We spoke to Dr Khabonina Nkwelo, who, with her new business partner Dr Zanele Crous own and runs North Coast Chiropractors #womeninbusiness. She gave us the background of their business journey.
It all began five years ago after Dr Nkwelo qualified. “I had always thought I would apply for an associate position in an existing and established practice, work there for a few years and then start my practice,” Dr Nkwelo says. Starting her practice was always the ultimate goal and dream. She then thought of starting her own practice ‘now’ rather than waiting for the date-less future. So that is what she sought out to do. “I called some chiropractic colleagues I considered great and have established a name for themselves in different parts of the country. I asked them for advice and guidance. I prayed about my plans, then took a leap of faith and opened,” Dr Nkwelo explains.
As a woman in business, Dr Nkwelo is spirit-led. “I pray about the plans I seek before executing, to check in and focus on what I want to manifest. I am hungry to succeed and inspired by my family and the many other women across the industry breaking barriers, finding their passion and killing it,” Dr Nkwelo exclaims.
Her passion for chiropractic came from being a patient in her teens. “At my first appointment, I was blown away by the concept, mechanisms, philosophy and art of chiropractic. I was intrigued by the fact that one could influence the body in a way that could yield drastic improvements to the health of another using primarily their hands,” Dr Nkwelo adds. She had been attending mainstream healthcare for years for headaches which persisted; they resolved fairly quickly with chiropractic. Today Dr Nkwelo is driven by her purpose, which is to impact the lives of others positively.
Kubs, as she is affectionately known to her clients, estimates that the chiropractic profession consists mainly of men; only 20% of chiropractors are female globally. However, according to the Chiropractic Association of South Africa, 59% of our chiropractors are female in this country. Chiropractic may have typically been seen as a man’s job, but it has always embraced women from the early days. “Representation is everything, and I think the more women we see in chiropractic, the more women will enroll as students because we know it’s possible regardless of stereotypes,” Dr Nkwelo says.
“The growth of our local community, the heightened awareness of our health through the pandemic, as well as the number of referrals from happy patients who have been helped in the practice (I’d like to think), has led to a rise in the demand for our services,” Dr Nkwelo adds. For three years, she worked as a solo practitioner and soon realised the trajectory of the practice, so she decided to rebrand and expand, employing another chiropractor. Dr Crous and Dr Nkwelo share the same ethos and passion for what they do as a Family Chiropractic: treating patients from newborns to grandparents, throughout pregnancy, sports injuries and everything in between.
We all love to hear interesting stories, so Dr Nkwelo indulged us. “I have plenty of interesting stories that come to mind, but one that sticks out is a man in his early 60s who was brought to the practice, literally in a wheelbarrow with a herniated disc. He had already seen a Neurosurgeon, had an MRI and was told he’d need surgery, but he didn’t want surgery. We were able to journey together and regain his ability to walk. He now lives his life pain-free and can play with his grandchildren again. The highlight for me was his determination to get better and to do what he could do to help improve his condition, which wasn’t quick, but he was patient and let his body heal. He now practically skips in and out of the practice for his quarterly checkups,” Dr Nkwelo says.
If you are ever in need of some re-adjustment – these ladies are highly recommended as the best and aren’t we lucky to have them right here!