Why I Decided to Offer My Acupuncturist a Salary (And What It Means for Point Prescription)

Why I Decided to Offer My Acupuncturist a Salary (And What It Means for Point Prescription)

I've been reflecting a lot lately on decisions that feel both terrifying and inevitable. This summer brought one of those moments that makes you question everything you thought you knew about your own business.

The Conversation That Changed Everything

Jenelle told me on a Friday morning that she'd been offered a salaried position at another clinic. Not as an ultimatum or negotiation tactic, just honest communication about needing financial stability.

My immediate reaction was panic, which told me everything I needed to know about how much I valued her work. Jenelle has done over 40,000 treatments in her career. When someone with that level of experience and skill might leave, you pay attention.

But it wasn't just her credentials. I'd watched her with patients. I'd seen the quality of care she provides. I knew what losing her would mean for our community.

Cosmic Timing

Here's where things get interesting: I had a meeting with my financial advisor scheduled for that same day at noon. A meeting I'd booked the night before because something felt off and I needed to explore what changes I could make in the practice.

Three hours after Jenelle's news, I was sitting on Zoom with someone who could help me figure out if matching a salary offer was even possible. The timing felt like the universe saying, "Here's your problem and here's your support system."

The Reading That Called It

Back in May, during a particularly intense period, a friend suggested I get an astrology reading. "It helps you make sense of what you're going through," she said, "so when things get chaotic, you can think 'oh right, I heard this was coming.'"

The astrologer told me this summer would be intense. That I'd be questioning my current path, feeling overwhelmed, wanting to make changes. He mentioned a "straw that broke the camel's back" moment in June, and that by late July my "gas tank would be empty."

Most importantly, he said I needed to stop trying to control everything and learn to delegate. That September 1st would bring major career changes, doors opening, work becoming less about duty and more about joy.

"The pressure isn't forever," he said, "but you need to make changes voluntarily before the universe forces them on you."

Looking back now, it's almost scary how precisely he called it.

What I've Been Learning

I'm someone who typically resists change. I like control, predictability, knowing what's coming. But this summer, change has been everywhere whether I wanted it or not.

My acupuncturist of three years told me he was moving away. One of my first clients, who became my pilates instructor and friend, is also leaving town. It felt like the universe was systematically removing my sense of stability.

I've been reflecting on how I built Point Prescription with this vision of serving more people, but somewhere along the way, I became the bottleneck. My schedule has been completely full for years. Great for me financially, but it goes against everything I believe about accessible care.

The Decision

Most small practices can't afford salary positions, and honestly, I've always gone back and forth on the best compensation model. This isn't something I could offer every new hire. Jenelle's clinical skills are just exceptional. Maybe if this works out, it could become a pathway: hire on commission, prove yourself, earn a salary position.

But sitting there with the numbers, I realized this wasn't really about business models. It was about whether I was brave enough to bet on someone whose work I trusted completely.

What scared me more than the financial risk? The idea of not changing. Of staying exactly where I was out of fear, wondering what could have been.

What This Really Means

This decision represents something bigger than changing how we pay one practitioner. It's about creating space for the kind of practice I actually want to run. One where exceptional practitioners can focus on providing amazing care without worrying about whether they can pay rent.

It's about admitting that the way I've been doing things, while successful in many ways, wasn't sustainable for me or aligned with my deeper values around community care.

Jenelle is now working full-time, Monday through Friday. She's incredible with digestive issues, hormone work, stress management, fertility support, pain, sleep problems. The whole range of what brings people to acupuncture.

Moving Forward

I'm still terrified of change. That hasn't magically gone away. But the universe has been pulling me so hard toward this that I can't say no anymore.

Sometimes you don't get brave. Sometimes you just get tired of fighting what's obviously supposed to happen.

This feels like one of those moments where trusting the process, even when it's scary, opens up possibilities I couldn't have imagined when I was trying to control everything.

And with September 1st still approaching, I have a feeling this might not be the only change coming. There are other decisions I'm wrestling with that could shift how Point Prescription evolves. But that's a story for another day.

If you've been trying to get on my schedule and haven't been able to, now you have access to someone whose skills I trust completely. If you're curious about what's possible when a practitioner has the stability to focus entirely on your care, Jenelle might be exactly what you're looking for.

Thanks for being part of this community as we navigate this transition together. I'm grateful for your trust as we grow into whatever Point Prescription is becoming.

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Jenelle is seeing patients Monday through Friday at our Denver location. You can book with her at pointprescription.janeapp.com or text us at 720.696.0511.