Today we’d like to introduce you to Dr. Josh Konynenbelt.
Hi Dr. Josh, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers?
My chiropractic journey began while studying Biomedical Science at Grand Valley State University. I had always been drawn to natural approaches to health as a first step, I’ve always believed healthcare should help people live stronger lives—not just manage problems after they appear and that interest became personal when my girlfriend at the time—now my wife—was struggling with migraines. Seeing her respond so well to chiropractic care combined with nutritional support made a huge impression on me and ultimately shaped the direction of my career.
After graduating from GVSU in 2012, I moved to Portland, Oregon to attend the University of Western States where I earned my Doctor of Chiropractic degree along with a Master’s in Sports and Exercise Science. During that time I had the opportunity to complete a preceptorship with the Seattle Seahawks chiropractic office. That experience expanded my vision of what chiropractic care could be—combining traditional chiropractic principles with performance and recovery technologies to help people function at their highest level.
In November of 2015 we opened Novo Chiropractic Sports & Wellness Center in Grandville. From the beginning we were welcomed by the community and worked relentlessly to earn that trust, spending every available minute introducing ourselves to the community and serving the people who live and work here. Early on we were honored with New Business of the Year, and shortly after we opened our second location in Wyoming.
As we grew, we realized something important: two locations still wasn’t enough to truly be convenient for the people of Grand Rapids. If we were serious about serving the community well, access mattered. That realization led us to continue expanding, eventually opening locations in Belmont, Cascade, and Jenison.
That completed our first major goal, ensuring that anyone within 30 minutes of Grand Rapids is always within about 15 minutes of a Novo location.
Now that accessibility has been established, our focus has been investing deeply into our team, our training, and our services so we can continue raising the standard of care. Our goal isn’t simply to be the most convenient option, it’s to become the most trusted chiropractic brand in our region.
We want Novo to be the place people come when they’re ready to truly solve the problem—not just the next doctor they try along the way.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
It definitely hasn’t been a smooth road—but the challenges have honestly been some of the most valuable parts of the journey.
In the beginning the obstacles were simple but real: establishing ourselves, paying the bills, and figuring things out as we went. I had just finished graduate school and moved back home—living in my parents’ basement and driving a hand-me-down Toyota while trying to build a business. Looking back it’s something I’m actually grateful for. It kept me humble and reminded me that you have to earn every step forward.
As we grew, the challenges simply became bigger and more complex—larger financial decisions, managing growth, and learning how to run a business I had zero formal education in. We were fortunate to have great mentors along the way, especially partners like Capstone CPA who helped guide us through areas that were completely new to me.
Then COVID hit, which was obviously difficult for many businesses. But in a strange way that season also strengthened us. Once the dust settled the demand for proactive health care exploded, and that momentum led to the opening of our Cascade location.
But the biggest challenge—and the one that required the most personal growth—was learning how to lead a team, meanwhile never letting the people challenges become noise that overpowered the requirement of keeping patient results as the number 1 focus in the clinics.
When you start a business it’s mostly about survival. As you grow, it becomes about people. That transition forced me to grow as a leader. I’ve made mistakes along the way, and I’ve had to learn tough lessons about communication, culture, and accountability.
What ultimately changed everything for us was stepping back and recommitting to our core values. We made the decision that every hire, every decision, and every direction we take would run through that filter. That protected patient care as well as the success of our team.
Since then the culture within Novo has been incredible. Our team has grown stronger, our systems have become more refined, and our ability to serve patients at a higher level has accelerated dramatically. I’m both grateful and proud to see that as the size of our company has grown, our patient results are better than ever.
Every challenge along the way has helped us build something stronger—and we’re still learning and improving every year.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know?
Novo Chiropractic Sports & Wellness Center is a growing chiropractic health system serving patients of all ages across West Michigan.
Today we operate five locations surrounding Grand Rapids, ensuring that anyone within about 30 minutes of the city is always within roughly 15 minutes of a Novo office.
Alongside traditional chiropractic care, we’ve invested heavily in modern technologies and treatment approaches that help patients get results faster while also supporting their long-term health goals. Our focus has always been helping people not just feel better temporarily, but function better long term.
What I’m most proud of, though, isn’t just the services—it’s the team.
Every member of our organization operates through the same core values, and that alignment shows up in every patient interaction. When you have a team that truly believes in the mission, the experience for patients becomes something special. Although we aren’t perfect, we are a team that recognizes our imperfections, owns up to mistakes, and puts in place action plans to grow from the mistake to make meaningful improvement as individuals and teams.
Another advantage of our size is collaboration. With multiple doctors and multiple offices, challenging patient cases don’t rely on just one perspective. Our doctors regularly work together to solve problems and create the best possible care plan for each patient.
Our scale also allows us to offer something that’s surprisingly rare in healthcare today—access. In most cases we can get patients seen within 24 hours.
At the same time, our structure allows our team to train constantly. Every week our doctors and staff spend time improving clinical skills, refining patient experience, and learning how to better collaborate with providers in other healthcare fields.
Our goal is simple: deliver the most trusted chiropractic care in West Michigan from a team deeply committed to the health and wellbeing of this community.
Is there a quality that you most attribute to your success?
One of the most valuable skills I have is imagination.
I’ve always been able to see what something could become long before it exists. That ability has helped me design the patient experience, build systems for our team, and continue expanding what Novo can become for this community. I don’t claim to have some special ability to see the future beyond normal, but I’ve exercised my imagination as long as I can remember and always push to experience the future in my minds eye in a way to best expect what it looks and feels like and that skill has proven incredibly valuable in my decision making.
A close second is persistence.
I don’t give up easily. When something isn’t working, my instinct isn’t to quit—it’s to find another way. Sometimes that means testing ideas that don’t work or spending months building something only to realize it needs to be rebuilt entirely. I do apologize to my team when I make them join me on a project for months that ends with a “nevermind.” 🙂
But that process has never discouraged me. Progress usually belongs to the people who are willing to keep going long enough to figure it out.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.novochiropractic.com
- Other: Tik tok @novoclinics
