Will Power
Being a physical therapy entrepreneur can be unbelievably challenging at times. From patient care, to running the businesses, to balancing a family, it’s no wonder many entrepreneurs feel overwhelmed and burned out. Each Tuesday, join Will Humphreys, a retired private practice owner and medical entrepreneur, as he introduces game-changing leadership concepts and interviews other successful leaders in healthcare. If you want to start, scale, or sell your outpatient physical therapy business, this is for you. Together not only can we increase our income, impact and freedom, we can build the largest network of healthcare leaders in the world at the Will Power Podcast.
Will Power
Harnessing Consistency for Success: A Conversation with Nathan Shields on Achieving Goals and Overcoming Barriers
Transforming Small Actions into Monumental Successes with Nathan Shields
Ever wondered how small, consistent actions can lead to monumental successes? Join us as we welcome Nathan Shields, the CEO and founder of the Physical Therapy Owners Podcast. Nathan’s journey from owning a physical therapy business to becoming a leading figure in the coaching realm is nothing short of inspiring. He reveals his secret weapon: unwavering consistency and stability, and how these traits have fueled his achievements.
Key Takeaways:
- The Power of Actionable Commitments
- Overcoming Negative Self-Talk
- Making Financial Investments for Progress
- Betting on Oneself and Ensuring Accountability
- Leveraging Virtual Assistants in Healthcare
Virtual Rockstars specialize in helping support or replace all non-clinical roles.
Book a free call to learn how a Virtual Rockstar can help scale your physical therapy practice.
Subscribe here to our completely free Stress-Free PT Newsletter for your weekly dose of joy.
rock stars. Today's episode features nathan shields. He's the ceo and founder of the physical therapy owners podcast and facebook group and coaching. I've known nathan for 30 years. He was my first boss coming out of physical therapy school. We became partners. We expanded a business together. We sold that business. We've collaborated on multiple businesses.
Speaker 1:Nathan, to pinpoint what he's taught me into one introduction would be impossible to do. So let me just say this I wouldn't be who I am without this guy. Nathan has helped me realize my strengths in multiple ways more than anyone else, and he has helped multiple people now in this coaching space make a difference in their world. And we're so excited to have this episode because we're going to be talking specifically about how to take vision and turn it into action, how small and simple steps are often the only path to making massive impact in our world and the worlds around us. So pay very close attention to his superpower, which is what I kicked the episode off with in understanding how this leader operates, and I promise you'll learn lessons that will increase your impact over time. And so, without further ado, here's Nathan Shields. All right, nathan Shields, what is your superpower, my man?
Speaker 2:My superpower. So this is a struggle for me because I'm not quite sure, maybe I'm not introspective enough, but my superpower is I feel like I have a consistency and a stability about me that leads to production. I'm always feeling the need to produce, sometimes to an unhealthy extent, but I'm always feeling the need to constantly be improving, constantly creating, constantly producing, and I think that that mindset has benefited me overall.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I would add to that and say that, having known you for decades I mean that's a long time One of the ways that shows up is routine. You are a very routine person. I remember back when we would work together, how I knew there was Arby's day for lunch, down to a certain what you would order. And it's not that you See, the thing is, it's not that you were the same, what you would order, and it's not that you see, the thing is it's not that you were the same because you would vary, but your consistency is the right word. I think it's a matter of understanding the power of routines in terms of how to create results. So I would rephrase it back that way you have a superpower of understanding how to get results by taking those small steps I think most people take for granted and sticking to them over time. How has that helped you in your life?
Speaker 2:That's the beauty of how I can really relate to the phrase small and simple things. Great things come to pass. I really feel drawn to that as I look back at my lifetime, because we always hear about the stories about the one hit wonders, the guys that bought Bitcoin when it was $200 and now it's flourishing and go crazy amounts. But I think that's the small minority of people that we hear about in the media and that get celebrated, whereas the people who the large majority and the people who get the most work done are the ones who consistently produce right, and they not only have an idea of what they want to do, but then they start taking actions towards that Actionable items that they actually do and don't just sit and dream consistently. And so, as I look back at my life, I think it was a matter of consistent steps along the way that led to action, that led to the next action, that led to the next action, and then I can look back and say, oh okay, look what I created. That's really cool, yeah.
