Episodios

  • Ep891 | What To Expect From PT Biz At CSM 2026

    Ep891 | What To Expect From PT Biz At CSM 2026
    Feb 5 2026

    Episode Summary

    In this episode, Doc Danny shares why cash-based physical therapy entrepreneurship is entering a powerful new phase. From his upcoming presentations at CSM to the broader evolution of the profession, Danny breaks down how business models have changed, why scalability is now real, and what this means for clinicians who want more autonomy, impact, and long-term opportunity.

    In This Episode, You'll Learn

    • Why distraction during documentation hurts rapport and outcomes, and how AI scribes can fix it
    • What Doc Danny is presenting at CSM and why cash-based models are gaining momentum
    • How starting a clinic inside a gym can lower risk and accelerate early growth
    • Why cash-based practices are more scalable today than ever before
    • How entrepreneurship is becoming a larger part of the physical therapy profession
    • Why specialization and niche expertise benefit both clinicians and patients
    • What clinicians must nail in the early phase of business to build something sustainable
    • How non-traditional career paths are opening new doors inside and outside the clinic

    What's Changing in the Profession

    Entrepreneurship in physical therapy is still a small percentage of the profession, but it's growing fast. More clinicians are choosing self-employment, niche practices, and performance-based models that prioritize one-on-one care, long-term outcomes, and lifestyle flexibility. According to Doc Danny, this shift isn't slowing down.

    Why This Matters

    Patients want personalized care. Clinicians want autonomy and fulfillment. Cash-based models sit at the intersection of both. This episode explains why now is a unique moment for physical therapists to build meaningful businesses that create real enterprise value.

    Technology Spotlight

    Want to be fully present with your patients instead of stuck in your EMR? Try Claire free for 7 days and see how an AI scribe built specifically for physical therapists can reduce documentation time and improve patient outcomes.

    Key Takeaway

    You don't need to have your entire career figured out today. The skills you build as a clinician and business owner are transferable, powerful, and increasingly valuable. Focus on nailing the fundamentals, stay open to opportunity, and let the path evolve.

    Free Resource

    Thinking about going full-time in your cash practice? Join the free 5-Day Part-Time to Full-Time Challenge and build a clear, realistic plan to replace your income and take action.

    Connect

    • Physical Therapy Biz
    • PT Entrepreneur Podcast
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    18 m
  • Ep890 | A Thriving Cash-Based PT Clinic In The Dance Niche With Holly Navarro

    Ep890 | A Thriving Cash-Based PT Clinic In The Dance Niche With Holly Navarro
    Feb 3 2026

    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.

    Try Claire (AI Scribe for PTs)

    Want to save your clinicians hours every week and increase capacity without burning them out? Start a free 7-day trial of Claire .

    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

    Want a clear plan to go from part-time to full-time in your cash practice? Join the free 5-Day Challenge.

    Featured Guest

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

    Connect

    • Physical Therapy Biz
    • PT Entrepreneur Podcast
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    1 h y 4 m
  • Ep889 | 4 Signs Your Clinical Staff Has A Money Mindset Problem

    Ep889 | 4 Signs Your Clinical Staff Has A Money Mindset Problem
    Jan 29 2026

    Episode Summary

    Cash-based clinics live and die by clear communication, confidence, and value. In this episode, Doc Danny breaks down four red flags that your staff clinician has a money mindset problem and how it quietly crushes conversions, plan-of-care adherence, retention, and clinic revenue.

    In This Episode, You'll Learn

    • Why money mindset issues are common in healthcare and how they show up in cash-based care
    • How staff clinicians unknowingly make affordability decisions for patients
    • The damage caused by apologizing for pricing and losing authority
    • Why downgrading plans without clinical justification creates hidden revenue loss and burnout
    • How "made-up stories" about a patient's finances sabotage recommendations and outcomes
    • What to coach your staff on so they sell clinically appropriate plans with confidence

    The 4 Signs Your Staff Clinician Has a Money Mindset Problem

    1. They decide what a patient can afford instead of what the patient needs.
      Making assumptions based on someone's job, car, or appearance leads to under-prescribing care and poor outcomes. Start with the diagnosis and prognosis, then let the patient decide.
    2. They apologize for pricing.
      If your clinician says "I know this is expensive," they've already surrendered authority. Your pricing should feel normal because the value is real. Confidence transfers.
    3. They downgrade plans without clinical justification.
      Selling a smaller package and stretching it out usually means more unpaid work between visits, slower progress, lower clinic revenue, and higher clinician burnout. Recommend the right plan first.
    4. They create stories about a patient's finances.
      "They have three kids, money must be tight" is not clinical reasoning. You don't know a patient's priorities, household income, or what they value most.

