Nitin C: Hi everyone this is Nitin Chhoda from nitin360.com and I want to thank Irene for speaking with us because it is bright and early in the morning in Hawaii and Irene is actually on vacation. I am indeed jealous because I am stuck here in New Jersey. Irene is the creator of a unique massage therapy method called Active Myofascial Therapy also known as ‘The Diamond Method’ and her website is thediamondmethod.com, is that right?

Irene: Perfect.

Nitin C: I asked Irene for an interview so we can learn specifically how she went about creating a brand of massage therapy for herself. And how physical therapists can pretty much do the same and stand apart from the competition. Irene is conducting workshops all over the country and she has established a strong presence both locally and nationally as an expert in her technique “Active Myofascial Therapy” and a lot of physical therapists attend her workshops. For a physical therapist in private practice, who has an idea about a method that they want to pioneer and they want to brand, what is the first bit of advice that you would give them if they want to go about creating their own brand of therapy?

Irene: That is a great question. First and foremost, therapists need to be be sure that their idea or method they are developing is something that is unique and different from what everybody is already doing. If they have the same techniques as everyone else, then it is not going to be unique and you could spend a lot of time trying to brand it and it won’t be successful. I think there needs to be a unique story of why they created their method.

For example, in my situation, when I was 16, I was doing acrobatics and I actually fell and ended up with a spinal cord injury and was completely paralyzed and I went to physical therapy. I got a few sessions and was sent me on my way, but was still in chronic pain so I studied everything I could. And then I started going to therapists myself and started directing them on what to do and where to push, how to get better and I started getting better.

The therapists who were working with me started taking my method and using it on their own clients and patients. They were seeing great results with them, so I knew I was on to something and then I went to school and got my degree in recreation therapy with an emphasis on movement therapy.

With my knowledge of exercise, massage therapy and neuromuscular reeducation, I created a system that is backed by science. If a therapist is listening and they have an idea of the method they want to present then of course that has to be proved, that has to be resolved. It has to be reproducible.

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Download Interview File

Nitin C: Today, I have the privilege of interviewing Dr. Larry Benz, PT and pioneer in private practice in the United States.  Larry is the founder of physicaltherapist.com, evidenceinmotion.com and I can actually go on and on about his resume, Larry has been on the APTA advisory and on practice and the board of physical therapy specialty. He is the recipient of a number of business and physical therapy awards including the Kentucky physical therapy outstanding physical therapy award and the Ernst and Young entrepreneur of the year award. Larry, I’m so happy you took the time out from your busy schedule to speak with us for a few minutes today, thank you again.

Larry: You’re welcome. Glad to be here.

Nitin C: Our topic for today is what physical therapists in private practice can do to improve their business using the internet. A lot of PTs in private practice are recognizing the importance of a website and what it can do for their practice. What advice would you give to a PT in private practice who is looking to use the internet as a medium to get more patients or offer more relevant information to patients?

Larry: Well it’s a great question because I think the internet is a great way of obtaining new patients but what I think, physical therapists have to gain a greater understanding is the fact that consumers are leading the way. They are skeptical, demanding, they want access, they want twice the transparency, they want unlimited choices and they want high quality. What you have is a little bit of age compression. You have certainly from the middle age of your baby boomers on up, they might not be as savvy as the younger set in terms of building access information on the internet. But they are paying attention, they are listening. The younger set from what I would call a sort of a four year old on down to the generations after that, they have a genuine distrust of healthcare providers right now. They are going into information and finding things about you. Whether that would be in the social networks you travel in, the services you provide and who is recommending you to others. The enabling technologies whether they be everything from ratepts.com to networks such as FaceBook, Twitter and other blogging services, people will find out about you. They will self-diagnose and they will seek out your service.

Everything starts off with your basic website. What is my company and what do we stand for, what are the services we offer, what are the timings or the convenience factors. That’s the basics, and most PTs kind of use their website as how-to or general information and they kind of end it. What they don’t understand is, they can use various mediums within the internet technology to create more memorable experiences for their patients resulting in engaged experience, which further results in patient-loyalty which further results to word of mouth marketing, the best kind of marketing that exists.

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When she was done with therapy, all I did was say to her “Thank you, come again”

And she and I burst out laughing together.

I said to her “I know I like like I work at 7/11 (not that there’s anything wrong with it) but hey, can you blame me for sticking to the stereotype?”