Speaker 1:I think the first thing that comes to mind, if I can jump in, is your podcast, the. Yeah, I think the first thing that comes to mind, if I can jump in, is your podcast, the podcast that you started three years, four years ago now.
Speaker 2:Oh, dude, I think we're going on seven.
Speaker 1:Oh my gosh sorry, I mean this podcast is the dominant force in the physical therapy industry for entrepreneurs. I'd love for you to tell me a little bit how that was tied to what we're talking about.
Speaker 2:Sure, yeah. So my experience there was really funny, because I'd never really heard of podcasts before. So this was probably what. 10 years ago my brother sent me a podcast that he found that related to my children and I thought that's really cool. And so I listened to that podcast and I think that guy was actually highlighted on Entrepreneurs on Fire. And I started listening to Entrepreneurs on Fire a ton, because he puts out every day and I'm like okay, now it's a lot. After you listen to it every day, they're like all these people start sounding the same.
Speaker 2:And then I thought I wonder if there's a podcast about physical therapy business ownership. And so I started searching for physical therapy business ownership and there were podcasts out there about how to treat patients better and how to market, but nothing like how to hire a physical therapist or how to get more production out of your team and that kind of stuff. And now so the instant vision was I want a podcast that talks about physical therapy business ownership. That's it. I don't care how to treat patients better, I don't care about. Marketing is a portion of what you do as a business owner, but it's not what I want to cover. And so that was my vision for it and I struggled for a couple of years because I had this vision and I wanted to do it. But you know me in tech, I'm okay with tech, but I would I'd find myself in my closet trying to figure out.
Speaker 2:At the time they recommended GarageBand was a good audio source to edit audio Audacity. I was trying and I was sweating bullets, like I'm going to totally mess up this audio track and it was just like a practice audio track that I'm sweating bullets over and I didn't know how to get it done. And so finally this light bulb went off, like maybe there's a third party that does all this for me. And as soon as that dude, as soon as I found that, figured that out, I was like, okay, I just need to find that third party, found them. And within a month I had started doing my podcast episodes Right, and I thought it was really cool.
Speaker 2:I I'd find myself being really excited every time I did a podcast and really nervous before each one and it was a little adrenaline rush. But now, seven years later, I can look back and say, dude, I'm really proud of this library of audio slash video that pretty much any small business owner can look back and get some value from. It's just started with little things and it was those little podcast snippets that were like just started with little things. And it was those little podcast snippets that were like what courage comes before confidence, kind of those kinds of things. Like you're not going to be confident as I'm not going to be confident as a podcaster until I've done the podcasts right, and so it's that kind of stuff that kept me going.
Speaker 1:I love it. You know the power of small and simple things. You could be the master of the small, consistent things that matter Because, at the end of the day, now you have hundreds or I don't know thousands, of episodes out, you've got this audience. I don't go to any industry event without hearing about you. We've walked together and then later people come up to me and go I heard that guy's voice. Was that Nathan Shields? And it's because of the consistency about the small things that were done.
Speaker 1:I think I love that phrase that we greatly overestimate what we can do in a week but dramatically underestimate what we can do in one year, five years, 10 years. And it's so true. Sometimes we just get wrapped up in wanting to be there now, recognizing that it is the small things and being consistent that add up over time. Recognizing that it is the small things and being consistent that add up over time. You know the impact of interest rates, right? That multiplier of those types of investments in yourself. So, as a coach, how does this show up for you? You obviously have the podcast. You're an experienced coach. How do you leverage the power that you have over routine and small and simple things to serve the people who work with you.
Speaker 2:The example I want to use is something that we experienced ourselves and that I've done with you during the annual strategic planning sessions that we do and that you do with your team. But so you have this goal for the end of the year, right, and there's this milepost marker. We want a million dollars in revenue. We're at $400,000 now. Whatever that marker might be, and the beauty of Scott Fritz was how he would say okay, that's out there, that's what you want to do by the end of the year. What are you going to do in the next 30 days to get there? And he would we're like wow, we need to come up with a plan. And marketing no, no, no, no, no, no, you're making it too hard. No, like, do you need to send an email? I'm like, yeah, okay, that's your next step, send the email by the end of the week. And so he would always challenge us by saying, no, that's too much work.
