E02 | Lauren Sok of Functionize Health

On Episode 2 of The PT Entrepreneur Podcast Danny catches up with fellow P.T. and Entrepreneur Lauren Sok to hear her story of getting out of the big business medicine machine and launching her own practice.

Every day I am living my dream which is reaffirmed by the commissioned artwork on my office wall which rightfully states, “Are you living your dream, or still dreaming of living.” This is the text on a piece of art in Lauren's office and I feel as though it sums this episode up really well the other subjects we cover are:

• How Lauren Sok got started and why
• Some of the struggles of hanging her own shingle
• What success is
• Lauren's secret to success

You can find out more about Lauren Sok here http://www.functionizehealth.com/

Episode Transcription:

Lauren: [00:00:00] Thanks, Danny. Thanks for having me.

Danny: [00:00:01] Absolutely. Well, you know, Lauren, here's what I want you to do. Just give everybody a little, a little background on, you know, how you got into physical therapy and, also what, you know, how you ended up going into the route of being a business owner.

Lauren: [00:00:16] Okay, perfect.
well, I graduated in 2000 from the University of Science, the sciences in Philadelphia. So, I finished school, and at that time in 2000, there was that big shift in Medicare reimbursement. So there were no jobs to be found in Philadelphia. There was like. Something crazy, like nine physical therapy schools in New Jersey, Delaware, Pennsylvania.

And so I moved to Atlanta trying to find a job. I had no job moved here and decided I just make it work. So I, Moved to Atlanta, started working, in practice, a small practice making very little money. So at that time, you know, physical therapists didn't make a lot. Maybe, I think starting salaries were close to $30,000.

Yeah, exactly. Exactly. And you were lucky to find that. So you took it, and you learned that you had to work your butt off because. You know, you, there were no other jobs, so you just had to take what you got and, you know, see a lot of patients and, you know, learn your skills, as best as you can. So that's what brought me to Atlanta.

And then I've, you know, through that time I worked for several companies, and it was always kind of a go-getter, I guess. You see, I worked for a company where I did travel with a Broadway musical and treated the dancers on that musical. So that was super fun. I got to see the, you know, the US and manage a lot of different injuries and dancers, and then, came back to Atlanta and just, you know, just like everybody else kind of work for these large corporations that had multiple clinics.

And you know, I was one of those people that. I got, you know, I think a lot of PTs have added, you know, we have to kind of challenge ourselves and always learn new things. So staying with one company was never something that I really, you know, stay there for a long time. I wanted to learn more items, get new skills.

So, you know, I always tell people it's not a bad thing if you feel like you need to move to different companies, you know, stay with a company for a year or two, and move somewhere else because I learned a lot doing that. I got to work with a lot of really great mentors, therapists that had a lot of different experiences and backgrounds.

So I was able to get a lot of tools in my bag to use with my patients. So, you know, over those years, so that was 2000. and so by about, let's see, probably like, you know. 20 2012, 2013, you know, I was like, all right, I've been doing this. I've been working for these companies, pounding the pavement, seeing lots of patients, and not really feeling rewarded as we all do, you know?

And so, you know, when you work for a big company, it's all based on how many patients do you see. So you leave at the end of the day, and you don't feel rewarded. And that's not why any of us got into doing physical therapy. And you know. What really started happening was, you know, my husband, I guess she is probably the big, my biggest fan, was like, you know, Lauren, you're so much better than this.

You're a good PT. We need to start thinking about how you can do business out of this. Cause I was seeing people on the side, you know, at my house, friends, neighbors, things like that. So, you know, he was probably my biggest fan that kind of pushed me into doing this on my own. And then, you know, I always say like, there were three, probably three people who were my, like really pushed me to do this, and like my husband being one.

And then the other one was I had one at my boss, actually another man. So all these men in my life have kind of pushed me to do things. Yeah. Which is interesting. Yeah. I mean. So one of my bosses was like, Lauren, I think you could probably go out on your own and, and do this. And then one of my referral sources of a physician, friend of mine, he was like, you know, that business, that big corporation is preventing you from doing a lot bigger things.

You need to think about doing something on your own. So it's interesting that it's all been men that have really pushed me to do this. Now I have girlfriends, but you know, women always tell. You the, all the other sides, like, Oh, you're a mom. You should be there for your kids. Or Oh, are you really going to be able to balance life and work of being a business owner?

So they make you think of the emotional side, and then you second guess yourself. So I think it's interesting how, how many women feel about owning a business. So that's kind of the people that have helped me kind of push me out the door of these large corporations and kind of doing something on my own.

Danny: [00:04:47] So this was, okay. So you started, your, your practice in 2012. Is that right?

Lauren: [00:04:54] Yeah, so I started in 2012, basically seeing people out of their homes. So, yeah. So this physician friend who's a local functional medicine doctor who kind of pushed me to like, you know, start to spread my wings so to speak, he started feeding me a variety of clients to see in their houses.

