CAWEE Acclaim Quarterly - December 2008

If you joined CAWEE within the last year, you may know Dr. Melvine Baird from her friendly welcome calls. You may also know her, as I do, as the woman with the magic hands! Melvine, among many other fabulous things, is the Membership Director of CAWEE and a top notch Chiropractor located in Yorkville.

Our interview with Melvine ties in perfectly with this month’s topic of finding the balance between work and home. Melvine has worked hard to get where she is today. She has shared her story with us, as well as what she’s planning for the future.

Melvine moved from St. John’s, Newfoundland in order to go to Chiropractic College here in Toronto. Knowing that she wanted to do something health related she had applied to both Chiropractic College and Nursing School and was accepted to both, but chose Chiropractic because of her previous experience with a Chiropractor. As a teenager Melvine had a serious back problem and in an effort to avoid surgery she started visiting a local Chiropractor. After just a few months of treatment, she was almost completely pain free for the first time in years, and surgery was no longer needed. Melvine also has a degree in Developmental Psychology and had considered going into Child Clinical Psychology. However after her second attempt applying to the very difficult program she realized it was not what she wanted to do. Melvine has now found her niche, incorporating her love of children and her personal success with chiropractic treatment, into her current practice by specializing in pre/post-natal and pediatric chiropractic care.

It was a big decision for Melvine and her husband to move to Toronto. Not only did her husband have to find new work, but they also had to adjust to life in a new and big city. Her husband initially had trouble finding a job in his field (he was a physics major who worked in IT), so he also went back to school and trained to be a teacher. For the second year they were in Toronto, they were back to student living. Melvine reflects on that time now and acknowledges that she could not have made the move on her own. The financial and emotional support provided by her husband was an important part of her success here.

Melvine and her husband also share another passion – dancing! They tried it out when they were in University with some friends. Melvine was initially skeptical that she would like it, but it quickly became an obsession for them. They now not only dance themselves, but teach Ballroom and Latin dancing.

The next challenge for Melvine was to decide where to practice once she finished Chiropractic College. She began working as an associate in another practice, however found it difficult to grow her own business while working with someone else. That, combined with a change in the focus of the practice encouraged her to go out on her own. She recognized that there were some significant challenges in going out on her own. Specifically, making a name for herself in a large city where there are so many Chiropractors, finding something that makes her different from all the others, and starting from scratch with no clients. As a result, she initially considered purchasing an existing business. She found a potential acquisition, and made the extremely intelligent decision to hire a Business Valuator. It turned out that the business owner was substantially overstating his earnings. Melvine says that hiring a valuator was the best $5000 she has ever spent. The valuator also put her in touch with a banker who she was able to obtain a Small Business Loan from. She found the process of obtaining the financing quite simple. She put together a rough Business Plan, which focused mainly on the financial projections. The rest of the approval was based on her personal credit history and financial situation.

During this time, her husband was an invaluable advisor as he was able to be a bit more objective. The result was renting space in the Yorkville clinic where she currently practices. She found a great fit between her partner at the clinic who practices Traditional Chinese Medicine, specializing in women’s health and fertility and her pre/post-natal and pediatric specialization.

Melvine’s 5-year goal is to own her own multi-disciplinary clinic. Right now she has control over her own business, but she wants to make all the big decisions. In order to grow her business to the point where she would be able to open her own clinic or acquire another clinic, she has implemented an aggressive growth strategy that includes the following:

Finally, Melvine shares a tip for how she manages her growing business and her happy home: keep boundaries and share successes - while it is important to keep some boundaries between home and business, it is also important to share with your partner important milestones and successes. It is easy to vent to the person you know will always listen, especially when they are your sounding board. However, choose the big issues to discuss at home - especially those that will affect your partner, such as financial downturns - and leave the little stuff at the office.

Dr. Baird treats all varieties of patient complaints, from headaches to sports injuries. As a dancer and sports enthusiast, she is aware of the many stresses and strains that physical activity can put on the body. Through chiropractic care, the use of orthotics and modalities such as Therapeutic Laser, Dr. Baird has had great success in treating many injuries.

Dr. Baird also has a keen interest in working with expecting mothers and children. She is currently finishing a Fellowship/ Post-graduate degree in Pediatric and Pre/Post-Natal Care with the International Chiropractic Pediatric Association. You can reach her at her office: 416-960-9001, cell: 416-705-3247 or drmbaird@gmail.com

Dr. Melvine Baird

By Caryl Newbery