Meet Megan Lott | Acupuncturist, practitioner of Chinese and functional medicine

We had the good fortune of connecting with Megan Lott and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Megan, we’d love to hear more about how you thought about starting your own business?
I actually never wanted to start my own business. Managing marketing, bookkeeping, insurance billing, office management, accounting and the general running of a business never appealed to me. I wanted to focus on patient care, practice Acupuncture, herbal and functional medicine and nothing else. My dream was to enter into an existing wholistic health practice, show up, treat patients and receive a paycheck twice a month. However, small town living does not lend itself to this type of model, and I discovered early on that creating my own practice was the only way. Over my 15 years in practice, ‘ve taught myself to build a website, marketing materials, contract and bill with insurance companies, stay on top of whole sale orders and scheduling. I’ve learned to outsource the aspects of business management I’m weak at like bookkeeping and accounting, I use an online practice management site that allows my patients to schedule themselves and makes note taking easier. I’ve found ways to balance patient care with business management and I truly enjoy running my own practice now.

What should our readers know about your business?
The name says it all, I have an Acupuncture practice in Durango Colorado. What sets me apart from other medical practices is that rather than throwing a bandaid on patient’s symptoms, I look for the underlying root cause. Most of my patients come to me with a laundry list of syndromes and diagnosis and are looking for long term resolution beyond the symptom masking pharmaceuticals they’ve been prescribed by various specialists. Chinese Medicine see’s the body as an integrated ecosystem rather than a collection of different parts and organs, and as such, I am often able to find the connections between their various ailments and help them heal on a deep and lasting level. I think of my business as a family medicine practice, I see everyone from infants, to elderly and all stages in between. While I have a reputation for working with IVF, pregnancy, and autoimmune issues, I enjoy the challenge of treating whatever issues walk in the door. I love helping people resolve their migraines, back pain, plantar fasciitis and digestive issues as well. What sets me apart from other Acupuncturists is the integration of functional medicine, injection therapy, cosmetic , pediatric and neurological Acupuncture techniques that I utilize in my practice along with manual therapy and myofascial techniques. It wasn’t easy getting my business to where it is today, I struggled for many years with an empty schedule. I think word of mouth, google reviews and my newsletters and blogs have really helped to grow my practice. I’ve learned to not take things personally, there are ebs and flows with every business and I try to take advantage of the occasional slow week now, get outside, hang out with my girls, enjoy having time to myself.

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?
Durango is an incredible destination for anyone who loves the outdoors. There’s so much to do here and I absolutely love showing guests around. We have a French Exchange student coming for the school year and our family has been brainstorming all the places we’d like to take her. We’ll likely begin with the river. The Animas river flows right through the middle of town and is in my opinion, one of the major highlights of living in Durango. This gorgeous river has plenty of beaches lining it’s shores and offers everything from flat water sections that are perfect for paddle boarding to spicier class two and three rapids for rafters and kayakers. Next we’ll visit one of the most scenic climbing areas, just 30 minutes north of town, Cascade canyon offers good quality rock climbing adjacent to the most beautiful turquoise waterfall. We’ll likely catch lunch at James Ranch on our way back into town where this family run farm serves up incredible grass fed burgers from happy cows raised onsite. We’ll sit at tables beneath apricot trees overlooking the beautiful Hermosa Valley. Then we’ll stop at Durango Hot Springs to soak in their 30+ pools. On another day, we’ll go to hike Pass Creek trail to the top of Engineer mountain to revel in the wildflowers and epic views of the Twilight and San Juan Mountains. An hour drive from there brings us to Ouray, known as the “Switzerland of the United States”. where we’ll climb the via ferrata along the cliffs. On Another day, we’ll likely take our guest to lake Nighthorse in town for some paddle-boarding and playtime on the the giant floating playground that is the Wibbit. Next, we’ll ride bikes along the river trail to grab lunch from one of the many food trucks at Lola’s place downtown and likely do a little mountain bike ride in the Test Tracks or Horse Gulch in town. If our guest is in need of some gently used duds, we’ll head to my favorite consignment store, Rose Duds and maybe get tacos from Switchback Tacos followed by the best locally sourced and organic ice-cream on the planet at Cream Bean Berry.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
While I’ve never really had a main mentor with Acupuncture, I have had several teachers who’ve inspired me throughout the years, Dr. Ventresca and Dr. Meyers from Southwest Acupuncture College, Dr. Jason Hao and Dr. Linda Hao who taught me neurological Acupuncture. Lately, I’ve learned a great deal from Dr. Hyman the functional Medicine Doctor whose podcasts I listen to weekly. Isabella Wentz and Randine Lewis taught me much of what I know about treating Hashimotos and infertility. Beyond teachers, I’m grateful for the encouragement and support of my husband who has watched me struggle with building this practice in the early years and never discouraged me.

Website: https://durangoacupunctureclinic.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/durangoacupunctureclinic/?hl=en

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MeganlottAcupuncture/

Image Credits
Jasmine Mayberry Photography and Stacy Stallings media.