The 10 BIGGEST MISTAKES I’ve made in 26 years of clinic + coaching

HOLY MOLY – this year marks 10 YEARS since I officially became a business coach!

And 26 years of running my own massage clinic.

It seems unreal – most therapists statistically don't make it past the first 3 years, and I've somehow done 26… and collected a LOT of mistakes along the way.

So instead of giving you a highlight reel of the shiny wins… I thought I’d share something better:

👉 The 10 BIGGEST MISTAKES I’ve made in 26 years of clinic + coaching (and I still see other business owners making them all the time!)

Because let’s be real – yes there have been a few amazing wins (like building up my clinic to 9 staff and 100 treatments per week, then building The Health Leader Co. with my partners, writing my book, launching Your Practice PRO software, raising two kids, and helping over 1000 therapists get fully booked along the way...)

The wins are nice, but the MISTAKES are where the biggest lessons come from.

So here are my TOP 10 mistakes so that YOU can hopefully avoid the same things!

1. Thinking working harder was the answer.

When I was first getting fully booked, my “genius” idea was to just add more hours. Because clearly, exhaustion equals success, right? Turns out that was actually WRONG. What really happened was I started resenting my own clients when they'd book in! Plus I was cranky with my family, and my kids started asking, “Mum, why are you always at work?” Ouch.

The lesson here is that there’s only so far "hustle" will take you. Eventually, you can’t squeeze in another client without breaking something (usually yourself). The real fix is working "smarter not longer" starting with raising your prices and building systems that let you do more with less. Otherwise, you’ll wake up one day with a fully booked diary BUT a life you don’t even like.

2. My first hire was a total FLOP.

I thought hiring meant freedom! I imagined swanning off to long lunches while my new therapist handled the work. But reality hit me hard: after 12 months, that staff member had one – ONLY ONE – regular client. Meanwhile, I was paying their wages, stressing about their empty calendar, and still doing all my own work anyway.

Here’s the thing: it wasn’t his fault! I hadn’t trained him properly, set expectations, or built the systems he needed to succeed. I assumed “he'll figure it out like I do” ... but he didn’t. That experience taught me leadership is not a "nice-to-have" – it’s vital. And if you want a team to succeed, you have to organise it properly AND learn how to lead, coach, and manage. Otherwise, hiring isn’t freedom… it’s just an expensive headache.

3. Underpricing myself into burnout.

For my first few years, I kept my prices low because I felt guilty charging more. I told myself, “I just want to help people” – but behind the scenes, I was running on empty. I’d go home exhausted, too tired to cook dinner, and stressing about bills. And honestly, when I was that burnt out, I didn't give clients my best either.

The turning point came when I met with a financial advisor who was VERY blunt (I may have shed some ugly tears in the carpark after that meeting) but it got me to finally face reality and raise my prices. And guess what? Nobody stormed out. Sun came up the next day like always. In fact (weirdly) clients valued me MORE.

Because here’s the truth: people don’t book the cheapest therapist – they book the one they trust can HELP them. By being "reassuringly expensive" I could show up calm, focused, and ready to serve – instead of worrying whether I’d make rent that week.

So if you’re undercharging you've got to realise you’re not helping anyone – including yourself.

4. Believing “if I’m good, clients will come.”

Oh boy, this one kept me stuck for years. I thought, “If I just keep delivering amazing treatments, word will spread.” That’s like planting a tree and never watering it. A few leaves might sprout, but it’s never going to thrive.

I eventually realised being a great therapist is only HALF the job when you work for yourself. The other half is Marketing. Being seen, showing up consistently, letting people know who you are, and actually inviting them to book. I know – who would have thought! It did feel uncomfortable at first, I didn’t want to sound "salesy" and I still hear other therapists say that now... But once I started putting myself out there, I became more confident in how to be natural about it and my bookings grew easily and fast. Being good at your craft isn’t enough. You have to tell people about it.

5. Living off word-of-mouth.

Referrals are fantastic, don’t get me wrong, they're one of the BEST ways to get new clients. But for years, that was literally my entire “marketing strategy”, and that's a huge problem because when they slowed down, so did my income! And I had no control over changing it. I remember one quiet month staring at my calendar with huge gaps and thinking, “I hope someone recommends me this week.” That is not a strategy!

