Meet Dr. Katie Ulam | Owner and chiropractor at Coastline Chiropractic

We had the good fortune of connecting with Dr. Katie Ulam and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Dr. Katie, we’d love to hear more about how you thought about starting your own business?
I always knew I wanted to have my own business but was always scared to take the leap. I worked for someone else in their practice for over 4 years and saw what I had built up for someone else and thought to myself I can either continue to grow someone else’s business and dreams or finally go out on my own to start working on my goals and dreams. There were a lot of obstacles along the way, but now looking back I am thankful I did it. I have now had my own chiropractic business for a little over 4 years. If I could give any advice to anyone first starting out, it would be to keep moving forward and do not quit. It sounds so cliche, but every obstacle, every set back, every wrong direction has lead me to the right one. Every day, week, month, year continue to build on the next. Becoming your own boss is both a blessing and a challenge; there is no one telling you to start but you and you have to continue to be your biggest fan and coach every single day.

Can you give our readers an introduction to your business? Maybe you can share a bit about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
I am a chiropractor and I own Coastline Chiropractic. I started my business at the end of 2017 and what a journey it has been! I always tell people I can be a chiropractor all day long but this is the first time I have ever started and owned any business. I also was turned down by 13 banks for a small business loan. Becoming a business owner is a completely different beast from anything I could have imagined. I would say the first 2 years of my business were probably some of the hardest times I have been through in my 37 years thus far. I have learned so much in the last 4 years of owning my own business and I would not say it was easy by any means. There were many of days where I did want to quit or never return. There were days where my phone would not ring and I thought it was broken. Thankfully in those times I never stopped. I learned a lot about myself in those times, I grew spiritually, mentally and emotionally (I even started seeing a therapist in which I highly recommend). I learned that God kept showing up with things and people that I needed when I had no clue which way to go. I have a huge heart and sometimes I think that can get in the way of being a business owner, people try to take advantage of you when they see this. I have always loved helping people and chiropractic care just seemed to go hand in hand with that. I have had to learn to set emotions aside when it comes to being the business owner versus the chiropractor. At the end of the day, I hope that people can see how much I love helping people become well and put them on the right path in their health and wellness journey.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
Oh, now this is a fun one. I think Myrtle Beach has a lot of hidden gems and people think when you live here you sit down by the Ferris wheel all day long! I would have to say some of my favorite restaurants include Mr. Fish (the seafood market is my favorite spot), The Wicked Tuna -there is one in Murrells Inlet or Myrtle Beach. I love Italian so Vicini’s is always a must and even better, it is right under my office! The Market Common is always fun, a lot of out door shopping and restaurants and there is a brewery in there as well! Keep heading south into Garden City and right on the beach you can eat at The Conch Cafe! The Marsh Walk, which is in Murrells Inlet, is always nice to stop by for food and drinks and to listen to bands. We also have Brookgreen Gardens which is so pretty all year long and their light display at Christmas time is unbeatable! If you head a little further south into Pawleys Island, Franks Outback has quite the nice set up for dinner and drinks! We also have Barefoot Landing in North Myrtle with shops and restaurants and Broadway at the Beach. Obviously we would be at the beach because we live here so you must go there! We like to ride our bikes around different areas and one place I have taken most of my family is to The Anchor Cafe, right on the waterway. I also pop into some of my favorite spots close to each other called Pink Lakes Tavern and Bourbon Street. We now have TopGolf in the area which is fun and if you like to golf we have more than enough courses for you to pick from. We are 2 hours from Charleston and it is such an easy drive. There you have it, a week in the life of a tourist in the Myrtle Beach area! I will probably submit this and forget some of my favorite spots so maybe I will start my own ‘where to go’ in Myrtle Beach blog next, Ha!

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
I have had a lot of support and encouragement along the way through so many people in my life. It is hard to pin point one person, organization, book, or mentor. I know that I have been blessed with so many different people along my journey. I am beyond thankful for a family that is always there for me, in good times and bad. I try to thank the people in my life that have had a great impact and I hope they all know who they are. I thank God more than anything for putting me exactly where I need to be in this journey.

Website: https://www.coastlinechiropracticmb.com

Instagram: coastlinechiromb

Facebook: @coastinechiropracticmb

Image Credits
Aubrey Glendinning for the photo on the stairs Tori Lane for the photo holding the spine