Jun 19, 2019
This week on 5.6.7.EIGHT, Aleksandra sits down with Lisa Schoene, Dance and Sports Medicine Podiatric Physician at Gurnee Podiatry and Sports Medicine Associates. Lisa, who founded Gurnee nearly 30 years ago, is also a certified athletic trainer and published author. Lisa has worked with dancers and athletes of all sports from all levels — from amateur to Olympic — and is also a traveling lecturer and a consulting podiatrist for several renown dance companies in the Chicago area.
On the podcast, Lisa discusses how she discovered sports medicine and podiatry, how she’s found her passion in this industry, and how her career has evolved over the past 30 years. She shares some extremely practical advice for entrepreneurs that are looking to establish their own businesses, including some difficult barriers that entrepreneurs should prepare for. At the end of the day, for Lisa Schoene, hard work and treating people well are the paths to success, whichever profession you find yourself in.
Moving Quotes:
“With any business, A to Z, it’s about customer service… I think that’s what’s allowed me to grow my business so well."
[On treating employees well] “When you’re a business owner, they always tell you that, sometimes, it’s not about how much money you pay somebody, but it’s how much appreciation that you have for them at the end of the day that makes them happy at your business… Take good care of your staff because they take good care of you."
“I always knew that success was going to follow if I just stayed tried and true to good customer service — if I was walking the walk and talking the talk."
[On building her business] “It’s been like birthing a child. This is my baby, after so many years. And it's been really fun — sometimes I don’t know where the time has gone."
“As a female, we do have a lot of power. But I’ve never felt discriminated against through my career because I’ve always worked hard. I’ve jumped in there, and I’ve worked just as hard as any guy."
“When I retire, I hope that athletes, dancers, my staff and my students will be able to say, ‘Hey, she did a good job. She did a great job with teaching. She really took care of me.’ That, to me, is success... It’s not about how much money I make as a doctor. It’s really who I’ve impacted, how I’ve treated my patients, and how I’ve treated my staff."
“In business, if you have a bad employee, they can be a cancer in the office of your practice or in your business. Anyone that’s been in business long enough knows that sometimes you have to cut the cancer out."
“If you just shoot for the stars, it doesn't matter if you’re female or male. Anybody can do anything these days, if you set your mind to it."
Bullet Points (w/ timestamps) - Highlighting key topics discussed:
2:25: Lisa walks through her journey that landed her a profession in sports medicine and highlights her time studying dance.
4:17: Lisa reflects on how her background as a dancer equipped her for her current profession.
5:19: Schoene discusses her education in preparation for sports medicine and stresses the importance of loving your profession.
7:02: Lisa provides some advice for dancers on staying healthy and preventing injuries, including a discussion on internal and external injuries.
8:38: Schoene discusses how she became a published author and how a negative circumstance from her past nearly ended her writing career at a young age.
14:38: Lisa highlights some of the most influential people in her life that pushed her in the direction of podiatry and, ultimately, gave her the opportunities she has today.
18:10: Lisa discusses how it feels to be a female in her industry and explains that, no matter who you are, hard work pays off.
20:21: Schoene speaks on how she has overcome barriers in her entrepreneurial career and gives an example of a barrier that she’s come across as a business owner.
23:31: Lisa reveals her favorite thing about entrepreneurship and what, in her opinion, is the biggest and most important factor in building a business.
27:26: Lisa closes the podcast with some advice for those that may be considering a career in sports medicine and recommends a path forward for these individuals.