The truth is, referrals should be one of MANY ways clients find you, not the only way. Once I learned how to generate consistent leads through marketing, social media, and community connections, I stopped panicking every time things went quiet because I knew I had predicttable ways to get new people in whenever I needed.

Relying ONLY on word-of-mouth is like balancing your business on one wobbly chair leg – it kind of works, until it doesn’t... and then you fall flat on your face.

6. Treating tax time like a surprise party.

Except instead of balloons and cake, it was a massive bill I wasn’t ready for. Surprise! I’ll never forget the first year I got slapped with a tax debt I couldn’t pay straight away. I felt sick to my stomach every time I thought about it. I had been treating tax as “future me’s problem” – but future me was not impressed!

So now? I am actually the finance manager in our small business (seems crazy because it's not my natural place BUT I've learned what I need to!) I set aside money for tax every single week and actually understand our numbers. Because "you can’t grow what you don’t measure". And your costs, profit, and cash flow and like the dashboard on a car – if you don't look at the indicators you’re basically driving blindfolded. The ATO doesn’t care if you “forgot” to budget. So do your future self a favour and learn to love your numbers early.

7. Saying yes to nightmare clients.

You know that sinking feeling when someone calls to book and your gut says “don’t do it”? I ignored that feeling. I told myself I needed the money. And every time, it came back to bite me. These clients were demanding, rude, and drained the life out of me. Worse, they drove away other clients I actually LOVED working with.

Eventually, I realised every “yes” is an exchange of a piece of your life. You’re trading a piece of your time, energy, and happiness. So is it really worth it? These days, if someone feels like a bad fit, I say “I might not be the right therapist for you” – and I happily recommend someone else nearby. Honestly, it’s liberating. Not every client is your client, and that’s okay.

8. Doing everything manually.

Handwritten diaries. Phone tag. Filing paper notes alphabetically. Staying up late sorting receipts. I wasted YEARS doing things the long way. And here’s the kicker – I thought I was saving money by not investing in systems. But really, I was just wasting time and energy I could never get back.

It wasn’t until I finally embraced software that I realised how much easier life could be. Bookings handled themselves, payments were automated, and admin didn’t eat up my evenings. And even that early software was clunky compared to what is available now! That’s one of the reasons we have Your Practice PRO – because I know exactly how much stress and chaos it saves to have everything in one place. If I’d had this back then, my business (and my home life) would have been a whole lot smoother.

9. Forgetting to lead myself first.

The hardest truth I had to face? My biggest roadblock was ME. I was so busy seeing myself as “just a therapist” that I couldn’t step into the role my business really needed – a leader! And when you don’t lead yourself, you can’t lead anyone else – not your clients, not your team, your family, or your business.

Once I finally made that MINDSET shift, everything changed. I started to set boundaries, creating a vision, and making decisions like a business owner, not just a practitioner. And surprise, surprise 🥳 my business followed my lead!

Growth always starts inside you first.

10. Trying to do it all alone.

This one nearly broke me. For years, I wore my massage towel like a cape and thought “doing it all myself” made me somehow more important. In reality, I was like a duck truggling to paddle fast enough to appear like everything was okay. I didn’t want to admit I needed help – I had told myself that meant failing. But the truth is, isolation KILLS businesses.

The moment I found community, mentors, and people who actually understood what I was going through, was a HUGE change in the entire direction of my business and LIFE. My growth skyrocketed (personal growth and business growth!) And I was happier! Business became fun again. And I realised something huge: nobody does this stuff alone. Not for long anyway! Having other people around to support, encourage and inspire is SUPER important for fast change AND long-term success.

So! 10 years in, the bottom line is that we ALL make mistakes.

Some you can prepare for, some you just have to figure out as you can and hope to stumble through!

But every mistake, every scar, every face-plant, every “oh no, what have I done” moment taught me something that made me a better business owner – and a better coach.

And now I share ALL of that hard-earned knowledge – every shortcut, every strategy, every “wish I’d known this sooner” – inside Health Leader Mastery. So you don’t have to waste years in trial and error like I did.

Here’s to 10 years of coaching, 26 years of clinic, and hopefully another 10 years at least helping you skip the painful bits (with even more fun along the way!!) 🙌

I found a photo of me from 10 years ago when I was a baby massage therapist! I was no naive... but I'm proud of what I did and the resilience I've built along the way 🤩

Now I’d love to hear from you – what’s the biggest business lesson you’ve learned so far?

– Elicia 💛