E846 | Running A Cash-Based PT Clinic Like A Barbershop With Ashley Speights

Building Independence & Culture: Inside PHYT Collective with Ashley Speights

When you picture a physical therapy clinic, you probably imagine a traditional setup—employees working for a clinic owner, strict schedules, and limited autonomy. Ashley Speights, founder of PHYT Collective in Washington, D.C., is proving there’s another way.

In this conversation with PT Biz founder Danny Matta, Ashley shares how she launched her 4,000-square-foot practice during the pandemic and built a “barbershop-style” collective model that gives clinicians independence, flexibility, and collaboration without the burden of full ownership.

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A Different Approach to Clinic Structure

Ashley saw a gap in the profession: physical therapists, despite their doctorate-level training and direct access privileges, weren’t being treated like independent professionals. Her solution was to create a model where PTs could work for themselves—together.

Instead of hiring employees, PHYT Collective operates with contractors who manage their own schedules, client relationships, and clinical approach. This structure gives providers freedom while still offering them the benefits of being part of a larger brand and community.

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Culture Over Control

One of the keys to Ashley’s model is building culture without enforcing top-down rules. She can’t dictate hours, PTO, or even what clinicians wear—but she creates buy-in through welcome baskets, shared values, and collaborative marketing opportunities.

This approach attracts clinicians who want autonomy, flexibility, and the ability to practice in their own style while still benefiting from the strength of a collective brand.

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The Compensation Challenge

Compensation is often the trickiest part of running a clinic. Ashley keeps it simple with a percentage-based model:

• Providers take home a percentage of revenue.

• Higher revenue milestones unlock higher percentages.

• The clinic covers space, marketing, and admin costs.

This creates a balance: clinicians take on some risk, but they also gain the ability to earn more than they would in a traditional salary setup.

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Pricing with Confidence

Ashley and her team have learned to charge what their time is worth. At PHYT Collective, initial evaluations run $279, a price point that reflects the expertise and one-on-one care patients receive.

Even during uncertain economic times in D.C., Ashley found ways to raise rates while supporting her community. By offering a time-limited “hyper sale” before raising prices, the clinic brought in nearly $70,000 in prepaid packages and strengthened patient loyalty.

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Empowering Patients Beyond Pain

For Ashley, physical therapy is about more than getting people out of pain. It’s about helping them stay active, proactive, and confident in their health. By giving patients a full hour of attention, PHYT Collective creates space for education, empowerment, and long-term results.

As Ashley puts it:

“Age isn’t the limitation—it’s just the knowledge on how you get there.”

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Why This Model Works

PHYT Collective’s success comes down to three things:

1. Independence – Clinicians control their schedule and style of care.

2. Culture – A collaborative environment without rigid hierarchies.

3. Community – Deep local connections drive both patient referrals and provider recruitment.

Ashley’s story is proof that scaling a practice doesn’t always require a traditional structure. With creativity, clarity, and culture, you can build a business that works for both clinicians and patients.

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Learn More

• Visit Ashley’s clinic: PHYT Collective 

• Follow on Instagram: @PHYTcollective 

• Explore PT Biz resources: PT Biz Website

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Ready to elevate your practice? Book a call at the link below with one of our expert consultants today and start your journey to delivering unparalleled physical therapy.

Podcast Transcript

Danny: [00:00:00] Hey, what's going on? Danny Matta here with PT Biz in the PT Entrepreneur podcast. And today we got Ashley Speights, owner of Fit Collective in Washington, DC. Fantastic spot. We've been [00:00:10] to, uh, her office and I'm going back actually, uh, in October we'll be there doing a clinic tour, which I'm really, really ex.

Excited about. It's a really cool space. Uh, but we wanna catch up with Ashley today. [00:00:20] She's one of our coaches. She works with a ton of business owners all across the country. And one thing that, uh, that I like to do is just kind of talk, shop with our coaches and, and see what are they seeing on the, on the [00:00:30] ground level of, you know, what, what clinicians are, are, uh, doing, what's working, what frustrations we're seeing, and be able to share that from more of like an elevated.

View like a 30,000 foot view so you can get a [00:00:40] better idea of, you know, what you need to actually be working on yourself as a, as a business owner. So Ashley, thanks for carving out time to, to, to chat with me today. 'cause I know you got a lot going on and, and, uh, what kind of dog is that [00:00:50] behind you too, by the

Ashley: way?

Oh yeah. So this is Lucy. She's an Aussie Shepherd Mix. She's a rescue.

Danny: Yeah.

Ashley: Uh, she's about three years old and she's my shadow, so she'll be here.

Danny: Dogs are the [00:01:00] best man. I've got two dogs except. One of my dogs is incredibly disgusting, and she eats the other dog's poop, and it is the most horrendous thing.

[00:01:10] And she's the cutest little dog. But when she does that, I could barely look at her. It's gross. It's right after the big one, poops like she'll Wait. [00:01:20]

Ashley: Do you know the biology behind this?

Danny: No. It's incredibly gross. It's so gross. Please tell me. Gross. Gross. Maybe I'll think differently of my dog.

Ashley: Well, it's, it's like a safety instinct to clean [00:01:30] up the den so that predators can't smell them.

Danny: Really? Yes. So she's, she doesn't like it. She's doing it out of like, respect for the her that shit for, for [00:01:40] our, for her herd. For our little pack.

Ashley: For your pack. She doesn't want predators to smell the poop and to come. So I learned this because my other dog, who won't, she's more independent. You won't see her today, [00:01:50] but she also eats poop.

And it's really gross. It's really gross. It's really gross. Gross. Um, so I asked the vet about it. I was like, what is the deal? Is she like mineral? Like is she deficient in something [00:02:00] that's. But what came to my mind as a healthcare provider. Yeah. And then that explained that to me. It's like it's survival instinct.

Danny: Wow. Well now I feel like they're, now I [00:02:10] feel worse. So I just gotta pick it up as fast as I can. But I mean, she literally will like sit and wait as if she's about to be fed. And it is. Though, I can't [00:02:20] even watch her do it. It's like I can't even look at her after she, it's gross. It's gross, but, but now you're telling me she doesn't want to, she's just trying to protect everybody.

Ashley: Yeah. She doesn't want any predators coming into your yard. [00:02:30] She's like, no one can know we're here. This is our home. All right. I'm gonna go

Danny: tell Ashley this afterward. I should ask my vet friend this. I just never even thought to, to ask him. [00:02:40] But that's good to know. So, alright, well on that note, let's talk about physical therapy clinics.

Let's, let's, uh, let's get into, uh, fit Collective. So Fit Collective, we kind of, we've kind of talked briefly, uh, about your origin [00:02:50] story with that and, and, and how you got there. But what I would like to kind of talk about is your space right now. Just to give some context, you know, what, what's the, what's the clinic size, how many providers you have in there.

And we can talk a [00:03:00] little bit about your model too. 'cause it's a pretty unique approach in terms of how you have it set up.

Ashley: Yeah, absolutely. So, you know, we opened in 2020 right before the pandemic. Um, my clinic is [00:03:10] almost 4,000 square feet. Um, I was someone who just like made the jump from working from someone else to like, I'm just gonna do the thing.

Um, and got pretty lucky [00:03:20] with how I negotiated my commercial lease. So that I didn't have to pay a lot of rent in my first two years of, uh, having the business. So I was able to jump into a big space. Um, but how we're [00:03:30] set up is like kind of the barbershop style model I call it, in that I personally, as a physical therapist didn't really understand why we as professionals [00:03:40] who are doctorate level, who have direct access, weren't operating more like psychologists or physicians where we joined together to.

