Watch This OT's Incredible 5-Month Journey to Success with a Private Pay Practice!
Isabel Hartonian, OTR/L, shares her story of how she went from having 0 clients to being fully booked in her private pay practice.
Isabel is an amazing and compassionate OT who is a alumni of Private Pay MBA. And, in this interview we talk all about how she overcame self-doubt, how she started taking massive action towards her goals, and the importance of building relationships in her private pay practice. She has had an amazing journey of being stuck with a practice that wasn't attracting clients to now being fully booked in just 5 short months.
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Transcript:
Doug Vestal:
So what advice would you give to OTs who are thinking about taking the plunge of starting their own private pay practice?
Isabel Hartonian:
I say take the plunge,
Doug Vestal:
Do it scared <laugh>,
Isabel Hartonian:
Do it scared. You have the conviction, you have the idea. Why did you have that idea? I think you do because you're meant to do it. The one thing I kept telling myself is if I, when things were kind of getting harder right before I, you know, did sign on for Private Pay MBA and it just felt like there were crickets happening. I just thought if I don't, if I give up on this completely, I, I will regret that I, I believe you can do it despite imposter syndrome. If the goal was to help people, they gotta know about you. You can't help anyone if they don't know about you. I needed to get more educated on marketing and messaging and systems to have them place. And because those end up being now looking back, what really helped me move the needle and helped me feel confident and made me feel like a real business
Doug Vestal:
Owner, I am thrilled to share with you today my interview with Isabelle Haronian, who is an OT based in San Jose. Isabelle is a recent graduate of my program, Private Pay MBA, and in this interview we talk about how her private pay practice has gone from basically not having any clients to fully booked in just five short months. In fact, at the time of this recording, she had just moved into her brand new office space to keep up with the demands for her practice. Isabelle started Thrive Maternal Care after years of navigating her own postpartum challenges and trying to find support. She is a licensed occupational therapist who is passionate about pelvic health and helping new moms reduced all of that postpartum overwhelm. Her professional background is actually in pediatrics working with children and families and early intervention home health and clinics supporting parents, has always been at the center of her approach. And she's been an OT for the last 15 years. So she lives in California with her husband, two kids and pets. She loves karaoke, cheering on her kids, traveling and listening to books and podcast. Enjoy. I am so excited to be talking with Isabelle today. Isabelle, thank you so much for joining me.
Isabel Hartonian:
Hi Doug. Thank you for having me.
Doug Vestal:
So I'm really excited to talk with you today because you are an alumni of Private Pay MBA and you came into the program I think having already established your practice and everything, but you were still in the early days of attracting clients and now your practice is full and you just signed a lease for an office space, which is behind you, which is incredible. So tell us what's happened in the, of really just the last five months of your practice.
Isabel Hartonian:
Yes. So I am really excited that when we look back at, it's been five months, but a lot has happened. I, my main game changer was I found my most consistent referral source and I came in with that workshop flyer that we made in the program and it bounced off an idea where she already was going to have group prenatal presentations and invited me to do it and I was eager. And so I've been doing those consistently once a month and meeting that provider who happens to be an OB plus doing the workshops. Those have definitely been the things that have moved the needle for me. I also started a collective with two of my friends that I've met through networking over the last year. So perinatal chiropractor, a postpartum doula. We just decided that where we are in the Bay Area, it didn't seem like the perinatal providers really knew each other.
So that was kind of our mission and all three of us, our newer business owners and more, you know, kind of still were newer into the niche that we're helping in. So that almost created like something I, not only that my offerings from my business doing pelvic for therapy or maternal wellness, like that's one offer, but that when I was networking I had this other offer to relay to the provider of that we're starting this collective, people are showing up, we'd love for you to join us. And that did create more comfort in dealing with the anxiety of the imposter syndrome. Yeah. Because suddenly in a way kind of put control back in my hands and, and with my colleagues' hands and then people started showing up. So the, the then social media, I ended up deciding to invest in having a social media manager and that also moved the needle.
So it was overall, I feel like creating a sense of authority Yep. About the subject matter that people started noticing that I, the, the OB that I work with now, she is big on it social media. So that also helped, she kind of follows her clients. So when she would post things about me, thousands of her clients would, that she's had in the past or currently would see it. And then other providers would see that I was doing group, you know, talks for her. And and so it, it's hard to say but it was through the generosity of meeting other people and then also me working through my own fears in reaching those people really made it more likely that people were now going to actually call me. Yeah. And work with me. The other thing that I changed was I continued business coaching.
