Meet Dr. Fatimah Esfahanizadeh, owner of Health by the Sea in Del Mar

Today we’d like to introduce you to Dr. Fatimah Esfahanizadeh.

Thanks for sharing your story with us Fatimah. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
Where do I begin? My goodness, it’s been such a crazy amazing scary fantastic roller coaster!

When I was a kid, I always knew I was going to be an entrepreneur, after I decided that becoming an astronaut or runway model wouldn’t happen. Soon after my interest in healthcare crept in and then when I was 16, I suddenly realized I going to be a chiropractor. Being that as a chiro you don’t get anywhere unless you do your own thing it fits well with my entrepreneurial fascination.

I started grad school when I was 22 in the bay area. I would’ve loved to stay in San Diego but there aren’t any chiropractic colleges here. I absolutely loved living there but at age 26 when I graduated, I was ready to come back to the sunshine and palm trees.

I started my own practice immediately which was scarier than anything else I have ever done. For the first couple years, I rented space from another doc in Pacific Beach and then after that, I moved my practice to Del Mar where I rented space from another doc for about 5 years.

Earlier this year, right before the pandemic hit, I decided to be solo and moved my office again; this time just across the street but still in Del Mar. It was the best decision I have ever made other than going to grad school.! It was a huge amount of work and in a 2-month time frame, I probably had 14 meltdowns. All of it was 100% worth it!

Of course, on a personal note I met the love of my life and am engaged to be married in November of this year.

Has it been a smooth road?
Smooth road? No. Starting a business/ being an entrepreneur is literally as if menopause was a person on a roller coaster. That. As time has gone on things have smoothed out immensely but bumps still do come up. It’s really all about how you manage what you can, don’t worry about what you can’t, and then from that form the proper emotions for the life you are in. The excitement never gets old and it’ll be impossible for me to ever say I am “bored” or not “challenged” with what I do.

We’d love to hear more about your business.
I own Health by the Sea, a chiropractic studio near the ocean in Del Mar. I specialize in upper cervical corrective care. In a nutshell, that’s the top 3 bones of your spine. It’s the most important area for the nervous system and when it’s out of alignment (or subluxated as we call it) it does a whole lot of damage.

The interesting thing is that often times you don’t develop symptoms for long after so it’s important to get it taken care of. The corrective part of what I do is to make people not need me. Now, you will always need a chiro because you will always have a spine but the frequency should dramatically change over time.

People wise, I work mostly with female entrepreneurs and corporate employees who have some sort of health issue/problem that is affecting their ability to excel at work and make money. I have a huge background in the CrossFit world so I see lots of those athletes as well. I really enjoy working with kids and veterans too.

A big thing that makes me different from a lot of other docs is that there are very clearly defined goals and I do extensive re-exams along the way to make sure we are seeing the results that my clients want. Additionally, we are a “green” office in the sense that we are 100% paperless so we are doing our part to reduce the carbon footprints of society. Scheduling is easy and doable from an app on your phone, and I also connect with my clients on Instagram and Facebook and do video calls as needed.

Community wise we also do a monthly Books and Bubbly (champagne and book club) and two annual parties.

Is our city a good place to do what you do?
I do, but also, I don’t. Let me explain…. San Diego and Del Mar specifically are very into health and most people see a chiropractor. With that said living in Del Mar and owning a business in California is EXTREMELY (due to taxes) expensive. You also need to truly be an entrepreneur, not just a small business owner.

Some states are really heavy with insurance coverage, and then there is California which is basically cash. I prefer this way because insurance is horrible to work with. This does mean that as a provider it’s my job to really help people understand health and what they need in order to create that value. In other states, you open your doors and checks fly out of the air at you.

Contact Info:

• Address: 1201 Camino Del Mar
  Suite 205
  Del Mar, CA 92014
• Website: www.drfattiedcdelmar.com
• Phone: 858 519 5461
• Email: healthbytheseadelmar.@gmail.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dr.fattie/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/drfattie/
• Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/fattie-esfahanizadeh-dc-del-mar?uid=c0mBKCZOg2lO0H2auwpHVQ&utm_campaign=www_business_share_popup&utm_medium=copy_link&utm_source=(direct)

Image Credit:
Katie Iredalee

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