Getting Your Reps, Finding Your Mentor, and Launching Into Year One

From Student to Chiropractor: Lessons on Money, Mentorship, and Building Your Brand

There's a moment that catches most new chiropractic graduates off guard. You've spent years in school, invested hundreds of thousands of dollars, and poured everything into becoming the best clinician you can be. Then graduation arrives — and the bills keep coming.

Dr. Kyla Butz knows that feeling well. A recent graduate now three months into practice in Edmonton, Alberta, she's navigated one of the more financially challenging periods in recent memory to get here. Her story offers a candid look at what the journey from student to practising chiropractor actually looks like — and what she wishes she'd known sooner.

Build Your Brand Before You Graduate

Dr. Kyla started documenting her chiropractic journey on Instagram the same month she began school at Palmer in Iowa. The goal wasn't followers — it was reps. She wanted to get comfortable speaking on camera before she had to do it in real life.

A few videos went unexpectedly viral. People followed her journey. And when she graduated, patients were already waiting.

The insight isn't really about social media — it's about trust. People want to know who they're walking in to see. They're not just vetting credentials; they're asking whether they'll connect with you as a person. Building that relationship before you're even in practice gives you a head start that no marketing budget can easily replicate.

Managing Money Through School

Going to school in the US as a Canadian student during a period of high inflation and a punishing exchange rate meant watching her student loans in Canadian dollars not go as far as she would have liked. Dr. Kyla's approach wasn't complicated: only spend what you actually need, and be strategic about which debt you carry.

She maximized Canadian student loans first — which don't accrue interest until a year after graduation — before touching her line of credit, and only pulled from it in small amounts as needed. She also became a student rep for seminars, attending 33 before graduation with 80% of them free in exchange for handling the logistics. At $350–$450 USD each, that's a significant saving.

The lesson: find creative ways to invest in yourself without multiplying your debt unnecessarily.

The Startup Costs Nobody Warned Her About

Here's what caught Dr. Kyla off guard — and she's not alone. Graduation doesn't mean the spending stops. Before she could see her first patient, she was already $5,000 deeper into her line of credit: malpractice insurance, registration, legal fees for her professional corporation. These aren't optional.

For new grads who assume graduation equals income, this reality check can be jarring. Know it's coming and budget for it. It's not a setback — it's just the cost of starting a professional practice.

The Business Side Is the Hard Part

Three months in, Dr. Kyla has already arrived at a conclusion most experienced chiropractors will recognize: the chiropractic is the easy part.

Years of clinical training prepare you to help people. They don't prepare you to price your services, communicate value, and ask someone to commit financially to their health. That shift — from student to doctor to business owner — is as psychological as it is practical. The discomfort around money often reflects a deeper scarcity mindset built up through years of student life. Recognizing that is the first step to moving past it.

Don't Underestimate Mentorship

Perhaps the most consistent thread in Dr. Kyla's story is mentorship. She found her first chiropractic mentors during undergrad, walked cold into a clinic in Edmonton, and landed a practicum placement that changed the course of her career. That foundation — built before she even started chiropractic school — gave her something to anchor to when surrounded by competing techniques and philosophies.

Mentorship doesn't expire when you become a new grad. The struggles evolve; the need for guidance doesn't. Find people who are further along, who will push you past your ceiling and hold space for the hard moments. The chiropractic community is exceptionally good at this when you seek it out.

A Final Note for New Grads

Entrepreneurship will teach you more about yourself than you bargained for. Every limiting belief and moment of self-doubt will show up — because now it has stakes. But that's the point. You're going to grow.

On the financial side: get comfortable with debt as part of the investment, be thoughtful about what you spend it on, and don't try to navigate the business side alone. Lean on accountants, financial planners, and mentors who've walked the path. You have a long career ahead of you and significant earning potential over that runway — don't sacrifice living your life today in a sprint to pay everything off at once.

The chiropractic is the easy part. Everything else is the journey.

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