The story of a local business owner

In 2015, Martha Mekonen found herself roaming around the rooms of a medical conference in LA, observing the latest technology in health and medicine, when she stumbled upon a booth for chiropractors. She graduated with her bachelor’s degree in neuroscience in 2013, and was looking to find a career for herself. This field intrigued her and just a few years later, she opened her very own practice in the San Fernando Valley. 

Being that Mekonen is Ethiopian, the chiropractic field was originally a foreign concept to her. 

“Ethiopians don’t really see being a chiropractor as being a real doctor. This practice is not well known in our community,” she said. 

What motivated Mekonen to pursue this career was her ability to help people through her work, and at the age of 31, she now owns Natalhood Inc., a chiropractic business in Chatsworth that offers prenatal, postpartum and pediatric services. 

Prior to this business venture,
Mekonen owned another wellness center in San Diego called Life Adjusted. 

Finding consistent clientele was tedious and networking only worked sometimes, Mekonen explained. What worked most against her, was the fact that many people did not trust a young chiropractor with only a few months of experience. She also quickly understood that there is not much support for Black women in business. As time passed, she knew something had to give. 

Two years after opening Life Adjusted, Mekonen adjusted her own life and closed up the shop in San Diego. 

Now, with more experience, she hopes to continue to expand her Chatsworth business and be an example for girls who want to follow in her footsteps. She wants to teach everything she has learned about chiropractic care and business to the Ethiopian community she comes from. 

“When I think of being a business owner and doctor, I think of somebody who is paving the way for somebody else,” she said.