Most podiatrists I speak to believe their biggest challenge is growth.
They say things like:
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“I need another podiatrist.”
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“I’m booked out and exhausted.”
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“I can’t scale without burning out.”
But after years of coaching podiatrists and hundreds of conversations, I’ve come to a different conclusion.
Most clinics don’t have a growth problem. They have a framing problem.
We Frame Growth as “More”
More patients.
More hours.
More staff.
More complexity.
So when demand increases, the default response is panic. The diary fills, pressure builds, and suddenly the business that was meant to give freedom becomes the thing squeezing the life out of you.
Growth feels heavy because it’s being built on the wrong foundation.
Appointments Are a Weak Unit of Measure
One of the biggest mistakes clinics make is measuring success by appointments.
Appointments are a delivery mechanism, not a value metric.
Patients don’t want more appointments. They want fewer problems. And they don’t care about visit numbers. They care about outcomes.
When a clinic frames its value around time and treatments, growth always leads to overwhelm. But when value is framed around results, everything changes.
Pricing becomes clearer.
Compliance improves.
Referrals increase.
And suddenly, growth doesn’t require more hours.
Outcomes Create Leverage
I recently discussed this idea with marketing strategist Neil Ateem, and it reinforced something I’ve seen repeatedly in podiatry.
The clinics that grow calmly are the ones that:
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Package services around outcomes
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Clearly articulate the future they’re helping patients move towards
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Systemise what they repeat every day
They don’t sell visits. They sell transformation. And transformation scales far better than time.
Repetition Is a Signal, Not a Burden
If you find yourself saying the same thing to patients every day, that’s not inefficiency. That’s a signal.
It’s telling you something should be documented, packaged, systemised, or taught once instead of repeated endlessly.
The moment you start treating repetition as an asset rather than a chore, leverage appears. Education becomes scalable. Time pressure reduces. Consistency improves.
Growth Should Feel Lighter, Not Heavier
Here’s a useful question for any clinic owner to ask themselves:
“If my patient numbers doubled tomorrow, would my business break or become calmer?”
If the answer is “break,” the issue isn’t demand. Its structure and systems.
Growth done properly is supposed to simplify by reducing friction and forcing clarity. And having clarity is the antidote to burnout.
One Thought to Sit With
You don’t need more patients to grow your podiatry business. You need a clearer pathway to explain the outcomes you deliver and a smarter way to deliver them to the patient.
When you fix the framing, clinic growth stops feeling like a threat and starts feeling like progress.
And if you’re ready to build your clinic the right way, business coaching might be your next logical step.
Below is a link to my online calendar, where you can schedule a free 30-minute Zoom call with me to discuss any aspect of podiatry.
But if you’re still not sure about scheduling a time to talk with me, that’s okay. Keep browsing my website, and if you have any questions, please email me at tf@tysonfranklin.com
You may even want to buy my book: It’s No Secret…There’s Money in Podiatry. ORDER HERE