Meet Marcel Colburn

Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Marcel Colburn. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Hi Marcel, so excited to talk about all sorts of important topics with you today. The first one we want to jump into is about being the only one in the room – for some that’s being the only person of color or the only non-native English speaker or the only non-MBA, etc Can you talk to us about how you have managed to be successful even when you were the only one in the room that looked like you?
Growing up as a Latina woman in Georgia, I was not unfamiliar with being different from the majority of my peers, but becoming a business owner in Texas introduced me to a new classification I had not considered in the past: age. At twenty-four years old I opened Colburn Chiropractic alongside my husband. We were new to the area and new to being business owners, so I quickly began attending any networking group I could find. I found myself in rooms with people over twice my age who had been entrepreneurs longer than I had been alive. In addition to networking, there was the process of finding professionals to build out our clinic space, hiring lawyers to negotiate contracts, and working with companies to buy chiropractic tables, x-ray machines, and so much more. Not only was I talking among well-established business professionals, but I was interviewing and hiring them as well!

It was easy for me to feel out of place and afraid to ask questions about the aspects of business I didn’t know much about. At times I would see people easily make connections as they bonded over the trials of parenthood, their favorite pregnancy tips or even the best supplements to take to help with menopause (popular opinion says magnesium is the best). I didn’t know what to add to the conversations and was hesitant to add impute that reminded everyone that I am too young to relate. I was afraid people would not take me as seriously because of my youth, and sometimes they wouldn’t. Despite this, I knew that I was competent and a quick learner. I began asking questions and found that most people were excited to share what they had learned. I began trying to open up and be more friendly and found that trust is mostly built on friendship.

Being the youngest person in most rooms I have walked into as a business owner has taught me to be confident in myself and independent. It has proven that many people love to help others succeed and has shown me the enormous beauty in making friends with people I might not have thought I had much in common with. It has also shown me that youth offers advantages like flexibility and being willing to try new things. Countless business owners have come to me to ask my advice on managing their social media accounts since social media is something I have grown up with and something that is more foreign to them. There are some people who will see me as less competent or less serious because of my age, but most are forced to change their minds when they see the kind of entrepreneur I am, my commitment to our business, and the results our clinic produces.

Appreciate the insights and wisdom. Before we dig deeper and ask you about the skills that matter and more, maybe you can tell our readers about yourself?
In June of 2023 my husband and I opened Colburn Chiropractic in Leander, TX. We are a family owned and operated clinic and our mission is to bring top quality care at an affordable price to our community. My husband, Dr. Devin Colburn, is the physician at our clinic. His background is in working with professional athletes and traveled for several years with NFL, MLB, and Olympic athletes. When we decided to transition into a brick and mortar business it was important to us to bring quality, holistic care where people felt heard and experienced life-changing results. We also wanted anyone to be able to experience living without pain, so we set up our practice to accept insurance as well as offer discounts for out of pocket patients.

I graduated with a degree in English Education and found that I loved working with people and problem solving. After college I lived in Thailand for seven months until I was evacuated due to the COVID outbreak. Once I returned home I began tutoring, but when my husband was thinking about transitioning his career, it became the perfect opportunity for us to work together while both doing jobs we loved. In owning Colburn Chiropractic I have found that I love organizing and promoting our business. I love being able to be creative with marketing and event planning and, most of all, I have loved witnessing the way peoples’ lives are changed through holistic healing.

If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?
In my experience, the most important quality has been a positive attitude. There will be set backs being an entrepreneur. Things will take longer and cost more than expected. Important things will break or fall through. Their will be obstacles that make it seem like there is no way around them. There are so many moments where it is easy to feel like I can’t go on, like I have no energy, and no good ideas, but a positive attitude has kept me continuing to put one foot in front of the other and hoping that tomorrow will be better. And usually tomorrow is better.

A similar quality that I think is very important is resilience. Looking back, being a businesses owner has taught me that I am tougher and more confident and have more to give than I would have imagined. Throughout my life I believe I have pushed myself, but never to the limits that being a business owner has pushed me. Because I had never ventured that far out, I didn’t truly know how much was inside me. It makes the difficult times so much better to know that I had what it takes to get through that and continue on.

Something else that is important is surrounding yourself with the right people. For me, it is important to be around other business owners that inspire me and are excited to talk about what is going right and wrong in their business. It also important to have time with friends and family where I can talk freely and know I am supported and loved. Being able to be on this journey with my husband has also been incredible because we are able to combine our talents, support each other, brain storm together, and take turns being the strong one as we go through the ups and downs of businesses.

I would say the start to developing these attributes is figuring out why you are on this path. It is way easier to have a positive attitude when you are living your dream. It is easy to be resilient when continuing on means everything to you. And then surrounding yourself with people who are also passionate and dedicated to what they do can keep you inspired and show you the pay off when you are feeling discouraged.

Okay, so before we go, is there anyone you’d like to shoutout for the role they’ve played in helping you develop the essential skills or overcome challenges along the way?
My husband has definitely been the most helpful in helping my overcome challenges and be successful. I think we are great business partners because we have very different skills and can each take charge in different areas. We are also good at seeing the qualities and skills in each other that we might not notice ourselves. My husband is always so supportive and encouraging; his confidence in me truly inspires me to be confident in myself.

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Image Credits
Julia Crist (headshot)

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