    Technology Spotlight

    Want your clinicians fully present with patients instead of clicking through notes? Try Claire free for 7 days and see how an AI scribe built for physical therapists can reduce documentation time and improve the patient experience.

    Key Takeaway

    Your clinician's job is to prescribe the plan that matches the diagnosis and prognosis, not to pre-negotiate on the patient's behalf. When staff confidence rises, conversions rise, retention rises, and the whole clinic scales faster.

    Free Resource

    Want to go from part-time to full-time in your cash practice with a clear plan? Join the free 5-Day Challenge.

    Connect

    • Physical Therapy Biz
    • PT Entrepreneur Podcast
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    21 m
  • Ep888 | The Hidden Asset Worth 250K In Your Clinic

    Ep888 | The Hidden Asset Worth 250K In Your Clinic
    Jan 27 2026
    The $250,000 Asset Sitting in Your Clinic Right Now

    Most clinic owners work nonstop to bring in new patients while completely ignoring the most valuable asset they already have. Their past patients.

    In this episode of the PT Entrepreneur Podcast, Danny explains how past clients can quietly represent hundreds of thousands of dollars in recurring revenue and why most clinics never tap into it.

    In This Episode, You'll Learn:
    • Why recurring revenue is the most valuable dollar in your clinic
    • How past patients can generate predictable, stable income
    • The math behind a $250,000 recurring revenue opportunity
    • How one clinic built a six-figure program without ads
    • What to offer past patients so they actually come back
    Why Past Patients Are Your Hidden Asset

    Most clinics have seen hundreds or even thousands of patients over the years. Many of those patients had great outcomes, trust the providers, and would happily return if given the right reason.

    Yet most clinics never follow up unless someone gets injured again.

    The Power of Recurring Revenue

    Recurring revenue creates stability. It allows owners to plan staffing, manage overhead, and grow without constant stress.

    Unlike the referral-eval-discharge model pushed by insurance, cash-based clinics can design ongoing services that fit patient needs and provider strengths.

    A Real-World Example

    Danny shares how one clinic launched a small group training and movement program by reaching out only to past patients.

    The first cohort filled immediately. A second group followed shortly after. No ads. No cold outreach.

    That single program now generates between $200,000 and $250,000 in gross revenue for one clinic, with members staying an average of nearly three years.

    Why This Works
    • Past patients already trust you
    • They know your quality of care
    • You understand their history and goals
    • They are far easier to re-engage than new leads
    What You Can Offer

    Recurring services do not have to be complex. They might include:

    • Small group training or movement classes
    • Monthly check-ins or tune-ups
    • Ongoing strength, mobility, or longevity programs
    • Remote coaching or programming

    The key is matching what you are good at with what your patients actually want.

    Create the Time to Think Strategically

    Many owners never build these programs because they are buried in documentation and admin work.

    Claire helps remove that burden so you can focus on patients and business growth.

    Try Claire free for 7 days

    Next Steps
    • Review your past patient list
    • Identify patients who had strong outcomes
    • Test one simple recurring offer
    • Start with direct outreach before ads

    If you are working toward going full time in your own practice, PT Biz offers a free Part Time to Full Time 5-Day Challenge.

    Sign up here:
    https://physicaltherapybiz.com/challenge
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    12 m
  • Ep887 | Why Your Best Month Might Be A Huge Problem For Your Clinic

    Ep887 | Why Your Best Month Might Be A Huge Problem For Your Clinic
    Jan 22 2026
    How Big Clinical Months Can Quietly Wreck Your Cash Flow

    Big months feel like a win. More patients, more prepaid packages, more cash hitting the account. But if you do not understand how to manage that cash, those same big months can put you in a financial bind later in the year.

    In this episode of the PT Entrepreneur Podcast, Danny breaks down why prepaid revenue creates false confidence, how owners accidentally drain their reserves, and the simple rule that keeps your clinic financially stable.

    In This Episode, You'll Learn:
    • Why prepaid services are not the same thing as earned revenue
    • How reactivation campaigns can create future cash flow problems
    • The most common mistake owners make after a big revenue month
    • Why your clinic can look busy but feel broke
    • The minimum cash buffer every clinic should hold
    The Problem With Big Revenue Spikes

    Danny walks through a common scenario. A clinic normally doing $20,000 per month runs a strong reactivation campaign or sees a surge in new patients. That month jumps to $50,000, much of it prepaid.

    On paper, it looks like massive growth. In reality, much of that cash represents services that have not been delivered yet.

