Meet Dr. Taylor Kirk, PT
Doctor of physical therapy, pelvic content marketing consultant, & entrepreneur
Taylor Kirk is a physical therapist, digital marketing consultant, and entrepreneur. After spending over 2 years in corporate health care after graduating with her Doctorate of Physical Therapy, she quickly realized that she wanted more out of life than a 9-5 job. While working full-time as a staff physical therapist at a hospital in rural Kansas, Taylor began exploring the world of entrepreneurship.
She decided to jump into the world of entrepreneurship, and after various trials and tribulations, found herself in the perfect position to pursue the digital world. She was able to continue working her full-time job while also tapping into her creative side outside of her typical 9-5. Creating made her feel alive again and find peace and purpose in the midst of demanding job duties, life changes, and post-pandemic changes. Here is where her healthcare marketing consultant business was born!
Taylor's experience with health and wellness began at a young age. At the age of 15 years old, she suffered a sport-related injury resulting in 6 months of physical rehabilitation following ACL reconstruction surgery. Just as Taylor was excelling in her favorite sport of softball, with hopes of pursuing college athletics, her dreams came to a halt.
After completing her time in physical rehabilitation, and 1 year since sport participation, Taylor went on to capture 2 high school state championships in her junior and senior years alongside her fellow softball teammates. She attributes much of her success to her family, particularly her mom and dad, for always supporting her to pursue what made her happy. The encouragement she received, along with a long duration in physical rehabilitation, inspired her choice of studies in college.
Fast forward to today, she is now a licensed physical therapist, with the mission of helping other healthcare practice owners grow and scale their businesses by tapping into the digital world and ultimately, reaching as many patient's in need as possible. Most recently, she has taken on a new business venture: marketing consulting, offering website creation/auditing, and comprehensive marketing strategy plans.
After experiencing her own devastation and rehabilitation stent as an athlete, Taylor wanted nothing more than to be able to help others just like her. She received a doctorate in physical therapy from Texas Woman's University in 2020 and decided to pursue a career in Kansas. Taylor had always loved to learn and grow throughout her education, and her career was no different. She took various continuing education courses becoming ASTYM certified, drying needling of the upper quarter certified and plans to attend a pelvic health level 1 certification course in March of 2023.
Upon moving back to her home state of Kansas, Taylor took a job working in an outpatient physical therapy clinic. At first she enjoyed being able to finally practice the career she had worked so long towards. It soon became clear that she wanted to pursue other physical therapy settings, along with achieving more flexibility. She then took a job as a home health physical therapist, providing her with more time and flexibility to treat the way she wanted to. During this transition, the COVID-19 pandemic was booming and referral sources were fragile in the home health world. To protect her and her family's financial stability, Taylor decided to return to the 9-5 world, but in a small critical access hospital, allowing her the opportunity to receive inpatient experience as well. After experiencing multiple physical therapy settings, different coworkers, and work environments, Taylor felt like there was still something missing.
This is when she decided to dip her toes into the entrepreneurial world. She knew that it would be challenging to start a business in the digital world, especially with minimal background or education in this area. But Taylor knew that she wanted something more and longed to tap into her creative side, while still in the healthcare realm of helping others. Thus, Taylor Danielle Creative was founded. She began working as a marketing assistant for a fellow physical therapist and marketing specialist, Morgan Meese, learning a plethora of knowledge from her along the way. Morgan encouraged Taylor to chase her dreams, no matter how big.
With the outbreak of COVID-19 in 2020 still lingering in our world today, it has shed light on just how fragile corporate America can be. Layoffs, furloughs, pay cuts, etc. are all just examples of what the pandemic resulted in for those who thought their positions were "stable." Tayor believes that the only way to truly solidify happiness and stability in a career is by doing something you are passionate about and doing it for yourself.
"I decided to start doing marketing because I had a personal interest in it," she said. My creative side was first exploited in high school. I was the copy editor for our school newspaper, competed in multiple state journalism contests as a copywriter, and enjoyed dabbling in graphic design. My teacher at the time had encouraged me to minor in this field when going to college, but I was told over and over again by outside individuals that 'writing and creating won't make you any money.' I pursued PT from then on, but things kind of came full circle and here we are - I'm creating, writing, etc. again."
Besides working as a marketing assistant for another physical therapist and business owner, Taylor is taking clients interested in website creation, marketing strategy, and freelance marketing work. "The digital world is booming and the pandemic showed the world what quality work people can do from home with a laptop. Taking this route allows me to continue helping others and keep an iron in the fire of healthcare working with small practice owners."
Twelve years after Taylor made up her mind to take the leap into pursuing physical therapy, she is as determined and motivated as ever to help others achieve their goals - but now in the digital world. With a full-time job as a staff physical therapist, a marketing assistant role, and Taylor's continued passion for learning, she definitely has plenty on her plate. She knows all of her hard work will pay off.