14

Okay. So when you were over by Mariah's in that strip over there, that 10 years of by yourself, that'd be difficult though, not having a team to it was tough.

SPEAKER_02 7:22

Uh at first it was great and just completely on my own, and I didn't have to have a vote on if something how something happened at the office. But after a while it got lonely. So that was kind of the hardest part of of that. Uh and what I what I didn't realize I was missing was just being able to turn or go knock on another door and say, hey, I had this this thing happen. What do you guys think about this? Or do you know anything about this condition? I'm not familiar with it. And just having that ability to talk to somebody just right away is great to to have a second opinion or a confirmation of, yeah, that's what I would have done too. Perfect.

SPEAKER_01 7:58

You know. So you talked about your presentations that you were given. So over those first 10, 20 years, what are some other ways you use to really market yourself, get folks into the doors?

SPEAKER_02 8:09

You know, honestly, I that was one thing that I I've talked with some of the guys that I've graduated chiropractic school with. We had almost zero any kind of marketing business. It was just here's chiropractic, you're gonna hang your sign out and you're gonna be good to go. That was all of that was just learned the hard way. And and when I first started, the Facebooks and the YouTubes and all those things weren't really popular, weren't really around. And so I just struggled through things. It was tough for many years. And then you're like, oh, I should have done that a long time ago. And but you live and you learn, and yeah, you know, you try some radio ads, you try some newspaper ads, all that kind of stuff, but most of it was a big giant flop. You know, I I didn't do anything correctly.

SPEAKER_01 8:55

Well, for that 10 years at least, you're one man shop. You're running front of the house, back of the house, the whole thing.

SPEAKER_02 9:01

And at least at that point, I had built up enough of a clientele that and it's even kind of like this today. It's it's pretty much just word of mouth. Uh, and that reputation, once you build a good reputation somewhere, it goes a long way.

SPEAKER_01 9:13

No, I bet. Specifically in your line of work, it would be a lot of word of mouth. Right.

SPEAKER_02 9:18

And it's it's nice having somebody come in where their friend's already giving you a glowing review, they're already happy to be there the day they step foot in the door. And you know, it's like we already know each other because they've heard enough about me, I've heard enough about them, and it's a whole lot easier to start versus the guy that found y'all the yellow pages, and nobody knows anybody, and it's there's just an ex extra steps in there.

SPEAKER_01 9:43

Yeah. Well, to get those glowing reviews and those referrals and everything, you obviously have to provide an exceptional experience. So, how would you say you elevate the client experience at your place?

SPEAKER_02 9:53

It's all about just the personal touches and getting to know the people. There's so many people that I've gotten to know inside the office. Not only do we get them help, and that's why they're in there to begin with, is something's not feeling right, they're in pain, discomfort, they need some help with something. So getting feeling better is the first step. But then once that happens, then getting them to know them on a personal level and being able to say, Oh, how's Johnny doing with his with his sports or the the play and and being able to remember that and knowing the names of their family members and just it's that personal touch, and and all of a sudden become we become like friends and family, and and I think they appreciate that. There's not the air of, hey, you're gonna come in here and then I'm gonna jump home and I don't want to know you and know how your life is. So I I think they really appreciate that.

SPEAKER_01 10:43

Yeah, absolutely.

SPEAKER_02 10:44

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 10:44

So with medicine, you have like different specialties and everything. Is there such a thing as specialization in chiropractic?

SPEAKER_02 10:51

There are many chiropractic things you you can handle across the board. Um, but there are some specialized techniques for certain conditions, but most chiropractors are able to handle most things. Um when I say specializations, whether it be like a sports chiropractic, it it's more just learning how in different activities, how the body moves. So you just gotta think about things a little bit differently. Sure. And in pediatrics, dealing with the the newborns and the kids, and just how their spines are different. But as a whole, you're looking to get the interference out of the spine and getting the spine moving again. So the principles are uh pretty similar, the the core principles across the board. They're very similar.

SPEAKER_01 11:32

And would you say most of your patients are more in that general category rather than a specialized?

SPEAKER_02 11:38

Yeah, most folks are just your average, average Joe going down the street, going through life that maybe they they tried to get back into an activity or their their kids are in sports and and just uh and just need that extra help to get them back on track.

SPEAKER_01 11:52

Absolutely. We've talked about this before on the show with other folks, but is there a difference, maybe like a mindset difference or a uh procedural difference between, say, chiropractic or holistic type of techniques versus allopathic?