So after the Private Pay MBA course finished, I decided I still need that accountability. 'cause If I didn't, I don't think I would've kept pushing forward with different steps or new ways of looking at why am I doing certain things. And so I, one of the big changes is I re-edited my discovery call over and over and I also would go on like entrepreneur Facebook groups. I would get advice there, but I kept trying to change it so that it really did what it was supposed to do, which was supposed to bring clients in. And I'm gonna brag a little bit, but my rate of conversion is a hundred percent. Wow. That hasn't been away since March. I still almost can't believe it. But I lead with what do they want help with when they, we kind of, I steer it immediately to why are they calling, what would they like to get out of pelvic floor therapy?
What's, what, how's it impacting their life? I've tried to come up with questions that help them realize, to connect the dots that what they're talking about has actually impacted many parts of their life. And then I've learned the process of promising like that their pain points can, if not resolved, can be managed or supported in a newer way. And I don't bring up prices sometimes it almost feels like they're about to hang up without knowing what the price was. And so I still want to be transparent 'cause that's important to me, but it's changed the entire dynamic and yeah. And so then I, I think, and then I moved to an office space, which is my last big thing of deciding to that there were parts of mobile therapy that were beginning to kind of not be for me anymore. Like carrying a massage table was beginning to cause some aches and pains and having, needing a separate place to really focus on business stuff, which was harder for me to do at home with two kids and pets and all of that. So that I, I just, I went for it and I also took everything I learned from doing mobile therapy to be able to decide like how big of a space I needed, what do I actually need or want. And I've already started seeing clients this week in here, so lets change.
Doug Vestal:
It's, that's absolutely amazing. It's like such a, such a transition over just a five month period. And you said, you said a couple of things in there that I wanted to just highlight again. And I think one is the community workshops that you're doing and just being able to, like when you go in to speak with providers to show up with authority of like, hey, I'm speaking on a topic that I'm really passionate about that is establishing my expertise in the community. I think it does two things. Like one, it makes you just more confident to go to the meeting 'cause you have something to share, <laugh> with them. And then second they look at it and they're like, wow, Isabelle is showing up in the community. She's connecting with people. I have a actually something that I can send my poten my clients to that isn't a 90 minute eval straight away.
It's a way for them to interact, which I think is really valuable 'cause it builds that immunity. Like you're in a real life community with real humans. And the more we can connect like on a human level with the potential referral sources, I think the better. And then the second thing you mentioned is the discovery call scripts. So, you know, like one of the things that we talk about a lot in Private Pay MBA is not focusing on selling sessions. You know, 'cause like almost nobody wants sessions, they just want their problem solved <laugh>. And it's it's an interesting thing because we work with a lot of OTs who struggle with sales and the idea of being sleazy. But when you get on a call with a prospective client, it's really just reframing the conversation as you said, what are the things that you're concerned about?
What would make a difference in your quality of life? And being able to improvise, improvise a little bit on the call to go, oh, they're bringing this up actually this thing that I, I do can really help them with that. Let me make sure that I bring this up and put it in layman's terms for, for what the client really needs. And I think once that happens, you start having a real authentic conversation with them. And that's, you know, that's quote unquote sales, but it's not sleazy. It's really just getting them closer to, to their goal. So I I love that you're doing that. Thank you. A lot of the OTs that I speak with who wanna start their own private pay practice talk a lot about confidence or a lack of confidence. And sometimes like we can put confidence up on a pedestal and think that we, it's something that we have to have before we could do anything else. But you've said something really great to me before, which is that you figured out that you can be scared and still do it. So, and I think that's a really powerful reframe. Would you mind talking about that a little bit?
Isabel Hartonian:
Yes, absolutely. What, what I realized when I was reflecting my whole journey with confidence is that I tried it the other way. I tried doing what I thought was a little bit easier or gentler to me, my nervous system, all of it. Maybe meeting the providers that were a little more maybe at the same level as me, like doulas or whatnot. And I did always value the fact that we have to do community outreach that fit, fit, fit well in my ethos. But I was terrified. I mean, to the point, stomach aches, my heart rate on my watch would go up, all of it. And, and also just a mental block. And the first six months of having my business, I kept saying almost even out loud to different people. Like I still need to reach out to, you know, usually it would be like doctors, but, but I haven't.
And so I just knew I had a mental block and I, and, and I couldn't get over it. And it was comforting to hear that advice that you just have to do it scared. I kept hearing it over and over. It was in your coaching, it was on certain podcasts I listened to. And then the additional coaching I had where we all have imposter syndrome. I think as women especially I think I ran in to a very validating article about why sometimes it's also very woman centric to feel like you're an imposter even though you have qualifications and, and we tend to downplay what we're able to do. So it was just finding different kind of sources like that to validate that, to make it feel like I wasn't isolated. That's kind of the first way I chipped into, into that problem. And then the other way was just acknowledging that the opposite wasn't working <laugh>. So right,
Doug Vestal:
If you keep doing what you're doing, you're gonna stay where you are <laugh>.
