We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Sean Rimmer. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Sean below.
Hi Sean , thanks for joining us today. 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.
So, I officially started my Physical Therapy (PT) practice, called Run Potential: Rehab & Performance, in January of 2022. My PT practice focuses on runners and active adults in Colorado Springs, CO area who have dealt with, or are currently dealing with movement related pain or injury. I personally have a passion for working with runners, as I am an avid runner myself, who has run a multitude of race distances from 5ks to 100-mile races in the mountains of Colorado. I appreciate how frustrating a running related injury can be, as I have dealt with them myself, because running can be such a powerful stress relieving outlet for many individuals. My ultimate goal while working with my patients is to empower them to understand the root cause of their injury while prescribing a customized plan to allow them to return to running both pain free and with confidence.
Prior to starting my practice in early 2022, I had been working as a Doctor of PT for 6 years, but I had the initial vision of starting my own practice during my time in graduate PT school. During the first 6 years of my career as a PT, I learned many valuable lessons related to rehabbing injuries as a clinician, working with interdisciplinary medical providers, while building my most important clinical asset, communication with patients. I knew building the skills and knowledge over the first 5-6 years as a PT would be imperative if I wanted to eventually start something of my own. By the time 5 years came come around in 2021, I started to get the sensation of “going through the motions” as a PT, and I knew if I was going to stay in this profession until I retired, I wanted more. At that point in time, I said to myself, it’s time to start, it’s time to start my own PT practice.
The first year was challenging for many different reasons as I was starting something new and out of my comfort zone from scratch. I had a lot of questions I didn’t initially know the answers to including: Where would I practice out of? How would I get new and consistent patients to work with? When and how would I transition from my current full-time PT job? And how would I actually run a business? But the only way I knew I could answer these questions would be to start.
The priority first steps I had to take were to create a business name for my practice, develop a website and online presence, find a place where I could see patients, create a set schedule for when I would actually see patients, and lastly, the services I would offer.
The genesis of my business name, Run Potential: Rehab & Performance, became a reality as I wanted to specialize working with runners for physical therapy, but also on the performance side with 1-on-1 physical performance training and coaching. I knew if I created my business in a specialty area, I would hope to attract more running specific patients and clients instead of staying in the general orthopedic physical therapy realm. The name, Run Potential, fit both the rehab and performance side in my mind with the keyword, Potential. In the state of rehab and running performance, the word potential means we can get more, more out of each individual to help them reach their potential.
When I initially was planning to start my practice, I had ideas of either seeing patients from my home/garage gym, being mobile and seeing patients in their home, or finding a gym to rent space. I initially reached out to a bunch of gyms in the area near me that seemed like they could be a good fit due to size/space etc. I didn’t hear back from some gyms, some gyms declined, but luckily, one gym nearby my home was willing to allow me to work in their space. I set up a meeting with the business owner, and everything from cost, space, and location worked out perfectly for starting out. I’m still seeing patients and clients from the same gym today.
Some of the early challenges I faced in my practice as a business owner, were marketing and selling physical therapy services. I had developed the skills over the years to become a sound physical therapist, but the business side of things had a learning curve, and this was a challenge I knew I had to overcome. I ended up paying for a specific physical therapy business marketing program that taught me the confidence to sell a service that provides value, and how to both perform efficient grassroots marketing and online marketing through social media platforms. This program ended up being the most valuable expense I had for my practice the first year, because I would not be where I am today without the skills I learned in the program. One of the biggest takeaways I had was to have confidence in the value I bring to my prospective patients, as they are essentially paying for the outcomes they will receive, not the physical therapy itself. And that was a mind shift change for me early on in my practice.
The best advice I can give to a physical therapist who wants to start their own practice, is literally to start, start somewhere. You will never succeed if you do not take any steps. Be patient when you first start and find other local physical therapists who have started their own practice and go talk to them. I found a good group of local physical therapists who started their own practice around the time I did, or within 1-2 years before, and we have been meeting up every few months to chat ever since. I not only gain knowledge from them, but also, it provides further inspiration to keep growing my practice.
Sean , before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?
(See previous response to my start in business).