You know, provide care to [00:03:50] patients, but we're kind of our own independent practitioners, if that makes sense. And so that's kind of what Fit Collective is based on. I really, I market of course, to clients and [00:04:00] patients, but I'm also marketing to PTs being like, Hey, like. You can work for yourself, but if you don't want the responsibility of owning a business and everything that comes with that, like, come work with me.

[00:04:10] Um, and we'll work for ourselves together. So right now I've got, um, about five providers that work with me. Uh, three of them are full-time [00:04:20] and two of them are part-time. Um. And they're all contractors because they kind of, we all work for ourselves together, is what I keep saying out loud when we talk about our kind of like [00:04:30] mission, vision, values, uh, as a business.

Danny: And I think it's important to distinguish, well, number one, I will never say [00:04:40] that somebody works for me. I think it sounds awful and if, and like I never want my staff to be like, I work for Danny. You know? It's just like, no dude. We just have different [00:04:50] roles. We work. Together. This shit is hard. Like, I'm in here with you.

You aren't just doing shit for me. And I think just the verbiage that we say sometimes. So I like, I like how you say that, number one. 'cause I [00:05:00] think it just, it sets the tone for culture of like, you know, collaboration and people, people working together versus this hierarchical sort of top down, like you work for me, sort of like, which I.[00:05:10]

Have experienced that in the military. I'm sure plenty people experience that in like organizations that are a little bit more, um, you know, I guess traditional, um, hierarchy, the way [00:05:20] they have the leadership set up. But your model is interesting because. It seems like what you found is really great clinicians, like they have great reputations [00:05:30] that don't necessarily want to do their own thing, or in some cases maybe they, they have and now they're, you know, working with you at Fit Collective and they, you've set it up [00:05:40] in a, in a way that is, is is essentially like a collective, the way that it's stated and, and a central place where you can control the experience.

There's a brand wrapped around it, but each person is sort of [00:05:50] independently has their own niche. So with the nuts and bolts of that. It's, it's interesting 'cause I get a lot of these questions and I know that, you know, you have family in, in the legal world, so this is obviously a [00:06:00] huge advantage to be able to like, ask your mom at dinner, Hey, what do you think about this?

Right. Versus like having to go sit down. Absolutely. Yeah, but like, like being able to set that up correctly, I think there's a [00:06:10] lot of gray area with contractors versus W2 and, and, uh, it, and it, it, there can be the right and wrong way to set it up, um, depending on how you wanna go. So, so what would you [00:06:20] say from a contractor standpoint, these are sort of like the non-negotiables, if you're gonna set it up to like that, like they have to be able to do these things, otherwise you're really crossing into like [00:06:30] employee territory.

Ashley: That's a great question. So. One, you can't set their hours. You absolutely cannot tell them when they have to work. Um, [00:06:40] so we, you know, I will gently suggest to them to help them succeed. 'cause a lot of them will come in and ask like, well, when do, when do people need to come in? When do we not have [00:06:50] availability as the fit collective?

And I'm like, you know what? We need early, we need late, but I can't set their hours and I cannot set their PTO. So they basically have unlimited time off. Um, [00:07:00] the other thing is, um. You just have to be careful. Like you can't tell them what to wear technically. So something that we do to just like [00:07:10] foster our great community and environment for the Fit Collective, so it feels cohesive is when any new provider comes to join us, I give them this big welcome basket.

I mean, it's huge and it's [00:07:20] full of fit gear and it's full of books like Unreasonable Hospitality, stuff like that to help kind of impart the culture on them without forcing it on them. [00:07:30] Um. Then, you know, we don't, I always tell people when I'm coaching, 'cause again, they're contractors, is that I, I don't provide any health insurance for them.

I don't have any [00:07:40] benefits for some of my newer graduates. My, my, I typically will not bring someone in who hasn't been a PT for at least a couple years out of school because they need to [00:07:50] have. Somewhat of a client based, um, to be successful in our model. Um, but I will stipend them for things, but I certainly won't like pay for their health insurance or [00:08:00] say, I'm gonna pay you every year, you know, $2,000 for ComEd.

I'll stipend them things to help. But you do have to be careful and you have to be careful state by state. So like you're alluding to [00:08:10] Danny, like my mom is an employment lawyer and she's a very fantastic employment lawyer. Um. I'm gonna brag on her. I think she's one of the best in the country. Um, she's been recognized as one of the best in the [00:08:20] country, but you do have to be really careful state by state because some states are really, really, really, um.

Against that contractor employment [00:08:30] model. And so you can really quickly get into trouble if you don't know your state's laws. I'm in Washington DC and the way that we're structured is within the law for Washington [00:08:40] DC

Danny: Yeah, and that's a actually a great point. One of the reasons that for me, even when I get questions about this, which I'm, in fact, I got two of these just, just yesterday, uh, about this very specific, you [00:08:50] know, um, difference between the two and there's federal guidelines, but then there's state to state guidelines, and in certain states it's.

It's just probably not even worth it unless it's like Absolutely. [00:09:00] You check every single box. Right? Um, and, and in other states it's, it's far more, uh, lenient. There's a lot more gray area there. But, you know, the, the model approach, [00:09:10] what's been interesting is like we've seen many different ways in which people wanna set up compensation, whether it be like what you're doing right, which is.

Hey, you're this, it's basically your brand inside [00:09:20] of ours. Like you're, you're like, we use this brand to help with marketing and to establish credibility and a customer experience and a, and a place. Um, but at the same time, like. [00:09:30] Your niche is your niche, so you need to be a part of, um, of, of going out and finding those people.

How do you handle inbound for Fit Collective? That [00:09:40] is, you know, just generally they're like looking for help with something. Are you trying to line them up with who the best person is? Um, or is it really a hundred percent just up to that provider? And then, you know, you're, [00:09:50] you, maybe you're the person seeing that, uh, the folks are coming in for the, the brand.

Ashley: Oh yeah. So we do something that I offer them since I'm, you know, how they're set up. The providers get paid is the Fit Collective does take a [00:10:00] percentage of what they bring in. And so something that I do as a business owner is I'm always setting up marketing events for the Fit Collective. Um, I cannot.[00:10:10]

Judge a therapist's job performance based on if they participate, um, in these marketing events. But I will always say like, Hey, something I'm going to [00:10:20] offer you is to help you market yourself. And I've got all the ins and outs, I've, uh, Washington, DC native with a lot of community connections. Yeah. I can help you get in front of a lot of [00:10:30] people.

And so there's your incentive to show up with me and so. You know, something I tell people who ask about this model all the time, and I'm like, look, if you're someone who doesn't like doing the workshops or [00:10:40] the injury screens as a business owner, this is not the model for you. Because you can't, you can't just assume that you're gonna have a physical therapist who wants to do that all of the time.

And so you're gonna have to be the one [00:10:50] who shows up and who does it. And then when we have to discovery calls or people call, I will suggest who I think they should see. Um. Or if the person who calls, if [00:11:00] their urgency is time, it's then who has availability on their schedule tomorrow? Right? If they're like, I'm in a lot of pain that like, I almost wanna go to the emergency room.

Like, okay, well then Marcus can see you [00:11:10] tomorrow. Um, Rachel can see you on Friday, you know, I could see you next week type of thing. Um. And then, you know, I have some therapists. My therapist, I think you met my therapist [00:11:20] Dana. She actually had her own practice. Yeah, yeah. And she hated running her own practice.

She hated being a business owner. She absolutely hated she,

Danny: she told me that. Yeah. She's like, I wanna be a great clinician. Like this is why I'm [00:11:30] here. I wanna treat patients.

