The Future of ROOTS
I recently had to have a chat with myself that I never saw coming this soon - what next? When I opened the first iterations of ROOTS 2.5 years ago, I never really had plans to do it as full time work. Why not? Well it’s…a lot of work and it’s my passion. I don’t find those things are very compatible.
Your passion soon becomes a burden and because it’s your passion you don’t know how to give any less than 100% to your work. Sooner rather than later something’s got to give and I can’t allow that to be my passion.
So then what? Honestly, I don’t know. I think if I were someone else, I could take this thing to franchise. However, I have absolutely 0 interest in sacrificing my quality of life for a project that I don’t have the stamina to attempt. If I did it, it would be just to prove I could and I’m trying to make less decisions based on those idealizations.
It’s been so fulfilling to watch ROOTS launch itself into what it is today, fueled by the commitment and trust of all of you. I didn’t think I’d make it here at all, let alone in less than 3 years. I had to assess what further growth would really mean. And it seems like it would mean trading my passion based work for physical therapy with management responsibilities of employees and colleagues. That just sounds awful if you ask me.
To phrase it another way, the choice is to preserve my passion. I want to do this forever in some capacity and I’d prefer not to burn out, forfeit the work for a number of years, and then gradually return.
I’m not planning on closing up shop, but I’m planning on reducing my number of weekly sessions and diversifying my income in the next 1-2 years. What does this mean for you? I’ll be requiring “applications” for new patients, selecting patients who I feel are especially interested in my approach, and keeping a higher base price. Prior patients of the practice will have priority on my schedule and available discounts but I will have a hard limit on sessions with a regular waiting list of 3-4 weeks to initiate a new plan of care with my services.
As much as part of me truly wants to overextend myself to help people with pain and dysfunction, I end up betraying myself and my own needs for healing to do so. That’s not sustainable and I’m trying to emulate my own advice. So, please know, that if and when I say no it’s with nothing but love and self-respect in balance.
In the long run I’m not sure what I’ll be doing; I’m not daft enough to think I could predict even the next couple years. If I could though, I hope to start developing more e-books and educational content about my approach for both patients and other physical therapists. If you’re subscribed to the newsletter, you’ll always be in the loop.
In any case thanks for being part of this crazy lil dream. I cherish you all for giving me this opportunity and will be forever grateful.