SPEAKER_02 12:05

There is a different uh mindset. You're looking what's more natural? How can my body heal itself? And what do I need to do to allow it to heal itself versus jumping right in there and telling your body what it needs to do? Whether it's supplements or chiropractic or what have you, you're just trying to feed and get the in interference out of your body's way so it can heal itself. That's how it was designed. It is pretty amazing what the body can do and how it can heal itself. Not to say there aren't times and and conditions where you need to have that extra intervention, but there's a time and place for everything. And I like to think, hey, let's start simple. If you're not jumping the gun here and and and your body can heal itself, that's where you should start. Absolutely. You know, you can always get more aggressive, but if you're having surgeries and removing things just because, well, there was a chance that could have gone that way, you can't come back from that. So as long as it's not a you should always get checked and have and have different consultations with different places, but you know, weigh your options and see what's best for you.

SPEAKER_01 13:08

Absolutely. No, our bodies are beautifully built machines to heal themselves a lot of times.

SPEAKER_02 13:13

It's it's amazing, you know. It's it really is. I've seen so many things over the years.

SPEAKER_01 13:18

You mentioned interference a minute ago, a minute ago. Dig into that a little bit more. What do you mean by interference?

SPEAKER_02 13:22

Interference. Well, when I talk about interference, and without getting too complicated here, the nervous system that's the brain to out to the body and and back, it's it's that loop. Your brain sends out a signal and says, hey, move your hand. And your hand moves, and then it sends that signal back to the brain and says, Hey, I moved just like you told me to. And the same thing happens with your organs and other tissues. Hey, digest this food that just came into my stomach. Hey, I'm digesting it like you told me to. Well, that interference comes in, that nerve, that pathway sending out the signal can get interrupted. And so the brain sends out a signal, hey, stomach, digest this food. Use this amount of uh acid to get that taken care of. And there's uh that interference and it increases the acid. So then you got that acid reflux. Your stomach says, Hey, brain, I did what you told me to, but it only reports half the amount back because of that interference. So the brain says, Well, you need more, and it's just that never-ending loop. So as a chiropractor, you come in and you break that cycle, you get that interference, that pressure off of those nerves. So the brain says, 10 liters of fluid, the stomach says, Hey, I did I did that 10 liters and sends it back and then it stops versus that never-ending cycle of miss and repeat. It's it's like the broken phone line. Your wife tells you to go do something, right? You thought you heard something else, you go do that, you get back and report, and she's like, I didn't tell you to get ice cream, I told you you get a gallon of milk.

SPEAKER_01 14:48

Sure.

SPEAKER_02 14:48

But it's just that little difference of what kind of dairy did you get.

SPEAKER_01 14:51

Okay, that makes sense. Yeah. What's your favorite thing about being a chiropractor?

SPEAKER_02 14:55

Man, that's a tough one. Just seeing people doing better and knowing I had a part in that. Me being able to come in there, figure out what the problem was, put my hands on them, make some corrections, uh, and they get up off the table. Man, I feel better. That's been bothering me for 10 years. Yeah. You know, like, yeah, I wish I would have met you sooner.

SPEAKER_01 15:13

Right.

SPEAKER_02 15:13

But yeah, that that's probably my favorite.

SPEAKER_01 15:15

Okay. All right. So let's uh talk to a lot of business stuff. Let's flip over to the person a little bit. Anything you do to elevate your life personally?

SPEAKER_02 15:22

Elevating it. Man, it's just important to be with family and good people and putting yourself in the in the right communities of having the right people surrounding you. My boy, he he's over at Springfield Christian, and so we've been part of that family, and he's a runner. And so being out on the the track, uh man, I've met some great people over there on uh his teammates' parents, and we've become friends over the years, and it's it's just a good group of people. Everything's a positive atmosphere, and and doing that is been wonderful.

SPEAKER_01 15:54

Absolutely. Yeah, they do a nice job over there. We well, we go to Westside. Okay, perfect over there. So yeah, attached right there. If folks out there didn't know that Springfield Christian is right there at Westside Christian True.

SPEAKER_02 16:03

Absolutely, yeah, yeah. Yeah, no, it's just it's just putting yourself in in good circles and like mindsets. I mean, that's it's it's so easy to get wrapped up in negativity and bring yourself down and bring others down around you. And I had this conversation with my wife not too long ago of you meet those people who everything they touch goes sideways, but every response they give you is a negative response. And the there's some kind of power out there, I don't know what it is. And we can all get into that negative circle, but you make a positive change, and then all of a sudden the next thing's positive, and the next thing's positive, and then before you know it, you're running high on life. And you just got to make those positive changes.

SPEAKER_01 16:45

No doubt about it. I love that. That's uh one reminder I have every day. This little bracelet that I have. No negativity allowed. Right. That's just a quick reminder every day.

SPEAKER_02 16:53

You know, sometimes it's tough, and it's real easy to get into those into those habits. And uh I've been trying to teach my boy, he's 13. It's it's okay to be mad, it's okay to be sad about different things, and but don't dwell on it. What are you gonna do to change the problem? Right. Think about it overnight, but tomorrow you got to do something different to make a positive impact.

