If hiring feels impossible and retention feels fragile, you’re not alone — and you’re not crazy. In this episode of the Private Practice Owners Podcast, Nathan Shields and Adam Robin break down why recruiting is harder than ever right now, and why the real solution isn’t “more applicants” — it’s building a retention machine that compounds.

Drawing directly from real-world clinic experience, Nathan shares how shifting focus from reactive hiring to intentional retention, leadership development, and new-grad pipelines allowed his organization to stabilize staffing, protect culture, and sleep better at night — even in one of the most competitive labor markets physical therapy has ever seen.

Together, they unpack what practice owners must do as we head into 2026 to stop bleeding talent, stop overpaying for lateral hires, and start developing leaders from within.

You’ll learn:

• Why “hiring is impossible” is a signal to fix retention first — not panic recruit
• How to identify and lock in your true A-players before competitors do
• The exact conversations owners should be having with key team members to secure 12-month commitments
• Why new grads are the most overlooked (and highest-upside) recruiting strategy right now
• How to turn student placements into long-term leaders inside your organization
• What a real leadership development pathway looks like — from new grad → leader → clinic director
• How delegation, ownership, and development directly impact retention and recruiting outcomes
• The mindset shifts owners must make to stop being the bottleneck and start building a scalable team

If you’re a clinic owner, hiring manager, or leader who feels stuck between burnout, turnover, and constant recruiting pressure, this episode will help you rethink how you build teams — and show you how to create a system where great people want to stay, grow, and recruit others for you.

🎯 Takeaway: Hiring isn’t broken — retention, development, and leadership pipelines are. Fix those, and recruiting becomes easier, cheaper, and more predictable.

👉 Want to go deeper with Nathan? Book a call — https://calendly.com/ptoclub/discoverycall

❤️ Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share! https://ptoclub.com

💬 Join the conversation: If you haven’t already, find the Private Practice Owners Club Facebook Group and connect with owners who are building resilient, high-performing teams.

Annual Strategic Planning ensures your next year stays focused, aligned, and profitable. Visit ppoclub.com to talk with Adam about building clarity and momentum for 2026.

99.5% of successful owners interviewed on this podcast have leveraged a business coach at some point. Private Practice Owners Club is the coach you need — ppoclub.com

Blog Post URL:

https://www.ppoclub.com/is-hiring-impossible-build-a-retention-machine-of-a-players-new-grads-and-leadership-development

Want to talk about how we can help you with your PT business, or have a question you want to ask? Book a call with Nathan - https://calendly.com/ptoclub/discoverycall

Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share! https://ptoclub.com/

99.5% of successful owners interviewed on this podcast have at one time or another leveraged a business coach to improve their business. Private Practice Owners Club is coach you need - ppoclub.com

Most practice owners treat finances like a fire drill: frantic at year-end, reactive at tax time, and surprised when cash flow hiccups wreck payroll. What if money management wasn’t a crisis to survive, but a repeatable system you lead on purpose?

In this episode of the Private Practice Owners Club, host Nathan Shields sits down with financial strategist Eric Miller (Econologics) and bookkeeping & vCFO expert Sean Healy (AccountedFor). Together they deliver an operational playbook for wrapping up 2025, protecting cash flow in Q1, and building the disciplined systems that let owners actually plan for retirement — not just keep the lights on.

They dig into:

• Why proactive tax planning beats last-minute spending sprees (and how to actually execute it with your CPA)
• The three financial skills every owner needs: acquire it, control it, invest it — and how to institutionalize them in your practice
• Practical year-end moves that protect cash flow (retirement catch-ups, HSA contributions, beneficiary checks, and smarter equipment buys)
• How to build a financial team that works together — CPA, bookkeeper, and advisor aligned to your goals (and when it’s time to fire an advisor who isn’t)
• Forecasting and proforma basics: reverse-engineer the profit you need to reach your personal goals, then map the operational steps to get there
• Cash-first tactics for Q1 (expect a tight January — plan the line of credit, manage payroll cadence, and pre-talk client deductibles)
• Money discipline that scales: automated savings buckets, routine scorecards, and the operational cadence that produces real wealth

If you’ve ever been blindsided by tax bills, drifted through another year without a cash plan, or felt like your practice owns you — this episode gives you the financial clarity and tactical next steps to run your business like an asset, not an anxiety.

