Private Practice Retreat 2012 Scholarship

If I won this scholarship my business would be transformed completely. The comparison I'm sure would be night and day when it comes to what the information I can learn at this event would be. Not to mention that the event is going to be in Vegas. I've never been to Vegas in my life, now I'll be able to do so and learn how to grow my practice at the same time, talk about a win-win situation.

I honestly believe I'm the best person to win this scholarship because I am an action taker. I've visited your blog Nitin quite often and many of the insights you've shared I know has already changed my practice. I am certain that if I am the person chosen that I will be a person that you can feature on your website as being an action taker. I will serve as the ultimate talking, walking billboard for your wonderful event.

Please pick me!

It is said that knowledge is power. I believe the knowledge I would gather from the Private Practice Retreat would help give me the power I've been desperately in search of for my practice. I know there is so much I have to learn about how to manage my practice better than I have been doing. I know also that at any moment my current format for gathering patients may disappear, and so I'm thirsty to learn more practical strategies that I can use to ensure my practice grow is consistent and sustainable.

I believe that the reason I'm the best candidate for this scholarship is because I'm on the brink of a breakthrough and I firmly believe that 2012 is the year for me. It's not by coincidence that this opportunity has now presented itself, which brings me great excitement at the opportunity to win. Also, I'm determined to go ahead and make sure the information learned will be used to help build a practice worth talking about.

Also financial I'm not in a position with all that is going on in my practice to attend an event of this magnitude, although I really would love to attend.

Hi Nitin.

My name is Jennifer and I really need to win this scholarship. My current business is failing and I'm in need of practical strategies that I can start using YESTERDAY to turn things around for me. While many might have sustainable or growing practices, I'm losing out hope that I'll be able to keep mine open for much longer.

Financially I cannot fathom being able to spend money to attend your great event in Las Vegas. I'm almost at a point of living paycheck to paycheck just to keep the doors open. I'm confident that the information that I will learn at your event will at least give me hope so that I am able to go ahead and turn things around for the good.

I hope you will take my application to win this scholarship seriously and give me consideration for winning this prize. It will most certainly help my practice grow and increase my hope that I can have a practice that not only survives during troubling times, but thrives as well.

Thanks.

Hi Nitin,

I would love to attend your Private Practice Summit!

Lately, my private practice has been struggling. There are times when I wonder if it is still worth all the hardwork that I put into it or if I should just shut it down. Then I heard about your program and I feel hopeful once again! I watched the video testimonials of the people who have attended your program and they are all very convincing! I cannot wait to learn how I can get my private practice from merely surviving to thriving.

Why do I deserve to win over everyone else?
The thing is, I cannot afford it right now. Boy, it has been such a struggle financially.
Winning your scholarship could really mean a new life for my private practice. I hope I win it.
Thank you and more power!

Sam Jones
PT

Hi Nitin,

I am a private practice owner for over 10 years now and yes, financially, it can be very erratic. Sometimes, money just comes pouring in and there are times when it is really just a trickle! What I would give for stability and consistency in my private practice! When I heard about your program and what they all had to say about it, I am most intrigued. I want to witness this event myself! I want to know just what exactly it is that they are talking about. I am always looking for ways to improve my practice and my service.

Why do I deserve to win over everyone else?
I feel that I deserve this because I do a lot of 'pro bono' sessions with the less fortunate in my community. I am not only into this for the money but because I also want to contribute to the community. It is my desire to give back and with your program, it is possible that I can help and do more. So please pick me!

All the best,

Carrie B.
PT

Wow, it would be fantastic if I would win the VIP scholarship to the Private Practice Summit 2012!
I can definitely use the strategies and techniques in this program to push my private
practice from barely surviving to being a success! I cannot wait to learn more about getting my private practice into shape!

I deserve to win this scholarship because it means SURVIVAL for me! Right now, I am barely
hanging on and I might need to close down my private practice and go back to working
as a PT at a hospital.

Winning this scholarship will really mean saving my private practice from closure.

