We had the good fortune of connecting with Allan Phillips and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Allan, can you walk us through the thought-process of starting your business?
I started with my utopian vision of the ideal treatment environment to help athletes and active adults overcome injury and restore the full active lifestyle they want and deserve. As I surveyed the scene locally, I saw nothing that even remotely resembled this vision. In many respects, most clinics out there were built in a manner completely antithetical to what I envisioned, since they are beholden to insurance companies for their survival. Working for a “traditional” physical therapy clinic full time would take me further from my vision and not serve my ideal patient in the best way possible. With the choice to either compromise my vision on how to best serve patients or just “do it myself” and try to get as close as possible to my rehab utopia, I chose the latter.

Can you give our readers an introduction to your business? Maybe you can share a bit about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
Compare a Bugatti or MacLaren sports car with a mass produced automobile. Each can get you from point A to point B. But Bugattis and MacLarens are works of art and a level of performance you can’t mass produce. There’s also a level of personalized service the boutique dealer can provide that you simply won’t find walking into a dealership that relies on volume to make a profit. Now I’m not delusional to think I can deliver an experience remotely equivalent to driving a Bugatti, but to me that’s the service experience and that I’m striving to achieve for my patients.

How does that translate to my field? My goal is to “get myself fired” as soon as possible by getting my patients better quickly. Of course some injuries take time to heal, but for many conditions we can make profound changes within a single session. This is massive departure from the traditional physical therapy model in which patients are expected to show up 2 or 3 times per week for 6 weeks or so before getting discharged.

The public also isn’t aware of the expansive skillset we can offer in physical therapy. Exercise, joint manipulation, dry needling, massage techniques and complex case management are all part of what we offer. It really is an incredible “toolbox.” But part of what differentiates me is being in the minority of practitioners with the courage to break from the establishment and create our own practice setting where insurance won’t limit us.

I’m probably most excited about the return of in-person continuing education courses, most of which went into hibernation during peak COVID. Having a successful business helps feed my addiction to learning lol!

Was it easy getting to this point? Oh gosh no. Surrounding myself with a network of similar practice owners around the country has been vital. You can definitely feel isolated on this path and it is incredibly reassuring to know that other clinicians in the same position are confronting identical challenges on a daily basis and in many cases are thriving.

The best lesson I have learned is to have a laser focus on how best to serve your ideal client. When you are getting established, it is so tempting to chase every possible lead and try to get anyone in the door. Going back to the automobile analogy, a MacLaren is a phenomenal machine and a true work of art, but if you need to haul some heavy equipment it’s basically useless! Or to use a medical analogy, your cardiologist might be the best in the world but you wouldn’t want him or her performing brain surgery on you!

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
The itinerary would be pretty simple. Run in Sabino Canyon and workout at F45 in the morning, play golf in the afternoon. Over the week we’d play Tucson Country Club, Ventana Canyon, La Paloma, Stone Canyon and my home course Oro Valley. At least one day grab breakfast at one of the First Watch locations but most likely stop for a smoothie to save time. At night go to yoga at Flourish Yoga or Iron Crane Yoga or get massage at Bodywork at Onyx from Michelle or Becky.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
I have to credit my PT school (South College) for giving us the freedom to think outside-the-box of traditional physical therapy. The concept of going out on your own in a fee-for-service practice model was normalized, with several faculty members already successful running their own practices this way. The thought of reimagining physical therapy as a whole was simply part of the culture.

Website: www.ventanapt.physio

Instagram: @thekettlebelldoc

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