And I did it again, this time, in a nasal, goofy accent

“Thank you, come again”

And we both laughed again.

10 minutes later, I got a phone call from her brother, who needed physical therapy, and his cousin, who was also looking for a therapist. Somehow, the word spread. They were talking about me.

Make your patients laugh. They will appreciate you for it, and refer their friends.

In fact, they will pull out their wallet and give you money.

Think about it.

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Download Interview File

Nitin C: Hi everyone this is Nitin Chhoda from http://www.nitin360.com. Welcome to the special interview with this unique individual, Michael Dunlop, from http://www.incomediary.com. Michael is just 20 years old, an entrepreneur and an internet marketer. He is making a full time living off of his blogs and has two businesses that generate revenue for him while he enjoys his lifestyle – interviewing some of the top names in the world including Mark Victor Hansen from Chicken Soup for the Soul and as Michael told me, he is going to go bike riding in about 45minutes. Michael is living the life that we all should have and we all want. There is a lot of stuff that we could learn from someone as talented, young and dynamic as Michael. Thank you for being on the call. How are you?

Michael: I am very good. Thank you for having me on this today. I actually have more than to make websites and quite a few, a lot of them must have been set and forget that you can build something over a week and then you set to make money for the rest of your life.

Nitin C: Ok, tell us a little bit of these websites.

Michael: The main one is that most entrepreneurial people now earn income at http://www.retireat21.com which basically teaches people how to make more money. We are introducing some of world’s top individuals such as the founder of Craigslist and the founder of WebPress. Within half an hour, I can collect great content, this lets me do what I like during the day. While working, I can still go out for a four-hour cycle through the woods and go over some hills and hopefully get into a town about six miles away called Arundel. I also usually go to a lake and ride a boat.

Nitin C: Sounds like fun Mike. So, if I am a medical professional, I can be a doctor, a physical therapist, an occupational therapist and a chiropractor and I want to start a blog. What is the first thing that I should do?

Michael: I think this is a great opportunity for a doctor to make a lot of money because a lot of people probably do not want to go to a doctor and ask questions about themselves and their health conditions. They may be embarrassed to talk about it or they may think that they do not really need to go for this or the like. So if I am a doctor, I would set up a blog which is very simple to do. If you do not know how to, I have a free course in my site which will show you steps on how set it up. You do not have to learn html or any coding and it will basically let you start blogging whenever you like.

If I was a doctor, I would be doing posts on questions people would usually ask. For example, I have a weird bump in a certain location; you can surely make a post on that issue. I think people coming to your clinics would ask you to do a post about it and consequently people will tend to search for Google and want to look into it before they actually ask their doctor because there are maybe some cure that they can find without even going to the doctor. And because of that, it could get you so much traffic. Once you get this traffic, we have to monetize it by telling them that before you can do anything for them, they to need to do or buy such and such and when they do, you are making an affiliate commission.

Nitin C: Right. I have actually talked to a lot of physical therapists, who want to setup a blog where they can create an income. You talked about a couple of blogs and websites, and I’m sure that a lot of readers want to know about these, where you put in between seven and ten days of effort and it became an automated business. How would you structure it and what advice can you give in setting up an automated internet business in quick time?

Michael: Basically, with the blogging software like WordPress, getting search engine recognition and traffic is quite easy. A good example is one of my sites, a web design website, that basically teaches people how to do websites and I have to design one myself and may decode it and etcetera. The funny thing about this is I do not know anything about web design myself or coding. And so I basically hired a guy and said ask if he can do a few articles about it, set it up in the blog and submit it to article directories. The one big thing that you need to get it right is this: “content is king”. You have to have the best content possible. Do not rush on blog posts. Do not think that you need to do 2 blog posts a day because competitors do one good post a week and that is fine. You just have to make sure that every post spots on, and as long as you can do that, you have the traffic you need. As you have the traffic, then you need to monetize it.

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I’m glad to have landed this interview, and am proud to have a colleague like Jeff.

I caught up with Jeff Cavaliere, from http://www.majorleagueinsidertraining.com/home, a 3 time physical therapist for the METS and managed to get Jeff to spill some insights into ‘training with the stars’.