Thanks for this opportunity,

Mike T.
PT

* What would it mean to your practice if you win this VIP scholarship to Private Practice Retreat 2012?
One word — success!! We are HURTING and I know in my heart this is the necessary next step for our practice!!

* Why do you deserve to win over everyone else?
Another word (actually two) — I'm broke. We are 2 months away from closing shop — PLEASE save us. Also, we will have a GRAND time at the VIP dinner and mixer!!

Hello My name is TrVera Williams. I have a outpatient private physical therapy practice in Greenville SC. I have tried implementing several different avenues to bring in multiple streams of income, but they are not working 100%. I don't have the extra cash to attend such an awesome workshop due to financial hardship that stemmed on last year so I am playing the catch up game. I had an individual who came in to help manage and help with finances but ended up costing me and the company over 10,000+ dollars.
We have severed ties and God is helping us turn things around, but would like guidance to avoid other pitfalls and to cause the company to grow to the point wherein I can hire another therapist either part-time or full -time which would open me up to focus on other areas of the practice to continue to help it grow.
This summit would help me to become more independent in every area of my life and help me have more time for me.

I have a business coach. I would love to hear from a coach tha also is a physical therapist.

Nitin-

I am throwing
my name in the hat!

Dear Nitin,
When opening the recent email regarding the VIP scholarship to the Private Practice Summit 2012, I was thoroughly impressed with your generosity in assisting other private practices across the country. I have visited your website and blogs many a time, always coming away with little pearls that can be implemented with very little effort yet be so effective.

I have been in private practice for 3 years now in a very tight medical community. As a result, I always need to stay on top of new strategies and techniques that will allow me to stay on the forefront within our community. In the past, I have spent a great deal of money on marketing strategies that never come to fruition due to lack of a blue print for implementation. I feel that winning this scholarship would springboard my business from a 1.5 therapist practice to a practice that can be systematized, replicated and grow to achieve my goals of financial independence and freedom. Gaining financial independence and freedom would allow me to attain my number one goal of being able to spend more time with my family rather than having to work 50+ hours per week.

I believe that the reason I'm the best candidate for this scholarship is because I'm looking to make significant changes in 2012 allowing my practice to provide the best quality care that people deserve. This would also allow me to leverage my time and efforts and give back to my family who has supported me through my endeavor.

Thank you for this opportunity as well as for the work you do to help other private practices.

Best Regards!

Joshua H. PT

Hello, Nitin-

This looks like a great event. Attending would give us the boost we need to take our practice to the next level in many ways. We are great at helping people get better, but not great at running a business. We're doing well, but have never gotten over the guilt of making a profit while helping people. We think like therapists, not like confident business owners. We've had a business coach before, but not one who understands therapy. I think attending would give us the solid tools we need and the CONFIDENCE to use them. Our goals are to essentially double our size and add real wellness offerings as a viable segment of our business to reduce our insurance dependence.

As far as why we deserve it more…I don't think we do. I see a lot of people here reporting they are almost broke. We're not. We're actually growing and doing OK. We'll see if we can afford attending this year (at least one of us). While I'd love a scholarship, I'd like to see someone who really needs it to stay afloat get the scholarship.

Good luck everybody! Keep your heads and chins up!

In two words, I believe winning this VIP scholarship would bring EFFICIENCY and SUCCESS to my practice. I have taken other management stategy and marketing programs, however found a lot of flaws in their program, making it extremely difficult to implement into my practice. I would love to learn efficient and effective strategies to grow my practice, allowing me to spend more time with my family. I would also love to focus on growth rather than being in the daily trenches of my practice.

When thinking about how to answer your second question, I don't think that I deserve to win this scholarship over anyone else. I am currently restructuring my company as I recently sold one of my locations, therefore feel this program would be extremely valuable to both me and my company. This program would allow me to immediately implement new strategies for the growth and success of my practice. Thank you in Advance for your consideration in this contest.

