Scaling podiatry without burnout

In Episode 27 of The Business of Allied Health, host Barry Nguyen is joined by Craig Hankridge, Founder and Director of ProFeet Podiatry in Melbourne. Craig shares his journey from initially studying occupational therapy to finding his true passion in podiatry, eventually scaling his practice to a multi-site operation with a team of 40 across the span of 11 years

They discuss the unique challenges of allied health, focusing heavily on recruitment, preventing the dreaded "five-year burnout" among practitioners, and how to balance professional growth with personal goals. Craig also shares an insightful "Southeast Asia truck" analogy to explain why high patient visit averages (PVA) are actually crucial for patient health literacy, and drops an unpopular truth about why clinic owners need to stop coddling their team and embrace honest, accountable feedback.

Timestamps:

00:00 Introduction: Meeting Craig Hankridge and his path into podiatry.

01:48 Early career experiences, working in London, and deciding to start a private practice.

02:58 Connecting with co-founder Shane Davis and launching ProFeet Podiatry in Melbourne.

04:45 Scaling the clinic to a team of 40: The philosophy of organic, bottom-up growth.

06:54 Why allied health practitioners burn out at year five and how Pro Fit combats it.

10:18 The trap of a "catch-all" marketing funnel and the importance of finding your ideal client.

13:30 Key metrics for clinic growth: Why rebooking cadence and frequency matter for patient success.

15:22 The "Overloaded Truck" analogy: Why cramming all your advice into a new grad’s first assessment fails.

17:15 Craig's unpopular clinic lesson: The danger of "coddling" your team instead of holding them accountable.

20:14 How to connect with Craig and ProFeet Podiatry.