Ashley: And she's a phenomenal physical therapist. I mean, any practice, all my PTs are phenomenal, but Dana's been a pt, she's probably about 10 years, my [00:11:40] senior.

Um, any practice would be lucky to have her W2 or contractor. She's the hip guru of Washington DC for physical therapy, and [00:11:50] she wanted this model where she's already got her people and she wanted some support. She wanted to be able to take a three week vacation with her husband and know that I could see some [00:12:00] of her clients.

Marcus could see some of her clients. Rachel could see some, you know, and she can go away without a lapse in care. And that was really, I think that was really the big motivation for [00:12:10] how I have it set up too, is like for these PTs who almost wanna. Almost wanna have their own business, but don't, and they're good enough to have their own business.

Because I think most of us as BTS too, [00:12:20] when we open our own business, we're good physical therapists, we're not.

Danny: Right. You know,

Ashley: we're not average physical therapists. We're very good. And so it starts there.

Danny: I feel like [00:12:30] it has to start there.

Ashley: Yeah, absolutely. And. And really good physical therapists are really picky about how their patients are treated, especially when they go on vacation.

And so I [00:12:40] think that's where the model works really well too.

Danny: Yeah, that's interesting. I'd love to know. So what would you say the pros and the cons of this model are? Because, you know, it seems like, to me at [00:12:50] least, it feels like. There's, it's, it's almost like a big boy, big girl rules, right? Like you're, you're more, you know, you're not, you're not managing people as much, right?

So that's a [00:13:00] positive. But, um, so yeah. What would you say the, the big, the big sort of pros and con cons are of this particular model from what you've seen?

Ashley: Yeah, so pros, I think people really appreciate [00:13:10] the independence. They really appreciate the time freedom. They really appreciate being able to treat the patients the way that they've wanted to be treated.

Or that they want to treat [00:13:20] patients. So, you know, sometimes you work for someone else's clinic as an employee and say they're really into one technique, right? Like say they're like, I think, I think. I have nothing against [00:13:30] any techniques in pt, but say that they're a really McKenzie heavy therapist and they want you to treat all their clients McKenzie, right?

Yeah. That changes and stifles you as a physical therapist and your [00:13:40] independent thinking and so I don't, I can't legally do that to my physical therapist. At, at the Fit Collective. And so I think those are the big pros or the time freedom and being able to be an [00:13:50] independent provider. I think the cons are, it does take longer for my PTs when they join me to fill up their schedule if they don't already have strong community [00:14:00] connections.

Right. Um, because a lot of our referrals. Of word of mouth. Um, of course we're paying for Google ads and all the things and SEO and I'm marketing in the clinic, [00:14:10] but when people are coming and looking at our clinic, they're looking for a specific provider for a specific thing. Yeah. Um, and we don't just, I feel like [00:14:20] it just takes longer to build up as opposed to I'm just feeding you patients and telling you this is exactly how I want you to treat them.

Danny: Do you, do you have an additional sort of like, um, [00:14:30] I dunno, you call it like a marketing fee associated with, you know, like actually doing ads for the clinic? Or is it just a part of like what the percentages that the clinic takes to, um, you know, to, [00:14:40] to actually like, you know, work there?

Ashley: Yeah, exactly. It's part of the percentages the clinic takes.

And so, you know, the way that I have things set up is I try to incentivize them with kind of like [00:14:50] revenue milestones. So if they bring in under X amount, they take home 50%. If they bring in between X and Y amount, they take home 55%. And if they bring in over Y amount, [00:15:00] they take home 60%, which is a really high percentage.

Um, totally. For us, how we're set up, Y amounts pretty high for a single provider, so I, I really only have one therapist who does [00:15:10] that consistently. Um, but I'm taking that percentage for our marketing, for our SEO, for, you know, our admin for our space. [00:15:20] Um, and that's what I'm taking, taking the money for.

Danny: Yeah. Yeah, that makes sense. I mean, and, and it's interesting to kind of like, you know, talk shop with these, because like I've seen. [00:15:30] A couple models that work really well, like this one can be a great fit if you have a lot of really high level clinicians that fit the buy box for you that are like, yeah, I.[00:15:40]

I could probably go do my own thing. I don't really want to deal with that, but I want to be able to treat a very specific, specific population, you know, and I have a preexisting sort of reputation to [00:15:50] do so that that could be a great fit for that. I see. The other one would be, you know, where you have, you're, you're essentially establishing a really, you know, um, a [00:16:00] solid salary compensation model for people that, uh, they want really nothing to do with taking too much ownership in their own.

Clinical, [00:16:10] uh, caseload, you know, they want to go to treat people, they want to be great while they're there and then they wanna go home, right? And traditional employee model and maybe there are some like performance bonuses and things. [00:16:20] Um, and I think outside of that, you could, you can get very complex with this.

And in fact, I'd love to know your thoughts on this because I find that the complexity with compensation [00:16:30] models that providers build in is one of the bigger problems I have to help them undo because it's just like. Dude, you have like 18 variables of how somebody's gonna get paid. Like [00:16:40] if I don't understand this, there's no way they do.

And it, and it is also hard to track and manage. Right. So what have you seen with the, the, the clinics you're coaching right now? Um, [00:16:50] as far as compensation models that seem to be, you know, the ones that are working the best.

Ashley: Yeah, absolutely. So I think this is again, a plug for why I'm set up the way that I'm set [00:17:00] up.

I think what I see in coaching too, and I'd be interested to hear your thoughts, Danny, is we're in a really interesting place where physical therapists, we know we have a lot of value. We've spent a lot of money [00:17:10] on school, um, and we. Expect to kind of be paid a certain amount of money. Um, I think the profession has been a little bit behind in [00:17:20] catching up in terms of how much physical therapists should be paid.

Um, and so I do see some. Hiring challenges with some of the compensation models [00:17:30] of like what we're paying people as a base salary. 'cause like you said, people wanna understand, well, how much money am I gonna make this year? Can I take vacation? Can I, you know, buy a house? All [00:17:40] of these things. I don't know how many people are gonna come through the door.

Um, and so I see, I've seen challenges with hiring [00:17:50] where the base salary we're offering people is too low. They have this earning potential for the bonus structures to make a lot more [00:18:00] money. But like you said, they don't understand. And so I would, I feel like I'm constantly strategically thinking with business owners [00:18:10] on how can we make this offer look stronger and more guaranteed money definitely.

So that we don't lose them to [00:18:20] someone. Like a more corporate clinic who can come out the bat and say. You know, everywhere in the country is different, but I think a lot of physical [00:18:30] therapists, at least in urban areas, I mean, they're not accepting under 85 to 90 K to come out the door. Sure.

Danny: Um, yeah, I, I would agree.

I mean, and, and I think it, yeah, very much depends on the, the [00:18:40] area, the cost of living. There's different variations of, obviously pay based on how much it costs for your mortgage and for groceries and many other things. But the, the, there's kind of [00:18:50] a catch 22 with some of this, because the. If the business owners aren't generating enough money per session, per, and maybe it's not even per session, [00:19:00] but it's just per month and per year, the ability to pay somebody a, a, a salary, it gets hard in your scenario.

[00:19:10] They're taking a risk on themself. Like you, you've de-risked it for you because it's a percentage of what's come in. It's basically a sales position. You're paying commission, essentially. And now there, there's a brand there that [00:19:20] may help drive people in the door to work with them. But, um, a lot of people do not want to do that.

Like they're risk averse. These people are not anywhere near even entrepreneurship. They're just like. [00:19:30] I went to school, I wanna have a job. I want you to pay me to do this work, but I also don't wanna make less than X, Y, and Z. Right? So, and we know that's the case and we obviously want [00:19:40] to pay, uh, staff as best we can because we don't want to, um, continue and perpetuate this terrible compensation model.

