Share

The Paul Gough Show
EP673 Paul Meets: Justin Vaidyan | From Covid Layoff to Nearly One Million
I loved this conversation with Justin.
In this episode of Paul Meets, I sit down with clinic owner and CrossFit lover Justin Vaidyan (https://www.arisephysicaltherapy.com) from New York, who has gone from zero to almost one million in revenue in a cash focused practice that is almost fully out of network. He started his business during Covid, used his house down payment to sign the lease on an old dry cleaner, and turned it into a modern performance clinic that now runs with multiple therapists and staff.
What I really wanted to pull out of Justin is the shift from great clinician to real business owner. The pricing mistakes, the awkward early marketing, the fear around hiring, and the identity crisis that happens when you stop being βthe physioβ and start leading a team.
Inside this episode you will hear Justin talk about:
- How he went from losing his job in Covid to starting a clinic and having a baby at the same time
- The decision to spend his house deposit on a tiny ex dry cleaning space and turn it into a premium performance clinic
- The scrappy early marketing that got him from zero to three hundred thousand by joining gyms, running screenings, and forcing himself into the community
- The reality of undercharging at one hundred and fifty a visit, dropping to one hundred and twenty five, and then climbing to two hundred and fifty and beyond
- Why hiring a therapist as his first full time role was a mistake and how he fixed it with a proper operations and admin set up
----
π Subscribe to the "Paul Meets" podcast now β and never miss an episode that could change the course of your business.Β
ποΈ Paul Gough Podcast β https://www.paulgough.com/podcast/
ππ Grab your FREE copy of any one of my six best-selling marketing books right here: www.paulgough.com/free
π² Follow Paul here:
ποΈ Paul Gough Podcast β https://www.paulgough.com/podcast/
π Facebook: facebook.com/PaulGoughPhysioRooms
πΈ Instagram: @ThePaulGough
π₯ YouTube: Paul Gough Media
π¦ Twitter/X: @ThePaulGough
π Website: www.paulgough.com
------------------------
#paulgough #thepaulgoughshow #physio #physicaltherapist #physiotherapy #pt #physicaltherapy #privatepractice #businessgrowth #marketing #marketingtips #digitalmarketing #growth #success #mindset #business #sales
ππ Grab your FREE copy of any one of my six best-selling marketing books right here: https://physiofunnels.com/free/
π² Follow Paul here:
ποΈ Paul Gough Podcast β https://www.paulgough.com/podcast/
π Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ThePaulGough
πΈ Instagram: @ThePaulGough
π₯ YouTube: Paul Gough Media
π¦ Twitter/X: @ThePaulGough
π Website: https://www.paulgough.com/
More episodes
View all episodes

796. EP796 How Much Do Top PT Clinic Owners Pay Themselves On Salary?
32:10||Ep. 796In this episode, I answer:If you're newer in business at $300-400k, what should you pay yourself?Why do business owners ignore KPIs until it's too late?What happens to your profit margin when you add fair market salary back in?How do you get paid three ways from one business?What are the only three things you can do with surplus cash from your business?Why do most people reach 85 and still have no money?What's getting in the way of going from $1M to $10M?How has AI removed every excuse you ever had for not growing?
795. EP795 Do You Even Know If Your Business Is Winning? The 5 Numbers That Tell The Truth.
39:08||Ep. 795In this episode, I answer:How do you even know if you're winning?What is a fair market salary for a clinic owner CEO?What is the labor efficiency ratio and why is 2.3 the target?What's the difference between marketing spend and marketing effectiveness?Are your operating expenses bloated with business owner benefits?Where does AI like Paula sit in your P&L β payroll or operating expenses?What happens to your margins as you scale from $0 to $300k vs $300k to $1M?Is Google and Facebook advertising dying?
794. EP794 Win 3 Fights a Day, Not 25 β The Discernment Rule That Changes Your Business and Your Life
27:56||Ep. 794Two clinic owners. Same advice, same workshops, same starting point. One quit after a slow start and is still struggling a year later. One stuck with it for 15 months through the slow start and just came back from Aruba with the best business she's ever had. The difference wasn't the marketing. It was commitment.In this one I get into why trying to win every fight β with your kids, with your staff, with your to-do list β is what's actually killing you, and why the businesses that win are run by people who've figured out which two or three decisions matter and let the rest go. It's less about tactics and more about how you build a life you actually want to go home to.
793. EP793 An AI Physio Clinic Just Raised $25 Million β And If You Think You're Safe, You're Not
32:09||Ep. 793There's an AI-only physio clinic in England, backed by the NHS, that just raised 25 million pounds. No human in the room. Camera watches you, gives you exercises, tells you what you're doing wrong. And if you think "that'll never replace me" β I've heard that before, from an electrician, from a guy who lays tiles. They were wrong too.In this one I get into where PT is really headed, why the businesses left standing won't be the ones with the biggest ad budget but the ones with the deepest community roots, and why raising your prices isn't optional anymore.
792. EP792 150K PTs, Private Equity Rollups, and Why Your Business Model β Not Your Hiring β Is the Real Problem
27:23||Ep. 792There's a number going around every mastermind table I sit at, and it should scare you: 150K. That's what PTs are asking for now β and if you can't pay it, you're going to lose them to venture capital-backed rollups who don't care about margins, only market share.In this one I break down what's actually coming for the PT profession over the next five years.If you've been blaming recruitment for a problem that's actually about profitability, this episode is your wake-up call.
791. EP791 "How I Went From 16 Patients to 75 in 6 Months."
37:08||Ep. 791I found my old 2007 patient diary in a drawer I hadn't touched in years β and what it showed me changed how I think about everything I teach you today. Six months, one huge jump, and a lesson that has nothing to do with marketing. This one's personal.
790. EP790β"America Might Be Free for 250 Years, But I'm Not! I've Been Trapped In My Practice For 11 Years Now." [Coffee with Goughy]
52:52||Ep. 790In this Coffee with Goughy episode, I answer:"America Might Be Free, But I'm Not!"
789. EP789 Are You Letting Patients Walk Out The Door?
12:51||Ep. 789Nobody wakes up feeling 100%. Not you. Not your patients. Not a single person in the room when I ask that question.So why are you letting them leave and hoping they'll call you when it gets bad enough?They won't. Because anything that can be done anytime gets done no time. That's not an excuse β that's human nature.In this episode I'm breaking down the new patient journey for 2026 and beyond. Your patients are already spending a grand around the corner on wellness. They're spending money on how they look and how they feel β not just on fixing pain.And you're still fighting them for sixty quid.Stop hoping they come back. Start building a system that keeps them on schedule, follows up after 24 hours, and books them in before they ever have to call you.The dentist figured this out decades ago. It's time you did too.
788. EP788 "Are You The Bottleneck Of Your Business?"
29:35||Ep. 788You're the bottleneck. You just don't know it yet.Every decision runs through you. Every problem lands on your desk. Every complaint comes to you first. And you wonder why the business isn't growing.In this episode I'm breaking down the difference between being important and being responsible. One keeps you trapped. One sets you free.I'm also talking about what the most profitable clinics in my ecosystem all have in common β and it's not more patients. It's what they sell to the patients they already have.The model is simple. Fix the problem. Then sell them prosperity.Stop adding more and more to the front end. Start building the back end. That's where the real money is.