09/30/2026
10 things I’ve learned in 20 years of successfully running a physical therapy business:
1. Align the goals of your team with the goals of the organization. When everything is aligned, it makes the work more fun and everybody pulls in the same direction.
2. “Diagnose before you prescribe” isn’t just something for the clinic room. It’s also perfect for business. Understand what isn’t functioning optimally, then fix that next.
3. Don’t get caught in the thick of thin things. Pull out far enough to see clearly, then be assertive about what matters most.
4. Taking massive action often requires much less energy overall than constantly taking mediocre action or retreating.
5. Understand the importance of your front office and how they help new patients find you, get scheduled, and receive care in a way that serves them best. Don’t underestimate the power of a well-trained front office to represent your brand and your clinicians.
6. Find joy in the journey. There will always be problems, and you will never reach a point where you’ve solved all of them. Remember to enjoy the work and smile along the way.
7. Understand that you can engineer your business to serve you instead of constantly serving it and giving up more important aspects of your life for the business.
8. Your operations are extremely important, and how you serve people is extremely important. But if nobody can find you, it doesn’t matter. Make sure marketing is senior to operations.
9. Remember that you’re making a huge impact in people’s lives. You’re helping people move better, live better, and avoid addictions and other so-called solutions to their pain.
10. You will never create margin in your time, energy, and money if you don’t learn how to delegate appropriately. Delegation is both a skill and an art, but it can be learned and done very successfully.