But at the same time. There has to be enough revenue generated [00:19:50] in order for the business to have profit margins to where it's worth the risk, and, uh, and, and, and honestly gets them through these really challenging growth cycles. I'm sure you [00:20:00] see as a coach, as soon as somebody goes to a sale in space, hires one person, it's like freak out mode because they go from 75% net profit to like.

[00:20:10] 5% net profit. Yep. Because everything's getting reinvested in the, in the space in the first person and they, they, they lose their mind. Right. But like, you can't go from, you know, just you to you [00:20:20] and three full-time full providers and the profitability that that brings without going through the middle stage, which sucks for everybody.

So the, the, the model that you're talking about, I [00:20:30] think. It has appeal from a risk mitigation standpoint on your part, but the risk goes somewhere and it has to go to the provider. So if you find providers that are willing to do that and you can establish a [00:20:40] brand, then I think it can work the, and they can make more money that way.

Right? Because you're also not paying as much money for infrastructure, for benefits, for payroll taxes, [00:20:50] like your margins. Even though you may be paying out more percentage wise, the cost of that person is lower for you. So your margins on the backend are better.

Ashley: [00:21:00] Exactly. Exactly. And I would say with where we are as a business, I mean our biggest, I would say Achilles heel.

For what? For how we're set up as the business is honestly our lease being in downtown [00:21:10] Washington, DC Yeah. I mean that's what, that's what makes, I think our bus, the way that I'm running the business model, just a little bit more, more challenging, but. [00:21:20] Um, yeah, I mean, they're taking on exactly what you're saying.

They're taking on the risk of like, okay, well what am I gonna make this year? And I have to pay, you know, these payroll taxes basically. [00:21:30] And then. What I share with them is I'm assuming the risk of this very expensive lease and this beautiful space in Washington DC so let's help each other out and work [00:21:40] together

Danny: well.

Yeah, and I think the other thing too is if you have a track record of success with at least like one or two providers in that model, then you can, you can attract really [00:21:50] great candidates. Like it almost seems like marketing for you in some ways is like marketing to the right providers to join. Yes. What you're doing, you know, there's, so you're getting patients which are also getting the right.

The right providers that would [00:22:00] be a, that would be a fit for that. But I mean, there's definitely a path where, you know, net net, I guess they, they can make more money. They're paying for a lot of things on their own, but like, let's say somebody has a spouse [00:22:10] that has insurance and, um, they don't need, like, benefits through the business and, and they, they want a bit more autonomy over their schedule.

Like that, that in its own right could be a [00:22:20] great, a great fit for, uh, a, a provider like that as well as being able to, you know, really look at, um, the, the. Average visit rate or what, [00:22:30] what that brand is able to charge is so important as well because it trickles down to the percentage that they get paid and what the business keeps.

Ashley: Yes. And that's something that my, my, I have [00:22:40] two therapists who are. They're, they're a few years outta school now, but that's something that they say is that like you and the brand and the Fit Collective have, have really helped us [00:22:50] understand our value as physical therapists and what we're providing. And they've said, you know, we never would've come out of the gate of leaving a more corporate place and [00:23:00] thought about charging 2 79 for the initial eval.

You know, but I'm like, that is what you're worth. That is what you have to offer. And that is, that is what your time is worth [00:23:10] too. You are spending this hour one-on-one with this person and getting to all of their deep rooted concerns and all of their goals. You are absolutely worth 2 79 an hour. You can go to the Four Seasons [00:23:20] and get a massage for more than 2 79 an hour.

And that's not a doctorate level professional, even though they're amazing professionals, you know? And so, um. It is. I, I think you're exactly right in that [00:23:30] building the brand of like, Hey, like let me give you some confidence out the gate on what we can offer the public and let's charge appropriately for that.[00:23:40]

Danny: Which I, I feel like is changing. I mean so much and, and, and this is, this is a bit of a catch 22 for, for clinics be as well because. You know, we [00:23:50] know we, most clinics we that we work with probably should be charging at least some amount more per month. Like, uh, or per, per visit or, or however they're, they're structuring their, their, uh, their pay [00:24:00] structure.

It's usually below where they should be. And one of the funny things with the mastermind group is when they get around each other at a live event, I always see all these price raises happen after a live event because [00:24:10] people start talking to each other. They're like, wait a second. You're charging what in like a town, half the size as of, of where I'm at and it's not even as expensive.

And that is the biggest Achilles he that I'll see these, see these [00:24:20] businesses is businesses that are in a slightly higher cost of living area that aren't charging where they need to be for that are really hindering themselves versus the sweet spot. Is actually the [00:24:30] opposite. Let's say you're in a, a lower cost of living area and you're charging what you should make, your profit margins are way better.

Oh, they're amazing. So much better.

Ashley: Yes. Yeah,

Danny: so, so I actually think like [00:24:40] DC New York City, San Francisco, Chicago, like these higher sort of cost of living areas, um, higher rent areas, like that's where it gets really hard if you're not charging [00:24:50] what you're worth because then you're really shooting yourself in the foot.

Right. So I, I think that that is a big one, but at the same time. Life's just gotten expensive for everybody over the last five years in particular. So [00:25:00] there's a, there's a, there's more apprehension there almost for people to not do price raises because of that. But if they don't, then they really put their business in a really challenging [00:25:10] position.

Ashley: Oh yeah, absolutely. It's um. Interesting you say that, Danny, I know you and I have had conversations about this this year, as you know, you and Eve and Jared, you know, coach me. [00:25:20] Um, but with DC we had a lot of employment uncertainty in the beginning of this year. Right. Um, with just the changes and, and turnover in the country.

And, um, [00:25:30] you know, we. Had planned a price raise for this year, and we got to, you know, February, March in DC a lot of people had lost their [00:25:40] jobs. And, um, my co I have a fractional COO named Jenny, who's really my backbone and she helps, she helps me get things done. I'm a strategic thinker and a visionary. [00:25:50] I am not an executor.

Um, Jenny is an executor. Um, and Jenny looked at me and very candidly was like. Yo, you can't raise prices in this [00:26:00] environment. And I looked back at her and I was like, well, if we don't raise prices, the business isn't gonna make it. Like, we have to raise prices this year. So you and I need to sit down and have a [00:26:10] strategy session and figure out what the comms for this is gonna look like and how do we make it mutually beneficial, not only for the business, but to the patient.

How do we [00:26:20] support DC right now and our clients who are going through hard times? Let's find a way to do this. And so we ran a sale, um, all of Q2. I've never run a sale for that long. You know, usually it's like a [00:26:30] two week, three week. Four week kind of time period. Like here's your Black Friday to Christmas sale.

Um, but we started, you know, middle of March and we were like, [00:26:40] Hey, we are running what we're gonna call a hyper sale and we are gonna hyper discount our packages to a rate, A rate that's lower than what you're used to. Um, because we wanna [00:26:50] support you guys and the city and our clients right now in this like really uncertain time.

And it's more important to get into the clinic and take care of yourself when we're all under such high [00:27:00] stress. Um, this is when you need physical therapy. This is when we can make a huge change for you. Um, and we're gonna run this through June one because we want you guys to feel [00:27:10] supported and you can buy as many visits as you would like

Danny: Hmm, up until

Ashley: June one, and they'll be good for a year.

But after we do this for you guys for three months, our prices are going up [00:27:20] and we had one of the best. Kind of sales we've had in a long time. I'd have to go back and look at my notes, but I think we brought in almost $70,000 on [00:27:30] just like prepaid visits. And I had clients come up to me who were like, Hey.