As a physical therapist, I always knew I wanted to work with an athletic population, a highly motivated recreational athlete, or weekend warrior who would do anything to remain active. All of these 3 populations remain motivated to continue to perform in their sport or activity that they love or enjoy doing.
My current business does incorporate all of the following populations I previously mentioned; however, my primary niche patient or client is the competitive and/or recreational runner. The reasons I wanted to focus on this population is because I am an avid passionate runner myself, and I understand how frustrating an injury can become when it sidelines you from doing what you enjoy, running. I’m also passionate about continuing to learn and understand the reasoning behind why runners get injured, while then putting the puzzle pieces together by gaining a lens into their training history, injury subjective history, and physical exam when I meet them. From there, I try to create a working hypothesis of the injury that is going on and provide a progressive and evolving program for my patients to improve safely. I take pride in my ability to spend more time with my patients and to stay in personal communication in between sessions as it’s imperative to understand how my patients are responding to their rehab and training outside of my clinic.
The primary services I offer for my patients are physical therapy including consultations and developing customized plans of care. Then on the performance side, I provide personal run coaching and personal training incorporating strength, movement skill, and sport specific training. Often times, during physical therapy plans of care, my patient’s rehab will incorporate the strength/movement skill training and return to run coaching, but with the patient’s injury driving the process. As honestly, physical therapy and coaching/training are all on continuum, and my ultimate goal is to provide guidance for my patients or clients to reach their potential safely.
What do you think helped you build your reputation within your market?
I think I can look at this in 3 different aspects that have all been beneficial to my growth in the market: Grassroots marketing, word of mouth from previous patients/clients, and online marketing through SEO/social media. Because I mostly work with runners, I promote by business at local running events, races, and through my involvement in local running groups. Colorado Springs is a highly saturated city for runners and running events which has helped me significantly in my business’s growth. Word of mouth marketing is always the best, as patients or clients who have previously worked with me provide the best sales to their friends and/or family members. When past patients/clients can describe firsthand their positive experiences working with me, it always makes things easier when I talk to the prospective patient/client for the first time on the phone. And lastly, online marketing has been crucial for me, as this is the best way to gain a large awareness of my business including rankings on google, and social media advertising which has been supplemental to finding new patients/clients in need of my services.
I feel my reputation has built in my local market because of what I offer being different, different in comparison to the traditional outpatient physical therapy setting. I spend more time with my patients and clients, while tailoring the session truly to their needs and challenging them to an appropriate level to produce positive adaptation. I also stay in touch in between sessions and post-rehab discharge, as I want to always be a resource for them. Often times in the traditional outpatient PT setting, physical therapists are seeing multiple patients an hour, while offering passive and/or “cookie cutter” treatments. This lack of quality rehab tends to leave a “hole” in patients progress, and often times specific tissue injuries can be missed. Unfortunately, it’s not always the therapist’s fault for the sub-par therapy, but more so on how the clinic is managed which often comes down to what the insurance companies want to pay for. That’s where I’m also different, as I do not accept medical insurance directly because it reduces my ability to get my patients the results they want to achieve.
Putting training and knowledge aside, what else do you think really matters in terms of succeeding in your field?
The most helpful asset in succeeding in my field is undoubtedly, communication and listening. Both skills go hand and hand because when it comes down to selling and providing a service for others, it’s all about their agenda, not mine. Active listening is such an important skill when trying to understand what a patient’s or client’s goals are that they want to achieve working together. I also find that’s it’s much more insightful when my patients and clients are telling me more information, rather than me speaking over them, or me trying to think of the next question to ask. I have found that the more I listen, the better questions I can ask, and often times this can make a big difference in how I progress my therapy sessions. Furthermore, communication is important both during 1-on-1 sessions and in between sessions. The feedback my patients and clients provide helps me understand how they are responding to therapy or training. This allows me to fine tune parameters, and progress or regress their therapy or training.
If I were to be a poor listener and communicator, I don’t believe I would be where I am today. Even if I was the “best” physical therapist or coach in the world, if there is poor communication and/or listening, it’s all for nothing.
Contact Info:
- Website: Runpotentialpt.com
- Instagram: runpotentialpt
- Facebook: Run Potential Rehab & Performance
- Other: Google: Run Potential: Rehab & Performance