In this highlights episode, Eric Oliver explains exactly how he was able to finally start getting traction with the marketing for his fledgling physical therapy clinic. By targeting the niche of endurance athletes in the community, his fully cash-based practice was able to develop a direct connection with a highly motivated market. Eric shares details on what’s worked in his niche, how he gets referrals, and some of the key tricks he’s used to stand out from the competition. 

This “highlight” is from a full episode on creating a niche, cash-based physical therapy practice.

This is the first interviewee I’ve had on the podcast who offers single-sessions that cost over $1000! Granted, these are 4-hour sessions, but it was quite impressive to hear how this level of service is sold.

When Gina Calderone first started out, she saw herself more as an in-home personal trainer even though she was a licensed physical therapist. As she took on more clients, she soon realized she wanted a dedicated space to work in, and she officially started a cash-based practice in 2004. Many of her training clients suffered from chronic pain, which led her to slowly edge back into her specialty of physical therapy. 

In this interview, Gina shares how she got started and found her way in the early years and how she markets her fascinating approach to physical therapy using social media and compelling word-of-mouth referrals. She gets into the details of pricing and scheduling as well as how she conducts her evaluations in such a way that they routinely end with a client buying a multi-visit package.

In this episode, I discuss the rather uncomfortable question often raised by prospective patients—that is, whether you participate with their health insurance plan. Over the years, I’ve found some strategies for making that conversation a whole lot more comfortable. And my approach is quite successful in leading many of the insurance “objectors” to choose my Austin-based physical therapy clinic despite the fact we are out of network. I walk you through this awkward conversation step by step, so you can field the “do you take my insurance” question with confidence!

This “highlight” is from a Q&A call with my Mastermind group—a highly interactive, supportive group where people who have tons of questions and concerns about how to start, grow, or transition to a cash-based private practice get the answers, resources, and confidence they need to build the practice of their dreams. We have a group coaching call every week, and we occasionally use excerpts of those calls for this podcast.

So here we are in 2020! This past year has been both incredible and incredibly challenging, and I wanted to share my biggest cash-based practice lessons learned and must-have strategies to bulletproof your private practice. Life can throw you curve balls, and if your business doesn’t have the components and foundations I describe in this episode, those curve balls can put you out of business.

You’ll hear what’s been going on in my life and how it might have resulted in the collapse of both of my businesses. Fortunately, the amazing teams I’ve recruited and built kept things going despite all the chaos, and business is better than ever! 

In this week’s podcast, I’ll go over my key mindset, business, and logistics lessons and how you can apply them as you work toward your dream practice and lifestyle.

In this highlights episode, Meredith Soelberg and Brooke Mitchell describe their experience as employees in an  insurance-based physical therapy practice that had to “weather the storm” of massive reimbursement cuts. The impact of those cuts made it apparent that they’d have to change their business model or face economic ruin. The cash-based practice model seemed to be the obvious solution, so the decision was made to give it a try.

Meredith and Brook explain exactly how the transition to cash-based was managed so the practice could remain viable for the long term. This information is especially relevant in light of the recent announcement of the coming 8% cuts to Medicare reimbursements for physical therapy services that will soon leave many practices facing similar situations.

Their ultimate success with the cash-based practice model as employees helped prepare them to open their own out-of-network practice, a concierge physical therapy and fitness facility that combines rehabilitation and wellness services. Their highly successful California clinic has grown to employ multiple physical therapists, personal trainers, Pilates instructors, and massage therapists.

This “highlight” is from a full episode on how to succeed with a cash-practice partnership.

This is Part 2 of my interview with Brenda Heinecke, who has spent the last 4 years building an incredibly successful pelvic-floor physical therapy practice that’s entirely cash-pay. If you missed Part 1, check it out to hear her tell the remarkable story of how she got a private pay practice started and managed the many challenges along the way.

In this episode, we dig into the details of all the marketing efforts that have driven the incredible growth and resilience of Brenda’s niche physical therapy practice. She shares exactly what drives the astonishing conversion rates for her workshops that make them a major part of her private practice marketing efforts. And she talks about her latest project—a new podcast to attract patients and referral sources that just launched in October.

Brenda Heinecke knew she wanted to be a physical therapist since high school. She envisioned a peds focus for her career, but once she landed her first job after PT school, she knew it wasn’t a good fit. While looking for another job, she started doing some in-home therapy—and continued that even after she took a full-time job. Within a few months, she rented a small office to see her own patients with the hope of using that as a springboard to her own sports-oriented physical therapy practice. But because she didn’t want to deal with the hassles of insurance billing, she didn’t know when or how she could move ahead with her dream.

At her husband’s suggestion, she began to investigate the cash-based practice model. She quickly found my website, made use of all the resources available there, and read my cash-based practice guidebook. This convinced her there were already many people running successful cash-based physical therapy practices, which meant it was possible for her to start a practice that didn’t revolve around insurance hassles.

Brenda put all she learned to work, and has spent the past 4 years building the practice she’d long imagined... despite being faced with some incredible challenges along the way. Now her bustling pelvic-floor physical therapy clinic has two locations and seven employees. In this interview, she candidly shares the details of how she made her dream of owning a cash-based practice into a reality. Her resilience and positive attitude can serve as an inspiration for us all!

We covered so much in this interview that it’s split into two parts. This episode covers how Brenda got started and how she managed her clinic’s unexpectedly fast growth and early setbacks without taking on any debt.

In this episode, I share website strategies that will help your cash-based physical therapy practice generate more leads that eventually become paying customers. I provide plain-language explanations of the top three factors that affect how high your site ranks with search engines, so you’ll understand what matters and why. And I explain exactly how to make sure you are performing well in each area.

This “highlight” is from a Q&A call I had with my Mastermind group—a highly interactive, supportive group where people who have tons of questions and concerns about how to start, grow, or transition to a cash-based private practice get the answers, resources, and confidence they need to build the practice of their dreams.

After grad school, Joey Salgado found his first job overwhelming and disappointing, as he was required to see 4-5 pts per hour plus the evals that came in. Assorted other jobs that followed all left him similarly unfulfilled, until he finally began to wonder why he chose physiotherapy at all. Eventually he’d had enough. Joey decided to “give up fear for Lent” and start working on his own cash-based practice, a place where he could reignite his passion for physiotherapy and provide the kind of treatment he knew his patients deserve.

Meanwhile, Josh Moreali—Joey’s friend from grad school—had also worked for years in a “money-mill” type practice, but he was driven to do something bigger. He knew that would be impossible within the traditional practice where he’d built his career, so when Joey’s practice had grown enough, Josh was ready to help out as a part-time contractor. In time, they were working together full time, so they decided to formalize their partnership by opening a joint physiotherapy practice.

In this interview, Joey and Josh share how they’ve built a thriving partnership that fosters their passion to make a difference in the field of physiotherapy. They divulge specific details on the pricing, marketing, financing, and logistics that have helped them create a private practice that embodies their vision for all that’s possible in physiotherapy.

In this episode, I answer some of the questions I received on how I market my own cash-based physical therapy practice. I share details on how I started my clinic, what I’ve learned about creating an effective, sustainable web presence, and how we follow up with prospective customers to improve the odds they’ll become patients.

This “highlight” is from a full podcast FAQ on going out of network.