Today we’d like to introduce you to Jason Hamm.
Jason, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
After completing my degree in small business/entrepreneurship and a biology minor from Kansas State University, I moved to California to attend Five Branches University where I earned my masters degree in Chinese medicine. I opened practice in Lawrence, KS in 2009 and have worked in Lawrence the entire 16 years of practice. I started my practice in a very small office, just big enough for my treatment table. I believe my rent was $200/mo.
I didn’t have much start-up cash saved out of school, so I rented a space within my means and spent time networking and getting to know people and practitioners. I learned pretty fast that it wasn’t very productive to network with other practitioners that were in the same specialty (pain management) as I was . Rather, I networked with practitioners that had complimentary, but “non-competitive niches”. Eventually you meet the right people and as they get to know your skill set, the word begins to spread. Over the years I did very little advertising and just relied on word of mouth and community building to grow my practice.
My philosophy for healthcare and business in general is that first and foremost, you are serving your community so treat your community as family. Second, people are spending money for you to solve a problem. That’s a responsibility that should not be taken lightly. This is especially significant because insurance does not cover my services, so clients pay out of pocket. Because of this, very early in my practice, I had to work extra hard to find reliable methods and techniques to solve my patients’ healthcare concerns. So many things I was taught in school simply did not supply that result, so I detached myself from the majority of those methodologies and honed my own core techniques that I still use everyday in my practice for much more predictable outcomes.
Now, in my almost 17th year of practice, its been a true gift to work with so many people. Its heartwarming to have had clients since they were children grow up to become adults that are still coming back for healthcare services. It’s also humbling to be invited to attend celebration of life receptions for those clients that I’ve seen for years and who sought my care until the end.
Caring for people that seek your help is a constant reminder that medicine supersedes all division. When we are sick, we feel vulnerable and we need the help of those around us. Life is so valuable and way too short to waste energy on things that divide us.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
Yes, It’s mostly been a smooth road. I credit this by making a choice early on to work by myself. This allowed me to focus fully on patient care and spend less time and energy on administrative tasking or unnecessary human drama within the office environment. I also made a choice to see one person at a time and not set up my practice with multiple rooms running at once. I love getting to know each of my clients one at a time catching up on life and family. Even during one of the most challenging time during Covid, I remained open since I only meet with one person at a time. A small simple practice has been so advantageous for maintaining a relaxed environment.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know?
My office is a cozy, one treatment room office in East Lawrence’s Art district. I specialize in Acupuncture relating to pain management and have built a solid reputation in the professional community for my expertise. I also specialize in herbal medicine, which is a lesser proportion of my practice, but still very important for internal medicine challenges.
What sets me apart is my unique approach to “back to basics”. I approach healthcare with the fundamentals of biology and the rules of nature in mind. My strategy is simple, but effective.
I’m upfront and honest about what I can help with and what I can’t. I’m easy to contact and will be happy to have a conversation with anybody seeking services in order to clarify what I can do for them.
How do you think about luck?
There have been so many serendipitous events to happen that are hard to categorize. I think being close to a community and actually taking time to get to know people and allowing people to get to know you helps birth those events that are “lucky”. Sometimes its not what you know, its who you know.
Pricing:
- $85/hr
- $65/30min appt
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.blueginkgomedicine.com
