Overview

Most people see the success story of a business. Very few see what it actually costs to build one.

In this episode, Michael sits down with HMDG co-founder and his fiancée, Hannah, to talk honestly about what building HMDG actually looked like behind the scenes.

Not the polished LinkedIn version. The real version.

From having almost no money and wondering how they were going to pay bills, through to building and selling one of the best-known healthcare marketing businesses in the UK, this episode breaks down the stress, burnout, scaling problems, health scares and emotional pressure that came with it.

They also talk about building a business together as a couple, leadership, female founders in healthcare, selling the company, and why entrepreneurship often feels far less glamorous than people imagine.

Show Notes

• How HMDG actually started
• Going from broke to building a million-pound business
• Burnout, stress and health problems from scaling
• Working together as a couple
• Leadership, team culture and managing people
• Selling the company and the reality behind exits
• Female founders and being underestimated in healthcare
• Why business ownership can feel isolating
• The emotional pressure of entrepreneurship

What You’ll Learn

• What building a healthcare business really looks like
• Why growth often creates more stress, not less
• The hidden emotional cost of entrepreneurship
• Why systems become critical as businesses scale
• What selling a business actually involves
• How leadership changes as companies grow
• Why luck plays a bigger role than people admit

Who This Episode Is For

• Clinic owners and healthcare founders
• Entrepreneurs building service businesses
• Couples working together in business
• Healthcare professionals considering starting a company
• Anyone struggling with stress, burnout or scaling problems

Guest Details

Hannah Humphries – Co-Founder & Managing Director, HMDG

Originally trained as a physiotherapist, Hannah co-founded HMDG and helped grow it into one of the UK’s leading healthcare marketing businesses.

Visit https://hmdg.co.uk for further information.

Follow Michael on LinkedIn. https://www.linkedin.com/in/mjschumacher100

Overview

Part honest conversation, part industry insight, this episode explores one of the most misunderstood topics in healthcare: sales.

Most clinics think they have a marketing problem. In reality, many have a follow-up problem. Enquiries come in through forms, phone calls, WhatsApp, social media, and email, but too often nobody really knows what happens next. Patients drift away, systems miss them, and clinics lose revenue without ever spotting where the leakage is happening.

In this episode, Michael sits down with Jared Aron, founder of Coherent, to talk about why sales should not be a dirty word in healthcare. They unpack patient drop-off, recall, reactivation, lead conversion, poor PMS data, and the hidden cost of clunky clinic systems. They also touch on how better visibility tools like the HMDG Capacity Engine (https://capacity.hmdg.co.uk/) and Retention Engine (https://retention.hmdg.co.uk/) can help clinics actually understand what’s going on beneath the surface.

Show Notes

• Why sales is misunderstood in healthcare
• Jared’s background in clinics and healthcare technology
• The idea of patient leakage and where clinics lose people
• Why PMS data is often inaccurate or misleading
• The gap between medical records and customer records
• Why many clinics stop following up too early
• How better follow-up improves lead conversion and recall
• What healthy inquiry-to-booking conversion can look like
• Why poor booking systems create friction and lost revenue
• How irrelevant automation trains patients to ignore clinics
• Why timing, channel, and relevance matter in patient communication
• The real ROI of better follow-up

What You’ll Learn

• Why sales in healthcare is really about better follow-up
• How clinics lose patients without realising it
• Why PMS retention figures can be misleading
• What stronger lead handling actually looks like
• Why consistency matters as much as speed
• How reactivation varies across different services
• Why poor systems reduce bookings
• How better communication can improve conversion
• Why tools like the Capacity Engine (https://capacity.hmdg.co.uk/) and Retention Engine (https://retention.hmdg.co.uk) help you understand performance properly
• Why ROI includes both revenue gained and time saved

Who This Episode Is For

• Private practice owners who feel they are losing patients
• MSK clinic owners looking to improve conversion and recall
• Healthcare businesses frustrated by poor systems and messy data
• Practice owners who want growth without being overly salesy
• Marketing and growth teams working with clinics

Guest Details

Jared Aron - Founder, Coherent

With a background in clinic leadership, medical devices, and healthcare technology. After seeing how difficult it was for clinics to manage patient drop-off, retention, and recall with existing systems, he founded Coherent to help practices improve revenue by fixing leakage across the patient journey.

Visit https://hmdg.co.uk for further information.

Follow Michael on LinkedIn. https://www.linkedin.com/in/mjschumacher100

Overview

Part industry analysis, part honest conversation, and a clear reality check for clinic owners who want to know where they actually stand.

Most clinics don’t know what the average physio appointment costs in their region. They don’t know what a good rebooking rate looks like. They don’t know whether their marketing spend, utilisation, or team structure is healthy compared to the rest of the industry.

In this episode, Michael sits down with Alex Kyriacou, co-owner of Flex Physiotherapy, to walk through the results of the Private Practice Barometer, one of the largest benchmarking surveys ever conducted in the MSK industry.

Using data from hundreds of clinics, they compare Flex Physio’s numbers against national benchmarks. From pricing and retention to staffing models, technology, marketing costs, and owner wellbeing, the conversation explores what “normal” actually looks like in private practice.

Show Notes

• Why the Private Practice Barometer was created
• How Flex Physio grew from satellite clinics to a 13-person practice
• Typical physio pricing across the UK and how Flex compares
• Why raising prices doesn’t necessarily reduce patient demand
• Admin support, staffing models, and clinician productivity
• PAYE vs contractor clinicians and the impact on culture
• Utilisation rates: what a healthy diary actually looks like
• DNA rates and systems that reduce missed appointments
• Rebooking rates and the role of patient trust
• Technology in modern clinics: ultrasound, shockwave, and force plates
• Understanding patient acquisition cost and marketing spend
• Why many clinics lack financial visibility
• Scaling vs staying small, and the reality of clinic growth

What You’ll Learn

• Why most clinic owners don’t know their true performance benchmarks
• How pricing compares across different UK regions
• Why raising prices often improves retention
• The systems that reduce DNAs and improve rebooking
• What a healthy utilisation rate actually looks like
• How admin support affects clinician productivity
• Why contractor models can limit long-term growth
• The relationship between clinic size and owner happiness
• How technology can increase pricing power and retention
• Why understanding patient acquisition cost matters

Who This Episode Is For

• Private practice owners who want to benchmark their clinic properly
• MSK clinicians thinking about starting or scaling a practice
• Clinic owners unsure whether their numbers are “good” or “bad”
• Healthcare businesses trying to improve profitability
• Practice owners who want clearer strategic decisions

Guest Details

Alex Kyriacou - Co-Owner, Flex Physiotherapy

Alex is a physiotherapist and co-owner of Flex Physiotherapy in Burgess Hill, Sussex. After joining as an associate in 2019, he became part of the leadership team alongside founders Matt Prout and Kieran Barnard.

Flex has grown from small satellite clinics into a multidisciplinary practice with a rehabilitation gym, diagnostics, and a team of more than a dozen staff.

Alongside running the clinic, Alex continues to work full-time in the NHS, giving him a unique perspective on both public and private healthcare systems.

Visit https://hmdg.co.uk for further information.

Follow Michael on LinkedIn. https://www.linkedin.com/in/mjschumacher100