So I did that all through the kind of, you know, locally around the cater. I'm seeing people in their homes and having, you know, no overhead. I was still working for a big company, and I was very upfront with them. They knew that I was doing this on the side. So, yeah. So that's how it started. And then I got to the point, you know, that I wasn't efficient with my time doing that and I had to think of something different.

Danny: [00:05:35] functionalize the space you guys are in now, what was that jump like for you going from, you're seeing people in their houses, there's no overhead, right? There's like, you know that that is such a lovely time. I think, you know, the little cost is. Great. But when you want to grow, and you have to have space, you have to have a staff to actually help, you know, schedule everybody and, and have the infrastructure in place.

Like now, now stuff starts building up, right? So your, your overhead now changes and it's kind of scary. So, so how was that transition for you and, and, was it smooth? Did you have some times where you're like, Holy crap, man, I don't know if this is gonna actually happen?

Lauren: [00:06:16] You know, my, my husband is very much kind of an, he's not an entrepreneur, like by, you know, business and trade, but he has that entrepreneurial spirit.

So he kind of helped me navigate how to start a business, you know, get a business license, looking at, you know, leasing space. So that was really helpful. And then, you know, when I was looking at space. Like, ideally, I was hoping to be, you know, in kind of the sections of Atlanta that were kind of growing.

But, you know, that was kind of unaffordable. So when I looked at space Decatur, where I am now was the most affordable for me to be. And, you know, luckily. The building I'm in, they were looking for tenants, so they were really willing to work with me. So in terms of me putting a lot of money down, I didn't have to do that.

I mean, it's built into my lease instead of me to putting a huge deposit down. And then luckily they were a part of that. They were willing to create the space out precisely as I wanted it to be. So, yeah. So that was really good. That I could build the area, make it what I wanted to. And, And they've been straightforward to work with, so I really haven't.

Had a ton of, you know, bumps in the road now, you know, obviously you got to work really hard to make it, to make the rents. So, you know, so I was probably working harder than I was, you know, and being in a stable job, but. It's all for myself. So that's all the difference.

Danny: [00:07:41] Well, so let's get into where you guys are at now.
Okay. So you start your, you know, seeing people on the side and this kind of concierge kind of home base approach. Now you guys have, you know, a designated space or the space indicator. You have a couple of satellite locations as well, right. In a country club as well as a pregnancy center.

Lauren: [00:08:01] Yeah. The Atlanta birth center. So at

Danny: [00:08:03] this point, and then, so staff wise, where you at, how many PTs, like office staff and stuff like that and you know, how has the growth been? Has it been? Has it been easy, or has there been some growing pains along the way?

Lauren: [00:08:16] yeah. So we have, right now, it's myself.

You know, full time. I have, I brought on, right when we opened the doors, I brought on a new grad, physical therapists that wanted to start doing pelvic health.

Danny: [00:08:30] She's great.

Lauren: [00:08:31] She is fantastic. Yes. So I brought her on board. She. As a salaried therapist full time, which is a big risk because we had to build something from scratch cause she didn't, he doesn't, you know, it didn't have a name.

We had to really, you know, spread the word and you know, that, that's huge because I had to work, you know, a lot to be able to support her salary. And I, I know that a lot of people would say that's a big mistake. I really wanted her to be vested in what we were doing and help build it together. And that's why I did that.

Now, what I would say is building her practice has been harder than what I had initially thought. Mostly because there are a few other pelvic health therapists who have been in our area for probably 10 or more years and who have a firm hold on all the referrals. So we had to think a little outside the box and go more towards it.

You know, local moms groups, you know, doulas and, you know, birth centers, chiropractors and things like that to spread the word versus just going straight to doctors and, you know, and, and the ma, the typical medical model. So that has been a little bit harder, I

Danny: [00:09:42] want to say spread the words. I think this is an exciting point.

So like, okay, when we look at like the nitty-gritty of this stuff, right? Like. Marketing is, comes into a whole bunch of different forms, I'm sure in person when you're talking about spreading the word. So you're, you're saying you're getting out in the community, get in front of as many people as you can to kind of put this new grad in front of them and leverage your, your own kind of, your reputation to help growers.

How you guys started, how you found success with her early on, because I think this could be a beneficial point for a lot of people are listening to this.

Lauren: [00:10:11] Yeah, sure. I mean, we've, yeah, like, you know, doing workshops, different speaking engagements, you know, doing like, you know, what we call, you know, like walking with a PT kind of thing where they can ask questions.

You know, going to the two, we're at the birth center, so offering classes, on, you know, prenatal and postpartum type of thing, so, yeah. Yeah. Instead of, you know, just knocking on, you know, going to doctors and doing the cold call thing to somebody that they don't know, you know, they're not going to, in a niche practice like ours, they're not going to send them to people a lot of new people, unless you have a backdoor way of getting to them.

