We were lucky to catch up with Jonson Yousefzadeh recently and have shared our conversation below.

Jonson, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Setting up an independent practice is a daunting endeavor. Can you talk to us about what it was like for you – what were some of the main steps, challenges, etc.

Starting Direct Orthopedic Therapy was both exciting and challenging. I began with a vision to improve on the conventional physical therapy experience, putting clients first and focusing on personalized care rather than a volume-driven approach. Early on, I had to establish a clear business model that was client-centered, navigate insurance complexities, and build a physical space that reflected our values of quality care and patient transformation.

Some key steps involved:

1. Research and Planning: I knew the existing physical therapy model needed improvement, and I wanted to focus on providing a “WOW Experience” for patients. I researched industry gaps, formed a business plan, and outlined what an ideal practice would look like—combining outpatient, in-home, and virtual care.

2. Building the Team: Hiring the right people was critical. It was about finding clinicians who shared my passion for making physical therapy more impactful and client-focused. Establishing a culture that prioritized patient outcomes over insurance metrics was crucial.

3. Creating a Hybrid Model: Integrating both traditional insurance-based and cash-based services presented challenges, especially balancing high-quality personalized care while still making it affordable and accessible. Working through insurance reimbursements while emphasizing one-on-one, specialized care required careful financial planning and communication with patients about their options.

Challenges:

– Navigating the System: One of the biggest challenges was navigating the insurance landscape. Insurance companies often create barriers to high-quality care, so I had to be proactive in negotiating reimbursement rates, educating clients about their choices, and finding a balance between affordability and exceptional care.
– Public Awareness: Educating potential clients that they could directly access physical therapy services was another hurdle. Many people still think they need a doctor’s referral. To overcome this, I had to focus on community outreach and digital marketing, emphasizing that clients could come to us directly.

Would I Do Anything Differently?

If I could go back, I’d focus earlier on community education, emphasizing the benefits of our unique approach to physical therapy and helping people understand their options sooner. I’d also invest more in developing relationships with healthcare professionals and local businesses to increase our referral network from the beginning.

Advice for Young Professionals:

1. Find Your Niche: Don’t be afraid to do something differently if you see gaps in the current system, go after that first, you can expand to solve more problems later. My decision to focus on personalized, one-on-one care was based on what I knew was lacking in traditional models.

2. Educate Your Clients: Make it a priority to inform your clients and community about their healthcare rights, like direct access to physical therapy. This empowers them to make the best decisions for their health and drives more organic growth.

3. Create Systems Early: Establish processes for patient intake, documentation, and billing right from the start. It can be tempting to make do as you grow, but investing in solid infrastructure early pays off in the long run, both for client experience and internal efficiency.

4. Choose Your Hard: Challenges are inevitable—decide which ones are worth facing. You need to come to terms that life and business are hard… so choose the hard you’re willing to sacrifice for then focus on building something you’re passionate about, and remember that any path has its struggles, but it’s rewarding when aligned with your core values and goals.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

I’m Jonson Yousefzadeh, founder of Direct Orthopedic Therapy (DOT). Growing up in a small business family in Northeast Florida, I always understood the value of service. I took that mindset into healthcare, focusing on physical therapy because of my passion for sports, human performance, and helping others achieve their physical potential. I earned a clinical doctorate in physical therapy, concentrating on orthopedics and sports performance. Over 12 years in the industry, I’ve worked in various settings—from home health to outpatient clinics—and saw firsthand the need for change. I founded DOT to provide a personalized and effective alternative to traditional models.

At Direct Orthopedic Therapy, we focus on **client-centered, one-on-one care**, which can be delivered in our clinic, in-home, or virtually. We offer sub-specialties in **orthopedics, geriatrics, motor vehicle accident rehabilitation, sports performance, and pelvic health physical therapy**. Unlike many traditional practices that often take a cookie-cutter approach and prioritize insurance or company needs over patients, we prioritize patient experiences and outcomes. Our mission is to help people live pain-free, maintain independence, and achieve their physical goals in a personalized, effective way.

What sets DOT apart is our belief that **our patient is the product**—we’re not just offering a service but aiming to create lasting transformations in people’s lives. We’re proud of building genuine, lasting relationships with our clients, focusing on their well-being beyond just physical therapy techniques. Our **hybrid care model** allows us to blend high-quality personalized care with the flexibility of multiple locations and virtual options while still making services affordable through effective insurance utilization.

What makes me most proud is the culture we’ve fostered—one where our providers and clients genuinely work together to create change. We’re here to inspire, guide, and hold our clients accountable, helping them go beyond pain relief to achieve new levels of mobility, strength, and resilience. I want potential clients to know that our approach goes beyond the superficial: we strive for genuine, long-term change. Our focus is on providing a holistic, customized, and fun experience that helps people dream bigger and lead healthier, more active lives.

Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?

A lesson I had to unlearn is the false belief that success comes from doing everything myself and trying to outwork everyone else. In the early days, I felt that if I just put in more hours and controlled every detail, I could achieve my goals. But I realized that an individual can only work so hard for so long before hitting a ceiling. More importantly, it’s easy for others to out-leverage a single person’s efforts by working smarter or collaboratively.

True growth—in business, relationships, and even spiritually—requires letting go of the need to do it all alone. It requires trusting others, delegating, and building systems that allow others to contribute effectively. As an entrepreneur, my influence needed to shift from direct action to empowering others and creating a team that could collectively bring our vision to life.

If I hadn’t learned to give up control and the need to personally outwork others, I would have been limited in my ability to scale, to make an impact, and ultimately to find freedom. The path to true leverage, growth, and fulfillment comes from letting go, investing in others, and allowing the collective effort to move the vision forward.

Other than training/knowledge, what do you think is most helpful for succeeding in your field?

Other than training and knowledge, the most crucial factor for succeeding in physical therapy—or in any field—is putting in the time, getting the reps, and being willing to fail repeatedly. Growth comes through experience, and often those failures are just small setbacks—like a treatment plan not working as expected or an idea needing to be iterated upon. The earlier you start, the more reps and iterations you go through, the closer you get to success. And if you simply refuse to quit, you’ll find success, though your definition of it will keep evolving.

The real secret is redefining success itself. If you view success as simply playing the game, staying in it, and constantly learning, then you are already successful. The traditional markers—financial gains, recognition, growth—will eventually follow. But the joy and fulfillment come from playing the game itself. Dave Ramsey put it perfectly: “Success is not a gleaming shiny mountain. It’s a pile of mistakes that you’re standing on instead of buried under.” That mindset is what keeps you resilient and moving forward in the face of challenges.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://directorthopedictherapy.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/directorthopedictherapy/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DirectOrthopedicTherapy/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/direct-orthopedic-therapy/