Planning for retirement: Kerry built a business to support her future.

A series of unscalable career plans led Kerry to her true path.

Kerry was a competitive figure skater for 17 years. She was driven, and she worked hard. Her career was going places, or so it seemed. She was on her way to Salt Lake to train for the Olympic team when the headaches that had plagued her for years ended her career. After years of practice and many falls, no amount of physio or chiropractic could lessen her pain. Her competitive career was over.

After that, Kerry earned a degree in Kinesiology and planned to go into physiotherapy. She wanted to help people. After years of therapy, she knew that was the kind of work she wanted to do. But unfortunately, the physio program was tough to get into. Her application was denied despite her high marks, volunteering, and background.

She soon learned she couldn’t make much money as a kinesiologist. So, she got a job as an administrative assistant at an engineering firm. It wasn’t a match for talents or passions, and she hated it. Kerry started worrying about what she was going to do with her life because this couldn’t be it.

Around that same time, she started receiving massage therapy. It relieved the headaches she still suffered from. Finally, something that worked! A massage school in town had an 18-month program starting in a few months. Desperate for a new career path, she went for it.

A clinic that provides income even after she retires

Starting her own business was always Kerry’s plan. She’s fiercely independent and doesn’t like people telling her what to do, so it made sense. Each clinic she worked at was a stepping stone toward that goal. When she had enough experience, she opened her own clinic.

She was worried there wouldn’t be enough patients, but Kerry’s luck had changed. Opening a business in a quickly expanding community was the best move she ever made. She had more than enough patients. She needed more therapists!

As the years ticked by, Kerry’s clinic grew, and she started thinking about her future. She knew her hands wouldn’t hold up forever. Experience taught her that there's no reward for ending a career without a plan. So, she made one.

When she reached the point of having more therapists than treatment rooms, she took a leap of faith. She purchased a property twice the size of the space she was leasing. As a result, Kerry now has 9 massage therapists and an osteopath working in her clinic, and it continues to prosper and grow.

In a few years, Kerry plans to retire her hands and stop seeing patients. Then, she can focus only on running the business, which is a process she’s come to enjoy. When the time comes to retire completely, she plans to sell the business to fund her retirement.

Having the freedom to control her time like this wouldn’t be an option if she had taken a different path. But instead, Kerry is grateful for the things that didn’t work out because they led her to where she’s at today.

The simple software she uses to manage it all.

What Kerry didn’t know about running a business before she started one was how much goes into it. Kerry’s not just responsible for treating her patients; she’s responsible for managing everything.

When you’re a business owner, your time is no longer your own.

As a business owner, she manages people, finances, marketing, maintenance, scheduling, and admin tasks. That’s a lot for one person, and that’s what software is for.

Kerry chose to use clinic management software from the very start. She didn’t have time to do every single task herself. Using technology to automate some of those tasks was just sensible.

It took some time to find the right software. She started out using MindBody. However, their system was really complex, plus it was expensive. It was also an American company, making it even more costly for a Canadian.

Then she learned about ClinicSense. It’s a much more intuitive system. Her therapists had zero issues switching over to it because it’s so straightforward and easy to use. It has everything they need and none of the stuff they don’t.

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"The email integration in ClinicSense has been a huge help. I don’t have to use Mailchimp, or some other company, to send mass emails anymore."

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ClinicSense is now an integral part of their practice. It allows admin staff to do tasks quickly and easily and allows the massage therapists to focus solely on treatment. All this combined helps create the experience their clients have grown to love and expect.

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