Isabel Hartonian:
Yeah. So with that said, I started listening to like almost whims that would come up like internally, like if I would have an internal thought. And one of my biggest breakthroughs was I was scrolling Instagram at 11 at night when I should have been going to sleep. And a parent educator that was local had great posts and to be honest, I had been kind of scrolling but kind of enviously of like what she had established. And then I just decided to click the message button and I just called direct messaged her about whether she would like to meet that I love her page. I always start with like what I love about what they're doing and that would they be willing to go for coffee. And that was, you know, months of thinking, do I email, do I do handwritten letters? You know, like how, how, what do you do a phone call?
Like I would get so stuck with like, what is the first way to do this thing? That was the most scariest to me, which was marketing and networking. That really was where my confidence was hit the most. But that she was welcome and supportive. And that's so far what I've found is that if you keep putting yourself out there, you'll meet the right people who care about what you're doing. Like they still may, some people still may be confused, even now I'm months in who are referring to me and still may be confused about what my title is, but they know what I'm offering and all that matters is that they feel comfortable with referring people to me. And so doing it scared and then the first time, and then that person linked me to the ob. And so it's, it's the, you have to put yourself out there.
You may be rejected but somewhere in not putting yourself out there will be the pinpoints, the the type of people that wanna connect with you. And even today I met with the local acupuncture clinic that for some reason wasn't on my radar even though they are local and quite large. But they were so kind. And again, I started feeling nervous even though like I I, I didn't really prepare for the meeting and because I was beginning to feel more confident, it was just supposed to be really casual. But I began to get nervous about how I'm explaining what I'm doing. And they didn't need that from me. And they were so calming and grounding and really they just were another woman owned business wanting to connect with another woman owned business. And people are curious and so you, if you keep putting yourself out there, you'll meet the people who are curious and want to actually find out what you're doing. There may be people out there that judge or like, but the thing that I was most afraid of with the confidence was that I was gonna get called out that you shouldn't be doing this and I'd be rejected. But it actually hasn't happened <laugh>. So knock on wood. And it, yeah, it was through that practice that I realized a lot of this is really in my head and it's not as scary as it all seems. Right. And so it takes practice
Doug Vestal:
And well,
Isabel Hartonian:
And I think well, and then just the last thing is that in preparing for some of these things, I'll still have the very physiological like nerves, but I just tell myself that I gotta do it through it basically.
Doug Vestal:
Right? Yeah. You can absolutely still do it. And I think one of the great things is like when you meet those, the way that you kind of know that you've met the right referral source is they're just as happy to meet you as you are to them because you're offering something valuable to them. You know, like you are also a solution to problems they have that they probably wish they could have solved for their clients. A long time ago, and I think you were right, you said it like you, it's when you put people up on the pedestal as being different than you, you create that gap. But then once you realize that actually you have just as much to provide them as they have to provide you 'cause you're assembling this fantastic team in service of your clients, it makes it a little bit, I think, less scary in the sense that it's just like, look, I'm here to get to know you as much as you're here to get to know me and I wanna make sure this is a good fit for my clients.
'cause I don't wanna send them to someone that I also don't believe in. You know? And that's, that's, that's fantastic. So in, in the beginning of starting your private pay practice, you know, there's like 1,001 different things to do and it's really hard to know what to prioritize and what what matters. And kind of being able to step back and look at the 30,000 foot big picture so you don't get into analysis paralysis. What would you say are some of the big anchoring principles you've used to be able to get clarity and overcome some of that analysis paralysis?
Isabel Hartonian:
So it was the steps that we did in Private Pay MBA, which are figuring out who you wanna help and really describing that out on paper. Getting clear on what that person will require from you, what's the right approach, what would their pain, what would pain points be, what would their concerns be to then and doing research, like I would go into mom Facebook groups 'cause moms are my primary clients, or I go on Reddit and I go, there's a pelvic floor one. And I just like to lurk around and find out what people are saying 'cause it such value to figure out because that's then the type of promises I have to make. Those are things I have to help find solutions for. And then that helps guide me into like, what will, what will my approach be? And then how will I market that approach?
