If you’re a healthcare professional starting a business, one of the biggest challenges is standing out in a crowded online world.
In this conversation, Dr Jo Watkins and Sophie Griffiths talk about why being specific about who you help and what you do is one of the most powerful things you can do when building a successful practice.
Many practitioners try to appeal to everyone.
But the people who build thriving businesses are often the ones who specialise and become known for solving a specific problem.
We also talk about:
• The three ways to build an audience when you’re starting a business
• Why niching down actually attracts more clients
• How clinicians can build sustainable online businesses
• The mindset shift from working in the NHS or corporate settings to running your own business
• Why people will travel further and pay more for a true specialist.
If you’re a physio, therapist, clinician or healthcare professional trying to grow your business, this conversation will give you practical insight into how to position yourself so the right people can find you.
Full Transcript
Getting Specific About Your Niche 0:00
why you and why them so and like I'm really specifically like the more specific you can be the better. So it's not I think especially and then how like, the online business world has like progressed in, in the recent years, like there's so many more people online since COVID. Whether they work in person or whether they worked online, you know, there is just a lot more competition and I used to work with physios and someone who can say like I'm a women's health physio who specializes in c-section support is going to be incredibly busy because everyone whose friend says to them like oh yeah no I am fine but my c section scar is really sore.
Oh Sophie does that, Sophie is the person who is brilliant with oh I have an amazing story blah blah. a physio who is like oh yeah i do a bit of women's health but i can also help you if you've got a back problem and oh you know i don't like men's running injuries too like i'll see anyone even to the point of being like, oh i'm a specialist in like Uh, like back soles, I like it's still, it has to be so specific, to make sure that people really resonate with you. You want to think about if someone said their specific problem in a room, would people go, Oh, that's Sophie.
She does that. Like I know with absolute confidence, she's a specialist in that, so I think getting really specific and then working out how you are going to find, how are people going find you? Like, are you going be on social media? Are you, I mean, there's three core ways that you build an audience. There's you either buy it. So you run ads. You either borrow it, so you go on other people and go like and other peoples world. They go and people's podcasts and that sort of thing, or you built your own.
And I think the reality is when you're starting your business. It's very hard. You don't really want to run ads because you don t really know what works yet and you're just going to waste money. you can't Really borrow other people's because You're not known enough for you to be valuable enough almost for someone to bring you into their world.
Three Ways to Build an Audience 2:00
There's definitely opportunities I think around collaboration and, you know, other People building their businesses up. I used to do a lot of like I did a whole live series called Tuesday tips on Instagram for like six months and I just invited other. People on who had similar audiences to me. So in that way, kind of borrowing other people's audiences, but orchestrating it myself rather than waiting to be invited. And then I think building your own and just being really, really focused on who that is.
Um, and then, I, think the other big thing that I used to see, which I don't know if it'll be a thing for your audience or not, is creating packages, not trying to sell like one-off things or, you know, single sessions or you, know it's a similar thing with like the C, let's just take the c-section one instead of saying like, oh yeah, it is £65 a session. You know, yeah, maybe, you know come back again if it hurts. It's like, okay, I recommend six sessions and we need to do them weekly and then we'll review at that point and it might require another six session.
Like that's how you're going to start to build up the recurring, the revenue rather than just like waiting for people to buy things individually from you. Absolutely, some absolute gold in there. You know, these are the three ways of building your audience. you buy your audiences with paid ads, you borrow and collaborate with people, or you build your own and that building, your bit is the brave committing to a group of people. And I always say to people that you're not tied into that group for people for the rest of your life, but that who, for example, have had C-sections, perfect example want an expert.
They don't want any old physio and they don t care whether that physo lives in an island in Indonesia or whether the physios live in Surbiton.
Why Specialization Wins Online 4:00
It doesn't matter. they want the expert who is the best person for the job. And I think that's where this online world, and you know, you and I have both been in this world for a long time. It has just blown up, hasn't it? I mean, the Zoom of 2000 is very different from the situation now. And you've got to cut through all of that noise, which takes bravery, takes guts, it takes experiments, It takes all the stuff that we've talked about, doesn't to be able to do that. yeah 100% it's i always used to say like particularly at the beginning but even now i mean mindset is huge but i used as at at beginning like it felt like the most exposing thing i had ever done in my life i use to saying to my husband like i don't see that every you know email you send at work or like you now when something's gone wrong or not at working or there's no like public shame you don,t nobody's having to post it over instagram i'm having post You know, I'm having to put myself out there.
I have to say I am selling something. Tell the world what price I charge. It just felt so exposing. This is just so challenging. And just on that speciality piece, last week was half term for the kids, and I booked in, had to wait eight weeks for an appointment, with a cranial osteopath who specialises in nervous system regulation for children with neurodiversity right and adults as well but specifically she works with a lot of children. She has a brilliant Instagram that literally has like video after video of her working with these children I drove over an hour with two children to have these appointments Despite there being plenty of perfectly good cranial osteopaths, you know, who live locally to me, not one of them on their websites references neurodiversity, autism, ADHD.
I'm sure they'd be able to help, but she is so specific on her area of expertise that I spent quite a lot more money than I would have if I'd gone locally.
Building a Business Around Your Life 6:00
basically took the girls on a three hour round trip to go to this person. Like, that's how much I think when you're being specific, it can, I, think so many people are worried about, yeah, but what if, you know, Joe with a back pain doesn't come and see me. And it's like, Yeah, other people will move hell and high water to get to you if you are the specialist. I just think it is really holding on to that as well. and sitting with that discomfort of the complete opposite of being in an NHS, having an waiting room full of people that are desperate to see you, who have every problem under the sun, and 50% of them have been turned away by a receptionist before they've even come into the rooms.
start, you know, start contrast shift for most of the medics, certainly that I work with, find this piece difficult. And I know it's not just meds. People in the corporate sector, anybody that runs their own business finds this concept uncomfortable until they have seen, and that's a brilliant example of your, the C-section and the cranial osteopath. I love it. I could talk to you forever, but you've got a call. And I just think you're wonderful. You are a brilliant example of building a business that works for your life, prioritizing the needs of your kids, you, your husband, and building something really amazing.
How do people find out more about you? I mean, probably the best place is Instagram, because that's where I live. My handle is Sophie Griffiths Co. on Instagram. Brilliant. Sophie, thank you so much for your time and I look forward to seeing you soon. You're welcome. Thank you. So much.
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