E593 | Why Entrepreneurship Has To Be Difficult

In this episode of the PT Entrepreneur Podcast, host Dr. Danny speaks about a conversation with an entrepreneur who has faced some major setbacks in their business journey. This conversation provides valuable insights for all entrepreneurs, as they navigate the highs and lows of starting and growing a business.

Danny emphasizes that entrepreneurship is not easy - it requires consistent effort and resilience in the face of challenges. He aptly compares it to paddling against waves in the ocean, highlighting the barrier to entry that keeps many from even attempting to start a business.

However, he also emphasizes that the struggles are what make the successes all the more rewarding. It's important to appreciate the lows and learn from mistakes, as these experiences can ultimately lead to growth and progress.

One key piece of advice that stands out is the reminder to stop comparing oneself to others. In the age of social media, it's all too easy to fall into the trap of comparing one's own success (or lack thereof) to that of others. But as Danny notes, this is a recipe for frustration and self-doubt. Instead, entrepreneurs should focus on the work at hand and remember that their journey is unique to them.

Ultimately, Danny encourages entrepreneurs to persevere and never give up. Only they can make themselves quit, and with persistence and dedication, they can overcome even the toughest obstacles. This episode is a must-listen for any entrepreneur looking for inspiration and guidance on their own journey.

The PT Entrepreneur Podcast is a great resource for entrepreneurs who want to learn from those who have been there. The show provides insights and advice on how to overcome the challenges of starting a business. Listeners can learn from the experiences of others and gain the confidence they need to succeed. With Dr. Danny as the host, the show is a great place to find inspiration, motivation, and practical tips for building a successful cash-based physical therapy business.

Up for a Challenge? Try our 5-Day Challenge Here! https://www.physicaltherapybiz.com/challenge 

Podcast Transcript

Danny: Hey, real quick before we start the podcast episode, I want you guys to check out our new YouTube channel for PT Biz. We are putting out a weekly video on the most common questions that we get, and we are breaking those down in a way that's more engaging. Where you can learn better and really focus on one thing at a time.

So if you're interested in really learning more skills to upgrade your cash and hybrid practice, head over to YouTube. Subscribe to the PT Biz Channel and check out the weekly videos that we're coming out with to help you win in the cash-based practice game. So here's the question. How do physical therapists like us who don't wanna see 30 patients a day, who don't want to work home health and have real student loans create a career and life for ourselves that we've always dreamed about?

This is the question, and this podcast is the answer. My name's Danny Matte, and welcome to the PT Entrepreneur Podcast.

What's going on guys? Dr. Danny here with the PT Entrepreneur Podcast, and today I think I got a good one today. I would, I was working out and where my office is right next to our garage gym, so sometimes if I'm working out, something comes to me that I feel like I need to share. in a podcast or an email or something like that.

And so anyway, I ran in here and I was thinking about a conversation we were having with another entrepreneur yesterday and recently, just in the last couple weeks, this entrepreneur has had just it seemed one sort of blow after the other. Not a, not bad ones for the business, but just like frustra.

and it was like, man, this thing frustrated me and then this thing frustrated me and then this happened and it's it just feels like it piles on sometimes. And if you're listening to this and you haven't started a business and you're thinking about it, just understand that things like this are gonna happen where you know you're gonna.

You're gonna get frustrated and it sucks and it's uncomfortable and, it feels like you're just getting kicked while you're down. Sometimes those of you that have started a business you know what I'm talking about and it's funny how, it seems like. , it almost happens in like waves, back when I lived in Hawaii and I wouldn't even say I would surf.

I would try to surf. know, There would be sets. So there's times where you're sitting there and nothing is happening. You're just sitting there and it's actually, it's kind boring, but it's also really pretty because you're sitting in the water and obviously you're like looking at the island and You're waiting for the sets to come in and the sets are the waves that are actually, forming and they form in like bunches, right?

So there'll be however many, a handful of them that will actually form and be catchable waves. And then in between you have these breaks in between and you're just sitting there and you're waiting. And the quiet time in business is when everything is running well, when everybody is doing what you're trying to get them to do when everything is clicking.

That's not all the time. though, like even the reference of just like getting started is so hard because it's like surfing as well where you have to paddle out through the waves and it's really hard because you're trying to paddle somewhere and nature's trying to push you back into the beach and once you get out there you're tired.

But man, it's okay, then you get a little rest and things are easier and then now you gotta try to, catch a wave. And these sets come. In business as well. And sometimes the momentum, you can ride it and it's great. And sometimes you get crushed. And then another wave comes and it crushes you and it crushes you.

And as long as you get back up and you get you, you get back on your board and you paddle back out, you're good. You can't freak out and you can't you can't give up at those points because, then you'll never actually be able to enjoy what you're trying to do. And in this scenario, with business.