🎯 Takeaway: Financial success is intentional. Stop reacting and start engineering predictable profit, cash flow resilience, and long-term wealth by building simple systems and a proactive financial team.

👉 Connect with Eric & learn more: wealthforpts.com

👉 Want bookkeeping or vCFO help? Learn about AccountedFor and schedule a complimentary checkup via their site (search AccountedFor Bookkeeping / Virtual CFO).

👉 Want to go deeper with Nathan? Book a call — https://calendly.com/ptoclub/discoverycall

❤️ Love the session? Subscribe, rate, review, and share! https://ptoclub.com

💬 Join the conversation and access tools: https://linktr.ee/ppoclub

Want to talk about how we can help you with your PT business, or have a question you want to ask? Book a call with Nathan - https://calendly.com/ptoclub/discoverycall

Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share! https://ptoclub.com/

Annual Strategic Planning will ensure that your next year keeps you focused on on-target to complete your growth and expansion goals. Go to ppoclub.com to talk with Adam about how we can help you.

If you’ve ever looked at your schedule and thought, “We’re slammed…so why is my bank account not moving?” — this episode is going to feel like oxygen. In this PPS 2025 recap conversation, Jerry Durham sits down with Nathan Shields, founder of the Private Practice Owners Club, to break down the real reasons clinics bleed profit — and why the solution isn’t more new patients.

Across this episode, Nathan pulls back the curtain on the cash-flow killers hiding inside most clinics: weak collections, underperforming billing systems, inconsistent documentation, and a front desk that’s unsupported (not unskilled). He also explains why AI won’t fix broken processes — and why owners who skip the fundamentals end up scaling their problems, not their profit.

In this episode you’ll learn:

• The four internal “leaks” that cost clinics $100K–$300K per year — and how to close them fast.
• Why chasing more new patients is the wrong move when your systems are broken.
• The exact numbers every owner must know (and what they actually mean).
• How to tighten front-desk operations so patients arrive, pay, and stay.
• Why underbilling — not overbilling — is silently draining your margins.
• How AI can support your systems… but can’t save you from bad processes.
• What PPS 2025 revealed about the future of private practice — and what owners need to fix BEFORE adding tech, growth, or new services.

What you’ll walk away with:

• A Cash-Flow Leak Audit you can run in 30 minutes.
• A simple 4-phase roadmap to increase revenue without increasing visits.
• Clarity on the 3–5 KPIs that actually drive your business (and which ones don’t matter).
• Scripts for improving front-desk collections and reducing cancellations.
• A new lens for evaluating tech, platforms, and AI — so you stop wasting money and start moving the needle.

💡 Quick takeaway: Revenue grows when systems grow — not when schedules get fuller. Patch the leaks first. Then scale with confidence.

🎯 Want to learn the systems Nathan teaches owners one-on-one? Join the Strategic Planning Workshop on January 9–10, 2026 in New Orleans — or book a private planning session here: https://calendly.com/ptoclub/discoverycall

💬 Explore upcoming events and resources: https://ptoclub.com

❤️ Love the conversation? Subscribe, rate, review, and share!

Blog Post URL: https://www.ppoclub.com/stop-the-leaks-increase-cash-flow-without-more-patients

Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share! https://ptoclub.com/

99.5% of successful owners interviewed on this podcast have at one time or another leveraged a business coach to improve their business. Private Practice Owners Club is coach you need - ppoclub.com

If your clinic looks busy but the bank balance says otherwise, this episode is for you. Nathan Shields and Adam Robin get raw about the slow bleed that almost sunk a practice — and the exact moves they used to stop the leak and re-build profitability. They cover the blind spots owners accept (too much compassion, not enough accountability), the culture cracks that ripple into revenue, and the concrete fixes that actually move margins back into healthy territory.

In this episode you’ll hear:

• How a six-month, slow-burn decline (tiny losses here, a few underperformers there) turned into a culture issue — and the moment Adam realized things had to change.
• The playbook they used: hit the numbers first, reset breakeven & productivity expectations, co-design the rollout with leadership, and run a company-wide reset.
• Why “production is the basis of morale” isn’t just a slogan — it’s how high-performing clinics protect culture and profit.
• Real, tactical targets: how to calculate required visits per provider from revenue-per-visit and salary, reasonable ramp plans (4–6 week steps), and what to do if training doesn’t move the needle.
• The hard truth: you can be compassionate and still demand profitability — but the owner must lead with clarity and conviction.

