The One Thing Allied Health Practitioners Overlook (And How to Fix It)
If you’re an allied health practitioner AND have an ABN; you’ve probably got a ton on your plate. You’re juggling client needs, marketing, and yep… that dreaded administrative mountain that never seems to shrink. (hint: all steps closer to the dreaded burnout....)
I know you start out in this field because you want to help and make a real difference. Yet so many practitioners turned business owners struggle to balance their clinical expertise with the nuts and bolts of running a business. It’s not your fault—universities generally don’t teach marketing or profit margins in Health 101. But let’s be honest: ignoring your practice’s money matters is like forgetting to put your own oxygen mask on first.
I’m here to tell you, that old cliché is true: You can’t pour from an empty cup. Or in more direct language: you can’t make it rain for your clinicians if your practice is leaking resources behind the scenes.
Who the Heck Am I?
I’m the founder of Private Practice Alliance. My whole gig is strategising with allied health practitioners to start and scale their practices. I’m not a clinician—I’m a strategist by trade (since, like, forever). Yup, that’s right: I’ve never taken that seat, lowered my glasses and asked, “So, tell me about your childhood.” Instead, I’ve been consumed by the business side of healthcare since I was 19.
I built my first two businesses in the US (with a fair chunk of sweat and maybe a few tears), then had a quarter-life crisis at 27 and hopped on a plane to Australia (for what I told my parents would be one year). Wild times, right? Yet it turned out to be one of the best moves I’ve ever made. I dived headfirst into understanding Australia’s health system and the rest is history.
It might sound like a zigzag career—maybe it is—but that “outside the box” perspective is what sets me apart. If you want to keep doing things “the old way,” best of luck. But if you’re keen to try fresh, innovative approaches that lead to actual profit (gasp!), let’s meet.
Why Strategy Savviness (and My American Sass) Matters
Plenty of business coaches in this space started as clinicians themselves. I’m sure they’re brilliant at their craft, don’t get me wrong—but many still come at things through the lens of “This is how it’s always been done.” I call BS on that.
I’ve never been beholden to a particular modality or stuck in the same habits day in, day out. My focus is purely on how to power up your practice—so you can be more sustainable, focus on your mission, vision and values, and keep your own sanity. My outside perspective (and my neurodivergent brain) helps me see possibilities in the Australian system that others regularly miss. You might think I’m off my rocker sometimes, but trust me, that’s the magic ingredient (I’ll be proving it here in future blog articles, so stay tuned) .
So, What’s the Overlooked Thing?
Operations. In other words, the boring (but oh-so-critical) behind-the-scenes systems that keep your practice running. Think replication, client experience, billing, knowledge transfer (yes, the mundane crap)—the bits and pieces that either help you rock your clients’ journey or drive you to the point of frustration and burnout with your team.
Here’s the kicker: When you ignore your operations, your time and money slip away faster than a Netflix binge (Hello, Nobody Wants This). When you level your team up, though, you free yourself to focus on the work you genuinely love: [Psst- I’ll let you use your own imagination to fill in this blank]. Operations are the power source that runs your business machine—and they determine how far and fast (and honestly, how well) you can go.
Three Actionable Steps to Level Up (No PhD Required)
- Automate the Tedious Tasks
- Online booking systems, automated reminders, and streamlined client intake forms… These are your new besties. Stop manually juggling every single task. Digital tools aren’t there to replace you; they’re there to empower you. Alternatively, you don't have to create every moment from scratch. Use our Templates Program to assist you with finding what works for you.
- Data Is Your Friend
- Don’t wait until you’re flat-out broke to run the numbers. Keep track of your average billable hour, where new clients come from, and what wastage is secretly driving your business into the ground. Data takes the guesswork out of decision-making. Not sure where to start with Data? Try our 5 Days to Fill your books online course we help you understand the most important numbers that hit with the biggest impact.
- Invest in Support
- Hire a practice manager or admin team member that blows your socks off! AND join a strategic coaching program, you need an external perspective. You might know your profession inside out, but you shouldn’t have learn the business side from trial and error. Yep we offer specialised support!
Feeling the Tug to Do Things Differently?
If you’re tired of feeling overwhelmed, underpaid, or just plain stuck, it might be time to ditch the “always done it this way” mindset. There’s a powerful new perspective waiting for you… and it’s exactly what we focus on at Private Practice Alliance.
You have permission—heck, you’re invited—to step out of the overwhelm for a minute and step into the calm of your own practice. That’s where the real impact (and profit) begins.
Ready to shake up your practice and actually get paid what you’re worth?
I’m here for that. Let’s do it together, and make your vision of a thriving, impactful practice a reality.
Because when you run your practice like a business, you can help more practitioners who help more clients than ever… and the kicker? You get to take home a decent pay cheque while you’re at it.
