They had just started expanding their chiropractic chain when things tipped downhill – members of the staff were leaving, managers could not hold it together and distress was mounting.

Marc and Gina Calaunan, both 44, the founding couple behind chiropractic chain Healing Hands, were at their wits’ end.

They had left their previous jobs and went head-on into this endeavour some years ago, and business appeared to be growing.

But the exodus of physicians – the practice went from eight to four chiropractors within six months – urged them to take a step back and look at how things were run.

“So for a long time, we didn’t know how to build the culture of a company,” Marc said.

Gina elaborated: “It was easy when it was small. We were very close-knit, but the moment we grew beyond three clinics, we started having a lot of growing pains. I think we relied a lot on self effort in the hiring process. We came in really not knowing a lot but over the years, we gained so much, sometimes to the point where we stopped relying on God.”

Peace despite a deficit

Marc trained and practised as a chiropractor in the United States before moving to Singapore in August 2009, when he met Gina.

Gina, on the other hand, was working in real estate prior to Healing Hands. She now handles the business development aspects of the company.

Interestingly, they first met at the chiropractor’s – more precisely, the clinic where Marc previously worked, with Gina as his patient. It was love at first “crack”, the couple often tells others.

They started the Healing Hands at the Adelphi building in February 2010, as a soon-to-wed couple.

Theirs was a whirlwind of a love story. They were engaged a few months after they first met and some administrative issues with Marc’s employment pass then – he was a Filipino citizen and a permanent resident in the US – made them decide to strike it out on their own.

Business started out relatively smoothly, but some cracks in management led to the steep turnover in the middle of 2019. As with many of us, their reflex mechanism was to lean on their own strength to plug the gaps.

Gina said: “When the turnover started happening, we told ourselves, let’s aggressively hire. But there was just nobody with the right fit for some reason, or something would go wrong somewhere where they eventually don’t end up accepting the job.”

Soon after the Covid-19 pandemic hit. With non-essential operations put on a mandatory halt, the Calaunans were also forced to take a “reset” and set their hearts right before the Lord.

With no one else to turn to, he could only look to God, said Marc, who knew about God but only became serious about his faith a decade ago.

“Simply put, as said in the Bible, we were looking for our answers through man. We didn’t look to God first. So that’s why, when at the cusp of it, we were trying but our health was going down also, so I went down on my knees. I prayed and I said, ‘If this is your will, God, I need your help if you want us to run this’,” he said.

In a bid to bless and care for their employees, Healing Hands doubled the annual leave for their staff from 10 to 21 days.

This was a personally humbling experience for Marc, who also sought wisdom on how to refine his management and leadership style.

“The thing is, people say employees don’t leave because of companies, they leave because of bad bosses. So I have to take some personal responsibility for this. I had to look at myself in the mirror for them,” he said.

Just as Jesus repeatedly exhorts in Scripture that believers should use their gifts and resources to help the less able (Acts 20:35; Ephesians 4:28), Marc and Gina decided then to take a more personal stake in each of their employees’ well-being and to shape Healing Hands as a space for them to grow and to seek refuge. 

For instance, they have since increased the number of vacation days – the company now offers 21 days of leave, plus a day off on the employee’s birthday – up from 10 days initially. 

Marc and Gina also catch up with their employees one-on-one to discuss how their careers at Healing Hands can play a part in helping them achieve their personal goals.

From April to June last year, when Singapore was on a partial lockdown, the couple took the time to check in on people they cared about.

“We wanted to go out and bless other people, because we didn’t have time to do a lot of things before that. She delivered food to people who were needy, and we were checking in on people who may not have family support,” he said.

And even though the company was in deficit, they felt a sense of deep peace as they continued to be still while seeking God’s leading. Specifically, they asked Him to bring in new people of His choosing. 

Marc said: “I told Him, if the people that are with us now are right, then help me to transform their lives, because it’s not for me, it’s for the patients and for their brothers and sisters that we are serving with.”

Serving and giving

When the clinic reopened in early June, the couple felt God calling them to expand. Gina felt confused initially, but said they decided to act as led. 

“I was wondering why, especially since we were down to just four chiropractors. So I said, if You want us to grow, then bring us the right people,” she said.

Indeed, God had already paved the way for them.

Since the clinic reopened, He doubled the workforce and continued to bring patients. While they used to serve about 1,800 patients per month, they are now serving close to 4,000. They have also added two more clinics to their fold since October. They now have nine chiropractors and a team of about 30 staff serving in six clinics, and the expansion plans have not stopped.

But now, even as they continue to enlarge their business, Marc and Gina are conscious of putting people at the centre of Healing Hands, desiring to hold fast to the truth that God has provided in abundance so that He can use their venture as a vessel for outreach.

Marc said: “I believe that for any of our staff to flourish, we need to cultivate a genuine and strong company culture that prioritises serving and giving to each other with no judgement nor expectations.”

In relating to his patients, Marc said he focuses on building a friendship, and then finds opportunities to share about how his relationship with God has strengthened him through the ups and downs of life.

“My main focus is to get that relationship with the person first, rather than coming from a place of trying to ‘convert’ you, because I’m not any holier than you. But I always tell them things like, you know, the one thing that has really helped me is my faith.

“And I want them to know that whether I’m having a bad day or a good day, God is here with me,” he said.

Asked what they would advise younger Christian entrepreneurs trying to discern their calling in the secular business world, both Marc and Gina said it’s not so much about what you do, but leaning in on what God can do.

“I think you have to take out a moment every day, even if it’s just five minutes, wherever you are, to praise and give thanks to God. You can ask him questions, to just speak out, to seek God and ask, where are You right now? Where do You want me to be right now? Even if you don’t hear a thing, God hears you,” said Marc.

As the apostle Paul exhorted in 1 Corinthians 7:24, we ought to remain with God in every vocation to which we are called, to enjoy His presence, talk to Him, share all our joys with and cast all our burdens on Him. Just as God uses us as His hands and feet, He wants us to do our jobs “with Him”.

“Very often as we preoccupy ourselves with chasing our goals, we shut God out. We need to remember to walk with Him every moment of our journey, not only when something good or when something bad happens,” Marc said.

Gina added: “I think a lot of times we may overlook God’s calling because we are trying so hard to be in control. We always try to control the outcome and ask all the ‘what if’s’. This has been true for us too. But when we decided to surrender it all to Him, that’s when the miracles happened.”