SPEAKER_01 17:12

No doubt about it. Have you been involved in any uh community organizations, associations, anything like that over the years?

SPEAKER_02 17:18

Yeah, I I've been part of the Springfield Chamber for a number of years. I haven't been a member for a handful of years, just life changes, but uh was an ambassador with them for a lot of years and and Toastmasters organization for a number of years, and heck at one point I helped coach over at Southeast with the road wrestling program for a couple seasons and and the JFL years before that. But you know, as life changes and and the family household things change, you go from one project to the next project. So right now it's it's all about uh keeping the family happy and doing the activities with with them and just being part of the community. No doubt about it.

SPEAKER_01 17:56

Well, speaking of activities, any fun activities planned for this summer?

SPEAKER_02 17:59

Oh, we we've got a couple vacations, just quick trips here and there. Uh, apparently I was told that we're getting out on the lake this weekend for a little bit. Uh, so we'll see how that goes. I'm sure there'll be some tubing and all that kind of fun stuff. So as long as I don't fall off the tube, we should be good.

SPEAKER_01 18:14

There you go. I haven't done any tubing in a long time.

SPEAKER_02 18:17

Yeah, it could be rough.

SPEAKER_01 18:18

Right. Well, I know a couple of chiropractors that could help me out if I go out there and get myself injured or something. Hopefully that's the case. Right. So, well, Dr. Allen, let's give the audience a piece of advice, one on the personal side, one on the professional side to help them elevate their life or business.

SPEAKER_02 18:33

Okay. Uh well, let's go professional side, just activity. You gotta be moving. Movement is good. And that's the thing so many people get stuck down with. Whether you're coming to see the chiropractor or you want to find something else, you just gotta be up and moving. Being stagnant on the couch is not a way to go. Just being outside and moving. It whether it's going for a walk, stretching, any combination of that uh is is a positive. So you gotta be up and moving.

SPEAKER_01 18:58

There you go.

SPEAKER_02 18:59

Um, and personally, something simple. Just you got to treat others how you want to be treated. And I keep circling back to that a little bit of uh just that positive atmosphere and positive outlook on life. Uh, it's just so important. Many years ago, I I probably was that negative, grumpy guy. And looking back upon it, I probably didn't get a lot of the responses that I was looking for then. Uh, but it's so much easier to be nice to somebody and they're like, oh, thank you. And then they give you better service. I don't know why more people don't do that. Absolutely. Live and learn, I suppose.

SPEAKER_01 19:31

Yep. And is there anything we can do community-wide to help all of us here elevate Springfield and the surrounding communities?

SPEAKER_02 19:37

Absolutely. You know, you you just gotta be out there, you gotta be with the the local businesses and pushing everybody forward. When one person's doing well, everybody's doing well.

SPEAKER_01 19:46

Right. Yeah, absolutely. No doubt about it. We talk a lot about that on this show. Communities grow together when we work together. So let's go.

SPEAKER_02 19:52

It's amazing.

SPEAKER_01 19:53

Yep, absolutely. Well, Dr. Allen, uh, somebody wants to come see you.

SPEAKER_02 19:57

Yeah. Anytime. I I'm located outside of uh Piper Glen at 7012 Kingsmill Court. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 20:03

Awesome. Well, I appreciate you spending some time with me today. Thank you so much. All right. We're gonna let Dr. Allen get back to elevating Springfield. But for the rest of y'all, we'll be right back. Looking for expert tree care with hometown integrity, look no further than Sangamon Tree Service. They're your trusted local pros, delivering quality workmanship, exceptional customer service, and fair, honest pricing. Every time. Whether it's trimming, removal, or storm cleanup, their team brings professionalism and care to every job, big or small. Call the name your neighbors trust, Sangman Tree Service, or visit them today at SangmanTreeService.com. Sangman Tree Service, rooted in quality, built on trust. Looking for personalized insurance with hometown care, David Hilst, American Family Insurance Agent is here to help you protect what matters most: your family, your home, and your dreams. Whether it's auto, home, life, business, David and his team are proud to serve the Springfield community with trusted advice and reliable coverage. Local service, real relationships, peace of mind. Call today or stop by their office. They can build your dream protection plan together. Call 217-726-6343. Well, thank you for joining us today, everybody. Appreciate you making us a part of your day. Hey, don't forget while you're out on social, check ours out. You can check my personal one out at RobertFarrell at everywhere. Check out those Elevate Springfield pages, those big dog business coaching pages as well. Check us out over on YouTube. Give us a subscribe, give us a like or a follow on any of those channels. We would certainly appreciate it. So, hey, take what you learned today. You bring the discipline and follow through and together. That's right, y'all. We're gonna elevate Springfield. Be great.

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