    Why Owners Get Burned Later

    The mistake happens when owners take large distributions during those spike months. As patients return to use prepaid visits, monthly collections drop. The clinic suddenly looks like it is underperforming, even though the schedule is full.

    Danny shares that he made this exact mistake early on and had to move personal money back into the business to stabilize cash flow.

    The Rule That Fixes This

    Before distributing extra cash, clinics should hold at least three months of overhead in the business account.

    If your overhead is $12,000 per month, that means keeping $36,000 in cash on hand. Some owners temporarily hold even more after large prepaid months until things normalize.

    Prepaid Does Not Mean Earned

    The mindset shift is simple but critical. Prepaid revenue is not truly earned until the visits happen.

    When you treat prepaid cash like future obligations instead of profit, cash flow becomes predictable instead of stressful.

    Why Time and Clarity Matter

    Cash flow mistakes often come from overwhelm. When owners are buried in documentation and admin work, there is no space to think strategically.

    Claire helps remove that burden so you can stay present with patients and actually manage your business.

    Try Claire free for 7 days

    Next Steps
    • Review your last big month and identify prepaid revenue
    • Calculate three months of overhead and protect that cash
    • Stop tying distributions to single-month spikes
    • Build systems that create clarity instead of chaos

    If you are still working toward going full time in your own clinic, PT Biz offers a free Part Time to Full Time 5-Day Challenge to help you build a clear plan.

    Sign up here:
    https://physicaltherapybiz.com/challenge
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    9 m
  • Ep886 | The 80/20 Clinic Growth Strategy

    Ep886 | The 80/20 Clinic Growth Strategy
    Jan 20 2026
    The 80/20 Principle of Running a Cash-Based PT Clinic In this episode of the PT Entrepreneur Podcast, Dr. Danny Matta breaks down the 80/20 principle for cash-based clinic owners and simplifies what you should track if you want to grow past yourself. Instead of obsessing over dozens of metrics, Danny argues there are three "dollar productive" KPIs that drive almost all clinic growth. He also explains why provider schedules either snowball fast or stall for a year and how to shorten that ramp from 12+ months to around six months with the right focus. In This Episode, You'll Learn: How Claire can save staff clinicians hours each week and translate that time into meaningful revenueWhat the 80/20 principle means inside a cash-based clinicThe concept of "dollar productive activities" and why it mattersThe three KPIs Danny thinks drive the majority of clinic growthWhy the owner should usually handle discovery calls during growth phasesBenchmarks for conversion rates at different stages of scaleWhy recurring services are the "sneaky" variable that stabilizes schedulesHow to get a new provider productive faster so clinic growth compounds Claire: Turn Saved Time Into Revenue Without Burning Out Your Team Danny opens with a simple math breakdown clinic owners can understand quickly. Time is valuable, for you and for your staff clinicians. PT Biz has found that Claire, their AI scribe, saves staff clinicians about six hours per week on average. Even if you only reclaim half of that time and convert it into patient care, that is roughly three additional one-hour visits per week per clinician. Example Danny gives: 3 extra visits per week$200 average visit rate$600 more per week per clinicianRoughly $30,000 per year in additional revenue per clinician The point is not to overload your team. The point is to use technology to remove the documentation burden so you can increase capacity without increasing burnout. Try Claire free for 7 days: https://meetclaire.ai The 80/20 Principle in a Cash Practice The 80/20 principle is the idea that 20% of your actions lead to 80% of your results. Danny applies this directly to clinic growth. When your clinic is small, it is easy to get busy doing "everything" and tracking a long list of numbers. The problem is most of those activities do not move the business. Instead, Danny recommends narrowing your focus to the most "dollar productive" activities. In other words, the actions and metrics that actually drive revenue and schedule utilization. The Goal: Get a Provider Productive Fast Danny frames the big objective clearly. You want to get your own schedule full enough to hire someone. Then you want any provider you hire to get productive as fast as possible. In PT Biz's world, once a provider reaches roughly 80 to 90 visits per month, it tends to snowball into 100+ pretty quickly. But getting to that point can take some clinics over a year. If you can shorten that ramp to six months, your growth compounds. In a year, you might be able to hire two people instead of one, because each provider becomes profitable faster. The Three Dollar-Productive KPIs Danny says there are three key metrics that drive the majority of growth in a cash-based clinic. Each one represents a drop-off point that can either accelerate growth or quietly crush it. 1) New Patient Volume and Discovery Call Conversion Many owners only track "how many evals we have." Danny says you need to go one step back and track conversion from lead to evaluation. There is often a major drop-off between someone becoming a lead and actually booking an evaluation. This is usually happening on discovery calls. Benchmarks Danny shares: During growth, aim for 8 to 10 new patients per provider per monthOnce stable, new patient volume can drop closer to 5 per monthDiscovery call to eval conversion should be 70%+ He also makes a strong recommendation: during growth phases, the owner should handle discovery calls. Why? In many clinics, admins convert around 45% to 50%. Owners often convert 80% to 90% because they carry authority and can handle objections better. Danny gives an example: 20 discovery calls at 50% conversion = 10 evals20 discovery calls at 80% conversion = 16 evals That gap can be the difference between a provider staying empty and a provider getting busy quickly. He also points out that owners sometimes resist this because it feels like a step backward, but the time requirement is smaller than most people assume. If you have 20 calls at 20 minutes each, that is under 10 hours per month and it can dramatically impact growth. 2) Evaluation to Plan of Care Conversion The second KPI is how many evaluations convert into a plan of care. When people do not commit to a plan of care, Danny says many still come back a few times, often around three visits, until symptoms improve and then they disappear. That creates unpredictable revenue and inconsistent schedules. Plan-of-care conversion makes volume and revenue more predictable. ...
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    16 m
  • Ep885 | One More Reason For You To Focus On Longevity