Sure.

Danny: [00:10:50] Yeah, that's a high point. And the other thing with that stuff is, you know, we, we did something very early on, as well, it was sort of similar, but a completely different group of people, right? We, we, we built our reputation through education and, right. We were down to just teach anybody anything that we can.

And what was interesting about that is, it doesn't, it costs your time, for sure, but it doesn't require a lot of money. And, and it's, it's also such an if you. Are profoundly interested in what you're talking about. Like that is charismatic to people. It's not, charisma isn't necessarily like good looking fast-talking, whatever.

It's people that are interested in something, you know, like if you're geeking out about pelvic floor health, you know, like you obviously really care about the stuff that comes across. And I said I think it's brilliant that you guys went that route. And if you're listening to this and you're, you have a practice, or you're starting a practice, like this is, don't be afraid to get out in front of people because I think it's very.

Commonly that people are scared to do that, but it is such a powerful way to help build yourself an audience, and then they tell their friends, and that's how it starts.

Lauren: [00:11:53] Yeah, absolutely. And I mean, you know, we've started doing a workshop, you know, that's like what's your mom had never told you. And it's, you know, going through like, what is your pelvic anatomy and, and what's normal about pregnancy and childbirth and menopause.
And, you know, sometimes people feel uncomfortable with that. But I mean, there's a lot of people that don't know anything, and they say, Oh my gosh, I just wish I would've learned this. You know, like when I was a teenager or before I had kids, and now they're in their sixties and they, they've never been told these things.

Sure. So it's enormous.

Danny: [00:12:23] Yeah. I think that's. That's really smart. What, aside from the in-person stuff that you guys are doing, is there anything else in the, you know, a couple of years now that you guys have been kind of growing that you found in terms of marketing, that you're like, man, everybody should be trying to do this.

Besides getting in front of people in public speaking and trying to grow like that, is there anything else that you'd say? No brainer. Yeah. Try and get this involved in your practice as well.

Lauren: [00:12:47] Gosh, I think. I would say the social media piece is really the most significant way to spread your, your brand, I guess, in creating a brand.

You know, we've met with graphic designers and things to help us create a brand, and we're still working on that, but so that when you do a Facebook post or you do your Instagram posts. People instantly recognize that's you. Right? So whether it's, you know, using the same props in your, in your Instagram pictures or a banner or something like that for that brand recognition.

And not being afraid. I mean, we're doing pelvic health, so not being afraid to be a little lighthearted on the pelvic health piece where people kind of laugh, like, okay, that's a bit funny, but you know. Just to get some attention. I think those are some things that, you know, we've tried to really work on.

Danny: [00:13:36] So when you, when you, I think branding is so important and, and reliable, and if you do it well, it's tough to do well. So when you guys decided, you know, what you want your message to be, what was that process like, and what is that message? So when somebody sees an Instagram post, what do you want them to think.

Lauren: [00:13:55] well our, our, our tagline is, your health redefined. So basically, we are re are redefining what people think in. What health care should be and what physical therapy should be. So it's looking at, you know, that continuum of care where if you come to us, you're getting, you're not just understanding, cause I'm, I'm trained to do pelvic health, but I'm not doing pelvic health internal in terms of like internal exams.

So if somebody's coming to us, they might be getting, you know, the orthopedic piece for me, which I'm good at. But then they might be getting their pelvic health treatment. They might be getting. They might be, you know, we might be doing a running analysis so they can get back to running. But it's this whole continuum of care that makes people, you know what we say, function ISED you know, so they're, they're, they're ma, they're wellbeing.

Their functional wellbeing is being maximized by being able to, I still look at the whole picture. It's not segmented care is what we're trying to deliver.

Danny: [00:14:53] And these codes like these different disciplines within it. So you talk about, you know, in particular. So what's that relationship like with the people you have that are, that are running the plots, a portion of your business is, it's, is it.

It's, it's patients that are currently being treated by PTs, and maybe you lumps and plots in there as well as, as ways, as almost as if it's like a, a training session that is kind of guiding towards what you're trying to do as a goal, as a PT. Or is that something that afterward, like, you know, I think you're good to go, we're going to discharge you. Still, I think you'd really benefit from, you know, gaining some strength and some flexibility through, through, and we have a great instructor, and then now that's a way for you too, necessarily sell them more but, but keep them.

And help them achieve a goal in a, in a better

Lauren: [00:15:36] way. Right, right. So we, we've separated by, we have clinical Pilates, and we have fitness Palladia. Okay. So I am a certified Pilates instructor. So, you know, I have clients where we might do half PT and half Coladas, or it might be that we do a full session of clinical and then.

