By Christie Slaton Zgourides
Dr. Demy Moreno, a MaxLiving Chiropractic - Castle Hills chiropractor and owner, shares her journey to franchise ownership in this Let's Talk Business episode. Marc Ebinger of Crükus Virtual Staffing hosts and is joined by co-hosts Howie Nestel of Sharkmatic Advertising and Heather Boehme of Onset Professional Development. MaxLiving Club, a franchise with more than 200 locations in 26 states, has a proven model that Dr. Demy credits for equipping her to manage a clinic, build community connections, and prioritize consistent growth while highlighting the importance of networking, accountability, and delivering impactful patient care. The conversation closes with the San Antonio business and networking culture.
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Dr. Demy’s Motivation to Become a Chiropractor
Dr. Demy had always wanted to be a doctor, so she shifted her focus to chiropractic when she saw what her grandmother experienced with lower back pain. After taking an array of over-the-counter medications, she saw a doctor who prescribed muscle relaxers, which she took for years. She then received corticosteroid injections to block the pain and, after more years of treatment, developed a tolerance to the medications.
Her grandmother eventually had lower back surgery, had to be placed in a nursing home, and was wheelchair-bound the rest of her life. Dr. Demy realized that the underlying causes of pain had not been addressed. She reports that 30% of lower back surgeries fail.
Dr. Demy wanted to learn techniques to address the problem, so she turned to chiropractic and its philosophy, particularly healing from the inside out. She is confident that had her grandmother sought chiropractic treatment, she would not have ended up in a wheelchair.
View Dr. Demy’s Motivation to Become a Chiropractor:
The Franchise Model of Chiropractic
Although chiropractic schools offer some business coursework, it is not enough. To expand her knowledge and experience with business, Dr. Demy participated in events to get patients into chiropractic offices for MaxLiving in South Carolina and was active in their events, seminars, and its school club to develop the mindset.
Following chiropractic school, Dr. Demy completed the rigorous interview process to enter the MaxLiving Club program. The program's process aims to ensure that candidates are the best possible doctors and that they can bring patients into a chiropractic office. Dr. Demy explained that this process helped her avoid attempting a solo business and making errors.
Heather and Howie noted that new franchise owners can sometimes expect the franchise brand to do the work and marking, leaving the owner with little to do. Then, the experience of running the company was something they weren’t expecting. Howie said MaxLiving appeared to manage expectations well.
View The Franchise Model of Chiropractic :
MaxLiving Club Franchise Training Program
Dr. Demy explained that the year-long program prior to purchasing the franchise required her to:
Attend training three days a week
Work in a chiropractic office five days a week
Complete marketing work on weekends
Train in communication skills and sales
The program was challenging, with considerable time commitments, and MaxLiving paid interns modestly. While aspiring franchisees are in this program, MaxLiving builds the office where the chiropractor chooses. Entrance to the program is rigorous because the company is investing money upfront for the new franchise.
Howie compared this model to programs in Latin America and Mexico that require new doctors to complete a year of service in a government clinic or hospital.
View MaxLiving Club Franchise Training Program :
Choosing San Antonio
The clinic opened on July 1, 2024, and within four months, it was at one-third capacity, seeing one hundred patients weekly.
She chose San Antonio because of her family living here, the rich Hispanic community, no state sales tax, and city growth. San Antonio is the seventh largest city in the United States, and 23,000 people moved here in 2023, more than the number of people who moved to any other city in the US that same year.
Howie pointed out that all these new residents are looking for services, and that the region is somewhat resistant to recessions. Marc added that San Antonio is doing well with new highway systems, airport expansion, and other infrastructure.
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What Franchise Training Could Cover More Thoroughly
Having run her practice for several months, Dr. Demy identified areas that franchise training could have covered more thoroughly:
Billing and coding
Workbenches for billing (task management systems for billing)
Insurance processing and billing
Medicare billing
Cash billing with statements
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Spanish Language SEO and Outreach
Howie inquired about Spanish-language SEO, search engine optimization, and marketing, noting that he has successfully done this for some Spanish-speaking clients.
Currently, Dr. Demy’s clinic website is in Spanish and English, and she is making plans for Spanish Facebook and Instagram content.
Marc and Howie addressed the issue of taking Spanish-language marketing to the level of franchisors, encouraging them to let franchisees be more creative in the marketing process. Howie has done this with a number of franchises.
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Long-term Franchise Plans
Dr. Demy plans to open a second location nearby, maybe Stone Oak or Broadway, then step away and have lead doctors run that office. She would like a manager for both locations so she can focus on growing her family and enjoying life as a business owner.
Supporting these goals, MaxLiving offers three to four annual seminars and many other events where the doctors come together to discuss business and attend seminars or training.
Greatest Lessons Learned
Dr. Demy listed three key lessons that stand out for her so far:
1. If it’s hard, do it anyway. MaxLiving training had training exercises emphasizing this principle.
2. Consistency is key. Even though it is the holidays, for example, you can still grow an office and prepare for January when more clients focus on health.
3. Keep marketing yourself. Market yourself, attend vendor events, and continue to pour into the community outside that needs it.
View Long-term Franchise Plans and Greatest Lessons Learned:
Escaping Comfort Zones and Knowing Your Why
Drawing from the lessons Dr. Demy listed, Heather added that growth happens outside of comfort zones; when the thought makes you feel ill, that is probably the right action. Push through it.
Marc agreed and said, “It wears you out. And you ask, what am I doing this for? Sometimes, I've thought about that with the podcast. What am I even doing here? But you have to remember the impact. I've heard Heather, who's been my coach for a long time, ask, ‘What's the why?’”
