Small Business Ideas: How To Start A Physical Therapy Business

If you’ve clicked on this article, then you’ve probably got an excellent idea for a small business. You may be a trained physical therapist – or are thinking of going down that route – and want to set up your own small company.

First of all, let me congratulate you on picking such a smart business idea. This type of company will likely be successful, as it has a lot of positive elements surrounding it. When looking for the best small business ideas for you, there are several things to consider:

• Are you providing a product/service that’s in demand?
• Is this business idea fit for the long term?
• Is it easy to manage the costs of starting and running the business?
• Can you make money from this idea?

When the answer to these questions is a big fat yes, you know you’re on to a winner!

As it so happens, a physical therapy business ticks all of these boxes. You’re providing a service that’s very much in demand and will continue to be in demand as everyone needs healthcare. There will always be injuries that need rehabbing, and muscle pains that need curing. What’s more, the overhead costs are extremely easy to manage, and you will certainly make a lot of money.

So, this brings us to the main focus of this blog post; how do you start a physical therapy business? Below, I will run through all the key things you must do to set up your company:

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Get Your Qualifications

I’ll very briefly mention this just to make sure everyone is on the right page. You can only start this business if you’re a qualified physical therapist. It doesn’t matter whether you went to university or took online courses – you must have the right qualifications and certificates.

Why? Because no one will trust a physical therapist that can’t boast any qualifications. They should be displayed in your treatment room to build trust, and the more qualified you are, the easier it is to find patients.

Hopefully, the fact you’re considering this idea means you may already have qualifications or be on your way to getting them. If not, then you need to get them before you proceed.

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Find A Place To Work & Buy Your Equipment

This is where you start thinking about overhead costs and how much you’re willing to invest in your business. The beauty of this idea is that it’s entirely up to you. I know many physical therapists that perform excellent services from their home. They buy a massage table and some rehab equipment, and that’s all they need. Then, there are others that have massive treatment rooms and some really funky stuff.

Basically, you need to decide on where you’ll work and what kind of equipment you need. Some may even want to offer a mobile service where you go to people’s homes to provide the treatment. My advice is to try and keep the costs low when you start out. If this means working from home of being more mobile, then so be it. Likewise, maybe wait until you’ve seen some sustained success before investing in the really fancy physical therapy equipment.

Create A Website & Invest In Some Software

All physical therapists need to have a website, or else it’ll be borderline impossible for your patients to find you. There are a few significant things you must take into consideration when building your site. Firstly, it must look authentic and professional – it should almost be designed to replicate the feel of a sleek and modern physical therapists practice. Secondly, you need to include all the right information on there. This consists of the treatments you provide, your qualifications & background, contact details, location, and anything else that’s valuable to the reader. Thirdly, there should be imagery of your work – so, pictures or videos of you working on your clients, so people can see you in action. All of these things help show users that you’re a professional company that can take care of their problems.

Alongside this, you need to invest in some software. There are two different types you should invest in, and the first is an appointment booking system. Install this software on your site so people can easily make appointments online. From their end, they’ll see a calendar with available dates and times. From your end, you see all the bookings and can manage your clients more effectively. The second piece of software you should get is something that offers health analytics. Essentially, this allows you to analyze the way you run your business and can help you lower the costs while improving the standard of care you provide. Both of these things, along with your website, will help set you on your way.

Market Your Business

It may be last on the list, but it’s the most critical part of starting your physical therapy business. Most of your marketing strategy should revolve around driving traffic to your site and getting noticed by as many people as possible. To do this, you should put a firm focus on both regular and local SEO. Similarly, investing in PPC advertising can be very effective at getting your name out there in the relevant searches. One genius way of improving organic SEO is by creating blog posts on your site. This line of work is perfect for content creation as there are so many topics to explore and so many keywords you can target.

As well as this, think about using social media to your advantage as well. Instagram and YouTube are the best for physical therapists. Many people will upload short videos on Instagram that show little hacks or stretches for people to try. The same goes for YouTube but in more long-form content. This attracts attention while also building your reputation as people see that you have the knowledge to help them. It can also let you grow an online presence, which improves your exposure even more.

If you want to be successful in your new physical therapy business, then this advice can be used as a guide for you. Now, all that’s left to do is set your prices and get ready to treat some patients.