5 Things I’d Do If I Was Starting From Scratch

Most clinic and studio owners adopt an ‘all hands on deck’ approach to their business. Meaning, not only do they insist on doing everything themselves, but…

They don’t have a marketing plan…

They don’t know their margins…

And they don’t have a clue where their next client is coming from.

Which is a problem, because without direction or a clear plan of action – YOU become the biggest barrier to growth in your business.

How do I know this? Because I made the EXACT same mistakes when I opened my first clinic back in 2014.

Fast forward 8 years, and my life and business look very different.

For example, I:

> Don’t take meetings, calls or have any ‘planned commitments’ on a Friday. It is my least creative day!

> Take 3-4 holidays a year without having to close my clinic, chain myself to my laptop, or micromanage my team AND pay myself any less.

> Charge more than any other physio in my local area, yet still have a long list of people who are more than happy to wait 2-3 weeks for an appointment.

I don’t tell you this to brag. I just wanted to show you what’s possible when you ditch the ‘all hands on deck’ approach and start planning for growth.

In fact, here are 5 things that would’ve allowed me to scale my clinic to six figures a LOT sooner – while saving me a tonne of time, energy, and money in the process.

1: Get Clear On Your Why

Like most clinic owners, I wanted to ‘go out on my own’ for a long time, so I jumped in with two feet when the opportunity arose.

While this approach helped me get started, I didn’t stop and ask myself:

“Why am I opening a clinic?”

“How will this add to my life?”

“What do I want to achieve?”

Answering these questions would’ve allowed me to align my core values with my business, and set healthy boundaries with my clients.

Instead, I said “yes” to every client that came my way and worked more hours than I wanted to.

It wasn’t until I found myself burnt out and feeling unfulfilled did I take that step back and reconnect with my why.

It’s never too late to reconnect yours.

2: Listen To ONE Person

Nope, I’m not going to say at this point that you should only listen to Thrive.

I’m just making the point that there are thousands of free business-building podcasts, blogs, and Youtube videos out there, and while some of the advice is useful, it’s easy to get distracted by the next ‘shiny’ object or tactic and end up doing nothing.

When I was first starting out, I made the mistake of listening to too many conflicting opinions – which led to analysis-by-paralysis.

It was only after I hired my first business coach that I saw the true value in listening to and implementing ONE person’s advice.

This kept me accountable and gave me confidence in what I was doing, even when I was having one of those weeks.

3: Ask For Help (Sooner)

As I said above, most clinic owners prefer to do everything themselves, and I was no different.

Case in point, for the first year of running my clinic, I was the physiotherapist, pilates instructor, receptionist, cleaner, and bookkeeper.

And although I look back at this time with fond memories, if I was starting again I would’ve hired at least one part-time member of staff much sooner.

This would’ve allowed me to step away from the day-to-day running of the business and focus on tasks that moved my business forward – like marketing and introducing new programs and services.

4: Upgrade Your Mindset

Starting your own business is a massive achievement, there’s no doubt about that.

However, if you want to continue to grow your business, you must realise:

“What got you here, won’t get you there.”

Meaning, your old way of thinking won’t help you achieve bigger and better things. Therefore, you have to upgrade your mindset.

How do you do that?

Well, everyone’s different but I think a good place to start is to challenge any (and all) limiting beliefs you might have.

Because – as cheesy and as ‘woo-woo’ as this might sound – if you want to achieve big things in business, you have to BELIEVE in yourself.

For instance: overcoming my long standing belief that I could only make money when I was treating a client, was a game changer for me.

This encouraged me to stop trading ALL of my time for money and figure out ways of generating revenue without having to dig my elbow into someone’s sciatic nerve.

5: Play a Bigger Game

Jim Rohn once said:

“You’re the average of the five people you spend the most time with.”

And I agree with Jim.

If you spend most of your time with people who are constantly complaining about the cost of living, increasing energy prices, and flaky clients – don’t be surprised if that negative energy starts rubbing off on you.

Looking back, I wish I spent more time with people who were playing a bigger game than me.

Why?

Because those are the people who will push you to achieve your full potential as a business owner.

Those are the people who will encourage you to step out of your comfort zone.

And those are the people who will dare you to dream of a life and business you never thought possible.

So my advice?

Find a group of people who have already achieved what you want to achieve, hang out with them (in-person or virtually) and watch how much your business grows in the next year.

And there you have it…

Now, I don’t expect YOU to implement all 5 things at once. No, a much more effective approach would be to focus on one thing at a time…

So, which will you choose?

If you’re still not sure, I discuss these 5 things in much more detail in a recent podcast episode that you can listen to right now.