Speaker 2:And as you consistently do that, little by little, like I do that with a lot of projects now, like I'm trying to honestly, I'm trying to build a spec home in Minnesota, of all places and I just have this list of things that need to get done in order to get through the sale and hit the profit margin that I want to make. And so I just kind of look at that and I'm like am I even at that step yet, and what do I need to do to check that step off? And then there's like smaller steps to get to that step, and so, yeah, I think that's something that maybe you can relate to, maybe the team can relate to is you have these big goals and those are cool, but what are you going to do in the next week to get that done, move towards that?
Speaker 1:Hey there, rock stars, are you sick and tired of hiring expensive front office staff to spend months training them, only to find out that they don't meet expectation or, worse, to have them quit on you, leave you in the lurches, only to repeat the cycle? Then welcome to Virtual Rockstar, the only service created by a private practice owner for private practice owners and leaders to help them build their dream teams. Let us hire your next virtual rock star for you overseas. These virtual assistants will blow your mind. Not only are they more talented and committed, but they're a lot more affordable and they can do all sorts of tasks, from phone receptions, medical billing, patient scheduling, insurance verification, marketing, payroll and more. And the best part is, rock stars, not only are you going to save between $15,000 and $20,000 of profit per hire per year, you're going to bring a family out of poverty. So stop tolerating less than you deserve and start building your dream team with Virtual Rockstar. To learn more, email info at virtualrockstarcom. Again, that's info at virtualrockstarcom. Yeah, that's fantastic.
Speaker 1:So, rockstars, as you're listening to this, I want you to really dial in on this idea that mountains get moved in the minutia. The mountains get moved in these small and simple things, inch by inch, it's a cinch. Yard by yard it's hard. So, as Nathan is expanding upon the superpower he has and he's going to be getting into how he leverages that with clients to go from vision creation to action, I want you to take a second right now and ask yourself what are the steps that you're looking at that you're not accomplishing? Usually we look at weight right, I want to lose X number of pounds. Well, if we're focused on this big result and wanting to get there quickly, we're missing out on the lessons learned, on the very small and simple steps, leveraging the right who. Maybe it's just getting up a little bit earlier for five minutes and walking a day. We know that's not going to move the needle dramatically quickly, but it's the building of those foundation steps that create the building that becomes who we are later and, most importantly, the impact.
Speaker 1:So, as Nathan's talking about these things, remember it's not just about leadership and business, it's about home, family, what we can develop within our relationships. Nathan, I can tell you, has tremendous power as a father with his six boys and girl, seven kids total. I've seen him do this with me. I've seen him do this with me. I've seen him do it with others how he operates by being consistent, creating stability while still being mobile and moving and change. So please remember, when we're not getting something done and we're stuck, it oftentimes is because we're looking at the wrong action step. We're not making that step small enough for us to feel confident to take action. So, nathan, back to you now on today's main focus of helping people go from vision to action. Let's start with what you think gets in the way. When people create a vision, what is it a thing that stops them from progressing into action around it, or the right action?
Speaker 2:Yeah, there's always the negative self-talk. Look at something that's relatively new or another level that I want to get to Immediately. The voices in my head are like what makes you think you can do that? That's crazy, You're not like that. That's not who you are. And so getting past that negative self-talk, I think is huge how people are going to perceive you and see you, especially if you make mistakes along the way. That might keep you from making the phone call or sending the email oh, I don't know the vocabulary of that industry. So, as I'm learning real estate, that's a big hiccup. Am I even asking for the right things and saying the right words? Because they might just look at me like I'm stupid. So that's one thing I think that really keeps people is just that fear of how they're going to be perceived.
