Do You Have to Come Off the Tools to Be a Successful Clinic Owner?

Let’s talk about something we hear all the time in our world of allied health clinics:
“If you’re still seeing clients, you’re not a real business owner.”

I used to believe that, too.

Early in my career, I thought that to be a “successful” clinic owner, I had to completely stop seeing clients. That somehow, continuing to work with clients meant I hadn’t made it.

But here’s the thing…
I loved seeing clients. I found it fulfilling and energising.

So when I finally did step away from the tools, I found myself struggling. I missed the work. And although I was doing important “CEO tasks,” I didn’t feel as aligned or satisfied. It wasn’t quite what I thought it would be.

The Real Goal: Choice

If you take one thing away from this post, let it be this:

Coming off the tools is not the ultimate goal.
Having choice over the work you do is.

Whether it’s strategic partnerships, mentoring your team, financial forecasting, or client care — your role as a clinic owner should be designed around what you’re best at and what you enjoy. That might mean becoming the CEO. Or it might mean continuing as a clinician.

There’s no right or wrong — there’s just alignment.

Let me share a quick story that illustrates this…

Case Study: The $1.5M Clinic Owner Who Stepped Back On the Tools

A good friend of mine runs a thriving clinic doing over $1.5 million in revenue. Like many owners, he followed the standard playbook and came off the tools entirely.

But something felt off.
He hated the day-to-day of the CEO role. Strategy, numbers, management — it just wasn’t his jam. What lit him up was client work.

So we crunched the numbers.

What if he hired someone to be the CEO and went back to doing what he loved: seeing clients?

Here’s what happened:

• We modelled 30 client hours per week (conservatively booked at 50 appointments/week).

• He paid a new CEO $140K (including super).

• He kept the rest of the profit.

End result?
He went from making $200K/year to $400K/year, doing the work he actually enjoyed.

The kicker?

He later decided to cut back even further — now doing two clinical days a week (around 15 clients) and enjoying three days off. The CEO runs the business. He gets time freedom and fulfilment.

That’s the power of designing your own role.

What’s Your Ideal Role?

There will always be roles to play in your clinic. The question is: which one is yours?

You might:

• Love being on the tools.

• Thrive as the visionary and strategic thinker.

• Want a mix of both — part clinician, part CEO.

• Be ready to fully step back and hand over operations.

Whatever the case, the business still needs someone in the driver’s seat. If you don’t want to be the CEO, that’s okay — but someone has to be.

What Will It Take to Step Into Your Best Role?

Using simple forecasting, we can figure out how many clients you’d need to see (if any) to afford bringing in a CEO or Practice Manager.

In the example above:

• 21 clients per week (at 30-minute appointments) covered the CEO’s salary without changing business profitability.

• That gave the owner complete freedom to choose how he contributed.

Now that’s a powerful place to be.

Final Thought

So, do you have to come off the tools to be successful?

Absolutely not.

But you do need to be intentional. Know your strengths. Design your role. And make sure the business still has the right people in the right seats.

If you’re feeling stuck in the business, or wondering what your next move should be, we’d love to help.