I was asked this morning to write down my top 10 tips for what to avoid when starting a cash based practice. Since I always prefer to think in terms of positive ideas, I’m answering here with my top 10 tips of what TO do! I hope that this list is helpful: 1) Get really clear on your UVP and mission. Live it, breathe it. 2) Work with an attorney to set up your articles of incorporation, LLC, and all legal documents. 3) Obtain professional liability insurance. 4) Research your location. Talk to other business owners in the area. 5) Keep overhead low. 6) Negotiate a situation where you pay only for the time you are actually using the space. 7) Build relationships with everyone in the neighborhood where your office is located. 8) Do trades with personal trainers and massage therapists so they can get a feel for what you do (and refer clients that are appropriate). 9) Start at a pace comfortable for you (keep your day job and start with one day a week, or one patient a week, or whatever is financially a good decision for you). 10) Have a website (even if it’s simple). I love to help other therapists start their journey toward being an owner. If you found these tips to be valuable, you might want to check out my Webinar, Starting a Cash Based Practice. I cover these topics and more, to help you get on the path to building your ideal practice.
Read more →What Do You Love? As a private practice owner and health and fitness writer, I’m no stranger to the ups and downs of being an entrepreneur. I somewhat reluctantly took on this role back in 2003, when I first opened my private practice. I had been frustrated for months at my job in a busy rehab hospital, and thought that I could do better on my own. Without any formal business training, I sat down with a yellow legal pad and outlined what I wanted my business to look like. Now more than 10 years later (with four years in the middle working for someone else), I find myself thinking a lot about the good, the bad, and the ugly of self-employment. A few recent articles have caught my attention, and given me food for thought. The articles cover topics we don’t often discuss as business owners: the risk, the sleepless nights, the stress of an empty schedule or a phone that doesn’t ring. After talking with many business owners over the years, I know that we all share the same joys and frustrations, and I think that we need to talk more openly about our struggles in order to support each other. It goes against the grain for most business owners to talk about their struggles. After all, we take pride in our image. We want to appear in control and successful at all times. But this often comes at a great cost. This article discusses the psychological price of entrepreneurship in a candid fashion. It discusses the toll taken by lack of a steady paycheck, working long hours, risking security, and loss of time with friends and family. Several prominent business owners openly discuss their struggles with start-ups and failed ventures. The same article points out that […]
Read more →The Value of the Cost of Treatment This article http://wapo.st/187qp1A was shared on Twitter early this morning by physical therapist Justin Feldman (@JNFeldman), with the comment “A good argument for #cashPT.” As I clicked the link and saw the title, my heart sank. It said: For a stiff neck, nearly $6,000 in physical therapy seemed too much. The article was an op-ed from author, Chris Core, a commentator for WTOP radio. In it, he described his experience with physical therapy for his neck. Suffice it to say, he did not have a good experience. I have a number of thoughts after reading his perception of the experience, so indulge me while I share them. In my Pain Sciences course work with Myopain Seminars, we were told that “the pain is where the patient says it is, when they say it is, and it is as bad as they say it is, because it is THEIR pain.” (Once we come at it from that perspective, we can begin to shift their experience and emotions around the pain as we partner with them in treatment). So, working from that paradigm, I would like to say that Mr. Core’s experience with physical therapy was as bad as he says it was (because it was HIS experience). None of us know what happened in his evaluation and one subsequent treatment; but, he states that he was asked a bunch of silly questions and then given a massage and some exercises, and sent home. We need to appreciate his take on what he experienced. As a physical therapist, I ask the same “silly” questions of every new patient. I ask a lot of questions. Tons of questions that may seem irrelevant to the patient: “How is your sleep?” “Is the pain sharp or more of […]
Read more →Lagniappe The other day, a patient of mine who grew up in Louisiana used a word that was new to me. He described how he ordered take out from his favorite Cajun restaurant for his birthday. The employee on the phone asked if he would like dessert. He declined, saying “It is my birthday; but, I’m watching what I eat right now, so no thank you.” He told me that when he brought his food home and opened the bag, there was a small container of chocolate mousse with a candle in it, and an inscription that read “Happy Birthday.” He said it was a traditional Louisiana lagniappe. He went on to explain to me the concept of a lagniappe as a “little something extra.” According to Wikipedia, a lagniappe is a small gift given to a customer by a merchant at the time of a purchase (such as a 13th doughnut when buying a dozen) or more broadly, “something given or obtained gratuitously or by way of good measure.” check advance locations The word entered English from the Louisiana French adapting a Quechua word brought in to New Orleans by the Spanish creoles. It derived from the South American Spanish phrase la yapa (referring to a free extra item, usually a very cheap one). The term has been traced back to the Quechua word yapay (‘to increase; to add’). In Andean markets it is still customary to ask for a yapa when making a purchase. The seller usually responds by throwing in a little extra. Although this is an old custom, it is still widely practiced today in Louisiana. Street vendors, especially vegetable vendors, are expected to throw in a few green chilies or a small bunch of cilantro with a purchase. (Wikipedia, again) This word got me thinking […]
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