Episode Details

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In this episode, Katie asks clinic owners a big question: are you being an ostrich with your numbers? She explains why looking at your bank balance or waiting for your year-end accounts keeps you reactive, and why you need a simple, repeatable way to track the right numbers regularly. 

Katie walks through a practical approach to forecasting based on profit (not just turnover), including treating the owner’s pay as a real business cost, working out the true top-line revenue you need, and then breaking that down into tangible targets like sessions per week or class attendance. She also covers how forecasting helps you plan for seasonality, capacity, recruitment, cashflow gaps (especially with insurance work), and better margins by focusing on efficiency and “lowest hanging fruit” improvements.

Main Topics Covered:

• Why many clinic owners avoid their numbers and how that keeps the business reactive rather than planned.
• The difference between looking at turnover and focusing on profit and cashflow.
• Why paying yourself “what’s left” creates unstable income and can cause issues (especially for limited companies).
• How to treat the business owner’s pay as a real cost in the P&L, not an afterthought.
• A simple forecasting method: desired take-home pay + expenses + tax = required top-line revenue.
• How to break revenue targets into practical actions (sessions per month, sessions per week, hours in the diary).
• How to calculate an average session value and use it to set realistic treatment-hour targets.
• Using forecasting for different business models (1:1 sessions vs classes) and what the numbers reveal about capacity.
• How seasonality (school holidays, annual leave, quieter months) impacts income and staffing capacity.
• How forecasting helps you plan recruitment ahead of time instead of waiting until you’re overwhelmed.
• Why prioritising profit highlights better margins and exposes “busy but not profitable” activities.
• Examples of low-margin distractions (room rental, admin time, extra effort for small income) and why numbers matter.
• Insurance work and cashflow: long payment terms, lower margins, and why private-pay often improves profitability.
• How tracking numbers regularly reduces overspending, helps cut unnecessary expenses, and supports strategic growth.
• Why you can’t strip all the money out of the business and still expect it to grow, and how forecasting supports gradual increases.

Katie’s key takeaway: stop burying your head in the sand, commit time to knowing your numbers, and decide what you want to earn so you can build a clinic and a life you love.

Treat Your Business podcast is proudly sponsored by Klatch:
Results-driven marketing built for healthcare companies. Unlock sustainable growth and maximise ROI with data-driven digital marketing tailored to your business, backed by patient tracking software from search to revenue.

Find out more at https://www.klatch.co.uk

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