Speaker 1:I totally agree with that. From personal experience, I think the pressures that we have we talked about this with an episode with Adam Kessel how oftentimes success we create it around the idea of what we were taught we're supposed to want, so we want to please others show up in a way, because at the end of the day, we're all looking for meaning. We're all looking for this thing about how I matter, and if we're in question around it too much, it becomes this thing that we let other people default. We default to other people's perspective of what matters. We want their input. It's that mindset that keeps us in the gap, as Dan Sullivan says, and we are unable to tap into what we want and how to get there. So okay, so self-talk is definitely a big part of that. Any other factors you can think of?
Speaker 2:Well, I keep thinking in my head as we're talking, like what's one thing that actually moved the needle? And I want to say the thing that actually moved the needle and I want to say the thing that's going to help you get over that hurdle, if I can take that next step, is that okay? Yeah, it's just making a commitment. I'll give you a few examples. A couple years ago I wanted to lose weight and sure I would go to the gym. I did CrossFit and I gained muscle, didn't lose weight. I mean I was getting thicker, but I wanted to slim down, not pick up. But nothing ever happened until I bought into the diet program. No one wants to buy a diet program. I finally bought it and guess what? A few months later I had lost 20 pounds. I hit my mark that I wanted to hit and I've been able to keep it off essentially, and now I know how to eat better to keep it off.
Speaker 2:Go back to the podcast thing. Until I committed, I had to pay up front for those podcast episodes, right? So I had to commit, actually financially commit. Maybe it's the financial commitment part of it, because that's really a key. You can try to do it yourself, but you might as well pay the experts to learn how to do it better and faster and accelerate your growth. And so I had to pay for these podcast episodes up front. It's thousands of dollars for multiple episodes. And once I made that commitment, guess what Damn sure I was going to start producing some episodes, whether they were good or not.
Speaker 2:Man Right, consider us. What was the turning point in our ownership? For me, it was our trip to Seattle where they put the package in front of us for coaching and consulting. That was five figures, tens of thousands of dollars, and we were just like I don't know. But something's got to change. And I made the commitment, we took the step and our lives have been completely different since then. Right, totally.
Speaker 2:And so for those this comes back around to people who, like I, just met with a physical therapist who wants to open a clinic this year and he doesn't have a total, clear vision about what that clinic looks like, whether it's in network, with contracts out of network. He thought about maybe doing mobile PT, maybe not. But once he gets clear on what that looks like, what his ideal scene is, what's the next step? For him, that commitment is dude go sign a lease. Guess what's going to happen You're going to have a clinic really fast.
Speaker 2:So it's those little you have to make at some point. You have to make a commitment right. When we buy the gym membership for $20 a month, we don't go. When we pay $200 a month to go to the gym, guess what? I'm there three or four times a week and making a difference, right. And so those, I think that that number one, the fear of the financial commitment, like maybe it won't work and and maybe I don't trust myself to follow through Well, bet on yourself, make the financial commitment. And that's when I've seen things change, when I've gotten coaches, when I've bought programs from experts, that's when I've paid the tuition to actually get better and learn.
Speaker 1:You know, what's interesting about that concept too is that I've experienced it on both sides where I have with you. For example, when we signed up in Seattle for those tens of thousands of dollars of coaching, we showed up because we paid attention. But I've also been the coach. I've had people pay me and I've gone in at lower levels because I didn't believe in myself and I wanted to make it easy for people to afford it. I couldn't believe the difference when I took the same course, the same coaching, and I tripled or quadrupled the cost. When I did that, it did require more on the sales end of explaining clearly what we were doing and why that mattered, but it resulted in people who were super committed. When they paid, they paid attention.
Speaker 1:So people are out there saying, yeah, just throwing money on its own won't do it necessarily. I would argue that if you research the right solution, that's the difference, and none of us know for sure when we invest big money. I have never not had a coach in the last 20 years. I have paid money year over year. Every time I write that check, it hurts. It hurts a little bit less year over year, but the reason it hurts is because there's a risk involved. There's a betting on myself, like you said, nathan, where, when we can bet on ourselves and put our money where our dreams are not where our mouth is, but our money where our dreams are, even if the person isn't as amazing.
