Starting a practice without the loan

Do you need a massive loan and a fancy fit-out to start a successful private practice? Not at all.

In Episode 16 of The Business of Allied Health, I sit down with Ben Herde, founder of Grand Slam Physio. Ben and his wife Belinda initially built their clinic as a "lean startup" on the mezzanine floor of an indoor tennis center. Their goal? To create a business that supported their lifestyle of traveling on the professional tennis circuit (including the WTA and 2016 Rio Olympics).

Today, they run highly successful, purpose-built clinics in the Geelong and Torquay region. We unpack exactly how they transitioned from a humble space into a thriving regional business.

We dive deep into:

* The Lean Startup – How starting with cheap rent and a minimal setup allowed them to take calculated risks early on.

* Spousal Co-Founders – The strict "25-minute commute" boundary they use to separate the business from their marriage and family life.

* Niche Domination – How leaning into their deep expertise in tennis physiotherapy drove massive organic growth.

* Referrer Management – The simple, consistent communication strategies that built their local network (and how they use CliniScribe AI to automate it).

* The "P" Word – Why profit isn't a dirty word in healthcare, and how it enables better patient care, facility upgrades, and staff retention.

If you’re a clinic owner looking to build a business that serves your lifestyle rather than consuming it, this episode is packed with practical takeaways.

Timestamps:

[00:00:00] Introduction & the impact of mentorship

[00:00:40] The accidental origins of Grand Slam Physio

[00:01:34] Rules for running a business with your spouse

[00:02:55] Leveraging a specific niche (Tennis) to grow organically

[00:03:39] The lean startup approach: Starting on a mezzanine floor

[00:04:24] Overcoming early growth challenges and local competition

[00:05:29] "Clinical excellence drives commercial success" & managing referrers

[00:07:12] Why profit is the ultimate enabler in healthcare

[00:08:08] The most important lesson for new clinic owners