What you’ll walk away with:

• A checklist to spot the slow bleed (what to watch monthly so the problem never becomes a crisis).
• A step-by-step reset playbook you can run with your leadership team (numbers → expectations → rollout → accountability).
• Language and scripts for the tough conversations (owner to team, peer-to-peer leadership, and ramp plans).
• How to turn underperformers into contributors — or transition them out without wrecking morale.

Quick production note: If margins are slipping, don’t wait 6 months. Start with revenue-per-visit × target visits = required productivity. If numbers don’t line up, recruit and retrain now — don’t romanticize comfort over solvency.

🎯 Want help running your own strategic planning session? Join Nathan & the team Jan 9–10, 2026 in New Orleans — or book a one-on-one with Nathan: https://calendly.com/ptoclub/discoverycall

💬 Learn more & find event details at: https://ptoclub.com

Want to talk about how we can help you with your PT business, or have a question you want to ask? Book a call with Nathan - https://calendly.com/ptoclub/discoverycall

Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share! https://ptoclub.com/

99.5% of successful owners interviewed on this podcast have at one time or another leveraged a business coach to improve their business. Private Practice Owners Club is coach you need - ppoclub.com

If you’ve ever felt like hiring is a shotgun approach and retention is just luck, this session will change how you build teams. In this Total Talent Masterclass, Brian Weidner (Career Tree Network) sits down with Nathan Shields to unpack a strategic, repeatable approach to building a game-winning culture of recognition and retention that actually moves the needle.

Nathan walks through how intentional values, recognition systems, and leadership by metrics turned his clinics into high-performing, sticky organizations — the same factors that helped him build and sell a business at a valuation well above industry averages. Together, they cover how to stop reacting to churn and start engineering a workplace people want to join and never want to leave.

You’ll learn:

• How to hire and fire by values so culture becomes a competitive advantage (and not just a buzzword)
• Practical recognition systems that scale: from peer-to-peer shoutouts to quarterly town halls and value awards
• Why embedding values into every stage of the employee lifecycle (ads → interview → onboarding → reviews → offboarding) prevents culture drift
• Ways to measure recognition success (NPS for employees, retention & productivity KPIs, and qualitative pulse checks)
• How to balance production AND values — and why sacrificing one for the other destroys morale fast
• Leadership playbook: lead like an owner, coach by metrics, and create career conversations that reduce surprise exits
• If you’re a hiring manager, clinic owner, or HR lead who wants predictable staffing, lower turnover, and a culture that amplifies productivity, this masterclass gives you the framework and tactical next steps.

🎯 Takeaway: Culture isn’t fluff — it’s a scalable business lever. Do the value work, measure it, reward it, and watch retention become a strength instead of a headache.

👉 Want to go deeper with Nathan? Book a call with Nathan — https://calendly.com/ptoclub/discoverycall

❤️ Love the session? Subscribe, rate, review, and share! https://ptoclub.com

💬 Join the conversation: If you haven’t already, find the Private Practice Owners Club Facebook Group to connect with therapy owners and leaders who are building great teams.

Want to talk about how we can help you with your PT business, or have a question you want to ask? Book a call with Nathan - https://calendly.com/ptoclub/discoverycall

Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share! https://ptoclub.com/

Annual Strategic Planning will ensure that your next year keeps you focused on on-target to complete your growth and expansion goals. Go to ppoclub.com to talk with Adam about how we can help you.

99.5% of successful owners interviewed on this podcast have at one time or another leveraged a business coach to improve their business. Private Practice Owners Club is coach you need - ppoclub.com

If you’ve ever felt like your marketing efforts aren’t moving the needle — or worse, that your business might stall before it scales — this episode is a must-listen.

In this episode of the Private Practice Owners Podcast, Adam Robin sits down with Kay Sanders, Strategic Growth Partner for Private Practice Owners and Founder of Elevated Edge Consulting. Kay shares her remarkable journey from hitting rock bottom in 2019 to helping a local PT clinic grow from zero online revenue to half a million dollars — and how that experience shaped her signature Patient Flow Blueprint.

