Can you believe a young health entrepreneur could kill it as a business owner - going from a one person show to a 14 person team in under 4 years?
This success story is one you’ll be drawn into and won’t be able to stop reading.
It’s the second interview in our ‘Clinic Owner Interview Series’ - a series where we’re learning insider tips straight from the experts themselves. It started with Gordon McMorland, a successful multidisciplinary clinic, sharing his tips and insights into growth, taking risks, expansion and more.
Now we’ve got Kim Hall from Physio2U giving us a sneak peak inside her business and how she’s managed to make it such a huge success in a short amount of time.
Since the start of Physio2U in early 2012, Kim has rapidly grown the Physio2U team to serve people from Vancouver to Abbotsford BC. As a strong believer in lifelong learning, Kim also mentors internationally trained physiotherapists helping them obtain their certification in Canada and is involved in health care research at the University of British Columbia. Kim is also a very smart and savvy young entrepreneur who was runner up to the Young Entrepreneur of the Year award.
Today she offers an incredible amount of insight to help you dream big, plan ahead, and achieve more success in your practice.
Take a look Inside the Life and Business of Kim Hall...
1) Tell Us About Your Practice
After working in the public health care system for 7 years and watching the funds for community based physiotherapy decrease every year, the growing need for private pay in home physiotherapy services became increasingly obvious. There was no company established in BC providing such a service. The opportunity was there for me to create a business plan, work hard, find better ways and grow an innovative health care business Physio2U.
After starting out with just myself, it took me 14 months to find another physio willing to take a risk and join me. By 22 months, the Physio2U team grew to myself plus 4 more therapists. It will be 4 years in March 2016, now we have an office manager, clinical leader, and 11 physiotherapists plus myself providing home visits.
How did you come up with the company name and brand?
I first played around with several different names but it was actually a friend at the time who brainstormed 'Physio2U'. I narrowed it down to 2 names, surveyed a bunch of friends and colleagues, then Physio2U was declared the winner!
What makes your health business different?
At Physio2U, we are very proud of our company culture. Our core purpose is “Empowering Lives.” We strive to do this for our clients, their loved ones, and the physiotherapists.
We offer great schedule flexibility for all the therapists. Because we are providing services in people’s homes, our growth is unlimited. We are not limited by clinic space. The therapists can all work the same days and hours if they want to.
2) What do you do to build culture at your clinic?Every month we have a team meeting. We alternate between breakfast business meetings and evening clinical inservices. We all strive for continuous growth and learning.
We also have family events two to three times a year. In the past this has included hiking, sailing, stand up paddle boarding lessons, and ice skating.
3) What is your biggest business accomplishment in the past year?
We moved from a home office to a rented office in Vancouver in March 2015. We also hired a full time office manager who provides great support to all the therapists who are on the road everyday in addition to excellent customer service to our clients.
4) What is your biggest mistake and lessons learned in owning a clinic?
Biggest mistake: not having signed agreements in writing. Always have agreements in writing. Lawyers can be your best friend.
Lesson learned: the more time you spend working on the business, the faster you will grow.
As a health care provider, it is so easy to fill our days with patients and clinical hours. Sometimes you just have to block off a few days of every week to work on your systems and strategic plans.
5) What's something you've recently learned that you're really excited to implement?
HR recruitment and retention strategies, which my friend, who happens to be an HR specialist, helped me with. Obviously, I didn't learn anything about HR in physio school!
I learned some great tips from my friend. One of the things I learned is that a job description is different than a job posting and the job description can outline a formal evaluation tool.
6) If you had to spend $500 marketing this month to get new patients, how would you spend it?
Google Adwords.
Physio2U currently uses Adwords. Compared to other marketing channels I like the specificity and control you have with Adwords.
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For example, with a newspaper ad, which costs a few hundred dollars, you have no idea who has viewed it or when, or if anyone even saw it. With Google Adwords, I know precisely the outreach and can adjust wording, geographical location, time of day viewed, etc. with feedback and data to constantly improve the settings for the same cost.
A lot of our clients are not currently avid internet uses but this will change in the next 10 years. Always best to be prepared.
7) What do you do to learn more about business and leadership?
I read books, watch TED talks, and go on coffee dates with smart people. :)
TED talks I’d recommend include anything by Simon Sinek, and Joe Abraham's talk on bosiDNA. As health care professionals, we are all "Specialists.” We have to tap into the other types of entrepreneur DNA, either within ourselves or find a nonspecialist partner, in order to grow a successful business.
Blogs: The CSC Accelerator blog is awesome! Very useful industry specific information.
The coolest coffee date I went on was with Scott Foran of 505 Junk this past summer. I met him through the Richmond Chamber of Commerce because he and his business partner, Barry Hartman, beat me in the Young Entrepreneur of the Year award. As Scott is also in a service based industry, but completely different from health care, he had a lot of new perspectives to share on marketing, growth and strategic planning. We have actually become good friends and continue to go on coffee dates and trade advice and books.
The most recent book he lent me, which has been very useful to create a one page strategic plan is “Prioritize!” by Joe Calhoon and Bruce Jeffrey. The one I lent him is “40 Hour Work Year” by Scott Fritz.
8) What is currently your biggest waste of time and how will you fix it?
I don't like to think I waste time. Everyone always tells me I am such a hard worker. Maybe Facebook - my personal Facebook page is a good time waster. However our company Facebook page has proven to be a good recruitment tool for new physiotherapists interested in working with us!
9) What strategy do you have for work life balance?
I schedule time to sleep in, float in a sensory deprivation tank at the Float House at least once a month, exercise at least 5 times a week and go away on a weekend trip about once a month.
This time away from work and investing in my health and wellness gives me the power to be fully engaged and present when I am working on empowering lives and growing Physio2U (BTW, I don't have kids).
It hasn’t always been like this. In the beginning, I was working 70 to 80 hours a week to build things to what they are today. Now I am able to keep it to 40 hour work weeks. My goal is to divide work in the business and on the business - working 20% clinical and 80% operations/management. I’ve been tracking this every month. In July I was at 50/50. For November I worked 37.5% clinical and 62.5% management, so I am getting there!
10) What is your daily morning ritual that gets you energized to go to work?
I use my foam roller and do self myofascial release on my spine and hips for 10 minutes.
11) What is the book you’ve most often gifted to other people?
The E Myth Revisited by Michael Gerber
12) Best advice for yourself in your 30s
I am in my 30's: Keep working hard and live 'em up!
For a new graduate looking to start a business, I would advise you to spend at least 2 to 5 years consolidating all your clinical skills and knowledge you obtained in school.
Having the inside knowledge and exposure to how different businesses operate, gives you a lot of insight of what NOT to do as a business owner. And, make sure to dream big - the best way you can predict your future is to plan for it!
Key Takeaways
Awesome points and insights from young entrepreneur Kim Hall!
Use some of these key takeaways to implement in your business starting today:
- Find a gap in the market and serve those customers.
- Build a company culture that fosters commitment, growth and empowerment for clients and staff.
- Always have signed agreements in writing.
- Work ON your business, not just in your business.
- Harness the powers of digital marketing - it’s only going to get bigger and stronger.
- Look after yourself to obtain more energy and focus.
- Dream big, plan ahead, and make it happen.
Did you learn something else equally as valuable?
Go ahead and share your thoughts in the comments below and be sure to subscribe to the blog for the rest of the interview series.
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