When they're ready to progress, then we send them on to do fitness with the, you know, Pilates instructors. But you know, it also. You see, they're, you know, some people, because we, we, there are, they are paying out of pocket. They can't afford to see us indefinitely for the clinical palate. So they might go to the fitness Pilates instructor and see them who are, they're getting great care.

It's just, you know, it's not from a physical therapist.

Danny: [00:16:23] Yeah, that makes total sense.

Lauren: [00:16:24], So you're. Still, we're keeping them in the loop so that if they have an injury. They can come back and see the physical therapist if needed.

Danny: [00:16:32] Right. now, what was the process like bringing on applies as a director?

What part of your business? Did you decide, yep, I want to, I want to have this element to my business and it, which adds complexity, right? Cause it's another person. It's a whole, I mean, it's similar in specific ways, but it's a whole nother, you know, type of movement work. So when did you start to bring that on within the growth of your practice?

Lauren: [00:16:55] I probably about six months in. I just realized that there was a need to, you know, offer it for people to people. Number one as a way for her to bring patients into our, so she was kind of marketing herself as well. So she, you know, teaches group classes within the local community. So she was bringing in clients that we might not have, you know, reached.

And then, You know, and also, you know, as a way to allow our patients for, you know, quality care at a lower price, so to speak. And, and then, you know, just to be able to have that additional income as a business owner. You know, when we're not using the space, having somebody else come in and use the space and pay us some rent to maximize that

Danny: [00:17:39] relationship relationship set up.
Because I think this is, you know, an exciting idea and you can go about it. Doing it several different ways. So, you know, without getting into like exact numbers or anything like that, what, what's the, how has that have to set up? Is she an employee of yours? Is it somebody that manages their own schedule, and they just subleased the facility from you?

Like how do you guys set this up?

Lauren: [00:17:59] Yeah, I mean, right now we've done it where they've, they come in, and they basically pay us rent, you know, a set rent to sublease the space. Right. So we don't, we don't do any of the scheduling. You see, they do all their own thing, and then they just pay us, you know, at the end of the month for, you know, their time that they've used it.

Now, as we've gotten busier, you know, we might need to make them an employee and, you know, have them on the schedule because just utilizing the space, you know, it was getting a little hectic now of trying to make sure. Yeah, everybody can, can use it without us being too overcrowded.

Danny: [00:18:33] Sure. I mean, that's a pretty good, pretty decent chunk of equipment costs and, yeah.

You know, and it takes up space. And, and, and, but yeah, there's, there's some, there's just so many different ways to do it. And, I guess you have more say over somebody if they're an employee, but it also, it's kind of nice to have somebody out there just trying to, you know, market themselves and bring people in.

So, but if you're listening to this like there's more. Then just physical therapy out there. I understand we're physical therapists, right? And that's what we go to school for. But business is business, right? And there are ways to generate revenue in more creative ways than just, Hey, I need to see more patients, which I think is what we typically go to, which is not a bad thing, but I mean, there are so many other options out there.

And this pie's option is something that has been proven in multiple businesses that I know of that does work because it's very symbiotic.

Lauren: [00:19:23] Right? Absolutely. Absolutely. And we're, we're, we're trying to also bring on, a, a yoga therapist, a power like health yoga therapist as well to do something similar.

Danny: [00:19:33] Well, okay, let's, let's get into your, your kind of daily, or let's, let's say your week. Okay. Let's cause you're obviously busy. There's no way you're not, you got three kids, you own, you own a business, you're still treating patients. So like how many patient treatment hours are you. Actually doing per week at this point.

Lauren: [00:19:53] so right now, I see a lot of patients and most of that is because

Danny: [00:20:00] it sounds like, it sounds like you realize that maybe you should cut that down a little bit.

Lauren: [00:20:04] Yeah. Yeah. I need to set some boundaries for sure. And, that's kinda my goal. So for, you know, I have this other therapist, you know, she's building up her schedule, so until she gets up to full capacity, I do have to see a lot of patients to make that happen.
But she's finally getting up there to where I can start to cut back my hours, but I can easily see as many as like. 35 people a week, which was not why I went into my own business.

Danny: [00:20:31] This is 35, one hour long. Okay, let's make sure we, let's make sure we quantify that, because look guys, that is a that's a lot.

And, so you know that that's just treatment time too, right? You're not including

Lauren: [00:20:43] documentation and then, okay. 

Danny: [00:20:46] All right, let's get into this because I don't know how you're doing it. Like, so you're already three kids. 35 hours of patient care. Then you're running, you're running the business on the back end, right?

I'm assuming you have some marketing or getting out and doing networking things with people and, you know, relationship development. You're training your staff. You know you're, you're, there's a lot of things that you have to do. So, you know. Th this is actually an exciting thing for us to talk about because you know, before the podcast, Laura and I were talking and he was like, Hey, you know, people think business owners all make $1 million in like don't work at all.

