Ep890 | A Thriving Cash-Based PT Clinic In The Dance Niche With Holly Navarro

Episode Summary

In this episode, Doc Danny shares a conversation between Rainmaker coach Jaxie Meth and Mastermind member Holly Navarro. Holly walks through how she built a cash-based practice in a narrow niche (dance medicine), found her first treatment space, grew through community workshops, and scaled into hiring and a standalone clinic location.

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What You'll Learn

• How Holly built a real practice around a "small" niche and why narrow can scale
• What it looked like to start while life was chaotic and still keep momentum
• How she landed her first space through a simple conversation and community connection
• Why workshops and "captured audience" events worked to drive early patient volume
• How to build workshop follow-up so parents actually see the offer (waivers + email drip)
• When it makes sense to move from a borrowed space into your own standalone location
• What changed when she stopped thinking small and started building for a bigger life goal
• Hiring lessons, including why she hired a marketer first and then brought on two PTs

Key Highlights from Holly's Story

• Starting point: 10 years in a small private practice, built a dancer following, ran a side hustle for years, and reached a point of misalignment with leadership and direction.
• First space: A patient offered a gym space, which gave her a "good enough" setup to build traction without big overhead.
• Workshops as growth engine: Injury prevention workshops for studios, then more specific body-part workshops (ankle, turnout, etc). She charges studios for dance workshops and lets them decide whether to charge dancers.
• Parent follow-up system: Uses waivers to capture parent contact info, then an email drip sequence with a clear offer and reminders.
• Standalone clinic: Moved into a dedicated space once demand grew and the original setup capped expansion. Key lesson: don't think too small, you may outgrow a space faster than you expect.
• Hiring: Hired a marketer to help amplify hiring and awareness, then hired two PTs (including someone she trusted from a prior clinic).
• Programs: Rainmaker built the confidence and structure to start. Mastermind brought systems, hiring, and repeatable scale.

Workshop Pricing Notes (From the Conversation)

• Dance workshops: typically charged to the studio (example shared: $400 for 90 minutes)
• General workshops (for building a new clinician's schedule): may be free or low-cost to increase attendance and buy-in
• For youth: capture parent email via waiver and follow up automatically, because flyers rarely make it home

Free Resource

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Featured Guest

Holly Navarro
Elevation Physical Therapy (Dance Medicine) — New Jersey
Follow: @elevation.physical.therapy

Connect

• Physical Therapy Biz
• PT Entrepreneur Podcast