The Moment Abbie Laycock Stopped Working In Her Business and Started Leading It

What's up guys? Welcome to Peli Biz Podcast. I'm your co-host Kelly Alhooie. Today I have Abby Laycock today with me. I cannot wait. Special guest. And Abby, what I would like to do and start out with first is I would like to have you introduce yourself for people that don't know you, um, who you are. Are you a PT, OT, PTA? And also, what is your practice called and who do you actually help?

All right. Hey, my name is Abby Laycock, and I am a physical therapist, and I own my own practice called The Hands-On Physio, and I specialize in treating all orthopedic, but really within the last year have gotten really specialized in women's health, pelvic floor. And I also have a very big background in hands manual therapy. So hence the name Hands-On Therapy. And so, I am very passionate about doing manual work and have a certification in that and dry needling as well. So I guess my, my prime client would be active women and in all phases of life, all stages of life. So that would be what I do and what I specialize in. Okay.

And where are you located?

Yeah, so I met my family and I just moved from Georgia to Maryland. So I started, I mean, Let's see, I started my practice actually when we were in Kansas. So a little backstory is I've always said 2 things, which is kind of crazy, is one, I will never date military, and then 2, I will never go through the headache of owning my own practice. And here I am, I'm a military spouse and I own my own practice. So—

Never say never. That's the first lesson.

The universe has some crazy, crazy things when you say one thing or you don't want to do something. It gives you the other. So I actually started my practice when I was in Kansas. I— my husband and I, we moved over there with our 1-year-old, and I was going to take the year off to just be with my girl because we were only going to be there for maybe 10 months. And so I was just doing the whole stay-at-home mom life, and I started working out with a group of military spouses, and they found out what I did, and they were like, Can you treat me? And I was like, yeah, sure. So, you know, I like did it under the table, literally like a table. I bought a $100 table in my basement, and at bedtime or nap time, women would come over and we would do therapy. So then we fast forward, get moved to Georgia, and I was Googling places on like, okay, I need to get back to work. We're going to be there for a few years. Um, Let me find a clinic to apply to. And I found in the area that there really is nobody who does what I do in like the concierge-type medicine, one-on-one, hands-on therapy type of scene. So I was like, I think I'm gonna do my own thing. So I started out doing my own thing in Georgia and it took off. And then I started working with you, Kelly, and gave me the confidence to start hiring. And so I hired somebody. Fast forward, I now have a practice in Georgia, and now I am freshly starting my practice in Maryland. So that's where I'm at.

Freaking amazing. And there's so many lessons in here, which I'm going to back us up because there's a lot of, you know, the point of the podcast today is tell like the real of the real and like really just really give people an inside look that were like you, that are like, I would never do a practice. Like, this can't be me. Like, I don't— I would never hire, right? Like, shit, is that the right decision for me? Um, all the things. And so I want to kind of get into that middle ground there where, um, she's in Evans, Georgia, guys. I don't know if you guys know Augusta golf course area. Like, that's, you know, everyone knows Augusta. So, yeah. Um, so that's where she's at. Um, and, you know, I want to talk about What was the decision like to hire? You know, like, what, what was the thing that you're like, okay, I think this is the right direction, or this wasn't the right direction? Like, what would you say about hiring that made you finally, like, pull the trigger to be like, okay, like, I'm gonna hire?

Yeah, I mean, honestly, it wasn't like a specific decision, or I got to a point in my practice, it The person that I wanted to hire, literally, I call her a unicorn that just came down from the sky and was planted in my lap. She actually reached out to me because she was moving to the area and she looked at places to work and again, didn't like working in the hospital systems as a pelvic PT, didn't want to go to the run-of-the-mill type of PT clinic. She found me and she reached out via email and was like, hey, are you hiring? And I was like, No, I am not going to even do this. I'm good with where I'm at. I'm just a solopreneur. But I was like, you know what, something inside of me, my gut, which I have learned to really trust my gut in this process of being an entrepreneur, is my gut is so— it's right most of the time.

