For more than a decade, Dr. Maggie Thibodeau did her practice in the traditional insurance model. This was the norm for many doctors and it became her “comfort zone.”
The naturopathic doctor from Cary, North Carolina put in her hours at work and day after day, eventually allowing this routine to reach burn-out..
“I was doing something that I loved but I wasn’t giving anything to our family,” she said. She puts a lot of time and energy in at work but didn’t feel like she was winning.
She said that even with her work, she and the rest of her family were still so dependent on her husband’s income. That was really stressful for us, so I knew something had to change,” she said.
Facing her fear
When she learned about Freedom Practice Coaching in an event that she attended, she found it easy to identify her fears and doubts. She had all the right to feel fearful and doubtful—after all, she was in her “comfort zone” for so many years.
FPC presented the change that she was looking for but the whole idea daunted her. Fear shrouded her thoughts as she inched towards the beginning of her FPC journey.
Dr. Maggie said she had the fear of putting herself out there through marketing,along with the fear of investing.
“There was so much that I didn’t know and that I would need to implement to get things going and off the ground,” she said. “There was not an immediate lift off. There was a lot of me circling around, how am I going to do this part and how am I going to do that.”
She said that FPC initially felt like it was way out of her comfort zone and she was overwhelmed.
But she trusted the process and powered through each roadblock, even when she felt like quitting.
She learned that her fear was the only true roadblock that was holding her back.
“I think I made it probably a lot harder than it needed to be by just not diving in,” she said.
After six months, she saw changes in her practice and in her life.
“I took quite a while before my journey really started to take off,” she said.
Better business, better life
Everything got easier and her business began to flourish.
“By that time, I had tripled my revenue and then by the fall, I think I made five times as much compared to the years prior to FPC,” she shared.
Apart from the financial gains, Dr. Maggie can see equally meaningful rewards in her journey.
She said that working with amazing people in the FPC program gave her opportunities to grow and take her practice further.
“Financially, things are in a much better place. But what I find equally rewarding and probably even more so, is the personal growth that I’ve experienced through working with FPC,” she said. “Part of that is just being able to be present with my kids and being intentional about the time that we spend together.”
Dr. Maggie finds more freedom and energy to embrace and live a better life and she empowers her patients to do the same. She proudly reflects her new found energy into her patients by taking them on a journey to better health.
“I spend more time connecting with them so that they are gaining a solid foundation of knowledge about health that they will carry for the rest of their lives,” she said. “My patients are now taken through a complete lifestyle curriculum, provided by FPC, that is designed to empower them to take self-responsibility in their care. They see their health as an investment of both time and money and recognize that the end results are up to them.”
Profound patient impact
She said that a patient close to her heart that illustrates this is Wanda, a woman in her 60s who underwent dietary changes to resolve gerd, constipation, and rashes.
“Almost everything instantly improved,” Dr. Maggie said. “Wanda was really engaged and enthusiastic and she loved the educational aspect of our journey together.”
Dr. Maggie remembers Wanda for the personal connection that they shared.
“She would just tell us how appreciative she was. I don’t think anybody had really even just sat down and talked with her the way that I was able to,” Dr. Maggie said. “She sent me a card that says: ‘I’m grateful for everything you provided. Everything I learned, I will carry with me for the rest of my life. I thank you so much and I love you guys.'”
Dr. Maggie said that it just feels so good to have an impact on someone. She looks back and compares how she views life and her practice very differently now.
She confessed that back then she didn’t have the understanding about what’s possible for her—but now that she enjoys freedom, she said that she is embracing possibilities for her, her patients and her business.
Dr. Maggie doesn’t express wild boldness or raw courage to face the unknown yet. She had made baby steps in facing her fear. She humbly shares that through FPC, she is getting closer to being able to take on challenges that may come her way.
Are you ready for your own success story?
Start your journey with FPC and schedule a call today.