Dr. Demy answered that her "why" is her passion is to impact as many people as possible, and for now, that is in San Antonio. She doesn’t want anybody to suffer and wants everyone to live their best life.
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Sciatica Treatments to Avoid Drugs for Pain
Dr. Demy uses a combination of manual adjustments and the ArthroStim tool: arthro, meaning joint, and stim, meaning stimulator. The joints are stimulated. This allows for more specific targeting in the area being treated.
The spine is aligned into its normal position, and she works with the muscles and ligaments surrounding the spine so that it will hold a normal position for a longer time.
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MaxLiving Associate Program
Currently, Dr. Demy treats patients, and her husband is the office manager. When she is ready to add a chiropractor to her practice, she can contact MaxLiving, which has an associate program where doctors who do not want a franchise can train to work in a MaxLiving clinic. They come in already knowing the processes.
Heather stated this is a “massive value add,” having a pool of potential applicants to hire. Business owners' primary concern is the bottlenecks they encounter when they can't find qualified people to work.
MaxLiving Culture
The MaxLiving culture focuses on two key areas:
1. Keep improving yourself. That is what drives the many events it has in the year.
2. Accountability. This drives the large network of doctors readily on hand for consultation.
Dr. Demy explained that she had a mentor who said, “This is what you need to do, and I will hold you accountable.” This required her to submit stats to her mentor, which keeps practice owners growing and impacting the community.
As a business coach, Heather said accountability is critical and an area where her clients often struggle. Howie stated he tends more toward the Japanese concept of Kaizen, continuous improvement.
View MaxLiving Associate Program and MaxLiving Culture:
Franchise Expectations and Challenges
Heather pointed out that franchises are supposed to give franchisees the playbook, and that's why people invest in them. That is not the case with many franchises, and it is good to hear a story where the franchise adds value.
Howie defended the franchisors because franchisees have unrealistic expectations that the franchisor will take care of everything. MaxLiving clarifies the expectations and tracks income, paid appointments, new members, and other details.
Heather distinguished between franchisees who think of themselves as merely a franchisee, like an employee, versus those who take full ownership and see the business as theirs. Those with ownership attitudes are more successful.
Before choosing MaxLiving as her franchise, Dr. Demy completed thorough research, including shadowing businesses, asking about challenges, verifying gross income, training quality, etc.
View Franchise Expectations and Challenges:
Networking the Business in San Antonio
San Antonio is ideal for a networking-based marketing strategy, which has emerged in the last few years. This area is particularly relationship-based, a function of the larger culture, particularly the Latin culture. This also means that it is ineffective to plan or attempt to sell tickets to events too far in advance because most people will wait until the last minute to decide to attend.
San Antonio has many layers and “pockets” of networking that do not know about each other. Howie advocates doing non-profit work, and he has been involved with more than 100 San Antonio nonprofits, where he has met people deeply entrenched in networking. He also pointed out that the mayor, city council, county commissioners, and county judges are all very accessible compared to other cities.
View Networking the Business in San Antonio:
Meet the Guest and Hosts
Dr. Demy Moreno, the proud owner and chiropractor at MaxLiving Chiropractic — Castle Hills, was born and raised in Bayamón, Puerto Rico, where she began her lifelong dream of becoming a doctor and helping people. Dr. Demy earned her Bachelor’s degree in Biology of Sciences with honors from the Inter-American University of Puerto Rico. Her journey continued at Sherman College of Chiropractic, where she pursued her Doctorate of Chiropractic degree. She actively engaged in various clubs throughout her time there, contributing over 200 hours to seminars and events. Dr. Demy’s mission is to transform lives through the power of chiropractic, showcasing the body’s remarkable capability to heal from the inside out. She is located at 2211 Northwest Military Castle Hills, suite 116. https://maxliving.com/chiropractor/us/tx/san-antonio/maxliving-castle-hills/
Marc Ebinger, the Let’s Talk Business podcast host, is a former USAF Veteran, retired police sergeant, public speaker, and networking expert. He is also the founder of Crükus Virtual Staffing, a company that supports insurance agents and business owners by providing virtual assistant staffing solutions. Crükus helps clients save on labor costs and increase efficiency by matching them with experienced overseas administrative assistants who handle tasks ranging from policy management to client communication. https://www.satalkradio.com/
Howie Nestel is the founder and president of Sharkmatic Advertising, an advertising agency based in San Antonio, Texas. With nearly 40 years of experience, Howie has provided sales and marketing services to over 1,500 businesses, including major brands such as Coca-Cola, DuPont, MTV, and Procter & Gamble. His agency also works with regional businesses, including Brake Check, Methodist Healthcare, and The Wash Tub. Known for his community involvement, Howie is deeply committed to nonprofit leadership and has also launched over 20 small businesses throughout his career.
Heather Boehme, owner of Onset Professional Development and a certified business coach, previously worked in project management as the COO of a $2 million business and was a realtor, averaging $10 million annually in sales. Now, she empowers business owners and entrepreneurs to build successful companies. As co-host of the Let's Talk Business - San Antonio podcast, she focuses on actions that can drive positive change.
Christie Slaton Zgourides, owner of Christie Zgourides Editing, is a writer, editor, and author coach with over 30 years of experience in business and academic settings. She has taught writing and editing in university composition courses and has edited a wide range of content, including digital articles, self-improvement books, professional journal articles, memoirs, and fiction. Christie helps authors transform their ideas and passions into publishable manuscripts and works with businesses to create engaging blogs, video scripts, and other essential documents. czediting.com
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