It's always right, guys. All entrepreneurs, it's always right. Trust your gut.

If anything, I've learned to just trust my gut and trust myself. So I was like, you know what, let's just meet for coffee. So I did. I fell in love with her and I was like, you know what? I am going to make this work. Like, I don't know what I'm doing, but I am going to make this work. And that's when I reached out to a Facebook page. Kelly messaged me and I was like, I have no idea what I'm doing and I need help. But it was like, I would not be where I'm at today if I did not hire her. Uh, my business would not have gone, gone from point A to point B. So I think it took something like that for me to. You know, give me that little push that I needed. Otherwise I would've probably just always had that thought in my head, my head, like, do I hire? I don't know. I don't wanna mess with it. But, um, yeah, so it was kind of like, it just kind of followed like that.

Right. And I remember when you joined Power Circle that you, that was like a big decision. Like, should I actually do this or not? And I'm like, yes, we should. Because I could see the elevated version of why this could work out, you know, beneficially. And, you know, you trusted it and went with it. And so I'm appreciative of that because I, you know, really love seeing growth, you know?

Yeah.

So, um, not only growth in the clinic, but also it's self-growth where instead of you being in there doing all the things, you now have to learn how to manage someone or how to coach them to do the things. So it's a completely different skillset and many people are afraid of that. But the right people, the right people that are like, you know what, I am gonna take this on because I do see that there's a better option here. Um, we'll go for it and it will massively, you know, pay off. So, um, yeah, I think the hiring phase for most people is, is the scary, scary part. And once you kind of get over that hurdle, it's like, wow. So like, going off of that, what is the wow or the, the benefit, would you say, from your perspective of hiring?

Yeah, I mean, honestly, so now that I'm in Maryland, um, I knew in Georgia that my, my cap would possibly only go so high just because I knew we would be moving. But I have had this like festering inside of me of like, no, I can do more. And now that we're here in Maryland and hopefully it's our endgame, the sky is the limit for me. And I don't think I would have that feeling or I wouldn't be having this whole new entrepreneur brain that I've got or like tapping into that part of the brain that's just never been tapped into before. I've got big dreams and big goals, and I truly, truly, truly don't think that I would ever even reach these ideas if I didn't hire. So I think that's my wow, is that I have the potential to grow and it's not as scary as I thought.

Right. And it opened up, it unlocked such a different picture than what you even knew was possible because no one even coached you on that or you never learned that. Right? And so it just seemed scary because you were so Like, I don't know about it. So of course it's scary, right?

Yeah.

Now that you understand it, you're like, oh, okay, it's really just systems. Implement systems, right? And it's like, okay, I just reproduce systems and now I can actually hire people and we can massively grow.

Exactly. Yeah. It's just, it's unlocked this potential that I never thought that I had. Um, yeah.

Yeah. No, that's, that's amazing. And what would you say, because along the journey there's always fears, Right? And so what would you say, like, a fear of yours— I kind of know it, but like, what would you say that a fear of yours potentially was, or maybe still is, um, along this journey that you were able to be like, you know what, like, I'm gonna face this thing, I'm gonna overcome it, and, you know, I'm gonna keep, keep moving? Like, what was like a big fear of yours that you could either say you overcame or that you're still kind of, you know, working through?

