In this Shoptalk segment, Michael Max looks back on 25 years in clinic and considers business not as a burden, but as a cultivation practice.
We talk about why the path isn’t “fake it till you make it,” but rather leaning fully into those early, uncertain days—learning from every challenge, noticing what works, and slowly shaping both skill and vision for the practice you truly want.
Money and authority show up in this conversation, not as obstacles but as teachers—nudging us toward integrity, honesty, and grounded responsibility.
If there’s a trick, it’s this: don’t borrow someone else’s blueprint. Find your own source code.
Business. It’s not something we have to do, it’s something we have the privilege of engaging.
There is a difference between having a job and having a business. It took me a long time to realize that wearing the hats of accountant, CEO, web designer, and marketing/sales director were not in conflict with working as a practitioner.
All of these various roles/perspectives gave me insight on better understanding my patients and how the business of acupuncture fits within the intertwined ecosystems of health, commerce and culture.
Running a business is not something we ‘have’ to do, it’s an opportunity that we ‘get’ to do.
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