Together, they dive deep into the hidden bottlenecks that keep private practices stuck, and how small shifts in marketing, messaging, and mindset can create massive momentum.

You’ll learn:

• The most common “invisible bottlenecks” that stall private practice growth
• Why tweaking one thing (not changing everything) can reignite results
• How to know when it’s time to invest in paid ads — and when it’s not
• The difference between sales and marketing (and why both matters equally)
• Why belief in your service is the ultimate growth multiplier

If you’ve ever wondered why your marketing “isn’t working,” this conversation will help you identify the real issue — and fix it for good.

🎯 Learn how to create a steady flow of patients and sustainable success — without the overwhelm.

👉 Connect with Kay Sanders and get The Patient Flow Blueprint at ElevatedEdgeConsulting.com

💬 Want to talk about how we can help you grow your PT business?

Book a call with Nathan — https://calendly.com/ptoclub/discoverycall

❤️ Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share! https://ptoclub.com

📘 Blog Post URL: https://www.ppoclub.com/from-rock-bottom-to-full-clinic-the-patient-flow-playbook-with-kay-sanders

Want to talk about how we can help you with your PT business, or have a question you want to ask? Book a call with Nathan - https://calendly.com/ptoclub/discoverycall

Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share! https://ptoclub.com/

If you haven't done so by now, join the Private Practice Owners Club Facebook Group. Find it under "Private Practice Owners Club" and connect with like-minded therapy owners from across the country.

99.5% of successful owners interviewed on this podcast have at one time or another leveraged a business coach to improve their business. Private Practice Owners Club is coach you need - ppoclub.com

Selling your practice is probably the biggest financial decision you’ll ever make — and once the ink is dry, the hard part begins: where do you invest the proceeds so your future actually works for you?

In this episode of The Financial Beast Podcast, host Eric Miller talks with Nathan Shields — ex-practice owner, real-estate investor, and co-founder of the Private Practice Owners Club — about life after a liquidity event. Nathan breaks down what he did well, the mistakes that cost him, and the operational and tax moves every seller should plan before they list.

They dig into: 

• Why owning your clinic real estate can change the entire outcome of a sale
• Tax strategies and why you need your CPA and financial advisor in the room early
• Deal terms to avoid (earn-outs, misaligned post-sale roles) and how to sell from a position of power
• Cashflow vs. appreciation — how Nathan structured investments to replace income
• Lessons from private equity, hard-money lending, and 1031 exchanges
• The psychological side: how to plan for purpose and productivity after the sale

If you’re thinking about selling your practice (or want to plan ahead so you don’t get blindsided), this episode is essential listening.

🎙️ Learn how to convert a one-time payout into lifelong financial freedom.

👉 Connect with Nathan: [email protected]

👉 Want help planning an exit strategy? Book a call with Nathan — https://calendly.com/ptoclub/discoverycall

💡 Like the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share — https://ptoclub.com/

Private Practice Owners Club helps owners sell from strength (not desperation). If you’re ready to maximize value and protect the life you want after exit, they’re the team to talk to.

Want to talk about how we can help you with your PT business, or have a question you want to ask? Book a call with Nathan - https://calendly.com/ptoclub/discoverycall

Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share! https://ptoclub.com/

99.5% of successful owners interviewed on this podcast have at one time or another leveraged a business coach to improve their business. Private Practice Owners Club is coach you need - ppoclub.com

If you’ve ever felt like your EMR slows you down instead of scaling you up, this episode is for you. In this episode of the Private Practice Owners Podcast, Adam Robin sits down with Craig Brasington, Director of Revenue Operations at Stride EMR, to unpack the evolution of healthcare tech — and what the next generation of EMRs really means for practice owners.

Craig shares his 20+ years of experience in outpatient therapy tech, from his early days as a founding member of Clinicient to his current work with Stride. Together, he and Adam explore how EMR systems have evolved from basic record-keeping tools to intelligent, AI-powered platforms built to streamline every part of your clinic — from scheduling to billing to patient engagement.

They dive into:

• The three generations of EMR technology (and why most practices are stuck in Gen 1 or Gen 2)
• How AI is transforming not just clinical documentation, but business efficiency
• What to consider before switching EMRs — and how to make the transition as seamless as possible
• Why “thinking small to grow big” is the mantra behind Stride’s success

If you’ve ever wondered whether your EMR is holding your practice back, this episode breaks down what the next wave of healthcare tech really looks like — and how to make sure your systems are built for the future, not the past.