It will be with that approach. So for me it's really focusing on that I'm really offering holistic care and that what makes me different is that I have a mental health focus in regards to people's problem problems and dealing with activities of daily living. And, and that has made it easy to communicate to clients, it's made it easy to communicate to whoever I'm networking with. So that was kind of the process. That was a big anchoring principle. The other one was to have systems in place. And I know some people feel a little iffy on investing in like electronic medical records, but at this point I am so glad I did it early on before I even had consistent clients that I would actually need to have it for. Because now once I started getting going, I already have the systems in place that are so automated, they've only helped me.
Yep. And really being ready for that influx, whether it's quick intake processes and consents and the, the, the way I want to do certain intakes or evals, the things I wanna ask because all those are the special touches of my business, how I'm even inquiring about information. And then later it's the, it, you kind of talked about the client lifecycle and private P M B A. So it kind of bleeds into that ingrained principle of really creating a tailored high quality service so that, you know, everything looks really professional upfront. But also after every session I put together like a quick document of like a home program explaining things in layman's terms for them as to what my findings were. I have their goals, you know, up at the top too. 'cause That's really important. And then, you know, things really categorized for them to always be able to find.
And, and then, and then that goes into just the hospitality element. So I'm available via text. I create pretty much a texting comfortable relationship with all of my clients. I started making notes in my system, my electronic medical records to, you know, follow up with so-and-so three days after their first appointment to see how they're doing or follow up a week after. And so having that whole system in place is what keeps having me show up really professionally and keeps everything moving. And, and if I had to do things all over the place using Google Docs or like website over here, different things, it would've confused me even more. Yep.
Doug Vestal:
Well I love, I love the focus that you have on the hospitality because I, I, I really think that's almost become lost art in the, in this day and age. And, and you know, you hear a lot of customer service nightmares and everything else, and especially if you're working in a large clinic, the service may not be at a certain quality because well, they just have so many clients and there's so much billing that's happening and there's so many different staff that I think providing a really customized and nurturing relationship with your clients is going to just fuel your success because they're, everyone craves to feel special, everyone craves to feel taken care of. And when you are an OT and, and you can provide that level of service for your clients that they can't get anywhere else, like that's gonna make you really remarkable. And it is making you really remarkable. And I think it's contributing to, to a lot of the success that you're, you're having. So referral sources are a big fuel for private pay practices and we've talked about this. So could you talk a little bit more about what you're, what's working on that front for you with referral sources?
Isabel Hartonian:
So for my main referral provider, I consistently show up for her and she makes it really easy. So there's something to first really opening up your, you know, again, your, your net and casting your net and finding the right people because when you do find the right people, I, I feel almost like I can't even take the credit sometimes for how things have gone because other people have really been supportive and, and helped with that. So for her, she has the group prenatal workshops once a month For me, they're so fun to do that. Like she'll always thank me, you know, she can't compensate me for them. I'm just having fun doing them. And now I've actually gotten two clients just from the workshop alone. And I think being like available to the referral provider, doing the workshops, I engage on Instagram with her, she'll share some of my posts, I'll share things, I'll even dmm her like new ideas.
She's really into a certain type of labor prep course, which is so great that an OB is really interested in that. And so I've been like sending her more accounts and then having the collective was a, a really big piece as well. So all of these things are just me showing up into the community, everything you kind of said before, engaging with people on Instagram. Like I'll, I'll leave comments on other providers, then I'll reach out with, this is my olive branch that we have a collective, come join us. You'll, there'll be their chance to network with a whole bunch of other providers. But it's, it, it's just keeping my name out there. And then the most recent thing I did was this past Sunday, there's a big nonprofit birth and family provider organization and it's a tabled event. And I did one in September last fall, which is where I didn't get any clients from that, but I met my friend who's a postpartum doula who then started the collective with me.
So then this one, there were people coming up to the table that were just trying to network. I saw some people I've networked with before who haven't sent me clients yet, but they were there like a nurse midwife who actually does deliver at the hospital. And, and this is like the third time now she's seen me and, and it's becoming more comfortable in, I feel more comfortable because I look familiar to people, people who I have attempted to in the past, like a certain counseling group that I've tried to reach out to. And then they saw me at the event on Sunday and now we have like a new thing to discuss. And so it's, it's a showing up being a really reliable person in the community that you're not scary, you're not shady <laugh>, you're not doing any sleazy sales. Right. That when people were coming up to my table, I just knew that other people were noticing that too, that like, I'm legitimately like someone that is interested in helping other people. Right. And I have interesting solutions to it. So that's what I would recommend Yeah. Is to do all those things.
