The Trackster

The Trackster is online software that helps Personal Trainers communicate with and motivate their clients.

Today we have our first blog interview.  As mentioned previously, we want to make this blog a resource for Personal Trainers to improve their business.  One of these resources will be interviews with successful people in the industry or successful small business people who we think can pass on some lessons and advice.

Our first interview is with John Miller.  John owns a Brisbane based physiotherapy, massage and sports injury clinic called PhysioWorks.

Can you give us a brief run down on how you got started in Physiotherapy and also how you came to own your own practice?

Sport has always been an integral part of my life. I also believe that you should really enjoy your work. I couldn’t think of a better way to be involved in sport for the rest of my life than as a sports physiotherapist.

Owning my own practice was an evolution. After working in hospitals and other private practices, I identified areas of patient care that I believed could be improved but the management never implemented. If they weren’t offering a high quality product, someone else should. The rest is history.

What’s the hardest part of being the boss?

It’s the work that goes on behind the scenes. You wear many hats: human resources, marketing, legal issues, mentor, finance, administration, strategic planning, networking etc. Patient treatment and consulting is only one hat.

What’s the best part of being the boss?

I love being able to make the ultimate decisions that matter and you think will have a positive impact on your clients, staff and practice.

What marketing do you do for your practice and what is the most effective marketing that you do?

I’ve always strongly believed that people only seek your service if they have a need. Education of the public into the why, how and what of an injury is invaluable. Only then do they understand that it’s needless to suffer when an effective solution is just a phone call away. Only you know the skills that you posses. The difficulty promoting any solution is explaining the benefits to the public. In order to do this we primarily utilise our website and newsletters.

Do you have any professional partnerships or associations with any personal trainers?

All the physiotherapists within the clinics have personal trainers that they recommend. Ultimately, we recommend the personal trainers that our patients utilise and have good rapport. Otherwise, we do discuss the individual needs with a patient and provide a suggestion based on who we think would best fill their requirements.

Is that a mutually beneficial partnership of referring to each other?

If you think that you can fix everything yourself you are sadly mistaken. The best synergies we have do provide the best results for the patient. We’re more than happy to meet or chat with personal trainers about any patient or potential patient. Personal endorsement normally follows good outcomes. I certainly would only recommend another health professional who I believe is the best option for that patient’s desired outcome. Likewise, I should never expect a referral from someone who didn’t think I could help their client.

Have you felt the effect at all of the downturn in the economy, and if so, are you doing anything to appease that effect on your business?

Fortunately, physiotherapy is reasonably immune from an economic downturn. Pain is the primary reason why a patient seeks the assistance of a physiotherapist. Luckily, pain doesn’t ease up in a recession.

However, I believe that as unemployment increases there will be additional pressure on the family budget. In this instance a budget decision needs to be made. Sadly, personal trainers and remedial massage will and have become options to some families. The general public sees these great services as luxuries. At PhysioWorks, we employ several massage therapists and suspect that we will notice the downturn in massage first.

What can be done about it? I think that it will be survival of the fittest. If you are offering an exceptional product of customer service, fantastic results and at a fair price, you’ll gain customers from the weaker businesses. It’s up to you to be the best option.

Do you have a mentor, former boss or colleague that has helped you in your career?

I confide in numerous mentors from all spectrums of life. Being a good listener has its benefits. There is a lot of untapped wisdom in this world if you are simply prepared to let them speak.

What’s the best thing about working in the Health and Fitness Industry?

Caring for patient injuries has always been my primary concern. The satisfaction of an outstanding result that allows someone to walk, sit or run painfree again is extremely rewarding.

What is the best advice you have ever been given?

Be good to your mum.

Thanks John for your time.  I think you have given people out there who want to work for themselves something to think about.

You can visit the PhysioWorks website for more information, including a bio of John and his experience.  And I can tell you from first hand he is very good with fixing minor shoulder problems!

Is there anyone that you want us to interview?  Any type of profession that might have some links with the Personal Training business?  Just add a comment below and we’ll do our best.