I founded Instinct Health in Camberwell in 2017. 

I loved going through the startup phase, from painting and plastering the walls to finding out about software options and then growing a case load from zero. 

I loved every part of the journey. However, in an area well saturated with existing physio clinics, it was hard going. 

Fast-forward to 2025 and Instinct Health is in a great place, with ongoing potential for future internal growth. 

I have incredible people in my team, who drive progress with minimal oversight from me, only leaning on me for guidance and leadership. 

Truthfully, with such capable people invested in my clinic, I found myself starting to become bored and seeking my next challenge.

Then an opportunity to expand into an existing clinic presented itself and my expansion journey began. 

Finding a new practice 

Once I began considering expanding to a second location, I became a little more attuned to potential opportunities. 

When an anonymous post appeared in a private Facebook group, accessible only to physio clinic owners, advertising that they were interested in selling their clinic, it caught my attention. 

After I exchanged a few messages with the owner, we eventually met in person and did a thorough investigation into each other and the business. 

I had no idea what the process for buying a business was like so I contacted Antony Hirst APAM for some advice.

We sat down and filled a whiteboard with the numbers. 

New patient numbers, revenue, expenses, lease agreements, employment contracts— everything you could, and should, consider when purchasing a business, we discussed. 

Ultimately, this opportunity didn’t work out but the fire in me was well and truly lit. 

The search continued. 

I found a healthcare business website listing clinics for sale and later I discovered there are several similar websites out there. 

These sites provide very high-level details about a clinic—things such as city, asking price and eight to 10 basic details about the clinic and the motivation of the owner to sell. 

Then you submit an inquiry. 

I received a non-disclosure agreement to sign and from there, I was able to get a real look under the hood of the clinic, enabling me to obtain a valuation. 

Again, this opportunity didn’t eventuate for the vendor and me but it pointed me closer again to my true north. 

In January of 2024, I returned from Christmas break. 

I was recently married and full of energy to invest back into the business search. 

I was doing some work in a cafe one morning when an email came through from Seek Commercial with the subject line ‘Physio Practice for Sale’. 

I followed the links, asked for the non-disclosure agreement and we were away. 

Why this practice? 

Initially, all I had to go on was the numbers and the name of the clinic. 

The numbers looked good and the location appealed to me, so I set up a meeting with the current owners. 

With the previous clinics I’d looked at, much of my interest and the offers I made were financially based. 

This felt different. The owner and I talked about the clinic, the physio profession as a whole and where we’d like to see it go. 

We talked about approaches to staffing and long-term goals. 

From the moment we met, I knew our values aligned. 

And this was where my greatest discovery occurred. 

Our business is a people business. 

If you find excellent people to work or partner with, you’re doing well. 

The numbers might stack up and look like the most exceptional deal in the world, but if you can’t keep good people, the clinic is worth nothing. 

Lesson 1: find good people and try your hardest to support them to stay. 

What happened next? 

My focus shifted to finding the money. 

Lesson 2: get a good broker. 

I reached out to a business banking broker, who was able to tell me about the process involved in applying for the funds to finance the acquisition. 

He was a wealth of knowledge, answered all of my questions without making me feel like an idiot and, importantly, got me a great deal with the bank. 

Once I knew financing the operation was going to be possible, it was time to submit an offer. 

Lesson 3: get a good lawyer. 

If you’re serious, submit a serious offer 

The lawyer was able to submit a strong offer to the vendors. 

Fortunately, the business broker that the vendors were using was exceptional to deal with. 

He was fair in his valuation of the practice and ultimately wanted to support the vendors in exiting the practice as owners. 

In discussions with my lawyer, we were able to submit a fair and reasonable offer to the vendors that didn’t ask for much haggling or negotiating. 

The handover process 

From here, reality set in. 

We agreed to terms and got to work. 

Once the contracts were signed, we worked to facilitate the handover process. 

Handing over of leases, transferring business ownership, acquiring new provider numbers—these were just some of the specifics we worked through in the subsequent months. 

All in all, I loved the process. 

I found it exhilarating and enjoyed every second, except for dealing with some of the bank’s incredibly archaic processes. 

I also appreciated how much I learnt from it. 

And now, I have had so many people ask me about how it all evolved and I love those conversations almost as much as the process itself. 

If you’re ever wanting to chat about selling or buying a practice, reach out to me via email (here). I’m always happy to sit down for a coffee and talk through my experiences. However, it is important to note that this is my experience only and should not be considered individual advice specific to your situation.