And, and in many cases, here's what, here's what happens is you, you initially. You work twice as hard to get to pay yourself half as much money so that you can, so you can grow something that sustains longterm and, and these growth cycles can be really kind of rough. So, okay, so how do you manage to balance that with actually being a mom and, you know, being around your three kids and not just have it, being mindful around them and being able to shut it off?

Lauren: [00:21:38] Yeah. Yeah. Well, I mean, and I will tell you this, I mean, people do have to understand. You know, my salary, I make less. I pay, I pay myself a salary. I actually make less than what my staff therapist makes. I've chosen to do that so that I can have this business. So it's probably even half of what I made at staff as a staff therapist in a big company.

But, so I'm not making lots of money right now, but you know, it takes a few years to actually make a profit, and I'm willing to put that in. But, But yeah, I mean, it's, it's a lot because I, you know, I'm, I'm seeing patients, I'm doing the admin. You know, the other big thing is I make sure that every week we block off at least two hours for like, you know, staff meetings or employee workshops.

Because as you build a business, there are so many things you've got to keep that communication going as you train and, and all of that. So, I try not to set that aside. It's easy to kind of want to push that alone, but you have to do that. And so, you know, I, and as you mentioned, I've got my three kids.

I have a very supportive husband, which is fantastic. But you know, and the, you know, just trying to like go home and I'm, you know, with them, when I go back, it's all on them. I don't have time to do any of my admin until probably about 10 o'clock at night. So my time is probably from 10 to midnight.

And then, you know, I get back up at probably 5:00 AM and start the whole process all over again. So, it's a lot. Yeah.

Danny: [00:23:03] And, you know, this is, this is an excellent conversation to have because I think sometimes we say this stuff out loud and we kind of think to ourselves, Holy shit, like, how am I doing this?

And, and, and I guess it's sort of like having kids, right? Like, I remember. Being around my sister before we had kids, when she, she had her son by two years or two years, I'm sorry, three years before we had our son and. You know, I, I remember thinking, how in the hell do you take care of this thing? You know, like

Lauren: [00:23:30] he's

Danny: [00:23:30] crying all the time.
He's so damn needy and like, I didn't want any kids at the time. And then, and then, you know, we have, we have a couple of kids and, and people were like, man, how do you do it? And it's like, do you just do it?

Lauren: [00:23:38] You know what I mean? Make it work. But let

Danny: [00:23:41] me, let me ask you this because I think that there's like these three life cycles that I've noticed in cash-based practices.

And it's, it's, it starts with. With number one, it's like you, you're by yourself. You're developing a perfect brand or a name. You know, we're, we're word of mouth and recognition for your skillset, and you start to get really busy. And if you just stayed right there, I mean, some people would say, I'll just work four days a week, I'll have a long waitlist, and there'll be a lifestyle business, and I'm cold, right?

And then they can make good money doing that, and they can just chill there. Right? But, but then there's step two, which is, which is where you're at. And I'm in the same place as well, where, you know, we're now growing. We have staff that's coming on, we're, we're expanding. And. And we're trying to do more than just that, that, that single practitioner clinics.

So in that phase, it's a ton of growth happening, but you're still actively involved in your practice on a day to day basis as a practitioner. And then stage three, I see it as we're stepping back and we're actually like doing a lot of the training, managing, and we're, we're not seeing patients anymore.

And if we are, it's only minimal, and it's the people that we really, really love working with. And, and that's the direction that, that we're going. Too. So, you know, do you ever look back at that stage one and think, man, how awesome was it when I had like six, seven people a day and I was making more money, and I was, you know, I know, I know.

It was like seeing my, my family more.

Lauren: [00:24:55] Yeah. Yeah. I mean, definitely. I mean, it was, it was a lot easier. But I knew I could only grow it so much by myself, you know, and I'm only one person, and everybody wanted to see me. And, and you know, I had this grand vision in my head from the, you know, from the beginning.

And I really have wanted to make that, you know, make that transition happen. So I knew I had to keep pushing and pushing and pushing, to make that happen. And finally, it is, you know, we actually have two more therapists coming on in August. So, you know, so just to, you know, so you do have to keep pushing and, and to where you get to where you are.

And, and, and with that, I will be able to back down my hours because there'll be bringing in more revenue and we'll be able to meet all of our goals. So it's, it's happening, and I can see kind of that light at the end of the tunnel and seeing. The balance. And I think the right thing with bringing these people on one is we'll be a full-time pelvic health therapist, and she's a little bit older.

She's about my age, early forties. And then another new grad therapist. And the balance is right. I think having that balance of seasoned therapists in new grads is good. Just because we're all kind of going through different life stages and. You know, my kids are older, they don't need to be, you know, as much attention as they did when they were, you know, toddlers.

