Growing Your Healthcare Practice:
Taking Back Control in a Challenging System
“She looked defeated.” That’s what Phumla and I said to each other after getting off a call with a physiotherapist working in private practice. She was done. So demotivated. The excitement she had when she started her practice two years ago had completely faded.
Her earnings were tied to what the medical aids were willing to pay, eating into her profitability. The work was constant, but the financial reward? Hardly worth it. She felt trapped, stuck in a cycle that was draining her energy and enthusiasm.
“We’ve had no training on how to run private practices at university,” she said, exasperated. “I feel like university only prepares you to work for the government, but then after your comm-serve year there are no posts available, so you HAVE TO start a private practice.”
This wasn’t the first time we had heard this, and it wouldn’t be the last. The frustration was clear. So many Allied Healthcare professionals—biokineticists, physiotherapists, occupational therapists, dietitians, and more—were feeling the same way. They’d stepped into private practice out of necessity, not necessarily out of choice, and suddenly found themselves in over their heads.
No business training. No financial strategy. No clue how to market their services ethically and effectively.
And yet, they were expected to run a thriving, sustainable business while balancing patient care. It was an impossible expectation, and the reality was taking its toll.
You Can’t Just Be a Great Clinician—You Also Have to Be a Business Owner
For many Allied Healthcare professionals, the dream was simple: to help people, to improve lives, to make a meaningful difference. But no one tells you that being a skilled professional isn’t enough to build a successful practice.
Running a private practice is like running any other business. It requires financial management—understanding cash flow, pricing your services correctly, and knowing where your profit is going. It involves marketing and branding—attracting the right patients, and referrals, making your services visible, and ensuring you stand out in a crowded market. It requires systems and efficiency—streamlining operations so that you’re not overwhelmed by admin work or relying entirely on medical aid reimbursements. And it demands a growth strategy—knowing how to expand, when to hire, how to manage, and how to create a business that isn’t solely dependent on you showing up every day.
These are things that can be learned. But too often, healthcare professionals only realise they need these skills when they’re already in the thick of it, exhausted and frustrated.
This is Why We Created “The Healthcare Business Owners Space”
Phumla and I knew this struggle firsthand. She had lived it in her own career. I’ve seen it play out time and again with the professionals we coached.
That’s why we created The Healthcare Business Owners Space, a dedicated space for Healthcare professionals within our community learning platform, The Leaders’ Library.
This is an open invitation to any Healthcare Professional who has taken that brave step of opening their own private practice.
Join Us!
It’s completely free—a space where we are committed to resourcing and supporting healthcare professionals in building sustainable, profitable businesses.