Yeah. Um, so because I was able to hire my first employee, I then went on to hire a second. Um, and at the time it was, it was really great because my first employee was going on maternity leave. So I knew that I needed to get somebody else in. And there's that saying, like, I mean, you've said it before too, is, you know, uh, slow to hire and quick to fire. Um, I think because I was in such a time crunch, I knew again in my gut deep down that I was like rushing it, but I also was like, I, I just got do this because I've got to get something going. Um, and so I did it and I hired a second person and she was great. Like, she truly did help out during that time of, um, when my first employee was on maternity leave. But she did end up quitting after, I'd say, 4 months. And I told her from the beginning, just give it, just give it 3 months and your schedule is going to boom. Like, it takes time to put systems into place. So my fear was that You know, I was maybe in a time crunch to get her to a certain spot; otherwise, she would leave me, and then I would start spiraling and having these fears. And my my biggest fear came true, and that she left. But you know what? Like instead of me feeling so devastated when it happened, I was just like, "Oh, I've got this." Like I'm okay. Like I'm gonna make this happen. Like I am going to be okay. I'm going to get through this. And it was the first time that I've had that revelation where I'm like. You know what? Stuff is gonna come up my way. I'm gonna learn from it, which is the most important, is that I learned so much from it. So any person that works with me in the future is going to just be that much better because I've learned so much from this experience. And also, bottom line, I'm gonna be okay. And I, I am. And I wa— I was and I am still so.

And that got, oh, that's beautiful because it gives you so much confidence as an entrepreneur to make the hard decisions because you, no matter, You know, no matter what, whatever decision you decide, it will all work out. It will all work out. And it's like, okay. And then you're not sitting there fearful of like, oh my God, this person's going to quit, or, oh my God, I'm going to— you're like, no, I'm going to figure it out because I figured it out.

Yeah.

And also want to say this too, which I think is really important. Everyone is so scared about the failure, but the failure, just like you said, is where all the lessons actually are.

100%.

Don't go through the failure, then how do you expect to continue to grow if you don't have the failure? So, so people try to avoid so much of the failure, but the failure is the thing that's actually going to progress you in life. So you want to fail because it will literally say, don't do this with certainty, and by the way, go do this.

Yeah, I mean, it literally teaches you the lessons, like Right then and there. And I learned so much from the experience that would I change it? No. Yeah, my biggest fear came true, but I would not change it. Um, and like you've taught us before, where when you are like pinned against the wall and you're like, oh my gosh, I have to figure it out, that's when the best growth happens.

I love it. That's why I always talk about investing, because pin your back against the freaking wall. Because when you invest, it's like, oh my God, I just handed over money. I gotta now do this thing. And I swear that's the biggest thing to put a fire underneath your butt to be like, let's freaking go, you know?

Yep.

Agreed. Yeah. I mean, I, I, I see it in myself all the time and I see it in y'all too. So, okay. So take us, Abby, through like the growth from when, from Augusta to like where you're at now. Like what did that growth like, you know, did we triple in revenue, double in revenue? Like what does that, what does that look like? So that people know. Yeah.

Yeah. Yeah. So when we start— when I started in Augusta, I was treating— we turned our formal dining room into my clinic. So I was seeing people in my house. And then from there, I was able to go and rent a space, and then I was able to hire, and then I was able to have 2 hires in a space. And so that all happened within 2 and a half years. And so that was— I mean, I think that's pretty good for really not knowing what I'm doing. And the last part of it happened In a way, the time. Yes. Yeah, you're right. Yeah. So that all happened in a very shorter amount of time. And so that now that I'm here in, um, Maryland, I— it's like, yes, I have to start all over again, but I learned so much that I am really hoping to just shorten that amount of time. And I've already got a space so I don't have to treat out of my house. So I'm already starting with the space. I've already got at least I've been here for a month and I haven't even started really working because I'm still with my girls until they start school. But within that month, I have now scheduled 5 workshops that I know are going to be like super just, um, I guess productive in getting people on my schedule. Like, I am not— I'm not nervous. Um, and I don't think if I didn't have that experience in Georgia, I— yes, coming to this new area, I would be very nervous. But I'm— again, I'm not even nervous and I haven't even started yet. But I've just gained so much confidence in myself and my abilities. And so yeah, I'm gonna start seeing patients in a few weeks. And again, I don't have anybody on my schedule right now, but I know that it's going to take off running. So in that regards to growth, again, the confidence is everything. And so I've grown in confidence. Revenue-wise, I've gone— I, I've tripled my salary. Um, I guess I'm not— Yeah, I guess salary is what you can call it, but, um, I've tripled my revenue. Um, and that's now even with going from 3 therapists to now just 2 of us. Um, for the last 2 months, I have been able to survive off of 2 and a half or 1 and a half therapists, um, because the other one was just seeing, um, a short amount after her maternity leave. So. I have been able to move, be here with my girls, and still do admin work with my Georgia clinic and not have to see a single patient. I can get me and my family settled and my business ready for here to go up and go.