Thank you for running that sale because I actually was hesitating to take care of myself and spend this [00:27:40] money right now, um, because I don't know if I'm gonna have a job next month, but I really wasn't. Well, and then the way that you guys ran your sale was like, you know what? I need to take [00:27:50] care of myself if I wanna continue.

To just live well. And so I bit the bullet. I bought a package and I'm feeling so much better. And like also now we have a client for [00:28:00] life. Right.

Danny: That's so smart. Well, and, and it's, it's not, so this is the thing about these businesses, these are small, local businesses. So Yeah, if you're, if you're like.[00:28:10]

Price raise and everybody's concerned about losing their job because they're, it's such a, a high percentage of government jobs and they're going through a downsizing, then [00:28:20] you just look like you don't care, or you're not even paying attention to your own area. I mean, I mean, I, I can tell you for sure, like I have family members that work in military hospitals that are, that are, you know, nurses and medical providers.[00:28:30]

They were very nervous and, you know, I'm like. I'm like telling 'em like, look, you work in the ICU, you're like the last person that they're gonna, they're gonna like go. But like I have family that was very, very concerned about that for the, you [00:28:40] know, the, the early part of, of this year. And, um, I think that that is a concern to be able to bring up in your area in particular now where, where I live, it wasn't [00:28:50] nearly as, as much of a, um, of an issue.

There's not nearly as much government, uh, you know, a federal government work here. So that wouldn't necessarily have been as. Pertinent of something [00:29:00] to do here, but there's other things that happen and there's, there's other, you know, employers and let's say that they were down, say if, if Delta was downsizing.

Oh yeah. You have a ton of Delta. So like, yeah, that's something that you would want to be [00:29:10] aware of and, and you could reach back out to anybody that you know that works there and then, you know, be able to like, even, even if it's as simple as just like. How's everything going? Like, are you good? You know, like, and, and just so you know, [00:29:20] like if you need to come in, like for people with Delta, this, we're doing this right now and this is why that makes your reputation as somebody that is just like, has a business, yes, one, but also is like, cares about your people [00:29:30] is really, really important.

Um, because you only get one reputation and if you take a, take good care of that, like it literally will pay, pay you back on the business side long term, you know, 10 x uh, [00:29:40] versus what you would do in the short term.

Ashley: Absolutely. Absolutely. And people remember those things, you know, and, and they appreciate like, like you were talking about too, like that discount when [00:29:50] times are hard, you know?

And as a business owner, that's a small marketing price for me to pay, to gain loyalty from customers. [00:30:00] And I totally agree. So they know that yeah, we care about them. We, I don't just, I mean, I care about money. I have to care about money to keep my business open. We have a very expensive lease in downtown DC Yeah.

But at the end of the [00:30:10] day, great spot. We really care about them. Right. And so people remember that. They remember that. And it's important.

Danny: I mean, I, I'll, I'll tell you when, when, uh, [00:30:20] when we closed our clinic down in March of 2020 for, for COVID, um, we, I had a, a patient I had seen for years. And this [00:30:30] guy, his name's Gray, and he reached out to us.

He was like, Hey, I know I'm not gonna be able to like come in for, I, I don't even know how long. We didn't know how long, [00:30:40] um, but he was like, can I just prepurchase a package? Just 'cause like, I like what you guys do and I would love to like, support you. And, and there were a number of people that were like that.

You know, and you think about. That type [00:30:50] of relationship. It's not a transactional thing. Like you are, you're, you're helping somebody with their, with their body. It's like very important to them. There's, there's way more than just a, uh, you know, [00:31:00] I, I come in for this, you give me this, like, see you later, you know, like that, that's where, at least for me, I was like, holy shit.

Like this is. We're doing something right if people are reaching out to us on, on that [00:31:10] front, uh, to, to support us in a time that was like very kind of hard to tell what was gonna happen. And you know, I think it's good to keep that in mind, be on the other side as well. Right. And that's kinda what you're [00:31:20] describing.

And I do think that that probably settles with people in a more impactful way than maybe you even realize, even if they decided not to, like do, you know, be a part of the sale. They may have nothing but amazing things to say [00:31:30] about your business because of the way in which you, you know, you treated them in a time that was, they were scared about like what would happen with their employment.

Ashley: Absolutely. And something that I, I think as [00:31:40] physical therapists, we all know, is we offer something really special to people, especially in the model, the cash based model is that most of medicine is very reactive, right? Yeah. Like something [00:31:50] bad happens and then I need care. Um. But especially with cash pay, when we're not dealing with insurance justification day to day, [00:32:00] we can help people be proactive about their health and they don't wanna lose that provider who's like, okay, you know, I didn't break my arm.

I don't have to go to the er, but something [00:32:10] is scaring me. My elbow hurts and I can't open a jar. Like, this is scary, but I'm not gonna go to the emergency room for this. I'm not gonna go to my primary care doctor. And having that relationship, and like you were talking about with your clients who [00:32:20] pre-bought packages, they wanna support providers who.

Who help them be proactive about their health as opposed to just the reactive when things go wrong type thing.

Danny: Yeah. You know, [00:32:30] and, and also we provide so much value that we kind of take for granted because of the amount of time that we have to educate and clarify things with people. And, and just, just like, uh, a week [00:32:40] ago I was at a birthday party for my niece and nephew and my father-in-law, or my, my brother-in-law's father-in-law.

This is like a loose connection, uh, [00:32:50] is. Was there and he was like, uh, he had shorts on and I could see he had a, he had a knee replacement. He had like big scar on the firm's knee. Right. Um, [00:33:00] and he, he just did like a very poor job of rehab afterward, which is like such a common story to see obviously people, people like that.

Very, I could see it from across the room, you [00:33:10] know? And so anyway, I started talking to him about it. I'm like, you're missing 10 degrees of extension in your knee. You have very little strength. Your balance is awful, you know? [00:33:20] Um. And, you know, so, so he's like, well, where, what do I do? And, and I just didn't know.

I'm like, I don't know where to send you right now, dude. Like this, whatever. Just come see me in my [00:33:30] garage. So like friends and family, I haven't, I haven't treated patients then in like a formal sense, in a schedule in a while, but like, even as, even as poor of a job as I probably do now, [00:33:40] uh, the ability to sit down with somebody.

I spent an hour and a half with him last Friday. S sat down, we did a bunch of work on his knee. I showed his wife a bunch of stuff to do. So she could do it whenever they got home. You [00:33:50] know, send him, send him some follow-up stuff. I have a follow up with him next week actually, and you know, but he's been texting me.

He, he literally is just like, you are, you are the [00:34:00] best. Thank you so much. Like, just he'll. I'll get a random text like that and I feel fucking great. Like, yes, like this is awesome. So like, it's so personally rewarding. But the biggest thing that we take for granted is. [00:34:10] He was like, my physical therapist didn't say any of this stuff, you know?

And I'm like, I promise you, he said something about the importance of knee extension. There's no way he didn't, it's the most important thing that we talk about [00:34:20] post knee replacement. You gotta get that back. And he's like, well, maybe it's because he was, you know, he had a couple people in there at the same time.

And I was like, yeah, that probably is it dude. Like, he's busy. He's trying to get [00:34:30] around and manage all these people and, and just our ability to clarify things with people, I mean. It's just, it's, it's so impactful, so impactful that he literally is like, look, Danny, you, I, I, you [00:34:40] won't let me pay you, but I'm gonna pay you back.

I'm gonna be your son's life coach. And my son is like, wait a second, what? Like, I didn't sign up for this. And this guy's pinning him down, talking to him about getting better grades. [00:34:50] It's just like, you know, he, he feels so much reciprocity. He's decided to do that. So I, I think we take that for granted, and that's something that everyone should keep in mind because.