Besides being featured on the cover of ADVANCE in August 2008, Jeff Cavaliere MSPT, CSCS served as both the Head Physical Therapist and Assistant Strength Coach for the last three seasons with the New York Mets.  He is both an NSCA Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist and a Certified Pilates Instructor. During his three seasons with the Mets, Jeff became an instant celebrity for his unique understanding of functional conditioning for baseball.

He is a specialist in biomechanics towards developing some of the most effective yet never before seen exercises for pitchers and position players alike, is second to none in the game. In the video, Jeff talks about the importance of understanding the biomechanics of the sport, a prerequisite to landing the ‘dream job’. He reveals how easy it is to ‘land a gig’ with smaller teams, since most major league teams have athletic trainers, but few (if any) physical therapists. He talks about ‘prehab’ and prevention in the athletic environment, the rigors of working with a team, the importance of passion, the variations between sports and the general requirements (you’ll be surprised) to survive the ‘prime time’ without burning up. I also put Jeff on the spot and ask him how to get involved with the team, and how to initiate contact with the team.

Did I mention that Jeff was recently named one of America’s Top 50 Greatest Trainers 2008 by Men’s Fitness? This guy is at the very top of the game!

Don’t forget to check out Jeff’s website at http://www.majorleagueinsidertraining.com/home/. He has an outstanding training program for young baseball athletes,  and it is indeed an outstanding resource.

HERE’S THE INTERVIEW!

Nitin C: Hi this is Nitin Chhoda from Nitin360.com.  I am here with Jeff Cavalier, from Major League insider training.  Jeff is a celebrity physical therapist and has trained the METs for three years from 2006-2008.  He has been featured in the cover of Advance magazine in August 2008.

Jeff:     You are welcome.

Nitin C:    I have a question for Jeff and a lot of therapists have been sending me emails with this particular question.  How do you become a physical therapist for a major league team like the METs?

Jeff:     I think you first have to identify what sport you are passionate about.  I loved baseball ever since I was a kid.  So in terms of a physical therapist’s point of view, you want to be able to understand the biomechanics of the sport.  You want to be able to understand the physical demands of the sport and what the common type of injuries are associated with that sport.  Obviously in baseball, elbows and shoulders get injured a lot of time. So you want to be able to have a firm understanding of that, because when the opportunity does come about, where you get into that situation where you might be ending in a job interview or trying to get a job in a team, you have to know they are going to test you and they are going to find out what your knowledge is.  That has to be the effort that you have to give in.  But in terms of things that you could do now, you have to read everything you can about your sport, but there are so many affiliate teams like minor league level that are around all much wherever we live within at least 50 miles.  I am sure you could probably find some affiliate teams, get your name known and get it known that you are interested in being there.  For physical therapists, there is a huge opportunity right now, because all teams have trainers but not physical therapists, I was one among the only seven when I took my time with the Met.  There is a growing demand, and more and more team owners are realizing that this is something that we need, different than what resources a lot of trainers could provide.  I believe that within the next five years, many physical therapists will be teaching in major league baseball teams.

Nitin C:    And if you are a physical therapist, would you ask physical therapists to design fitness program as well and not just restrict themselves to injuries?  What would you think the physical therapist can provide for the sports team?

Jeff:    My main image was in prehab more than it was in rehab.  I have always been a more pro-active guy the things you get some layout  on the right stuff now before they are injured, we could prevent a lot of these preventable injuries especially when you talk about in an athletic population.  Primarily, everything is overused, so if somebody teaches them how to use their muscles and joints, in the right way, biomechanically, you could prevent a lot of things.  There are lot pro-active prehab things that you should be aware of but you do need to have the rehab knowledge of the specific demands of your sport because they are going to come up in terms of job interviews and such other things.

Nitin C: Are there specific courses that you can recommend physical therapists can do or would it really depend on the experience level of the physical therapist in the courses in college?

Jeff:    Yes, it depends on your knowledge of the sports from passion’s standpoint.  Are you passionate enough on that sport?  Believe me, if I was not passionate enough of what I did, I could never have stayed there.  We have 162 games and about 180 days and every single day, the hours at night game are from 7 pm and I was already there since 11 am.  I am there working from 11 in the morning until midnight, so you really have to love what you are doing. Different sports have different demands. I have a friend who is in the NFL, and those guys will have one travel a day, eight times a year. They go away on Saturday, play on Sunday and they come home on a Sunday night and that only happen 8weeks out of 50week schedule.  That is pretty simple compared to baseball being 162 games, so you have to understand the demands of your sport and be comfortable to work with that environment without burning out.