Isn't that amazing that you can make money while not even— you're not even in the state.

Like, you're not even—

yeah, isn't that so cool? And you get to spend time with your girls. Like, it's mind-blowing. And if you didn't hire, you would still feel like, oh shoot, I'm gonna have to shut this whole thing down. And now I only can make money if I'm doing the thing. And now you're able to understand the game, which is literally be able to hire, create systems that run without you. Okay.

Yes.

You have to like tweak things, but like, it's not like, um, it's not like passive. Let me just say that for everyone to set expectations. But you don't have to physically be there in the state putting your hands on someone, right? And I think that is the biggest piece that a lot of solopreneurs just don't understand. And I want everyone to understand that you can have more in your life.

You can have more. Yeah.

You know?

Yeah. Yeah. I picked up my little girl from camp today and then we went and swam at the pool. And I knew that I could just I've been doing that almost every day for a month, and it's amazing because I would not be able to be so comfortable with my personal and family life right now, even financially, if I didn't have my Georgia clinic going as I get this Maryland one up and going.

It's just super— I'm so proud of you. It's so cool to see from no one to this person just slipping in your laps. And I just remember that moment of us deciding because that's when you came and joined Power Circle. That was the moment that you're like, Kelly, I got to figure this out. And we We were underneath a time crunch.

Yep.

And it was like, okay, let's hire, let's go. Like, let's hire her.

Yeah.

I remember it was a scramble for you to just even try to get systems and expectations and contracts. Like, I remember us going through all this, right?

Yep.

But we did it because we had it. We just had to tweak it, right? And then, I mean, now look at this. It gives you freedom to, and it doesn't have to be so big. I think so many people think when they grow a clinic, it has to be this like monster thing. And it doesn't give you what you want. Yeah.

No, yeah. I mean, it's just me and another therapist right now and it feels just really good. And yeah, like, I mean, I can grow and I can be bigger, but I still am like feeling successful just with me and my little practice. Right.

And I think success can be defined in so many different ways. We could—

For sure.

But I think, yes, this is a massive success because you were able to make a move Still have income, not be in a state. I don't know many people, to be honest, Abby, that could say that, you know. And so, and get time with your daughters, like that's a massive success right there. And triple your income, like I mean it's just yeah all of it. So you be you should be super super proud because there's very few that get to this level and understand the game that I say that you're playing, right? And we're not going to stop, but it's just like. Now we're— we just, we understand the game more.

Correct. Yeah. Yep.

Yeah. Okay. So now what's, what's next? What's Maryland like? What do, what do we want? Like, what is— what's the vision here?

Yeah, I mean, in Georgia, it was just me and seeing patients and being able to pay the bills and, you know, have extra to travel and like not be limited. But now I'm like, okay, the bar is so much higher. I've got so much more potential. And So I'm now, yes, wanting my clinic up here, but that's going to grow quickly. So I then want to take my PT practice and I want to make it more community-based. So like, yes, in the PT world and especially women's health, I have such a platform to help people, but there's so many other realms that if we can come together and be a hub for women, it's not like— it takes a lot of the guessing game out of of it for us. So, like, you know, for instance, like a postpartum woman, it's like, well, I need to go to this doctor, but then I need to go to this doctor. I don't know, should I go to this one? It's— there's so many, I don't know, just facets of healthcare that can be helpful for women in any stage. And so I would love to have some kind of like wellness facility that has pelvic PT, nutrition, Um, mental therapy and exercise that is not just for, um, I don't know, like exercise. I want— in Georgia, my goal was to be able to just have my PT clinic, to be able to see patients and, um, pay the bills and just be comfortable. But now that I'm in Maryland, I know what I can do. I know the potential that I have. And so in, in Maryland, I want to expand and go beyond that.

