Interested in starting your own entrepreneurial journey in health and wellness but unsure what to expect? Then read up on our interview with Katie Perrone, Owner of Live Without Limits Physical Therapy & Wellness, located in West Hartford, CT, USA.

What's your business, and who are your customers?

Live Without Limits Physical Therapy & Wellness is a woman-owned, one-on-one specialized physical therapy service that helps people to prevent injuries, recover from pain and injuries and surgeries, and to live the life they want to, without limitations! The people who come to Live Without Limits are motivated and active individuals who are tired of living in pain and know that they don't have to live in pain anymore! They come to LWL ready to get out of pain and to live their best lives every day!

Our approach to physical therapy is different in that our services are all one-on-one, you don't need insurance to participate, and you get a specific treatment and plan customized to you each time you come in because you deserve only the best! The people who come to us are the people who are ready to feel better faster and are committed to living a pain-free lifestyle!

Tell us about yourself

I have been a doctor of physical therapy for almost 9 years now. I knew I wanted to be a PT when I was 13 years old, and I was constantly a patient of PT because of sports injuries. I fell in love with it because I loved the fact that there was a profession that could actually help people to recover from injuries and get them back to what they love. When I graduated and started working as a new PT, I ended up burning out pretty quickly. I worked in skilled nursing facilities because it gave me the opportunity to work with each person one-on-one, even though there were still a lot of limits to my treatments because of insurance restrictions.

I attempted to work in outpatient/sports clinics many times, and I couldn't handle treating 3-4 people at once and giving less than my best to each of my clients because, in the long run, it was taking people too long to get better and to the company, they were just a number and another dollar. I couldn't mentally and morally participate in that environment. I ended up back in a skilled nursing facility full-time and started my practice part-time out of a gym, where I started to build up my clientele.

During 2020, I was still in the skilled nursing facility, and that was the official breaking point for me because of everything we had to deal with and all of the struggles our residents had during the height of the COVID pandemic. I decided that I wanted better for my patients and for myself. In 2021, I started Live Without Limits full-time and have been doing that since. My motivation each day is knowing that there are so many people in the world who just live in pain because they can't get the care that they need and deserve. I want to give the best care to as many people as possible and show them that those "typical PT clinics" aren't their only option and that PT can actually help you live your best life.

What's your biggest accomplishment as a business owner?

Truthfully, I feel like making that final jump and starting the business, and being able to help over 100 people so far in the last 2 years has been my biggest accomplishment. I think the biggest accomplishment along with that is the fact that my business has grown significantly, primarily due to word-of-mouth referrals from current clients - this is an accomplishment to me because it shows me that my clients trust me and my work and that they are healing and able to do the things they love and truly believe that I can help their loved ones as well. It's a huge compliment and accomplishment.

What's one of the hardest things that comes with being a business owner?

I think the hardest part is time management. I refer to time management as making sure there is a time each week for my clients, my charting for treatment sessions, building exercise programs, all administrative work (including social media posting and writing blog posts), and communicating with clients in between sessions, as well time for self-care, my own exercise, doing things that I enjoy and spending time with my family. It's about finding the balance of everything and making sure that you keep that balance because it is very easy to let things overwhelm you or take over your personal life as well. So I work hard to make sure I am doing well with my time management and, in turn, have the balance of life that I want each day.

What are the top tips you'd give to anyone looking to start, run and grow a business today?

  1. Make the jump! There is never going to be a "perfect" time to start your business, and it is always going to be scary until you actually do it, so make the jump now, it's worth it!
  2. Have a business coach or somebody you can talk things through and bounce ideas off of. Whether it's a group, a friend who owns a successful business, or an individual coach - whatever works best for you to learn and grow, it is huge to have somebody to talk to about your business and keep it growing the way you want it to.
  3. Have balance in your work and in your personal life. If you burn yourself out and you don't have balance in all of the areas that you would like and that are important to you (work, family, friends, health, wealth, faith, etc.), then your business isn't going to be as successful. If you want your business to be healthy, you have to be healthy and take care of yourself both mentally and physically. Have a support system to help you through the tough times because balance doesn't always happen perfectly - have people who can help you out and help get you back to centered and balanced!

Bonus tip: Have fun! Do what you love!

Where can people find you and your business?

Website: https://www.livewithoutlimitsct.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/katie.perrone.54
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/livewithoutlimitspt/

If you like what you've read here and have your own story as a solo or small business entrepreneur that you'd like to share, then please answer these interview questions. We'd love to feature your journey on these pages.

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