Female Founders: Dr. Vanessa Helfrich on Embracing the Entrepreneurial Spirit

Name: Dr. Vanessa Helfrich
Title: Co-Founder and CFO
Company: 100% Chiropractic
System-wide revenue: $65 million
No. of units: 118
International units: 0
Growth plans: 500 in 5 years
Public or private? Private
Year company founded: 2004
Year started franchising: 2015
Your years in franchising: 10

Dr. Vanessa Helfrich is a dynamic entrepreneur and the co-founder and CFO of 100% Chiropractic, a rapidly growing chiropractic franchise with nearly 120 locations across 25 states. Alongside her husband, Dr. Jason Helfrich, Vanessa has built a thriving business revolutionizing the chiropractic industry.

In addition to her work with 100% Chiropractic, Vanessa is a founder and partner in several successful ventures, including Chiro HD, a software company (Series A), Elevate Marketing, a full-service marketing agency, 100% Nutrition, a leading nutritional supplement brand, and Epic Chiropractic Billing, a top billing company. Vanessa has successfully navigated Series A recaps for her franchise (Red Iron Group) and software company (Ridgepeak).

A dedicated mother of three boys, she is passionate about balancing family life with her commitment to business innovation and growth.

Beginnings 

What inspired you to start your business? Both of my parents, my grandfather, and my aunt are chiropractors. I have a deep passion for the profession, and it’s my mission to do my part in elevating chiropractic as the primary healthcare model worldwide.

What is your background? I have had an entrepreneurial spirit from the beginning. After graduating from the University of Denver with a degree in hotel/restaurant/tourism, I opened my first business (a restaurant) at the age of 22. However, I soon realized that the restaurant industry didn’t align with my goals or the legacy I wanted to create. At 25, my husband and I packed up our baby and headed to Davenport, Iowa, to go to chiropractic college. Four years and two more babies later, I graduated, and we returned to our roots in Colorado Springs, Colorado, to open our first practice. With no money to our name, we started in the same building where my mother practiced, sharing resources, like the x-ray unit and massage room, but maintaining our own systems and business operations. We wrote down every system that worked in a manual. By 2006, we purchased my mother’s practice and expanded into the neighboring space. In 2008, we opened a second location with Dr. Brandon Livingood and his wife, Rebecca, who are still part of the company today. Our business continued to grow, and by 2015, when we had 26 locations, we officially transitioned to a franchise model.

How did that prepare you for starting your business? The restaurant venture prepared us for success in chiropractic. It taught us about real-world business, including staffing, marketing, managing vendors, creating a positive customer experience, and handling the highs and lows. While I had a great degree from a prestigious institution, what you learn in school differs greatly from real-world experience. I learned more in that year of owning the restaurant than in four years of school. 

What’s the best and worst advice you got when starting out? I remember my senior year of college when the professors were completely against entrepreneurship. Maybe things have changed since then, but at the time, the message was all about working for large franchises and climbing the corporate ladder. I’m glad I didn’t listen to that advice. I’m an entrepreneur at heart, and not taking the risk of opening my businesses would have crushed my spirit. 

Was this your first time in franchising? Why did you choose to franchise? Franchising was never our initial vision when we started out. It evolved after 11 years of practice and opening locations in partnership with doctors. We only pursued franchising after our attorneys recommended it. 

Did you have a partner/co-founder when you started? Yes! My ride-or-die hubby, Jason. We’ve been partners in everything we’ve done since we met when I was 16! 

How important was that in building your company? I can’t even begin to express how important this was. During this adventure, we had three boys and couldn’t even imagine affording a full-time nanny, so we had to split our workdays to ensure one of us was always holding down the fort at home. This essentially meant we were relying on a single income, which was often scary, but it let us spend quality time with our boys and be fully present for everything we wanted to be part of in their lives. I feel so blessed to have had that balance!

How did you fund your company at the beginning? As you grew? We had no extra money for any investments—we were so scrappy. The financial incentives we gave the first few investors were crazy. Our initial growth happened during an economic downturn, which worked in our favor. Landlords offered substantial tenant improvement allowances, and we negotiated some incredible lease deals. At the time, we could open a practice for around $60,000. We always paid our investors, and they consistently reinvested with us. We got creative, kept our promises, and built a strong foundation for future investments with this core group of individuals.

The Business 

What has been the best and the hardest thing about being an entrepreneur? The best and hardest thing has been the relationships. Relationships that start out as professional can feel incredibly deep one day and like betrayal the next. My heart is genuine, and I never want my business relationships to remain strictly professional. As a mother, I naturally tend to create families around me from all different aspects of my life. I often feel like a mother or older sister to my franchisees, team, partners, and others. It’s the most rewarding and challenging part of what I do. Despite the hurt it has sometimes brought, I have no plans to change this.

How has your experience in running a franchise business been different from what you expected? I’m not sure I had any specific expectations. Over the past 20 years, it’s evolved into what it is today. One thing that surprised me was my long-held belief that systems run the practice, and people run the systems. It may seem simplistic to think that systems alone create success. I’ve come to realize that the people part of the equation can be an even bigger key to success than the systems.

How did you grow the brand at first? What changed as you expanded? At first, our growth was entirely organic. We grew slowly, and then around 2018, things began to ramp up. In 2020, we opened our company to nonowner-operated clinics, many of which came through franchise brokers and outside sources. While we had built our company on opening nonowner-operated clinics (prefranchise) and had several company-owned clinics ourselves, the challenges of having owners unfamiliar with the chiropractic philosophy turned out to be larger than we had anticipated.