And then the new grads are, you know, you're millennials who, you know, luckily the ones I have are willing to put a lot of time and effort, and there's, they're more energetic at specific things that I'm not good at. So, you know, especially the social media piece. And so they kind of take that on and I can take on the managerial part.

And so that's been a perfect balance so that I can break free a little bit from, you know, the patient care and they can do that. And, you know, and we can progress the business from there.

Danny: [00:26:42] So as a cash-based practice, so, you know, not directly being in-network with any, insurance company how do you guys deal with the most frustrating.

Question for anybody that is in this model, and it's, well, I'd like to see you, but do you take my insurance? And this happens like daily, right? So, I think this is a fundamental question for people to able to answer when they talk to somebody. So what's the strategy you guys use within your business in terms of letting people know the value of why they should come to see you?

And also maybe they don't even understand what their insurance benefits

Lauren: [00:27:19] are. Yeah. Right. I mean, I think I take a lot from, I think you've done the course too, but Paul, golf's big thing about when people call. Yeah, it's awesome. Is when somebody calls you kind of deflect that question, right? And you ask them more of like, well, you know, what are you coming in for?

Or what are you unable to do that you want to get back to doing? And so when they tell you, okay, well, I can't take care of my kids. Then, you know, you start asking questions around and empathizing with that and then creating, well, okay, you know, we want to get you back to taking care of your kids as soon as possible.

You know, we want to get you in, we do this one on one care, and we'll be able to get you better, faster. And so, you know and then explaining that. We don't take insurance, but you'll be able to be reimbursed if you submit the claim to your insurance. And that the outcomes will actually be, you know, fewer visits because we're able to see them one-on-one and there'll be paying less than the, you know, in the, in the end.

So, it's all of our questionings are more based on getting them back to what they're unable to do. Not, we don't initially say, Oh, we don't take your insurance. It's okay. We'll tell us a little bit about what you're coming in for and getting to know them as a person. So it's kind of like we're interviewing them and understanding and making a feel like they're, they've come to the right place.

Danny: [00:28:39] Yeah, that's a great way to put it. And I've heard Dan Kennedy, who's a 10 direct response marketing guru saying like, people buy solutions. You know, people who don't buy it. Things necessarily. Right? Like people don't buy services. People don't give a, they don't care that we are like dry needling certified or or

Lauren: [00:28:57] all.

Danny: [00:28:57] No, they don't even know what the hell the letters mean behind our name. The only, you don't want people to know what that means. Our other physical therapists, we're not trying to work with them. Right. I like it. Indeed, for us, we spend so much time, you know, touting that and actuality it means nothing.

But yeah, if you can, if you can sell a solution if you can. If you can help somebody achieve that solution but have them understand what, what it is, it, the conversation becomes much more comfortable. Even though it is still, you know, a bit challenging. Cause there's definitely people out there. It doesn't matter what you say like they're going to want to use their insurance and, and that's okay.

I mean, if that's your thing, then we'll help you find the right place to go. But yeah, answering that question is, is enormous. And, and, and, and the thing where you guys, and how you structured this as well, so it's always on one, still an hour long. Is that correct? Yeah. And then what's your typical like average visit with a patient like?

So when you say, Hey, we usually see people this many times, like we'll get you better this much faster as a selling point. Like what's your average often?

Lauren: [00:29:52] well, I would say probably to get them better. It's anywhere from, you know, six to eight visits. But most of our patients become lifelong, you know, physical therapy clients, meaning that they might continue to come once a month.
So once they see that they're doing so much better, we kind of, we're really good at marketing, marketing. The other aspects like the or, you know, yoga or, you know, we do, we do group classes, so getting them to come to some group classes and things like that. So they're still staying in our system so that they do come back to us if they have an injury or they come back for like a tuneup once a month. I, you know, I hate that full discharge. The plan that we've been taught as physical therapists that there are a start and a stop. The care, there's not, they should always be tuned into, coming into physical therapy and staying healthy and active.

Danny: [00:30:43] Yeah, that's huge. And it also changes the sense of urgency.

Numbers of new patients each month. If you have some amount of, you know, this is like why marketing companies have retention clients. Like I, I was, I had a meeting with a guy that owns a marketing company last weekend, you know, and he was telling me about retention clients and why that's so important to their business from a cash flow standpoint.

You know, I think we can take a lot of, lessons from these other businesses in terms of PT and, and, eh, you know what, for some people, that's not what they want, and maybe that's not appropriate for them, but for a lot of them. You know, especially you get somebody with 20 years of lower back pain that you get better and they're back to playing golf.

Like you better believe they're totally down to do whatever it is you think that they should do. You know? And the last thing they want is a massive relapse within that, that same issue. And go back to where they were at before. So, I think that's really smart. And if you guys can. You know, show that your patients show them that there's value in that.

