Jamal Andress
A successful Black business owner is helping others thrive
In America, Black consumers spend $473 million per year on hair care products.
LEARN MOREPosted: 7:26 p.m. EDT Aug 21, 2023
Her patients, like Curtis Weems, say she makes magic with her hands.
"It helps me to be able to move and walk again. She's been a lifesaver for me," Weems said.
After 20 years of hospital work, Tammia Guest set her sights on chiropractic care. As a Black entrepreneur, she has beaten the odds, growing her business with now two locations in the Dallas area.
Guest said, "I already kind of had a feel for how the medical field works with many doctors, nurses, and patients. So when I brought that to my clinical experience as a chiropractor, it was very natural, and people felt like they could trust me."
Trust can be somewhat hard to come by for Black Americans looking for health care.
A Kaiser Family Foundation poll found only 6 in 10 Black adults trust doctors to do what is right most of the time. That's compared to 8 in 10 White adults.
Guest is a part of the less than 2.5% of Black chiropractors in the industry.
"Many clients do specify that they would like to see a Black provider, in the sense that they say they feel like they're very comfortable. They feel like they're heard," Guest said.
Guest says she opened her first location right after college with savings and support from family, but the most difficult obstacle was getting her first base of clients in the door.
"I'm very shy, an introvert. You can be a good adjuster as far as chiropractic and wellness, but you're gonna have to be able to get people in the door, because those things really don't matter if you can't get people in the door," Guest said.
Nationally, Black-owned businesses are still rare — long-standing profitable ones are even less common. While a third of new businesses close within their first two years, 8 of 10 Black-owned businesses fail within the first 18 months.
Guest says despite the statistics, "there was nothing in my mind, that brought me to think I couldn't make it, you know, putting in the work."
Since Rejuvenating Chiropractic opened its doors in 2013, it has grown to serve nearly 200 clients per week and opened a second location.
"I've had most of my clients since my clinic years. I believe that many of them stay with me because I make them feel like family," Guest said.
And family brings family, like Curtis Weems and his son Amir.
Amir says on his first visit, "I was kind of nervous. Because like, popping bones is kind of scary."
Curtis Weems added, "The trust I have in her, you know, I'm bringing my sons. Several of the football guys come. I have other coaches that come here now."
"I play DB (Defensive Back), so you know, you have to have really good hips. And you know, her working on my hips really helped a lot," Amir said.
After 10 years of owning her own business, Guest says she hopes to usher in the next generation of, not only chiropractors, but business owners.
"You know, I wish I could say it was easy but, you have to really have the discipline and energy to want to work for yourself. I'm really excited for the next 10 years, helping pull other doctors up and train them on how to be a good chiropractor and build up their community," Guest said.
