We had the good fortune of connecting with Andrew Hammond and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Andrew, what is the most important factor behind your success?

Service. My business, and increasingly my life, is centered around service.

When I first started my business, I tried many marketing methods that I thought I needed to do. Things like marketing myself to physicians, social media marketing, google ads, etc. And it’s possible that those things would’ve worked had I stuck with them long enough. But they didn’t feel quite right.

And my attitude, when talking with potential clients, was a sort of withholding attitude. It was a mindset in which I didn’t want to give away too much, for fear that people wouldn’t want or need to work with me if I helped too much before we started working together.

Then, through a conversation with a good friend, I started providing free treatment to people in Carlsbad on Friday mornings. This transformed my whole attitude toward marketing and my business in general. I began to see how simply giving, and offering support to people, felt better for me and seemed to resonate more with them.

Slowly I got the message that, for me, the best way to approach my business is through a giving attitude: simply trying to help people in any way that I can. Sometimes this looks like formally working with people, sometimes it means giving free advice and setting up a follow-up call to see if they still need help, and sometimes it looks like referring them to someone else.

The most beautiful thing is that a focus on service helps the other person, as well as me and my business. It’s a win-win-win.

Alright, so for those in our community who might not be familiar with your business, can you tell us more?

I think what makes Conscious Physical Therapy & Integrative Wellness unique lies in its name.

Conscious Physical Therapy is all about helping people be more conscious–or aware–of themselves, their bodies, and their lives.

When people seek care for things like pain, one or all of these factors are usually present:
-They are concerned about it (what it is or what will happen in the future)
-They don’t understand it
-They don’t know what to do about it

Through my process (Awareness, Understanding, Action), we explicitly seek to uncover:
-What is going on
-What are the contributing factors
-What it means for them (right now and in the future)
-What can be done for it

This process is entirely centered around building awareness (consciousness). The more conscious people can become of exactly what they are feeling, where they are feeling it, and what factors are associated with it, they begin to learn about themselves and their bodies. They begin to feel safer. They begin to experiment and try different things. Ultimately, they begin to be their own therapist.

This is a really fun process for me to facilitate and bear witness to because I get to wear many hats. I wear the hat of the doctor who makes sure that they are safe to move and do the things they want to do. I wear the hat of the expert who provides a thorough examination and provides targeted interventions. I wear the hat of the coach, who creates a learning environment in which they can experiment and discover things for themselves. I wear the hat of the friend who is there to support regardless of how things are going. And I get to wear the hat of the fellow human being who is on his own journey with persistent pain.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
Funny enough, my wife and I still have yet to do many of the things that I think most people would say are the “must-dos” in San Diego. And since I live in north county, I’ll give you my honest itinerary for when friends visit.

We would definitely do a beach day at the beach right near the village in Carlsbad.

Also in the village, we would go to the Strawberry Shack on coast highway in Carlsbad. Then we would probably go to Crackheads or Pizza Port and grab a drink, The Compass for dinner, followed by Handel’s or Aloha Ice Co for dessert.

We would definitely head into Encinitas to walk around, shop, and go to restaurants.

Otherwise, we would find ourselves cruising around north county, just being in San Diego. My favorite thing to do in San Diego is to be in San Diego. You really can’t go wrong.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
Hands down my wife, Alyssa, deserves so much credit and recognition.

We’ve been together through my entire career; from my graduate program, residency, fellowship, and starting my own practice.

She has supported me, encouraged me, picked me up when I’m down, reeled me in when I’m too far out, guided me, and–most importantly–simply been there through it all. She is my rock, and I know that I wouldn’t be where I am without her.

Website: www.ConsciousPhysicalTherapy.com

Instagram: www.Instagram.com/AndrewHammondPT

Linkedin: www.Linkedin.com/in/AndrewHammondPT

Twitter: www.Twitter.com/AndrewHammondPT

Facebook: www.Facebook.com/AndrewHammondPT

Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/conscious-physical-therapy-and-integrative-wellness-carlsbad

Image Credits
Mario Covic

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