Mm-hmm.

So I think as PTs, especially in the women's health field, we have such a platform to be able to help the community. And I love being in the community and educating. And especially with what I have gone through as a woman postpartum, there's so much that I've learned and I'm like, oh my gosh, I need to just tell more people about these different things that I've had to go through. Like, not only did I have to get like have pelvic PT for myself, but a nutrition aspect, a hormonal aspect, mental therapy, and it can be so confusing and overwhelming for women in all stages of life to find those types of providers. So in Maryland, I would love to have some kind of wellness facility that has all of that under one roof to take the guesswork out of it. I'm also very passionate about the exercise component for women. So not only like a Pilates studio, but also like having Spin, strengthening, all of the things under one roof. So you don't have to have like multiple gym memberships. But just having that type of community for women's health is something that I'm really passionate about. And I see that as like the next level for me.

Amazing. Okay, do you know how you're going to package that and what offer that looks like?

No, but I'll figure it out.

Okay, okay, okay. I would do for that, for anyone that's listening, I would do more of a membership-based for that. So that's how I'd structure it. You know, we can talk about it, you know, later on this, but, um, yeah, membership is how I would structure it for those people because I know there are people that really want to build out wellness things, and it can look many different ways. There could be wellness without a human, there could be wellness with a human. Which is kind of funny to even say, but it's just all can be structured differently. But really the route to go if everything's under one roof would be more of a membership base rather than like a visit, a visit like rate.

For sure.

So I think, you know, that's where some people get stuck of like trying to figure it out because they want it, they know it's needed, right? And then having those resources and directing people, you know, okay, yes, go here, go here. And I think that's One thing I'll add too to this is that it's putting all the pieces of the puzzle together is actually where our value comes from. It's not what we can do with our hands.

Mm-hmm.

And I think as providers and therapists, we were only taught that this is what actually brings value, and it's actually the least thing that brings value. It's listening to the patients, making sure they feel heard, creating a plan for them, getting the people on the team for them so that they understand like this is the path to go. And it's not just hitting it from one angle of what, you know, school taught us. And I think if you can do that, then you, you have an amazing practice. Like, I think you're— you could be unstoppable, you know?

Yeah, yeah. And I think like what you just said too is in PT school, we're taught such like black and white Didactic work, but I truly believe that I am successful not only because I'm educated and I've got skills— like, yes, I've got all of that— but I can connect with a white blank piece of paper. And so, like, if you can connect to people and you, you allow them to feel heard and that they're not alone, that right there, you can, you can Build a business just on that.

Yeah.

It's truly about meeting people where they're at, listening, and just knowing that they're not alone and that they're heard and that you are there to be on their team.

Yeah.

Yeah.

I, I love that and I couldn't agree more. And when you're like that, yeah, you're, again, you're unstoppable. So it's not, again, guys, probably heard me say this 20,000 times. It's not another con ed class. Like I'm just telling you, it's not. Yeah. It's really truly listening. And building out the team of what they truly need to make the biggest impact so that they get the actual result. And that's really what it's about.

Yeah.

Yeah, I love that. Okay. Um, any final, final words of if someone is like on the fence about like, hey, I don't know if I should start a business, I don't know if I should stay solo, like any final words of, you know, What you would tell them looking back at yourself of when you were in those positions?