    Ep885 | One More Reason For You To Focus On Longevity
    Jan 15 2026
    Longevity, Cash PT, and Skating Where the Puck Is Going In this episode of the PT Entrepreneur Podcast, Doc Danny talks about why he keeps coming back to one big theme: longevity. He looks at how the market around proactive health, functional medicine, and long-term performance is exploding and why cash-based clinics are perfectly positioned to play a major role. If you want to move beyond "fix the injury and discharge" and build an ongoing longevity offer, this episode lays out the opportunity and the mindset behind it. In This Episode, You'll Learn: Why patient experience is a competitive edge in cash-based practicesHow Claire gives you an operational advantage your patients can actually feelWhy Danny has always tried to "skate where the puck is going" in healthcareHow cash-based PT went from rare to common in a decadeWhy functional medicine and longevity clinics are boomingThe role PTs can play as movement-focused, accountability-driven "quarterbacks"How one training partner's transformation turned into a walking case studyWhy generational health change makes this work bigger than a single patientWays to start building or partnering into a longevity offer inside your clinic Claire: The Patient-Experience Edge in a Cash Practice Danny opens by talking about what really matters in a cash-based clinic: patient experience. When people are paying out of pocket, they notice everything. He makes a simple comparison: While your competitors step out mid-session to catch up on notes, you stay fully engaged.While they stay late at the clinic finishing documentation, you are following up with patients and planning their next visits. That is the competitive edge Claire gives you. Claire is PT Biz's AI scribe, trained specifically for physical therapists. It handles your documentation instantly in the background, so your time and attention stay on your patient, not on your EMR. The result: Better in-room experienceBetter retention and follow-upSmoother, more efficient operations Try Claire free for 7 days: https://meetclaire.ai Skating Where the Puck Is Going Danny has always tried to pay attention to where health and wellness are headed, not just where they are today. Back in 2014, when he and his wife opened Athlete's Potential in Atlanta, cash-based PT clinics were rare. He only knew of one other in the city, but he saw more and more of them popping up on the West Coast, especially in California. That was his signal that a trend was forming. Fast forward more than a decade and there are now dozens of cash-based clinics in Atlanta alone. Many of them are true businesses with teams, multiple locations, and the kind of systems that support seven-figure revenue and even sales to private equity or hospital groups. That bet — skating to where the puck was going — paid off. The Next Wave: Longevity and Proactive Health Now, Danny sees a similar wave building around longevity and proactive healthcare. He shares the story of a training partner he has worked out with for the past couple of years. Together they have tracked: Blood panels year over yearBody composition with tools like InBodySleep and recovery data using wearables like Whoop The changes in that friend's biomarkers, physical capacity, and day-to-day energy have been dramatic. Friends who have known him for years almost do not recognize how much healthier and more capable he is. That kind of transformation is exactly what more people are starting to want. And the broader market is responding. Functional Medicine and Longevity Are Booming Danny points to the rapid growth of functional medicine, lifestyle medicine, and longevity-focused services as a sign this is not a fad. He has seen: Naturopathic and functional medicine clinics expanding quicklyProviders leaving hospital systems to start proactive, integrative practicesHigh-end gyms and programs charging tens of thousands per year for bundled health, testing, training, and recovery When he first looked for a functional medicine provider in Atlanta, there was one very expensive option. Today there are multiple. Even family members of his who were deeply rooted in traditional medical systems have shifted into functional and lifestyle medicine because they want to help people earlier, not just when they show up critically ill. The PT's Role in the Longevity Ecosystem Danny is clear: he is not saying physical therapists should try to become functional medicine doctors. Instead, he sees a natural lane where PTs can win: Movement and musculoskeletal health expertsAccountability partners who help people actually implement changesEducators who can translate research and trends into safe, practical steps He has already tested this in small ways at Athlete's Potential — reviewing blood panels, talking through sleep data, adjusting training, and updating exercise programs over months and years as patients move from "out of pain" to "performing and staying healthy." For some people, that relationship has lasted ...
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    21 m
  • Ep884 | Why Focusing On One Thing Will Change Your Clinic