🎙️ Learn why the right technology isn’t just about software — it’s about strategy, scalability, and sustainability.

👉 Learn more about Stride EMR at www.strideemr.ai

Want to talk about how we can help you with your PT business, or have a question you want to ask?

Book a call with Nathan — https://calendly.com/ptoclub/discoverycall

Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share! https://ptoclub.com/

99.5% of successful owners interviewed on this podcast have leveraged a business coach to grow their business.

Private Practice Owners Club is the coach you need — ppoclub.com

Blog Post URL:

https://www.ppoclub.com/the-tough-conversations-that-make-or-break-your-private-practice-with-dan-neissany

Want to talk about how we can help you with your PT business, or have a question you want to ask? Book a call with Nathan - https://calendly.com/ptoclub/discoverycall

Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share! https://ptoclub.com/

99.5% of successful owners interviewed on this podcast have at one time or another leveraged a business coach to improve their business. Private Practice Owners Club is coach you need - ppoclub.com

Most practice owners believe burnout is just part of the job — long hours, heavy workloads, and endless demands. But what if burnout isn’t a personal flaw… what if it’s a system problem?

In this episode of the Private Practice Owners Podcast, host Adam Robin sits down with Kelly Higdon, co-founder of zynnyme, therapist, business coach, and author of Therapist Burnout. Kelly has spent the last 15 years helping practice owners rebuild their businesses (and their lives) from the ground up — without losing themselves in the process.

They dive deep into:

• Why burnout isn’t about self-care — it’s about broken systems
• How personal growth and leadership maturity shape business success
• The hidden mental and emotional patterns that block execution
• Why alignment, not hustle, creates sustainable progress
• The surprising connection between self-compassion and team performance
• How to build a practice that serves both your clients and your life

If you’ve ever felt stuck in survival mode — doing “all the things” but never feeling at peace — this episode will help you rethink how you lead, grow, and take care of yourself while running a thriving business.

🎙️ Learn how to lead from alignment, not exhaustion.

👉 Connect with [email protected]

Want to talk about how we can help you with your PT business, or have a question you want to ask? Book a call with Nathan – https://calendly.com/ptoclub/discoverycall

💡 Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share! https://ptoclub.com/

99.5% of successful owners interviewed on this podcast have at one time or another leveraged a business coach to improve their business. Private Practice Owners Club is the coach you need – ppoclub.com

Want to talk about how we can help you with your PT business, or have a question you want to ask? Book a call with Nathan - https://calendly.com/ptoclub/discoverycall

Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share! https://ptoclub.com/

99.5% of successful owners interviewed on this podcast have at one time or another leveraged a business coach to improve their business. Private Practice Owners Club is coach you need - ppoclub.com

Most practice owners think profitability and patient care are at odds—you either make money or you do right by your patients. The truth? You can (and must) do both.

In this episode of the Private Practice Owners Podcast, Adam Robin sits down with Dan Neissany—physical therapist turned entrepreneur, healthcare consultant, podcast host, and co-founder of Best Practice Strategies. Dan’s mission is simple: help practices grow without burning out.

They dig into:

• Why money isn’t evil—and how profitability actually fuels better patient care
• The tough conversations practice owners avoid (and why avoidance kills progress)
• How data-driven decisions reveal hidden profit leaks and growth opportunities
• The mindset difference between thriving owners and struggling ones
• Why systems, accountability, and leadership—not just hard work—are the real drivers of success

If you’ve ever felt torn between helping patients and making a profit, this episode will reframe what it means to run a business that serves everyone—patients, employees, and you.

🎙️ Learn how to balance care and cash flow without compromise.

👉 Connect with Dan at tbpstrategies.com or find him on social media @DanNeissany. Links in the show notes.

Want to talk about how we can help you with your PT business, or have a question you want to ask? Book a call with Nathan - https://calendly.com/ptoclub/discoverycall

Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share! https://ptoclub.com/

99.5% of successful owners interviewed on this podcast have at one time or another leveraged a business coach to improve their business. Private Practice Owners Club is coach you need - ppoclub.com