It, many of them are very willing to want to do it, and it's not a hard sell. It really shouldn't be. They already liked it

Lauren: [00:31:47] right there. And they stay loyal. And, and you know, the other thing we did is we started selling packages. So people will give them a discount if they pay for, for packages. And because we're all offering different things, you know, they can use that package to, you know, it's maybe to do the, you know, see the pelvic health therapist and then also do, do palazzos one-on-one with me or you know, get, you know, treatment for their, you know, maybe it's a neck pain issue so that, and then they get treatment for that.

So they use it. We can use it for multiple things to treat different body parts. So they're not just coming in for one body part. And then, you know, they see it as, Oh, you do lots of different things that'll help me, and they, they keep coming.
Danny: [00:32:28] Well, totally. And, you know, I, I was a personal trainer in college, and I remember, I mean, this, it's funny for me to think about what, what we get sketched out about believing that what we're worth, right?

Like some of these packages that you and I probably both have are like, you know, over $1,000 quickly right now, when I was a trainer in. This was in a Reynolds plantation, like a Coney area, right on the field. You're familiar with space, but it's just like a golf retirement, like Mecca. And there's, there's a lot of wealth there.

And I was the, like second personal trainer they had at this place called the Lake club, which is an adorable gym there. And I remember as a. A saw or a sophomore in high in college, I'm selling $5,000 physical or personal training packages. They were not six-month-long packages to these people that were just like trying to be fit, and now coming out of physical therapy school, going into the army, I didn't have to sell anybody anything.

It's a socialized medical system. But when I got into the civilian world, and I realized. Holy crap, people don't think we're worth anything. You know, like, here I am, this 21-year-old dumb ass that doesn't know what I'm doing. And people would have totally fine and give me $5,000 a training me for six months.

But yet, you know, I, now I have a doctoral degree, and it's like, are you kidding me? They don't think I'm worth however much, 200 bucks an hour or whatever. You know, people believe that the jars. So I think it's a mindset thing more than anything. And that comes across, you know, especially packages are a way that people commit to you.

You're going to commit to them. So if you're not doing that, I think it's an essential thing to add your

Lauren: [00:33:54] business. Right, right. And it helps. I mean, you know, physical therapy, we're not doing retail. People don't want to get their credit cards out. Every time. Cause they're not, we're, we're offering a service.

They're not buying something. Right. So we try to tell them that, you know, and the packages, it's like they don't think of it as, as buying something anymore every time they come in. Yeah. That's true. So it changes mentality.

Danny: [00:34:16] It changes the compliance too. I mean, you know, it's, it's definitely an essential part of a business.

If you're looking to, you know, grow and scale, and if you're looking to stay small, it's probably not the best idea. Like, if you really want to like decrease the number of people you have because you're trying to say small, I mean, like, honestly, you'll lose, get overwhelmed. I'm trying to try to keep up with all the visits, which, if you're growing, that's, that's what you need.

That's like, that's the cash flow man. That's the lifeblood of your business. So, SP, speaking of. You know, cash flow and growth and everything that we're talking about right now. How scalable, in your opinion, do you feel like these cash-based practices are? Because I've heard many different ideas about what people think, and I'm interested to hear what you think about the scalability of this type of business.

Lauren: [00:34:55], so you mean like how large it could be as a cash-based practice? Yeah, I mean,

Danny: [00:34:59] I once had, somebody told me when I got in the army, this guy has a lot of insurance-based practices, and he said, Danny, you'll never, you'll never be able to bring on another physical therapist within your practice. And now we just brought on our third, so I don't, I'm not gonna say.

Lauren: [00:35:14] Right? I think, I mean, I love the motto. You know, people say, do what you love, and like-minded people will find you. And that's really what's happened. It's it. I think it could grow as big as we want it to be. just by people reaching out to us and saying, you know, we love what you're doing. We're looking for something different, and we want to be a part of your team.

And so I, and, and it's people with great ideas and, you know, I'm like, if you're willing to go with it, you know, make it your, then that's, and that's what we, you know, kind of where it's going. So I think it could be huge. I mean, especially if you're offering multiple service types of services within, people want that.
They're not looking to go to all different places. They'd love to have various services in one place.

Danny: [00:35:56] Sure. No, absolutely. So, yeah, I mean, it's, the scalability is there. It's just, the creativity and the, and the fact that also the insurance is kind of like changing in the negativity, which actually kind of beneficial for us.
You know, and that's, and that's been helpful. It's something I've noticed in the last three years as well. Deductibles are not what they used to be. People have more of an emphasis on paying for themselves, whether it be through an FSA or an HSA, and they're becoming informed consumers, not necessarily.

Oh, my primary care manager told me to go do this because most people don't even know who the hell their primary care manager is. Right? These, because they don't want to go there. And so for us, it's turning into this kind of primary care musculoskeletal provider is such an important thing to do. And, and it's already happening in other countries.