I mean, the outcomes we help people get and just [00:35:00] the, the de-stressing of, oh my God, I'm never gonna be able to use my leg again. Like, think about how much that's worth to somebody. And we undervalue ourself chronically. It's really a problem.

Ashley: Absolutely. And like I think [00:35:10] with us having the time that we have with clients is that we're empowering people, right?

And we all know this, like even as a healthcare provider, if I get a weird [00:35:20] illness, the not knowing what to do or what's next. Almost makes it worse because it's so scary. Right. And that's people's day to day with their bodies as they're [00:35:30] moving around. And so you're, we're empowering them. By having extra time with them to know how to address what's going on, and also to know when things are a red flag and they're scary versus [00:35:40] like, no, this is a normal ache and pain that comes with being an active human being and that is okay, and here are the tools.

It's always the biggest compliment to me when a client comes in and is like, [00:35:50] okay, I was doing this thing that I maybe shouldn't have been doing, or I was playing pickleball and like my back really started to hurt and I stopped and slowed down. I was like, okay. Like, what would Ashley say? Like, [00:36:00] okay, it hurts when I do this.

Does it get better or worse If I keep doing it, okay, it's getting a little better. Okay. That's a good sign. You know, and that's something that people, I, I mean, I know I value, I, [00:36:10] I hate even, you know, as. Someone who, you know, for my car, I'm not a mechanic girl. You know, like tell me what to do. Tell me how to fix it.

Explain it to me. Do I just need a new car? [00:36:20] Like, I don't know. But like if you empower me with some knowledge, then I might not freak out outta gas.

Danny: Just buy. Just buy a new one.

Ashley: Exactly. [00:36:30] You just need to fill the tank with gas actually. And the car will be fine. But that's kind of how we, a lot of people operate about their bodies.

Right. Totally. [00:36:40] They're like, oh, I hiked for, you know, 15 miles for the first time ever, and my knee is now in so much pain. I'm broken. You know, I'm, it's because I'm, it's because I'm [00:36:50] over 40. No, it's not because you're over 40. It's 'cause you didn't train for a hike. Like,

Danny: that's right. Well, you're curating information.

That's, that's very valuable for people. And I think that, like, this is another thing that we [00:37:00] undervalue is the fact that like we can literally be a filter, a, a, a synthesizer of the bullshit that's out there that people get constantly there. Like, I mean. [00:37:10] Dude, don't get your health advice from somebody that like literally is in software sales and this on the side.

They have an Instagram feed where they like to talk about shit. Like it doesn't make any sense, [00:37:20] but yet people literally will take one, one little snippet of something that they see on a post or. A Facebook post or, or whatever, a little YouTube video and a complete face value. You're [00:37:30] like, okay, yeah, I guess I have this, or I need to go do this, or I need to take this supplement.

And it's like, it's to have somebody that can, can curate, uh, information that understands what [00:37:40] research looks like, understands what's like, legitimately. A, a, a true health trend or thing that they should or shouldn't be doing, um, or avoiding in many cases [00:37:50] like that for a lot of people is very valuable.

In fact, I found myself in this position as like, I would think of it like, I'm like quarterbacking people's health and wellness almost as, as if I'm a consultant for their body. [00:38:00] And they would come back and see me on a regular basis for a number of things, but more often than not, they would have a bunch of questions for me about like, Hey man, uh.

Do you think I should be mega dosing, creatine right now? And I'd be like, okay, well [00:38:10] what's your goals? Like, let's talk about this. 'cause it's like, the answer is not yes or no. It's, it's really like, what are you trying to do? And okay, let's, let's talk about the research. Let's see, you know, what this, what this is and does [00:38:20] this fit what you're trying to do?

And do you have any other concerns associated with that? And okay, well if you really want to get detailed with this, well maybe we need to look at some zebra blood panels. So let's go ahead and get you connected with somebody else that, that [00:38:30] I have already sort of vetted and verified. And this is a really solid person like that, right There is.

Incredibly valuable. Um, and we just kind of take it completely for granted that we do that [00:38:40] on a regular basis.

Ashley: Absolutely. Absolutely. I actually started a, um, kind of like another offering or program for Fit Collective that I call like a Care [00:38:50] navigator program that really is just being a health coach when people are going through crisis.

Sure. Um, because it's really, like you said, it's, it's [00:39:00] really scary. People don't, they don't understand. They get different answers and as a. I understand as a consumer that a lot of people hate the answer like, well, it depends, but when you're in [00:39:10] healthcare, that's the answer you're gonna get a lot of time is it depends.

And so if you're a provider who only has 10 minutes with someone and you're telling them, I don't know, maybe it depends. They just think you don't know what you're talking about. [00:39:20] But when you have an hour to break it down with them being like, well, this is why it depends. So like, let's get to the root of.

What you need as a person.

Danny: I think that's super smart [00:39:30] because the reality is healthcare is nuanced and everybody's backgrounds are, can be very different. Everybody's goals can be very different. Um, everyone's experiences that maybe [00:39:40] they, they have some, some bias towards what they may or may not want to do could be very different.

And being able to sit down and actually kind of sift through some of that stuff is, is you're starting to see that actually [00:39:50] become much more common with lifestyle medicine, functional medicine, and, and I actually really love the fact that I'm seeing a lot of like legit medical providers move over into that space.

And, and for me, that's what I look for. [00:40:00] Like I'm not looking for somebody that just wants me to sleep on crystals. I'm looking for somebody that's like literally. Save someone's life. Like if you fucking patch somebody up, you know, and you know what they should or [00:40:10] shouldn't be doing in a traumatic situation.

Or maybe, you know, you, you've worked in, in an actual medical hospital and done research, and then you learn how to read blood panels and understand gut, gut [00:40:20] microbiomes and stress and all the, you know, biopsychosocial components. That's a fucking win for me. And I see way more physicians that are moving that direction, that are, that are, that are [00:40:30] fantastic, that are starting to blend, um, more non-traditional medical, uh, approaches with a traditional medical, uh, baseline.

And, you know, for somebody like, like yourself or the [00:40:40] people that work with you to be able to even like, you know, listen to somebody as they're going through something, we, we know how. We know how tied chronic pain is to stress, to, [00:40:50] to traumatic events. Uh, it's, it's, it's not even a debate. It's like so directionally tied to that, that somebody that is like working with you to break some of those things and help them, you know, [00:41:00] understand how to deal with, with their, the pain that might come along with that, or, uh, how to manage it better so they don't have long-term trauma.

Like you're just stopping people from having potentially chronic pain [00:41:10] problems in the future. And, and, and for a lot of people that are looking for proactive. Sources of, of, of, of how they can work on themself before there's a problem, which there's way more people doing [00:41:20] that now than there were even 10, 20 years ago.

Like, what a great place to fit with something that you know is beneficial, they feel is so beneficial and you're solving a problem before it creates a bigger problem. [00:41:30] Right. I mean, that, that is the ultimate win for us. I think as providers, we usually get people reactively. They're like, oh my back, I can barely.

Pick a, you know, pencil up and it's like, well man, if we would've talked about this [00:41:40] before, like we could have avoided a lot of things. And we usually don't get there until we've helped somebody get out of a problem. And then they, they trust us with everything.

Ashley: Exactly. Oh, I have a client who, he's, he is now, he's a [00:41:50] long-term client on membership with us now.

And he found his way to me, word of mouth, uh, through previous patients. And he came in for exactly what we were talking about. He really hurt his [00:42:00] back, you know, threw it out in a workout. We get that better. And he was like, you know. I also like whenever I go to Orange Theory, like my calves are like really uncomfortable and tight.

