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Welcome to The Dr. JJ Thomas Podcast! Here I'll be talking all things physical therapy, raw and unplugged, giving you the unfiltered insights you've been searching for in your cash-based physical therapy business. If you're caught in the grind of the traditional model, swamped with paperwork, or feeling like you're not reaching your full potential as a physical therapist, this podcast was created just for you.
They ask themselves, am I gonna be able to sustain this? Like, sure. I know I can survive for a couple months, but do I have what it takes? And maybe it falls under impostor syndrome too. Do I have what it takes to make this cash based practice sustainable?
Dr. JJ Thomas:Welcome to the doctor JJ Thomas podcast. Hey, everybody. Welcome to the doctor JJ Thomas podcast. I'm doctor JJ Thomas. Happy to have you here again with me today.
Dr. JJ Thomas:Thanks so much for tuning in as always. You know, I've I've just made a new calendar. It's been about a year since we've started this podcast. And, I said in the last episode, but I'll say again, it's just been it's been so rewarding getting to know all of you and more importantly, seeing your successes both in your businesses, in your cash based practices that you're building and growing, and just in the work you do with your patients every day. So thank you for listening.
Dr. JJ Thomas:Don't forget to hit that subscribe button, so you don't miss out on all the cool stuff coming up in the next year. Today's episode in particular for you therapists who are hesitant to open your cash based practice. And the topic really is around the three main reasons that I see therapists who are afraid to open their cash based There are 3 things consistently that I find stop a therapist from opening their cash based practice, and this happens again and again and again. And these are the three things. Number 1 is impostor syndrome.
Dr. JJ Thomas:Number 2 is sustainability. They wonder, am I gonna be able to sustain this? Like sure I can open. I can, you know, I can make it a couple months, but will I survive? Will I be able to make this product sustainable?
Dr. JJ Thomas:And the third thing is oh my goodness. All the legal questions. Am I compliant with with government policies and Medicare? Am I what about HIPAA? How do I handle?
Dr. JJ Thomas:What type of EMR system? All these questions. I'll say for me that third one was one of the biggest limiting factors when I was first opening my practice. But let's bring about each three topics and let's look at them each individually and kind of delve into to discover to help you discover is this something that's limiting you in particular from growing your own practice. So number 1.
Dr. JJ Thomas:Imposter syndrome. Here's a cool thing about imposter syndrome. If you're one of those people that you have impostor syndrome, I have good news for you. You actually you don't have to worry. You're one of the few, if you have impostor syndrome, that doesn't actually have to worry about having it.
Dr. JJ Thomas:And this is what I mean by that. My my friend William Branham, he's a amazing leader, businessman. He's a business coach and author, and he teaches people how to lead really well, how to lead like a navy seal. He's a former navy seal himself, and he uses all these tactics and strategies that he used while he was in the seals to help people run their businesses, run their lives, run their, progress, and whatever their goals are. And he said a really cool thing recently that hit home with me.
Dr. JJ Thomas:He said, impostor syndrome, those people who don't have impostor syndrome fall into 2 categories. Either they're very apathetic and they don't have the desire to grow or there are actually impostors. So the good news is if you have impostor syndrome, that shouldn't be the thing limiting you from continuing to open your cash based practice. Because if you have impostor syndrome, it probably means that you are not apathetic. And in fact, the contrary, you're someone who wants to grow and you wanna build and you're you're so driven that you have these glimpses of, oh my god, am I gonna be good enough?
Dr. JJ Thomas:Because anyone seeking excellence is always gonna feel like, oh, my gosh. I have to do more. I gotta do more. I gotta do more. And those are the ones who aren't impostures because they're out there.
Dr. JJ Thomas:They're doing the work. They're studying all the time. They're learning. They're swallowing up their environment, trying to make themselves the best they can be, the best version of themselves. And as clinicians, we're making ourselves the best version of ourselves we can be to help our patients.