Doug Vestal:
Well and I think you, you raise a good point, which is that sometimes it just takes time and it takes multiple interactions. Like sometimes you may meet with someone and knock it out of the park and, and have that really great connection or other times it's just, you know, oh, you've seen them at the event, you've gone to a workshop they've hosted, they see what you're doing. And like any relationship, it just requires nurturing, you know, and some require more than others. And, and I think it's a good reframe to go, okay, well just because it didn't work that one time doesn't mean it doesn't work. I just need to, the door's not shut, I just need to work on getting myself out there. They need a little bit more evidence, they need a little bit more time. They're also busy and not getting discouraged just because it doesn't work that one one single time I think is, is fantastic. You know? That's great advice.
Isabel Hartonian:
And I wanna add to that and to normalize that you one may have thoughts like that. Like I, the first time I had touchpoints with certain people, certain providers and nothing seemed to come of it. I did get down on myself and a a a little worried or I would kind of process through, you know, what did I say or did I not get my meaning across or you know, are people just busy and you know, but there was, I did have thoughts about that. Yeah. And then it's really only through practice that I start taking things less personally, like me showing up again. There you are. And then like realizing that they're probably really busy or flustered or haven't necessarily found the specific meaning to what I am doing. It hasn't resonated, but that's okay because then by the third time it's like, oh, I'm still here <laugh> and there're still, it's not going
Doug Vestal:
Anywhere.
Isabel Hartonian:
People that want to ask me questions, you know, that's like the ideal client, the people who would want to come to the table. And so it just was practice, you realize I'm not for everyone and eventually maybe I will be for some providers or some clients. It just depends on when there those people are ready and maybe at another chance I'll find some other way of expressing something that will resonate. But it it just, you gotta keep doing it. Yeah.
Doug Vestal:
Yeah. When you mentioned like when they're ready and I think we forget about that, that like, we're also some, like we are dealing with humans and sometimes they may need a lot of interactions or they may need a lot of social proof or they may need to see you in the environment with your peers, with another colleague that they really respect and they're like, oh wow, she's talking with, with so and so. I really like so and so like, and it just all helps to influence the, the interactions, you know, and what they, what they think. And so I think you're absolutely right. It's totally normal to, to get down and to, to second guess yourself, but also like, think about all the other interactions that you have with, with people. Like people are people at the end of the day, sometimes it just takes, you know, more, more time. So one, one last question for you. So, 'cause you've provided, you've been very generous with your time and you've provided so much, so much value. So what advice would you give to OTs who are thinking about taking the plunge of starting their own private pay practice?
Isabel Hartonian:
I say take the plunge,
Doug Vestal:
Do it scared <laugh>,
Isabel Hartonian:
Do it scared you, you have the conviction, you have the idea. Why did you have that idea? I think you do because you're meant to do it. The one thing I kept telling myself is if I, when things were kind of getting harder right before I, you know, did sign on for Private Pay MBA and it just felt like there were crickets happening. I just thought if I don't, if I give up on this completely, I, I will regret that I was, would almost give up on this completely because the conviction came couple years before or just this idea of wanting to help moms function in everyday life. It doesn't come out of nowhere. So that, that, that's reason alone to try, right? I believe you can do it despite imposter syndrome and fears that people don't know what OT is, which these were common threads.
I mean it was even a theme of my meeting this morning. But you kind of realize that ultimately that doesn't matter. If the goal was to help people, they gotta know about you. You can't help anyone if they don't know about you. So that's why I think you should really listen to the conviction. And then the other piece of advice would be to really, you know, take some business coaching. I personally plan on continuing. I find so much value in having a coach that allows me to move back to that. Would you say like that 3000 feet kind of, yeah. Yeah. So it's like having an OT <laugh> to run an OT business or a coach to run an OT business. I needed to get more educated on marketing and messaging and systems to have them place. And because those end up being now looking back what really helped me move the needle and helped me feel confident and made me feel like a real business owner. So do it and then find a business coach <laugh>
Doug Vestal:
The help. Yes. Yeah. It's the whole, and we talked about it in the course, right? The who not how, right. So you can, rather than ask how to, to do it, ask who already knows how to do it and can help me figure it out. And you just can short circuit, you know, you can collapse five years of experience down into six months, into to 12 months and help you avoid some of the main some of the same mistakes. And I just, I think that you had a really great piece of advice, which is like, listen to that inner voice. Like there's a reason why you're thinking about it and if you don't do it, then you're probably gonna regret it. And people do really need your, your services. And if you're not gonna be the one to do it, then who's going to be the one to do it? And you're fully capable of, of learning these skills and getting yourself out there and having the incredible impact like you're having in, in your community. So I wanna thank you again Isabelle, so much for, for joining us today. This has been amazing and I know other OTs are gonna get so much value out of your, your pearls of wisdom.
Isabel Hartonian:
Thank you so much. It's been a blessing to, to have you be part of my journey. Thank you.