[00:42:10] Like is that's something we could work on? And I'm like, absolutely. There's a lot of reasons for this. And then he was like, okay, so we addressed that. And he's like, and you know, we move through that. And he goes my shoulder [00:42:20] sometimes too. And I'm doing like overhead presses that like, that bugs me too.

Like doesn't like hurt but it bugs me. Can we work on that? And I was like, yes, of course. We work on that. And he said to me, he's leaving my office one [00:42:30] day and he goes. I just didn't know I could like live like this to like live so true pain free and do things that I wanted to do. I thought that like all exercise had to [00:42:40] come with some sort of like mechanical pain and I was like, oh no.

Like you don't have to be woefully injured to come see a physical therapist and for us [00:42:50] to make a difference in your life.

Danny: It's, it's, and it's so much better that way. I mean, it's like, I think everybody probably has examples of [00:43:00] this that has, uh, a clinic where they're working with people in a more, sort of one-to-one manner, and they have the time to work with people.

But I mean, I have, I can think of a half dozen people that have [00:43:10] what I would consider reverse aged. Like there's, there, there's a guy that I work with, really interesting dude. He was like. Very Buddhists like super, super into [00:43:20] Buddhism, and he would go to these nine to 10 day long meditation, silent meditation retreats where they would sit in a cross-legged position for like.

It'd be like six [00:43:30] hours a day, meditate. And they, they would meditate, then they would get up and shuffle around this room and they would sit back down and they would meditate. And he had this really, uh, problematic hip issue, [00:43:40] uh, where he was missing rotation in his hip. Go figure, sitting with your legs crossed pretty hard when you don't have much hip external rotation.

And he was causing all these back issues. And he was [00:43:50] like, he's like literally like, I can't be a Buddhist anymore. Like, this is what I want to do and this is how I meditate. It was like real big deal to him. So, anyway. We're basically training to get him ready for [00:44:00] one of these insane retreats that he goes to again, and he goes through it pretty much like, you know, a little bit of pain, not bad, but way better than it was before.

And he's hook line sinker. He'll do anything I [00:44:10] say at this point. So now we start solving all these other problems in terms of like sleep and stress management and, and some nutrition and, and just better movement. And I, I start programming for him and he's training. And [00:44:20] so his wife was really into, uh, this, um, it was, it was some sort of like wellness ranch that's like out in Phoenix or Sedona or something like that.

And he had gone. About [00:44:30] five years before they went on, on, uh, one of their anniversaries and they do this elaborate like, uh, health panel. And he went back about two years after I had, uh, started working with him. So this is like seven years later. [00:44:40] And this guy's in his early, uh, sixties at this point. So he comes back and he shows me his like, elaborate assessments from seven years ago and from, from whenever he went.[00:44:50]

And the guy that did his, his workup, same person that was there literally was like, what are you doing? You know, like you're all, these numbers are like better. Like you literally. Have [00:45:00] reversed age since the time that I saw you last. Like, this doesn't happen. Like what do you, what is going on? And he had just like really started to, for the once in his life, like actually like, you know, put, put some, [00:45:10] uh, some emphasis back on taking care of his body besides like the, the meditative practice that he liked.

But like physically he was doing almost nothing besides that. And it's just really cool to watch people [00:45:20] develop habits, see change. Yep. Have objective and subjective changes for what they want to do and be able to keep up with their friends and kids or whatever they wanna do, [00:45:30] and not necessarily just be like, yeah, oh, I'm old.

I can't hike anymore. It's like, that's not the truth. It's like, if you wanna do these things, you may have to put a more work into it and try harder, [00:45:40] but if you do the right things, you can do a lot. You know, for the rest of your life. You can be pretty damn active for as long as you want to be.

Ashley: Absolutely.

I used to work with a physical therapist who would say, [00:45:50] as we age, we just have to work a little bit harder to stay in the same place.

Danny: So true. You

Ashley: know, it's not, it's not those memes on the internet like, oh, you're over 40. How's your back? I'm [00:46:00] like, your back doesn't have to hurt 'cause you're over 40. Like, yeah.

Yeah, you just have to do some things to take care of it. We're not 16 anymore. We don't just like fall off our bike and like bounce back up and keep [00:46:10] going, you know? So.

Danny: Oh, a hundred percent. I mean, I try to keep up with my, my son is 13 and we play basketball and it's like, I'm tired afterward. Like, yes, you know?[00:46:20]

It and he doesn't get tired. Really? Like the way that I get tired from like multi-directional change and jumping and, and I think the rim has gotten taller, even though I know it's, I just can't jump as high [00:46:30] and like, or Danny

Ashley: thinking, gravity's winning or we're getting Yeah. That,

Danny: that I, I'm sure my athleticism is dwindling.

'cause I just feel like, like, but now I'm doing like plyometrics, I'm doing like, it's like I'm [00:46:40] trying to train for them. NBA again, because I got kid with a 13-year-old and I'm making progress and I'm feeling better about like, you know, my jump shots feeling better, all these things. But it's like. You can make progress, but people [00:46:50] don't really know what to do.

Right. And, and I think that's what's, that's just such a cool place where we get a chance to fit that is not necessarily just, just we get you outta pain. We start there usually, but, [00:47:00] and, and maybe that's all you wanna do. 'cause if that's all you wanna do, that's, there's nothing wrong with that either. But I just think there's a really special place that we get to fit where we have trust with people and then it's like, well.[00:47:10]

What do you wanna do now? Like, have you ever thought about what else you want to do? Like that? That sort of conversation is my favorite time with people, you know? They're just like, well, what do you mean? It's like, well, [00:47:20] like physically, like is there anything that you, you think would be cool? They're like, well, what about this?

They're like, yeah, we can do that. Let's fucking do it. You know? And then they're like, okay, let's do it. Like they get so excited. It's such an [00:47:30] awesome place to be.

Ashley: It is. It is. And it's, it comes back to the empowerment, you know? It really comes back to. Just knowing you can do these things. Age, age [00:47:40] isn't the limitation.

It's just the knowledge on how you get there.

Danny: Yeah. Yeah. And I think if you want, if, if, if you're listening to this and you're like. This sounds [00:47:50] like an awful place to work. Like this is not the right fit for you. And you should know that because maybe for you it makes a lot more sense to, to go in a complete different niche within the, within the profession.

Like this [00:48:00] is actually the first year in a long time. I'm gonna be going to CSM and I think there's like 13 different sections, uh, within that, that meet all at the same time. Yeah. And I'm like, holy shit. I mean, [00:48:10] our profession is just so broad, right? And there's so many different niches within it, and, but.

I would venture to say a lot of people that are listening to this, they're like, yeah, that's what I wanna do. Like, I want to [00:48:20] fit, I wanna fit into a, uh, you know, a, a provider, you know, scenario where I'm seeing stuff like that. And I'm able to work with people a little bit longer and, and able to work on sort of like multi, uh, you know, [00:48:30] variants of, of health and not necessarily just pain and, and getting people back to baseline function.

And if that's what you wanna do, like this style of. Of a business model works great. And it's [00:48:40] really, I don't know if you can do it in a high volume setting. I think it would be incredibly hard. Um, you know, you don't have the buy-in, you don't have the time more than anything. But if you do like somebody like, uh, you know, the clinic that Ashley has where, [00:48:50] where it's more of a collective, where you're looking to work with somebody, I think that's a fantastic fit.

If you, if that makes sense from a business model for you more, then it's a great fit. If it makes more sense to, you know, really have more employee base up and, [00:49:00] and maybe like you're owning the system and you want people to follow more structure, then cool. You can do that too. I mean, there's just so many ways to sort of.