How did you transition from founding a brand to leading a brand? I’m not sure there’s a difference there. Jason and I have always led our business even when it was just our chiropractic clinic in Colorado Springs. We’ve led the brand from day 1!

How would you describe your leadership style? Our franchisees and staff are partners in our vision. I don’t believe in simply telling or demanding. Everyone moves in the same direction when they understand the “why.” It’s the same approach I take with parenting. Jason and I certainly lead and make decisions we feel are best, but we always explain the reasoning behind them, keeping in mind the company’s interests and the well-being of the individuals who run it. Whether franchisees or staff agree with us or not, I truly believe that, deep down, they know our intentions are always what’s best for them and, ultimately, the company.

What is the key to your company’s success? The key to our success is culture and connection. Since we opened our second location 16 years ago, we held quarterly in-person doctor and franchisee meetings called Tribes. These Tribes were essential in connecting everyone within the company. In 2023, we reduced these meetings to twice a year with optional spring and fall training sessions. Since making this change, I feel the culture has taken somewhat of a hit. Chiropractors are inherently “people” people, and we often feel isolated when we’re not connected. We have a unique perspective on health. I realized that even those who aren’t chiropractors need this connection too. When we come together, it truly fills our cups.

Female Founder 

Was being female an advantage or disadvantage for you in building your company? How? It’s mostly an advantage. The balance of energy that Jason and I bring to the leadership has been really important. As I mentioned earlier, Jason and I tend to create a family dynamic in whatever we’re involved in, whether it’s 100%, the youth sports organizations we started, or our real family! The disadvantages are a bit more classic. Many still default to Jason as the driver of the company and assume I’m the sidekick—more than I’d like to admit. While it bothers me at times, I’ve gained more confidence as I’ve gotten older and realized that’s on them, not me.

Have you found specific advantages or disadvantages to being a woman business owner? I’ve found that it depends on the personality of the person I’m communicating with. Some trust me right off the bat because I’m a woman, and many patients were this way. However, others preferred Jason just because he’s a man. I’ve learned to embrace the good and bad of being a female entrepreneur. The bias can be crazy. It used to bother me, but now we just laugh it off. Generally, it takes time for some people to realize that Jason and I share a 50/50 leadership. We just have different approaches and communication styles.

What has been your biggest challenge as a woman entrepreneur? Truthfully, I don’t feel there has been any related to my being a woman.

Why do you think there are fewer start-ups with female founders than male ones? Work-life balance is more important to women. I’ve communicated with numerous women in our company, so this isn’t just a vibe. Balancing family and work is a challenge, and I understand how starting a business from scratch on your own can be scary and daunting. 

What do you think is the biggest issue for women in the workplace? One of the biggest challenges I’ve faced, along with countless other women in our company, is managing both our work baby and our real babies simultaneously. I’ve seen many women start their businesses, achieve great success, start their families, and then struggle with the balance. I mean, truly struggle. When a business depends so much on the personality and passion of its owner, shifting focus to starting a family can be a huge shock. When the new mother shifts her attention back to the work baby, feelings of guilt often arise about not being fully present for her children at home. Many tears have been shed at Tribes by our female franchisees and clinic directors.

From your perspective, what notable changes have you seen for women in franchising since starting your brand? In our 100% system, I’ve noticed that few women chiropractors are interested in starting their own clinics and are leaning toward becoming clinic directors or associates (employees). I’m not sure if it’s a generational shift, but I hope to encourage women to continue pursuing entrepreneurship. The joy of owning your own business, whether you’re male or female, is so rewarding. 

Which female leaders do you admire? Why? My mother was the owner of her own chiropractic office for more than 40 years. I’ve looked up to her since I was a little girl. She emulated success as a female entrepreneur and had the work-life balance down. Her patients loved her, and she created an amazing life for herself, my sister, and me. She made it look easy though I know it wasn’t. She devoted her life to making the community healthier and better by transforming lives through chiropractic care.

Has mentorship made a difference in your professional and personal life? How? Absolutely, 100%. When Jason and I graduated, we didn’t have a dollar to our name, and I’m not kidding. As I mentioned, my mother owned her building for her chiropractic clinic. She allowed us to move into Suite A and share her x-ray unit and massage room. She lent us money to live on and gave us the opportunity to become entrepreneurs from day one. This, along with her professional and personal mentorship, inspired Jason and me to do the same for other chiropractors who couldn’t afford to start their own businesses right out of school. This is how we structured our first 26 clinics. We were the investors, funding their startup investments, providing the structure, and creating a path to owning a successful practice by sharing profits with them. We still have a similar model today, now called the Hub. We, or one of our consultants, will financially back and help guarantee leases, providing financial support to these doctors with a small deposit from them (it used to be no money down). All that’s required is their sweat equity.

Looking Ahead 

What would you like to achieve in the next five years? In the next five years, we aim to at least double the company. Through our partnership with Red Iron Group, we plan to continue our vision of spreading quality chiropractic care across the nation and, eventually, the world. We also look forward to the rest of our sons joining the company (one is already working with us in our 100% Nutrition branch) and carrying forward our vision of passing the legacy torch to them in whatever capacity they choose. Our oldest just graduated from chiropractic college and will open his first 100% clinic alongside his fiancée, Juliana, later this month!

What’s coming up that you’re excited about? We’re working on our new regional development program, which we’ll be rolling out later this month! Along with that, we’ve initiated a full marketing revamp for our clinics in Q4 of 2024, and I truly believe this will help launch our franchised clinics to even greater success!