Dr. JJ Thomas:Right? So I had it myself. I mean, I still have it. I remember all the speaking I do. You know, there are still times where I'm in a big audience, and I look out in that crowd, and I'm like, oh, god.
Dr. JJ Thomas:Am I do I know what I'm talking about? It's a very human feeling to have when you're someone who is is very driven, and wants nothing but the best. So if you have it, boom. You can check that off. That's not a reason not to continue.
Dr. JJ Thomas:The second thing that limits people from opening their own cash based practice is they ask themselves, am I gonna be able to sustain this? Like, sure. I know I can survive for a couple months, but do I have what it takes? And maybe it falls under imposter syndrome too. Do I have what it takes to make this cash based practice sustainable?
Dr. JJ Thomas:How do I ensure that people are willing to pay me out of their pocket when they might have insurance? And that's a whole another discretion, but how do I make sure that they see my value enough to make this sustainable? The answer for you falls into basically 2 categories. I'll tell you the first thing. 80% of sustainability comes down to just you getting the results.
Dr. JJ Thomas:Like, just you going back to being that excellent clinician that you're striving to be and not only getting the results, but showing your patients your value through the results. When you do that repeatedly time and time again, you don't have to sell yourself. You don't have to market. The the results sell themselves. In our primary university courses, we teach a systematic way so that you can 100% get these results every time.
Dr. JJ Thomas:And if you're not getting the results you want, that's your job right there as a as a primary clinician to to refer that person to someone else. Right? Which still is gonna earn loyalty in those patients because they're like, man. JJ did right by me. JJ tried for 10 visits to get me better, or maybe it was 5 and and and I didn't make a change.
Dr. JJ Thomas:And if I haven't made a change at that point, you can sure as heck bet that I'm not gonna I'm not gonna hurt my integrity or the patient's progress. If I believe someone else can help them better, I'm gonna refer them out. And so part of that 80% is getting your act together with your results and knowing when you can help someone when you can't, knowing how to help every person you can. And those that you can't, do right by them by referring them to someone who you believe can help them. So that's that 80%.
Dr. JJ Thomas:It's not hard, really. I mean, it's like everything. It's not hard, but it takes work. You know? Getting to the point where your clinical skills are so good that you are confident enough that you that I know if I haven't helped someone in 6 visits at all, that I need to find the right referral for them.
Dr. JJ Thomas:But I've gotten there because my clinical patterning has gotten so good at this point through the primal method we use that I feel confident of knowing when I can, you know, wave the wave the white flag and say, you know what? Maybe this isn't a musculoskeletal issue issue at all. Maybe this person needs to see an autoimmune doctor, or maybe this person needs to see someone else. So that's 80% of it. Now I know you guys are good at math.
Dr. JJ Thomas:You're doing the extra what's what's left? There's 20% left. Right? 20% of it is, I'm gonna call it communication. It's communicating with your patients in a way that helps them succeed, helps them understand your value, helps them understand why they should why they are going to wanna do these exercises, so that they can see the results.
Dr. JJ Thomas:Right? Communication is that other 20%. And again in our courses in our that we teach that in our business integration course. In our business integration course, we teach those soft skills of how to down to making eye contact with your patients and following up with them and, the way you phrase even how to schedule them. All of those soft skills are that other 20%.
Dr. JJ Thomas:But the good news there is that's trainable. That's teachable. All of the things in that sustainability section, they're trainable. You just have to find the right people to teach you. Might be me.
Dr. JJ Thomas:It might be somebody else, but make sure that if you want to open your cash based practice, you're dialing in your clinical skills and you will be sustainable. Because really patients want better. Patients want that 1 on 1 care. They want to see results. So if you're delivering results they're not gonna they're not gonna turn away.
Dr. JJ Thomas:And the last piece of it that third piece like I said earlier on in the in the intro. This was the piece that was the hardest piece for me. Like this was as a as a you know, I consider myself a a scientist and an artist. Like, the science and the art of physical therapy, that's my passion. Figuring out the logistical undertaking of how to open an should I open an LLC or should I open a sole proprietorship?
