Dr. Troy Dreiling was born in Portland, OR in 1969. While he attended kindergarten in Oregon, when he was going into the first grade his family moved to Vancouver where he attended Orchards Elementary School. He moved on to Cascade Junior High and eventually graduated from Evergreen HS in 1988. Due to his background in bodybuilding and sports, he knew he wanted to work with the body somehow. It wasn’t until he injured himself did he realize how chiropractic worked. He opened his practice in 1995 and has seen over 25,000 new patients.
What was your favorite subject in school?
Math, I liked adding up and playing with numbers.
What was your first job?.
Taco Del Sole, making tacos and burritos.
Where and how did you first get into the industry you currently work in?
When I was 12 I saw my first chiropractor. Then at age 18 while I was in college I hurt my lower back bodybuilding. The guy I saw interested me in becoming a chiropractor and why I should be, the rest is history.
How have those jobs prepared you for what you do now?
Prior to getting into this business, I did a lot of service work. Whether that was working in restaurants or delivering papers, all of that motivated me. When I was working the tables at restaurants, I was in chiropractic school and I would always visualize that those were going to be my chiropractic tables and I was going to be taking care of people all day long.
Describe the best day of work you’ve ever had.
I like days where I just stay busy. Work, go to eat, work some more than go out to a game maybe. I like days where I am busy all day long. If I could fly out somewhere during the day and work, that would be amazing.
How do you keep yourself motivated?
Work out, eat healthy, read my goals and affirmations every day. Get results. When I get results I get excited and I just want to do more. It’s kind of like a drug only in a good way.
What kind of business ideas excites you most?
Anything gets me excited that is cool, colorful, fun and helps me communicate what I am trying to do. Giving back to people and seeing them light up when you communicate or give them something that brightens their day.
Have you ever tried any unorthodox techniques to attract attention to your business?
We have definitely tried some crazy techniques. One thing is we did was put a huge fiberglass rhinoceros outside of our office and we bought a crash test dummy. We put that dummy on the rhino right there on this busy street with signs all around it, some saying car accident, things like that. It definitely drew attention to our office!
What personal achievement are you most proud of?
The biggest thing for me was graduating chiropractic school. It was a long road and I had a couple of struggles. I got my diploma and I was excited.
What wisdom would you have liked to share with yourself when you first started out?
Keep your overhead low!