Today we’d like to introduce you to Dr. Jon Wilhelm.
Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
I grew up in Bozeman, Montana, a beautiful small town nestled in the Rocky Mountains of SW Montana. I attended the pre-med program at Montana State University, followed by Life University’s College of Chiropractic in Atlanta, Georgia, and concluded my chiropractic studies and clinical rotations at Logan College of Chiropractic in St. Louis, Missouri. My wife and I had both grown up children of successful small business owners and had observed and worked in environments that fostered an entrepreneurial spirit. During the last few months of my education, we realized we had the confidence and tools to start and grow a practice. Knowing this, I wrote down my goals, filled my mind with positive visualization and affirmation, and took about the work of building Pro Chiropractic hand in hand with my beautiful wife, April, who remains Director of Operations for our clinics to this day.
The first years of building our practice, Pro Chiropractic, was a blur of work, marketing, growth and connecting. When founded in 2004 our son Trevor was 4 years old. April and I worked together in the practice at first, managing all of the duties from reception to treatment to insurance billing and collection. Trevor would run around the clinic greeting patients as we all worked together to get this dream off the ground. Within another year we had our daughter Amra, and April went to working in the home in addition to helping with things at the clinic. As we grew, we slowly hired more staff and eventually associate doctors. In 2006 we opened a rehabilitation center, Big Sky Spinal Care Center. The growth continued in 2008 and 2015 when we opened Pro Chiro satellite offices.
In 2010 my interest in sports chiropractic grew as I explored more treatments and modalities through continuing education. This led to my study and certification as a Certified Sports Chiropractor. In 2013, I was invited to a rotation at the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, which led to return invited and a placement with USA Bobsled Skeleton (USABS) on their World Cup tour. For the next five years, I worked with USABS at World Cup and World Championship competitions. My traveling work grew with other sports and federations as well, including USA Wrestling, USA Track and Field, and USA Gymnastics. A career highlight and culmination of work was when I was invited to work as a sports chiropractor for Team USA medical at the 2018 Winter Olympic Games in Pyeongchang, South Korea. The same year I was honored to be further recognized by my peers as the American Chiropractor. Association Sports Chiropractor of the Year.
In the years since we have continued to operate and grow Pro Chiropractic and the rehab center, which we rebranded as a physical therapy clinic, Pro Physio. We are proud to have given back to our community over the years with volunteer work at local schools and sporting events. At Pro Chiro we have a reputation of quality service and giving, this is something we are very proud of. We have been recognized year after year as Best of Bozeman local poll winners for Top Chiropractors, Top Doctors and Top Clinic and have the most favorable online reviews of any clinic in the state. All of this is quite humbling and rewarding, given our modest beginnings.
I have continued with my traveling sports chiropractic work, spending 4-5 months per year internationally with elite athletes and teams. A small-town boy from Montana, I have now worked with elite athletes from America, Austria, Germany, Switzerland, Lithuania, Great Britain, Australia, Estonia, Romania, Canada and more. With the love and support of an amazing family and work team, I have been able to explore, fulfill, and blend my love for travel with my passion for helping athletes achieve. Most recently, I find myself more motivated and joyful mentoring and sharing my skills and excitement with young sports chiropractors. I have accepted a role teaching with the International Sports Chiropractic Federation and as Chair of their Student Commission.
My wife and I find ourselves at a crossroads now, where we could push Pro Chiropractic to the next level of growth or put of work and passion towards other things. We have a joy for travel and share that together and with our children. And I know this for sure, I am grateful for our blessings and ready for the next challenges and opportunities as long as my family is near and with me.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
First, I must say we are grateful for the success and prosperity we have experienced through building Pro Chiropractic, but it has not been without some obstacles to overcome. One of the first struggles to overcome was breaking into a market that was already saturated with competent professionals in the same space, and many of these having businesses with longevity in the local market and much larger marketing budgets. We overcame this very simply with relationship building, hard work, and a focus on highlighting our unique services. We joined and attended every social and professional networking group in the community that we could; chamber groups, Biz2Biz, young professionals and more. There was a lot of what I call “gripping and grinning”, shaking hands and meeting other business owners in our community. It was vital to get our names and more importantly our faces and personalities out there! The hard work and attrition presented in many ways, including long patient hours, after-hours networking, serving patients at all hours and on weekends, and printing up brochures and knocking door to door in the Montana winter cold to meet prospective patients. Because of awareness of the market players, I also found it important to shine a light on the unique services we could provide. Maybe there were bigger clinics with established chiropractors in the community, but they may not have offered the latest treatment technique, soft tissue modality, or diagnostic technology. And this is what we worked to highlight and differentiate ourselves with.
Once established the most important struggle came in finding and keeping good help in the form of our work team. For nearly two decades we have built a work team made up of some excellent individuals. We always had a focus on first who and then what, knowing that while processes and procedures are important, the people were the most important part of our business. We endeavor to empower our team, giving them support and loyalty, the opportunity to work autonomously and to thrive with solid reimbursement! I think keeping our employees engaged and motivated will always be a struggle, but one worth leaning into.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I am a certified sports chiropractor, which is a doctor of chiropractic who has undergone advanced training and obtained a certificate of additional qualification in sports medicine, physical medicine and rehabilitation I specialize in traveling and working with high-level athletes, and spend 4-5 months per year on the road, mostly internationally with elite athletes, teams and sporting federations. I utilize a host of physical medicine modalities, movement analysis and rehabilitative approaches to help athletes achieve. I am known for the ability to evaluate an athlete’s complaint, movement and injury and from these quickly formulate a treatment approach to help the athlete recover, move and perform better. I think the skill that sets me apart is my ability to quickly analyze, process and choose the right modality for the patient. I am also an excellent communicator who can listen, relate well and put my athletes at ease. In this space, I am most proud of being invited to two Olympic Games as part of two different county’s medical delegations. I also feel great pride in my work to empower and uplift students and young chiropractors with mentorship and opportunities.
What makes you happy?
I am most happy when I am in a new place in the world with my family and friends, wandering, exploring and sharing food, drink and fun! I have always loved travel, and there is something about seeing something new that inspires me to see all the new things in all of the great places!
Contact Info:
- Website: https://prochiromt.com/about-us/dr-jon-wilhelm/
- Instagram: @drjon.montana
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/prochiropractic
Image Credits
Jon Wilhelm