Nitin,
As a Physical Therapist with 13 years experience, I recently took the plunge and opened my first private practice. Under the sound advice of business counselors, I did so without any partners or corporate backing whatsoever. To do this meant a complete investment of my retirement and savings. After attending your private practice summit in NJ last year and implementing several strategies, the practice is off and running with caseload of 90-100 patient visits/ week. A tremendous blessing, and enormous workload as the owner of a new practice struggling to implement many of the systems you describe as being essential and working till 2AM most nights just to keep up with the many responsibilities on top of patient care. My hands have been tied financially due to a Medicare credentialing nightmare where they have lost my application twice and never let me know until 2 months later, so 5 months in, 50% of my caseload is Medicare for which I have not received a penny reimbursement. This leads to a financial struggle that has prevented me from implementing your very good advice to not do it all, but delegate. Finances don't allow me to hire the necessary staff to delegate, so what this Scholarship would mean to me is a way to find some breathing room to have guidance on the necessary systems for day to day operation to make my work load bearable while awaiting for my finances to catch up. Now I'll lay it on thicker… it would give my 3 kids ages 7, 4 and 2 their Dad back!
I believe I deserve this scholarship due to my overwhelming passion that private practice is the only means left for patients to receive top quality physical therapy. Patient care is not just a job for me, but my life's mission. I sacrifice my time and energy to make sure that my practice is a shining example of what patient care should be all about. This commitment leads me to have a strong desire to be the most efficient I can be and implement the systems to be free to care for others. Once I see a system that works, I will be equally passionate about implementing it. I saw that system with your marketing course and forsee an equal opportunity with this practice management presentation.
Tobin

Nitin,
I have a growing practice of 3 PT but equivalent to about 2.5 in volume. I the owner am one of the treating PTs and doing everything else an owner does. My hope out of this retreat would be to learn how to grow the practice to the next level 4 full time PT and I would treat .5 to .75 time, pay my staff and myself better and I would learn how to work smarter so I can have more balance in my schedule and more time with my family.

I do not know if I do deserve it over the next person. I would like to believe all owners out there, practice with the same motives and passion to make a big difference in patients they treat and staff they hirer as part of their team, in our case we consider ourselves a family. I will tell you in my clinic the patient is always first, we are not a run the patient in and out as fast as you can and hope they get better. We are a high quality one on one clinic that does all we can to make sure our patients get the results they want. In the past I have spent money on other organizations to help me learn how to grow and was disappointed. The focus of the other organizations was all about figuring out what is the highest number of patients you can get through the door and most you can charge and collect and not concerned about the patient. I am looking for an organization that focus on the patient and teaches me how to build relationships to create more patients and referral sources. So saying all of that I hope it is not a case of I am more deserving, rather your model fits my needs better than another PTs needs.
Thank you for you consideration. Have a great rest of your week. David

Hi Nitin,
I can afford to come to Las Vegas and try my luck. What is the cost?

hello nitin,
am from the Philippines. Upon signing in here in website and constantly receiving your emails…my private practice wasn't the same anymore.
the strategies you shared not only beneficial but as well as functional in my practice…
i love always to know what your new ways and means in operating private practice of PT.
i may not the deserving one to win the slot
but i wanted you to know that what a great help you are to PT like me who is practicing my career privately..
farah

Hello Nitin,
Here in Australia Physiotherapists are being increasingly bombarded by pale imitations of your systems. I know this because I have been a grateful subscriber to your email information for a long time. Advice from inexperienced sources can be detected very easily and ignored just as easily, therefore I am not signed up for local inferior versions of clinic management systems.

For 22 years I have worked in various areas of our profession, mainly in my own practice.

Having retrained after 12 years in the workforce and taking 7 years part time to qualify as a physio, my age is edging closer to retirement than it is to practice newby.

A solo practitioner with all my future tied up in buildings, equipment and bank loans, a retirement plan for sometime in the next 12 to 15 years is necessary (when I am in my mid 70's). My patients recognise that I love what I do and that my good results generate ongoing word of mouth referrals and a higher proportion of new patients each week than most equivalent practices.