Um, make it work for you. Right. And it's exciting to see the [00:49:10] progress that's happening because I don't think that we could have had this conversation even like 10 years ago. I mean, I don't know if it was that advanced to where we would be able to say, yeah, here's these different business models and here's these things that are, you [00:49:20] know, possible.

It basically was just like, I don't know, maybe they'll pay me for working with me and not use their insurance. I really had no idea.

Ashley: Yeah, absolutely. And people value their time. You know, [00:49:30] we are all. Pulled in so many different directions all the time, and we know you and I work in it, we see it. When we get that full hour with someone, we don't need to see them as many [00:49:40] times a week.

Totally right. We, we can get away with seeing them once a week versus seeing them two to three times a week and that time adds up, especially when you're commuting to your physical [00:49:50] therapist clinic. You're taking time off of work, you're rescheduling meetings. People really value that. And I think that's a lot of what we offer too, is like, I'm gonna give you [00:50:00] my full attention, which I think is really unique in our healthcare system here.

Danny: Oh my God. It, it is. I don't know, like [00:50:10] aside from a therapist, I don't know how many other people literally can just be like, I'm gonna pay attention to you for an hour. Yeah. Just you. Yeah. That's it. I, whatever [00:50:20] you need, it's our hour. What do, what do we get into? Like that's pretty rare.

Ashley: It's really rare.

It's really rare. And before I even opened the Fit Collective, I remember noticing something that [00:50:30] when I was working for a previous practice, uh, we inec, we accepted insurance. Um, it wasn't, it wasn't a mill though. We saw patients every 45 minutes. So many clients wrote in like Google [00:50:40] reviews being like.

Ashley actually like listens and remembers things and like, but it was like so significant to people. It was in Google reviews all the [00:50:50] time and I was like, well, that, that's the reflection of our healthcare system right now is that. People, we don't have time as providers in other settings to listen [00:51:00] and to really get to the bottom of it.

And also to give people time to like get in your room and like decompress, like you go in, even me as a healthy provider, I go into a 15 minute doctor's appointment with a new [00:51:10] provider. Like last year I had a really bad case of strep throat. I had to go see an ENT who I never met and I came in and I'm like on edge for the first 10 minutes and I can't even like, think all my thoughts straight.[00:51:20]

She was wonderful. She slowed down with me to the ability that she was able to, but then even when she left, I was like, oh man, I wait. Now that I'm relaxed, I have more questions. Yeah. And so when you have more [00:51:30] time with someone, it allows the nervous system to like come down a couple notches and be like, oh wait, here are my real concerns.

Not just like my fight or flight concerns, [00:51:40] um, as I'm in front of this new provider,

Danny: oh my God, when I was in the Army, it's it like. It, it can be so helpful for somebody to like talk some stuff out. It's almost like they need a sounding board to [00:51:50] kind of figure out like, where piecing this together, how is this happening?

Yes. Where are you feeling these symptoms? Like, is this associated with something else? And if they don't have the space to do that, [00:52:00] oftentimes, like they're, you're never really gonna get to the root cause of, of a piece of information you really need. And I mean, I would've, like, if someone tried to do that with me, [00:52:10] I would probably stop 'em.

I'd be like, I'm sorry. We gotta get through the mechanisms of injury first, and then I'm typing this shit up while they're like literally talking to me because I have so much documentation [00:52:20] and so many people that unless I'm just gonna stay after for forever, then I need to get this shit done. And it just like.

It, it's such a different environment with what we get to do. Yes. [00:52:30] And I actually look back and I'm like, wow, what an awful way to work with people. I mean, I didn't know any different because that's what we kind of just were taught and we had to do. But as, as soon as you get a chance to like actually spend some [00:52:40] time with somebody, I don't know, I don't think I would ever be able to go back to the, the speed at which we have to like, you know, work with folks and, and I get.

That this isn't maybe the best model for [00:52:50] everybody, and I understand that and there's limitations to it, but, but man, if I have to pick and this is what I'm doing for the rest of my career and I want to have longevity with that, I pick this all day. [00:53:00]

Ashley: Absolutely. Absolutely. It's the relationship building. I think that's the important part too.

Danny: Oh, and your network is so deep. Think about how, think about how fucking deep your network is in [00:53:10] DC Now you are already like that because of you grew up there, but like. The, the people you get to meet the relationships that you build, and even though they're paying you, there's like a [00:53:20] level of reciprocity that they almost feel like they owe you, even though it's literally your job.

You know? Yes. Where it's, it is, it's such an interesting j just [00:53:30] personal satisfaction, but also there's, there's like this network effect that is just so crazy and it's been so helpful for me in so many other ways outside of, you know, my, my business, whether it be like. I don't know, [00:53:40] getting a reservation to a restaurant or a recommendation for something for travel or like connecting with somebody completely different and, and it, that's something that I think we, we don't take into account as well, and you don't [00:53:50] really notice until you're in that environment.

All of a sudden it's like, whoa. I know a lot of people and I know 'em pretty well.

Ashley: Oh, absolutely. I have, um, the business owner hack that I didn't know I needed was a [00:54:00] copyright. And I've only learned this because she was a client on my table, but she's a copyright. What she does is she takes people's ideas and she makes them digestible for the public in a [00:54:10] very clear way.

And from working with her and connecting with her, we've since become very good friends. Like when I created this Care Navigator program, I was like, yo, Kara, can we sit down? Like, can, can [00:54:20] you help me make this into cohesive words that other people will understand what I'm offering them? Um, but it is, it's the, it's the relationship building and, [00:54:30] and helping each other out.

And so, you know, we pay each other for our services, but just like a really cool. Cool. Part of what we do.

Danny: Yeah. It's connections, you know, I mean, it's, it's what I actually miss [00:54:40] the most about not being in the, in the clinic anymore. And, and like, not, not, uh, like directly treating patients as much as I, as much as I used to because it, it is, it is just a huge part of it.

It's a great way to [00:54:50] like, you know, just get to meet other people and, and, and learn relevant things from other people and new things. Like, it's, it's fantastic. And I think anybody that's like. I don't know. I get it. If you've been [00:55:00] in the profession for decades and you're like, dude, I'm over it. Um, that, that's cool too.

Like, you've served your time, like, you know, you put a lot of service time in, you know, I get it, but like, don't, don't [00:55:10] lose fact of how special it is that we get to do this stuff and, you know, we get to, we get to get paid for it. And if you start your own business, you, you have, I mean, you don't have this sort of like ceiling that you have working with other people [00:55:20] that you can make it whatever it's that you want.

And that's a pretty special opportunity to be able to do both. So, um, I think it's a good spot to end it. Ashley, thank you so much for your time. Today, this is great. Like if people are interested in Fit [00:55:30] Collective, if there's clinicians out there that are listening to this, they're like, whoa, that sounds like a cool place to, to, to, to work.

Like where can they find out more?

Ashley: Yeah. So you can go to our website, which is fit [00:55:40] collective.com. Fit is PHYT. Um, we also have Instagram Fit Collective. Uh, you can also email [email protected].

Danny: It's easy. And if [00:55:50] Ashley is one of our stud coaches too, by the way, and I've really, I've got nothing but like fantastic feedback.

We are so helpful with our business owners and, and we're very thankful to have a chance to, uh, you know, to work with you. So [00:56:00] it's been, it's been fun for me to chat with you about the business side of, of things a little bit more and, and, and what's going on in the profession. Uh, and anyway, I know you're busy, so thank you so much for your time and, and as always, [00:56:10] uh, thanks for listening and watching and we'll catch you in the next one.

Ashley: Thanks, Danny.