Any business, I don't care what it is. This just happens to be physical therapy practices primarily. Like just clinical practices. If you have to keep in mind that if it was easy, if it was just so easy and effortless and everything always worked out the way that you wanted it to, why wouldn't everybody do?

Everybody would just start their own thing and ha and if had no risk and guarantee you was gonna work, then everyone would do it. And to be honest, it wouldn't be as fun. It's like playing a sport. If you played a sport and you knew you were guaranteed, you were gonna win no matter what it completely takes the enjoyment out of it.

You can't play a sport without the likelihood of. And the likelihood of losing makes it more fun when you win. It makes you wanna work harder. It makes it more enjoyable whenever you do have that success. And the same thing is said in business. So if you're getting frustrated and you're having, a period in your business where it seems like things aren't working or maybe they're not working the way that you would like them to, that's normal and it's totally okay and it's part.

Process. Honestly, it's part of what makes it fun. And I think if you can think about this in terms of business being more of a game and maybe you lost a game, you lost a couple games, you're in a slump. But that's normal and that's what happens in games and business is just a big game.

So it's going to make you enjoy the wins that much more. , but you also have to have appreciation for just how shitty the losses can feel. And you can't have one without the other, right? You can't have hot without cold. It, you need to have that ability to have perspective with these things. I also like to think of.

These periods, this is where a lot of people give up, like when they get frustrated and they, things seem like they're not working out the way that they want. And I've been there too, man, I've been frustrated and thought about stopping and doing something else. Like it's natural. Lucky for me I was too lazy to actually like even be able to get another job, but, , it's normal to think that, man, maybe I made the wrong decision, or maybe this isn't working out.

But I want you to think about that too in terms of it's like the barrier to entry for people. It's what keeps everybody else out. You need that in place if you wanna live an extraordinary life where you have both time and financial freedom and you get to actually be creative and help people achieve, health and wellness goals that they have and have an actual impact on other people, but do so on your own terms.

You can't fucking do that, and it'd be easy all. , keep that in mind. You can't have it that way. And have this amazing opportunity to be able to change your life and your family's life and the lives of all these people around you for generations. And it be easy cuz you wouldn't want it that way in the first place.

I sure as hell wouldn't want it that way. And I know that because it's hard. It keeps a lot of people out. It's the velvet rope that doesn't let people in. And they're unwilling to do the work to get past it. As you're thinking about this and as you're struggling with periods in your business where things aren't going the way that you want, or maybe the start is harder than you thought it was gonna be, like, keep in mind that is what keeps everybody else out.

It's an exclusive club and you have to pay your dues and it doesn't go away. . It's every single day, every single week, month, year, something's gonna happen. And usually as your business gets bigger, as my business has gotten bigger and bigger, it just makes the problems bigger and harder to solve and more complex.

And there's more risk and there's more people that we are in charge of. There's more people that we, employ and that they pay their mortgages and they buy food with the support of the income they get from the business that they work. The stakes are higher, so you have to learn these lessons along the way.

You have to be okay with it, and you have to be able to bounce back from some of the negative things that are gonna happen cuz they are gonna happen. And I think one of the best things you can possibly do is just literally understand that it is totally normal. You have to give yourself the opportunity to be bad at something before you can be good, and you're gonna continually be bad at certain things and make the wrong decisions.

And even with guidance, like you're still gonna do it because it's such a multifactorial, moving object that you're trying to understand and deal with human beings and economies and selling things and product market fits and all kinds of things that it's normal, that you're just not gonna be right every single time.

And failing is absolutely part of the process. So if you feel like you're getting hit while you're down and things aren't going the way that you want. It's fine. It's normal, and it's okay. And you're gonna be all right as long as you don't give up. And that's pretty much the best advice I have for you.

If you haven't gone through that yet, understand it's gonna come. You're gonna have something negative happen. You're gonna have something that's gonna make you think, man, did I do the right thing? Am I ruining my business? Should I stop this? Should I go do something else? And as long as you don't give up, you're gonna be.

it's not gonna be the most comfortable thing, but you're gonna feel a lot better about it on the, the other side of it where you have these lessons and you've built this sort of entrepreneurial callous because the next things that you have to deal with that are gonna be challenges are gonna be harder as your business grows, as you have more complexity, and you have to learn these things along the way.

So listen I'm. Everyone on this podcast, biggest fan, I hope that you have success. And sometimes I think that what I put out, especially as far as like highlighting wins that people are having, like we do that because we wanna share success. We want people to see what people are actually doing.