BUT, we are burnt out, despite customer service and other awards fueling a desire to continue the passion. My wife (practice manager) and I need to restructure. Being everything to our clinics survival, the two of us need a revitalisation and respite that not only gives us a rest but invigorates via targeted no frills advice from the masters. Excessive hours and dedication to patients and our terminally ill relatives, world financial crisis and the stress of being in the extreme Victorian bushfire area during 2009 have taken their toll. Some of our patients did not survive the fires and others, like us, remain very tired.

If we felt that the airfare from Oz was equally matched by accommodation and event fee coverage the evangalist in me would sing praises from on high! As the practice manager, my very supportive wife Jennifer would be a core component of future success, if she could witness the event proceedings first hand. We are a team.

Everyone has their story. This is ours. We can share our strengths and with the help of others strengthen our weaknesses to ensure the sharing continues,
Thank you for your consideration.
Mark & Jennifer Quittner
MrPhysio+ Healesville Victoria Australia

If I won this scholarship it would mean the difference between surviving(barely) and growth. It would mean having the life I dream of. It would mean having the practice I dream of. It would mean having the knowledge I dream of. It would be the opportunity I need to gain the control of my practice to lead it to the future and have stability for my family.
I have been in private practice for 12 years and have worked 12-13 hour days the whole time. I rarely take vacation. I have four kids and struggle constantly to have enough time with them and feel it slipping away as they get older. I know that just a small improvement in a few key areas of my business can make a huge difference but I never seem to be able to get over that hump. I have been to other PT consulting seminars and implemented their systems with minimal changes. I have read books about business and marketing but its often hard to relate to private practice. My budget is very limited and worse this year but this is also the year I really want to become more business oriented. Work on my business instead of just in it. I work my ass off and have great patients and my referring Docs seem pleased but I just dont seem to be able to grow enough to get to the point I want or need to be at. I know its possible. I know I can do it. I feel I just need the right tools and system to implement them and I just havent found it yet. Very frustrating.
Thanks for all your great info Nitin and thanks for the opportunity.

I have been searching for answers, and this retreat 2012 would be the answer I need to make my new niche practice a success.. To make a story short, I need this. Thank you in advance. Guy

Nitin,
Just as with everyone above, I too have thrown my heart and soul into my business to try and make it work. After years of working for someone else and being disgruntled with the way care was provided and having to work myself to the bone for someone else to profit, I decided to take the plunge, and just like so many of the above stories, I cashed in my retirement, my life insurance, and put it all in for a business I believed in. For the past few years, I've fought through credentialing issues, lack of payment from personal injury cases, a legal case with a very poor and unethical billing company, and having to sustain a business without income while we worked with new software, systems, etc., in addition to the usual trying to find the right people to work for you etc. I currently rent space from a chiropractor and his partner, which has been a mixed "blessing". Although one of them refers me patients, and we have become a "dysfunctional" family, I often have to put up with discouraging remarks, mockery, and a "good ole boys club" mentality where I have had to fight for every change and need for my business, even including high speed internet (something the chiropractor had not used in his practice for the past 8 years). I feel as if I am stuck in a catch 22 abusive relationship mentality, where I cannot move on until I make enough money and have enough of my own patients, but I can't fully achieve those goals where I am at. I need help!
We are constantly surviving from payment to payment and although I work 2 other part-time jobs to just pay my own bills, none of it is fully working and I know that I cannot do the best job for the clinic until I am able to be there full-time. It has made me irritable and continually stressed, and is effecting the other areas and relationships of my life. I am at the point where I am debating giving up on my dream just to save my sanity and to try and figure out how to pay off the debt from opening the business.

Your seminar could be the keys to the freedom we need to break out of our "abusive" rental relationship and move our clinic to the next level where I can achieve referrals without having to rely on the chiropractors' assistance. I am willing to work hard and always willing to learn.

All of the owners above sound like we all need some assistance and everyone's story sounds familiar, but I still believe in my dream and do not want to give up on it just yet . . .

Hello Nitin,

I believe your Summit will strengthen my practice but also strengthen my passion and purpose of helping others expand their practice. Helping me will in turn help others help more and more patients.

That's it. Short and simple!

Thanks everybody! Some incredible comments! I am announcing the winners in the next blog post.