    Ep884 | Why Focusing On One Thing Will Change Your Clinic
    Jan 13 2026
    The One Thing Filter: How to Make Better Decisions as Your Clinic Grows In this episode of the PT Entrepreneur Podcast, Doc Danny shares a simple but powerful idea for clinic owners: pick one core outcome your business exists to create and use it as a filter for every major decision. As your team grows, choices get more complex — what to say yes to, what to ignore, who to hire, what projects to start. Danny breaks down how to choose your "one thing," why money has to be part of it, and how aligning your team around that filter makes leadership easier and your business more stable. In This Episode, You'll Learn: Why documentation is the #1 satisfaction killer for many clinicians — and how Claire can remove most of itWhy early-stage goals are simple (replace your income) and what changes once you get past survivalThe "what race are you running?" analogy and how it exposes mismatched decisionsHow to decide what you actually want your business to look like long termWhy "no money, no mission" matters, even for mission-driven clinic ownersHow PT Biz landed on its own "one thing": helping clients make more money in their clinicsHow to use a single filter to decide on hires, con-ed, software, space, and new projectsHow to get your whole team making decisions through the same lens instead of waiting on you Claire: Stop Letting Notes Crush Your Day Danny opens by talking about satisfaction surveys in our profession. Over and over, clinicians say the same thing: they hate writing notes. It is the part of the day that makes them want to quit, and it is the last thing they want to do when they get home. Claire is the AI scribe PT Biz built specifically for physical therapists. Think of it like having a meticulous student in the corner, capturing the details and drafting your notes so you can stay locked in on your patient. Trained on physical therapy workflows and languageDrafts notes for you so you are not catching up after hoursHelps you remove most of your documentation time and get your evenings back Try Claire free for 7 days: https://meetclaire.ai From Survival Mode to Strategy Early on, business decisions are simple. Your goal is clear: replace your job income so you can safely support yourself and your family. You are willing to work long hours and say yes to almost anything that moves revenue in the right direction. Once that need is met, the decisions get harder. Do you stay small? Do you grow? How big? What kind of life are you actually trying to build around this business? Danny points out that most owners never slow down to answer those questions. They are "jumping out of the plane and building the parachute on the way down," chasing whatever looks like opportunity without checking if it fits the life they want. What Race Are You Actually Running? To explain the problem, Danny uses an endurance analogy. Training for a 5k is very different from training for a marathon.Training for a 100-mile race is different again — in volume, intensity, nutrition, and time. A lot of owners, he says, are making decisions like they are running a 5k — short-term, fast payoff, quick bursts — when in reality they are trying to run a very long, very hard race. Their decisions and their true goals do not match. Get Clear on the Life You Want First Before you can pick a filter, you have to be honest about what you actually want. What do you want your business to look like 5–10 years from now?How big does it really need to be to support the life you want?What matters more to you: growth, time freedom, leadership, selling someday, or staying clinical? Danny suggests sitting down by yourself, and with your spouse or family if you have one, and talking through the kind of life you are trying to build. You might realize you do not need as big of a practice as you assumed — or that you are thinking too small for what you actually want. No Money, No Mission As mission-driven as PTs are, money still matters. Danny shares a lesson from when his wife ran a military nonprofit in Hawaii. Her boss used to repeat a simple phrase: "No money, no mission." If there is no revenue, there is no staff, no programs, no impact. Your clinic is a for-profit business, but the same rule applies. Without healthy revenue, you: Cannot provide for yourself or your family safelyCannot create good jobs with fair pay and benefitsCannot support your community or give back meaningfully Money is simply an exchange of value and trust. You have to get comfortable with it if you want your mission to survive. PT Biz's "One Thing" Filter At a recent planning retreat, the PT Biz leadership team spent hours wrestling with a single question: "What is the most important thing we do for our clients?" They help people with work–life balance, health, relationships, and dealing with the emotional weight of entrepreneurship. Those things matter. But when they drilled down to the one outcome everything else depends on, the answer was simple: The purpose of PT ...
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    15 m