It's been like that in the army since the 70s I was blown away when I got out of the military, and I was like, what are you talking about? Like. There's, at the time it was, it wasn't a hundred percent direct access here in Georgia, and I was like, what the hell?

Lauren: [00:36:50] Yeah.

Danny: [00:36:51] What does that mean? Like I had no idea. So, but it's refreshing to see it.I agree. I think scalability is absolutely there.

Lauren: [00:36:58] That's huge right now.

Danny: [00:36:59] All right. Here's where I'm; I'm going to finish the last few questions. We won't take up any more of your time. We really appreciate it, by the way. And, I, I want to get one book recommendation that helped you a lot in business that you feel, other physical therapists, should read whether they're looking to start a business or they're currently running a business that, is a book that made a lot of difference for you.

Lauren: [00:37:17] I would say. One that I kind of, I listened to audiobooks. I don't, I don't read that as much as I'd like to. So smart

Danny: [00:37:26] all the time. Oh, I read this book. Right, right.

Lauren: [00:37:30] Yeah. I would say the Zappos book is a great one. Delivering happiness. That is one of my favorite books. I love how they, you know, intertwined their core values into everything they do.

And how, and just the ups and downs. I mean, Tony Shay, when he talks about it. You know, only all the ups and downs of trying to sell his business and building that customer service is tremendous. And in a concierge-style practice like mine, customer service outweighs, you know, everything else that phone calls can make or break my business.

Yep.

Danny: [00:38:02] Yeah, totally. I think that the book is, is fantastic. I actually, I'm going to say I read it, but I really listened to it on audible, on a, on a, on a flight one time, and it was, you know, I was, I was like. So a lot of times I'll fall asleep, sometimes listen to the book. And, you know, this time on the plane I was like, totally like taking notes.

And it was, that's a really, really good book. Now the last question, what is one app or maybe software that you guys use or you use as a business owner that you feel like helps to keep you stay organized or helps you, you know, be more efficient than you think other people should look into and maybe start using themselves?

Lauren: [00:38:38] Oh gosh. That's a good question. I would say, I mean, there's a lot of things that we're still trying to work out in terms of apps that we use. I can't think of anything specifically off the top of my head.

Danny: [00:38:51] this is a better question for the millennial PTs.

Lauren: [00:38:55] Yeah.

Danny: [00:38:56] They would,

Lauren: [00:38:58] they would know a lot.
Yeah. I mean, you know. I guess really like, you know, we, we do a ton, you know, using Canva to try to build, you know, Instagram post, anything for, you know, when we send out, we do use mail Chimp for our newsletters, so we build a lot of things through CAMBA as far as. You know, things that look fun and exciting. Yeah, Canva,

Danny: [00:39:19] great. If you guys aren't familiar with Canva, it's basically a self-image design kind of a site. That's a lot of it free that you can use and you can, you can make certain size social media images, look, look really, you know, pretty good for somebody that's not a designer. You know, you can do a pretty good job with those.

So that's a great app.

Lauren: [00:39:38] Yeah. Yeah. And even like the, Our graphic designer that came up kind of with our branding. You know, he, we have that template in there, so that's kind of the banner that goes over anything that we post for Instagram, so they can create the Canva and just put the banner.
To show our brand on top of that. Yeah, that's really smart.

Danny: [00:39:58] Well, Lauren, if people want to learn, you know, more about what you guys are doing, you know, your website, where they can find you. And then, also, you know, if they want to reach out to you, maybe they have a question about, perhaps you're doing something similar, and they'd like to try to be the next, you know, Lauren sock.

Where can they, where can they reach you? You know, where can I find out more about functionality?

Lauren: [00:40:16] Yeah. so our website is a functionizehealth.com, and they can reach me at, [email protected]. 

Danny: [00:40:25] All right, [email protected]. So, guys, we'll make sure we have all this stuff in the show notes, and I just want to give a big thanks to Lauren.

It's so, you know, and, and I'll, I'll, I'll tell a quick little story about her too. Like she reached out to us as, you know, other practitioners in the same area. And I think there's a lot of people that have what we consider, you know, a very closed, a scarcity mentality. And some people have an abundance mentality where you know that you look at it and you say, there's a lot of people out there that are.

I heard there are people out there that use our help and, you know, build, building relationships between practitioners like Lauren and myself, is,  I don't think a lot of people are really even interested in doing that because they, they look at it as competition and, and I think for us it's, there's just so many people out there that, that need us. You're doing things that are so much more beneficial than most of the other water down pizza crap practices that really just like.

Bring us our profession down that we need more people. Like, you know, what Laura's doing and functionalize. So, guys, you know, we want to thank Lauren so much for jumping on. And, once again, it's the PT entrepreneur podcast. Listen to him next week when we talk to another great practice owner, just like Lauren socks.

Thanks, guys.

Lauren: [00:41:32] Thanks, Danny.