11 May Rare breed: Millionaire Manual Osteopaths!!
I purposefully created a rare species: Millionaire Manual Osteopaths! 😀
Back in 2010, when I started teaching osteopathy at National Academy of Osteopathy, manual osteopaths were as rare as a polite driver in rush-hour traffic — and wealthy ones? Ha! Might as well have looked for unicorns doing visceral manipulation! 😀
Now, fast-forward 15 years, and I’m getting messages from my high-rolling former students asking, “Hey, can I semi-retire in Florida and still run my Canadian clinic?” Honestly, I’m thrilled — because this is exactly what I drilled into their heads from day one: If I bump into you 20 years after graduation and you’re still bending over patients all day just to pay the bills… I’m going to fake a back injury just to lecture you again! 😀
I always told them: Plan and build your clinic so other manual osteopaths work for you once you get fully booked. Treat patients because you love it after that, not because your landlord loves rent day! 😀
Now here’s the kicker — many clinic owners think they’re business moguls. But plot twist: they’re just employees with a business license. 😀
How can you tell the difference? Simple test: Can you take a six-month vacation without your income flatlining? If yes, congrats — you’re a businessperson. If not… well, enjoy that fancy title of “self-employed-but-always-on-call.” 😀
Bottom line: Once your clinic is booked solid and you’ve got a waitlist, it’s time for your business to work for you. If you’re still the one sweating over treatment tables every day, congrats — you’ve just built yourself a really fancy job, not a business! 😀
Dr. Shawn Pourgol, MBA, DC, DO, DN, PhD
Osteopath, Naprapath, Chiropractor & Founder of:
National Academy of Osteopathy (Canada)
National University of Medical Sciences (USA, Spain, Panama)
Osteopathy Chronic Pain Clinics of Canada (380 clinics in 34 countries)
World Osteopathy Day