Dr. Doug Ashton, Enhance Physical Therapy | Business Stories Magazine

So nice to meet you! First off, what’s your name? Tell our readers a bit about yourself—where you’re from originally and where you live now.

My name is Dr. Doug Ashton, DPT, FAAOMPT. I am originally from Provo, Utah, where I grew up playing sports like basketball, football and track. I currently live in Alpine, Utah, with my family and I run my clinic in Lindon, Utah.

Tell us one thing you love about where you live now.

Having lived in various places throughout Utah Valley, I have grown to love the mountains and the various seasons. My favorite season is the fall, with its brilliant colors and fun activities.

Tell us a little more about what your company does and how it started. How does it help your customers?

As the owner of Enhance Physical Therapy in Lindon, Utah, I enjoy helping people of all ages to live more active lives without joint pain. I have been a physical therapist for over 13 years, and I worked for several large, insurance-based clinics where I noticed things that limited my ability to treat my patients. High volume, insurance demands and low quality of care all contributed to my desire to create something different. So, I created my clinic based on one-on-one care for an entire hour, covering anything and everything my patients need to get better. I have developed my skills through constant training and education, earning my Fellowship in Manual Physical Therapy, in order to bring the very best to each patient encounter.

If someone wants to start a business, what advice would you give them?

What has helped me the most are various mentors who have achieved what I want to achieve, and asking them how they did it. I would research the foundations of what your business demands and how it functions, and then decide what it is that you personally bring to the table that is unique and special and of value to your customers.

What is one piece of feedback from a happy customer or client that you won't forget?

I have had various experiences with patients telling me that they have dealt with pain for long periods of time without receiving treatments that were helpful. I had one patient who had been dealing with chronic headaches for years and had seen several different doctors and tried a lot of different treatments. After a few visits she reported that her headaches were getting better, and after a few more visits she reported that her headaches were gone. She told me that she truthfully had not believed me when I first told her that her headaches could be treated successfully, but she was now very grateful to be pain free.

Where do you see your company in the future?

My greatest desire is to assist as many people as possible to move free, pain free. To that end, I want to grow my business to accommodate as many patients as I can treat, and then mentor other therapists to provide the highest quality of care possible to continue to reach more and more individuals and get them to move free, pain free.

What is the biggest misconception about your industry?

I am always sad when I hear people tell me that they have tried physical therapy in the past for a certain issue and that it was not resolved, despite being told that it was all that they needed. Frequently, the constraints of large clinics or the limitations of the therapist kept these people from getting the relief they were looking for, and once the correct treatment was applied, they recovered fairly quickly.

What has been one of your biggest struggles building your business, and how did you deal with it?

The biggest struggle I have had in building my business is how to tell people the immense value of what Enhance Physical Therapy offers. Being a cash-based physical therapy clinic, one of very few in Utah Valley, has made it difficult to get noticed next to the large insurance-based clinics that are well established in the area. In order to overcome this, I have recently stepped up my marketing efforts through online platforms and social media. The response has been quite positive.

Who was your favorite music artist and athlete growing up?

Having a lot of older siblings definitely influenced my music choices, but the one that sticks out in my memory and that I still listen to today is The Beach Boys. Growing up in Provo, UT, I was introduced to BYU sports at a young age, and my dad and brothers are all BYU football fans. I have fond memories of watching Ty Detmer put up all kinds of great passing yards during his years as the quarterback for the BYU Cougars.

Any shoutouts you want to make?

I want to make a shout-out to my good friend Taralyn Sorenson, who is the owner of Beyond Sports Taekwondo. They have allowed me to set up my clinic in their space and work with their staff and athletes these past few years, which I greatly appreciate.