Yeah, I mean, I would just like— the biggest thing is just literally do it. Just don't even think about it, just do it. I have already helped not just in the PT world, but like other colleagues in the field that I've talked to. Um, I'm just like, go out on your own. Like lactation consultant, she went out on her own. Um, a mental therapist, she went out on her own. A chiropractor, she went out on her own. And I feel like I was the catalyst to get them to just do it. Like, they saw me, you know, doing the thing, and they're like, if she can do it, I can do it. And so it's, it's truly just, just take that leap of faith, because once you do, you'll never, you'll never go back again. I never thought I would be in this position, but I would never go back. Uh, yes, there are times where I'm like, oh, it'd be so great to just show up to work and work 9 to 5, and I don't have to worry about A, B, and C. But the fact that I am on my own schedule, I call the shots for my life, is what freed up the shackles, I feel like, of everyday 9-to-5 work. That is not me. That is not my personality. And that just gives me anxiety knowing that I have to, I don't know, show up to work from 8 to 5 every single day for the rest of my life. suffocating to me. And so to be able— yes, like, while it is a lot of work, it's never felt like work to me. Because I am doing what I love to do and passionate on my schedule, and I have the freedom to live the life I want to live.

That's amazing. And I think so many more women, we have to keep encouraging, guys. Encouraging. I say the biggest thing that I find is people are just learning how to invest I think investing is so scary. And when you invest in either a coaching program, in yourself, an employee, like anything, those are all investments. Okay? All of that allows you to elevate and take things to the next level because you just learn new skills. And when you're able to do that, you're unstoppable.

So, I think adding on to that real quick is like, I am the least investor person I feel like ever because I grew up and in a family where my, my My dad is an entrepreneur and he built his business, but with the crash of 2008, we went through a very, very big financial burden on my family. So growing up, I was very scared of investing. I'm very frugal with my money, and I think you are the first person to teach me about investing. And so investing in doing the Power Circle was Huge for me. Like, so scary. I was sweating when I was like telling you, like, let's do it. So, so scary. But now it's, it's less scary to me because I see the benefit of it. And, um, now I'm talking to my husband all the time like, we need to invest and do this, and you need to invest and do this. And he's like, who is this woman? But like, again, going from what you just said, like a person who was very frugal and scared to spend money It, it's crazy how much my mind has changed and has opened to that whole concept.

Right. And I think that just aligns with being a solopreneur, scared to invest. Oh my gosh. Now understanding, wow, this world has opened up because I invested. Oh my gosh, look at all this opportunity that I didn't even see here. And now I go and build something big. And you might— and it's your vision. It's not something like big, like it's a monster and scary. It's something that like You're excited about and like you want to do to help impact, right? Yep. I, yeah, I couldn't say enough. And so once you really unlock that, it's just like, wow, like there's a whole nother world that they didn't even teach us in school. So—

Oh, 100%.

Yeah. I mean, I just appreciate you coming on and just being real honest, open, because I think there is where we need to share whether or not you're the lactation massage therapist, whoever you are, if you're a female entrepreneur, That wants to better their life. Like, there really is so much more out there, um, but you just gotta surround yourself with the right people. And when you do that, your, your mind will be expanded and you'll, you'll change your family's life and everyone else that hangs out with you. So—

100%. No, I, I agree. And I'm so grateful for the opportunities that you've opened my mind up to. And, um, thank you for allowing me to be on this platform to help other women as well.

Yeah, and so Abby, where can they find you? Maybe drop your— we'll put in the show notes too, but website and then also your Instagram so they can reach out if people have questions. Yeah.

Yeah. So my Instagram is thehands_onphysio, P-H-Y-S-I-O. You can't understand how many people in the States don't know what that is. I'm hoping for this platform people know what a physio is, but I get so many people who say a Hands on physio. I'm like, nope, nope, nope. So it's the hands underscore on physio, and then my website is www.thehandsonphysio.com.

Awesome. Well, keep it up. We're all cheering you on, and thanks so much for being on.

Thank you.