You know what I what we don't share is just like all the negative stuff that people go through as well because, it's not as cool, it's not as appealing. Do you want me to just send you just negative stuff of people, whatever having pay or their staff members leave and open a clinic a mile down the road or getting a cease and desist, letter or having a payment processor shut down or losing a local contract because a big hospital comes in and takes it from 'em like, that sucks.

These are all things that are, that do happen, and it's real, it's reality. And I want you to really understand that there's gonna be ups and downs and it's not always gonna be success, but I think more than anything, what you guys need to see and hear is that people are having success and they're doing so by not giving up and by focusing on the right things.

because, ultimately you're building businesses that are helping other people. This isn't like you're building a business that you're just, you're not selling cigarettes to kids. You're not, like doing something that even isn't a bad thing. would say just thinking I, something I think is less relevant than what we do.

I think what we do is incredibly value. It's valuable. It's incredibly important for the people that we work with, because what they. Is generational family health. They get the ability to learn how to take care of their body, how to teach their family, how to do that, how to set a good example for them so that they see, oh, it's normal for my family to exercise.

It's normally for my family to be pretty active and walk. It's normal for my family to eat pretty healthy and to have a consistent bedtime and wake up time, and manage their stress and talk about problems that they have. These are all things that we get to help people. That is literally generational family health.

So if anybody if I want anybody to be successful in business, it's the people that listen to this. It's you, it's the people that we work with because the compounding effect on that is massive on our health and health landscape and on the people that you work with directly. And in the last 12 months, the people in our mastermind alone helped 50,000 new patients.

And think about that, that would fill up a, an arena, a basketball stadium. , you know the Hawk Stadium holds about 50, 60,000 people. It would fill that up. That's crazy. And these are all people that are working with performance-based clinicians that are spending time with 'em. They're educating them and really teaching 'em how to take care of themself.

So you need to be successful, but you also need to realize that it's not easy. It's not. It's not guaranteed. There's nothing that's a gimme for you. You have to earn it and get used to the fact that you have to earn it and get used to the fact that there's gonna be things that happen to you that are gonna make you question whether this is what you should be doing or not.

And not to get all philosophical on you, but like the only, really, the only way you can lose is if you give up. , that's it. That's the only way you can lose. And it might take longer than you think, or maybe it doesn't take as long as you think, and it just depends on the person. And it depends on, your ability to just focus on the right things and do the right work.

And some people might get there faster than you, but don't compare yourself to them. Just use them as an example of what's possible. Not I feel bad about myself because doing this and I haven't accomplished that. , you have no idea what their, the context is around what their situation is and what types of things they started with that maybe you didn't, or maybe they're just better.

Who cares? Maybe they're way better entrepreneur than you. Get past that. You could still be a average entrepreneur and change people's lives, including yours and your families forever if you're willing to actually do the work. So stop comparing yourself to other people. Just focus on the work that you have to do and be okay with the fact that sometimes it's gonna suck and the only person that can make you, fail and quit is you.

What's up, PT Entrepreneurs? We have a new exciting challenge for you guys. It's our five day PT biz part-time to full-time challenge where we help you get crystal clear on how to actually go from a side hustle to a full-time clinic. Even if you haven't started yet. This is a great way to get yourself organized in preparation for eventually going full-time into your business.

So we actually help you. Crystal clear on how much money you're actually gonna need to replace with your business to be able to make a lateral transfer. How many people you're actually gonna need to see based on what you should be charging. We're gonna tell you three different strategies you can take to go from part-time to full-time, and you get to pick the one that seems like the best fit for you for your current situation.

We even show you all the sales and marketing systems that we teach within our Mastermind for people that are scaling to multiple clinicians, past themself that you need to have in your business to be able to go full-time. And the last thing is we help you create a one page business. This is a plan that's gonna help you get very clear on exactly what you need to do and drive action.

That's what this is all about. We want you to win. We want you to take action, and in order to do you have to get really clear on what you need to do next. So go to physical therapy biz.com/challenge. Get signed up for the challenge today. It's totally free. We think this is gonna be a game changer for you and are excited to go through.

Hey, real quick before you go, I just wanna say thank you so much for listening to this podcast, and I would love it if you got involved in the conversation. So this is a one way channel. I'd love to hear back from you. I'd love to get you into the group that we have formed on Facebook. Our PT Entrepreneurs Facebook group has about.

4,000 clinicians in there that are literally changing the face of our profession. I'd love for you to join the conversation, get connected with other clinicians all over the country. I do live trainings in there with Eve Gege every single week, and we share resources that we don't share anywhere else outside that group.

So if you're serious about being a PT entrepreneur, a clinical rainmaker, head to that group. Get signed up. Go to facebook.com/groups/pt entrepreneur or go to Facebook and just search for PT Entrepreneur, and we're gonna be the only group that pops up under that name.