Nitin C:    And how would you recommend a physical therapist approach a team and get involved with them.  You cannot just walk up a team.  You need to contact maybe the manager or how would they initiate it?

Jeff:    Maybe they need to contact the General Manager of that organization such as minor league team and get permission.  But you also have to understand their current medical roster. Whether they already have a physical therapist.  They are not going to pick him up on the street.  But if currently they do not have a physical therapist you can just briefly try to sell them in a letter the benefit the PT adds to the training staff—how do you complement what is already there and how do you enhance what is already there. More people will be receptive to that because in a competitive environment of sports, particularly in ball sports, any opportunity that a general manager gets to improve his team and the likelihood of having them winning.   Especially in the major league we had with the Mets we always ran somewhere between a $120 and $150 million dollar payroll, it only costs a fraction of that to hire a physical therapist to try to protect those assets.  So for them that makes the wisest sense from a business standpoint.

Nitin C:     How much does a physical therapist who works for a team like that expect to be paid, and is it more than the average physical therapist?  The average physical therapist makes about $75,000 a year.

Jeff:    Again we’re talking about physical therapist in major league baseball, so you’re talking about only 30 positions up for grabs, so they’re compensated accordingly for sure.

Nitin C:     Excellent.  Well, thanks guys and if you want to check out Jeff’s website, Jeff tell us a bit more about your website.

Jeff:     The website is major league insider training, and what I did is basically put together training manual for young baseball players, really high school age and college age that are aspiring to be in the big league.   This is the program that covers every single thing that they would need to know in terms of strength and conditioning, and flexibility and really bring it all for one step-by-step package they’re going to there.  This is coming from a guy that’s been in the big league and has worked with these guys.  So that’s where I get all the information from.  It’s actually endorsed by the top major leaguers in the game.

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I worked hard all week, and tend to get giddy like a little girl, when its time to go out to a fancy-pants place and catch a movie (or a Broadway show, we live 20 minutes from midtown Manhattan).

I don’t know about you, but all I want to do is RELAX on Saturdays and put my feet up.

Well, that was the goal, when my wife and I went to this super-cool place called “Max Brenner” in NYC last week.

This young server came up to me, while my mouth was full of 80% cocoa chocolate and asked “Sorry to bother you, but would you be interested in joining a special ‘chocolate membership’ where you can enjoy future meals at a 30% discount”

“Thanks, I’m good. Perhaps next time?”

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Yes, I have a hair stylist (it’s not him in the picture). If you saw me in person, you’d probably agree I need one.

Each time I go to him, I have to wait in line, even when I have an appointment.

The guy works magic with his hands. When I am done, I feel like my head was unscrewed, serviced and reattached. Oh, my hair looks different too.

He always has me singing his praises, as do all his other clients. It doesn’t matter that he looks funny and talks with a strong Brooklyn accent “I woooaaalkeed my doooaaag Aarthur today”

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Never been much of a roller coaster kind of guy, but the thought of lights, sounds, food, people and general fun-filled feel was too too much to pass up.

My wife was as excited…

Within an hour, we found ourselves buying $2 tickets to enter a carnival in the busiest part of Northern New Jersey. It was packed with silly clowns, a pig race (yes), more roller coasters than I care to count and tons of funnel cake and greasy barbecues.

I was starving, and Ritika had a sweet craving. While she headed for the funnel cake, I walked (jogged) straight to the Greek food stand, where the helpful old server (she must have been 60 years old, and looked straight out of the movie “My Big Fat Greek Wedding) heaped on the lamb in my $5 gyro like there was no tomorrow. With her generosity, I felt grateful and wanted to thank her in some way.

She gave me a smile while piling on the lettuce and tomatoes and made her way to the cash counter.

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The apartment is too small for us now, and we are planning on buying a home in Morris County, NJ.

She called me at 3 pm today, bursting with enthusiasm…”I think I found a great house”..

I almost fell off my chair and said “Really? What did you like about it?”.

“I just loved it, its a townhouse has 3 bedrooms and 2.5 bathrooms, a 2 car garage a finished basement…”

I delved deeper. “What about the taxes and monthly fees?”

“They are not a problem, but now that I think about it, there was no gym, and this is a 14 year old house.. I did see another house that was newer, with a gym and a clubhouse..

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