Today we’d like to introduce you to Mayami Oyanagi.
Mayami, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
I started out as an outpatient physical therapist in a large hospital in Boston, Massachusetts. I saw hundreds to thousands of orthopedic and neurological cases. Then I was a director of rehabilitation services (physical therapy, occupational therapy, and speech therapy) for a rehabilitation facility. I also worked in a private outpatient clinic for a while. After 10 years of experience in various settings, I opened my own practice last year in Koreatown, Los Angeles. Owning my practice was never my plan. But I had to in order for me to provide the care I want or patients deserve.
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
The biggest struggle I came across while creating my own company was the fact that I did not know much about business. How ironic right? I wanted to start something that I did not have much background information about. However, I want to encourage those out there who want to pursue things that seem impossible to them. If something seems impossible, make it possible for you!
I did not minor or major in business in college and we were not taught how to manage a business at PT school. I had to gain information from other professionals, read books, and research online for weeks and months in order to successfully start my own practice. But in the end, I just thought “planning only goes so far, now I just have to execute,” Since then, I have been running my business relatively smoothly for the past year.
Please tell us about PT Stop.
I am a physical therapist, more specifically a board certified orthopedic specialist. I work with a variety of patients of all age groups and from diverse backgrounds ranging from acute injury, post surgical patients, athletes to chronic pain patients. I address the interconnected nature of the human body, the relationships between different body parts, and biomechanics to take a more holistic approach to treating my patients. For example, I find it crucial that I restore proper posture and maintain proper rib cage positioning whether I am treating a patient with a rotator cuff injury of the shoulder or one suffering from neck pain instead of focusing on treating only a specific joint.
If you had to go back in time and start over, would you have done anything differently?
One thing that would have had a tremendous impact on me and facilitated the process of starting a business would have been networking. Building a network while I was in school and while I was working for others might have enabled me to start my business earlier and to have put me right when I had been confused with my decisions. I realized it is extremely valuable to know someone has my back, because it can be very lonely to do all by myself.
Contact Info:
- Address: 3223 W6th St, #1-96
Los Angeles, CA 90020 - Website: www.ptstop.net
- Phone: 888-444-0091
- Email: info@ptstop.net
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ktownpt/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ptstopLA/
- Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/pt-stop-los-angeles
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