Speaker 1:I will tell you directly, nathan, I've never had a bad coach. I've had coaches that were better than others and some that I and typically the more I pay, the better they are. But more than anything, for me, just having that dedicated space where I've put my commitment in there almost calls forth the universe to produce results in a way that really matter. And so, yeah, I think if it doesn't hurt to financially invest, then we're really gauging that commitment in that moment around it. So you as a coach, how do you help people? Obviously, they've paid you right. So people come, they pay the money to invest with you and your team to help get results. They have a vision. Maybe you even help them clarify that. But after they get the vision created, what do you do at that point to help them take the next steps?
Speaker 2:Well, coming back around, that's what you're investing in with me and with other coaches that you might find is what are the small steps that need to happen to actually make progress? Someone mentioned it the other day. I was listening to a podcast, usually with a coach or without a coach, and I experienced this. Maybe you experienced it as well, with a coach or without a coach, and I experienced this. Maybe you experienced it as well. I was experiencing the same year over and over again. It was like Groundhog's Day every year.
Speaker 2:My revenues were the same, my complaints were the same, the issues were the same. The employees might've been different, but it was still the same stuff. It was, finally, when I got some coaching guidance, then number one they showed me the steps that I needed to take that I wasn't taking and avoiding either ignorantly, naively, whatever, but I wasn't taking the proper steps to growth. And that's what we do as a coach and teach clients, and that's what I expect from my coach as well is to show me the steps, be my guide, be my Obi-Wan so I can be the hero of my story and lead me to greater things. Right, and that's the idea with coaching is to. Number one show you the steps but then hold you accountable to those steps and then work through some of these hurdles.
Speaker 2:There's times where you kind of have to let some of my clients go Maybe you've seen it the same where they're just not taking the steps Totally. That's just not a fit. I mean, you can't move an immovable object. If they're so set in their ways that this won't happen, or I feel this way about it, well then you're not coachable. At that point we need to part ways. But a coach and a client relationship is best when the client is willing to be teachable, coachable and committed to change, doing something different, and not stuck in their ways.
Speaker 1:Yes, I agree completely, Having the ability to be coachable and take action, the magic formula that always must be present for people to move forward. But that investment you mentioned, man, really helps inspire action. When people have discomfort around what they've invested in, they start to show up differently. Nathan, we have just scratched the surface around these topics and Rockstars. What I'd like for you to do is to comment. No matter how you're consuming this, whether it's on the podcast or on the YouTube channel, I want you to mention where would you like to learn more from this step with Nathan. We're going to have him back, obviously, numerous times, and he is a fountain of knowledge. What would you like to learn in this domain called taking actions towards realizing your dream and your vision, nathan? What's your call to action for people if they want to get a hold of you?
Speaker 2:Yeah, so if you're a physical therapist in that space, and whether you're looking to open something or you are a physical therapy owner, definitely check out Physical Therapy Owners Club podcast. We also have a Facebook group that consists of physical therapy owners as well as wannabe owners. That's Physical Therapy Owners Club. You can, through the website, ptoclubcom, you can book a call with me and Adam he is the director of our coaching services and we can talk to you about business. Connect with you, however, and also reach out to me, nathan at PTO clubcom. But I'm on, you know we'll do. My podcast has the reels that go through the social media apps and stuff like that. Yeah, I'm all around, I guess, with that stuff.
Speaker 1:I've known Nathan I don't know I think it's 30 years now Can't give him enough validity and appreciation for the impact he's made in my life and the lives of many others. So please reach out to him, guys. Nathan, thank you so much for being on the podcast. I think we just scratched the surface of your superpower, as well as what we're going to be talking about in future episodes around helping people realize their vision. Thank you so much for being on the show, man.
Speaker 2:I appreciate it Always, man, I'm ready.
Speaker 1:Thank you for listening rock stars. And if you're one of the many medical professionals and leaders who have had it dealing with the drama of hiring and training people that you think are overpriced, then let's think about how virtual assistants can offload you to do what you love, which is changing people's lives. In the show notes there's a link to jump on our calendar so that we can show you why. Linkedin shows that virtual assistants is the second fastest growing trend in healthcare, next to artificial intelligence. At no obligation, we'll see if this is a fit for you. I hope to talk to you soon.