Dr. JJ Thomas:What type of attorney do I need? How do I work a, how do I find a good space and a lease that I can afford? How do I figure out HIPAA guidelines and Medicare guidelines? And how do I make sure I'm in compliance with all of these things? Which electronic medical records company do I choose?
Dr. JJ Thomas:All of those things, that's the third reason somebody might hesitate to open their cash based practice. And I 100% get you. As I said, that's really what took me so long. Those were the things that were limiting me in my very own practice. What I did to overcome that is I gave the advice to myself that I used to give to my kids growing up.
Dr. JJ Thomas:When they would become overwhelmed with something, I would give the analogy of an elephant. Right? And it's a ridiculous analogy. And maybe you guys have heard this before, but it's like, how do you eat an elephant? Right it's a ridiculous question who would eat an elephant how do you eat an elephant one bite at a time like you just take it one bite at a time so you just make your tackle your list and problem 1 do I open an LLC or a sole proprietorship You do your research.
Dr. JJ Thomas:You see which one's best for you. Boom. Check it off the list. Problem 2. How do I handle the questions around Medicare?
Dr. JJ Thomas:How do I make sure I'm compliant with all of that? Guess what? I am nowhere in any way, shape, or form an expert on that, but I was able to hire a great attorney who is very knowledgeable in specifically that. So the answer to this third limitation is you hire people who are great at it. You it sure.
Dr. JJ Thomas:Is it is it a cost? Absolutely. But is it worth peace of mind? 100%. I found a great network of of professionals who did excel in the areas that scared me.
Dr. JJ Thomas:For instance, that attorney that I I keep her on retainer. She has a great resource of options. I'm happy to share them with you. In fact, she's gonna come on the podcast, probably in a couple months. So, again, make sure you're subscribed so you don't miss that.
Dr. JJ Thomas:If that's something that's limiting you right now, you're gonna wanna see that episode, with with the attorney that I use. She's amazing. Other things. Other questions were like the electronic medical record system. All of those things, they're just problems that you have to tackle.
Dr. JJ Thomas:Eat it like an elephant one at a time. When you when you draw it out like that for yourselves and you turn it into a chore list that you tackle piece by piece, you'll find it's much more attainable. I guarantee if you are someone who is currently limited or afraid to open your own cash based practice, you fall into one of those 3 categories. So ask yourself which one of those 3 do you fall in? And then start tackling the problems.
Dr. JJ Thomas:Eat it like an elephant. Right? If you have impostor syndrome, that one's an easy one. I can tell you right now you're crazy. If you think you have impostor syndrome and you're not gonna cut it, then you're probably amazing and you're probably have high expectations and high standards and you're gonna be fine.
Dr. JJ Thomas:If your problem is problem number 2 and you're worried about your clinical skills, guess what? That's a very trainable skill. Go register. We are our very next course is our our primal integration course, October 26 27th at primal HQ in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania. We'd be happy to have you.
Dr. JJ Thomas:Reach out to me. The link will be in the in the, in the show notes. If the third option is your problem, then really you just gotta make a list and start tackling the list. If that's still too overwhelming for you, we have a mentorship program where I can walk you through it step by step and that next next mentorship program is going to be coming up pretty quickly early in 2025. Applications are open now.
Dr. JJ Thomas:So, don't miss out on an opportunity to join that. I can walk you through and even share with you my Rolodex of of amazing people that have helped me along the way and still continue to help me. So that's it, you guys. I hope it's helpful for you. As I said, I'm really enjoying hearing all of your success stories.
Dr. JJ Thomas:I hope this one, is an episode that will help you get to your own success in taking that plunge and opening your own cash based practice, and, if there's anything else I can do for you, by all means, reach out. I'm happy to be there. Good talking to you. Take care.