IN THEIR OWN WORDS
What OTs say
Real words from occupational therapists building businesses around the life they actually want to lead. Nothing here is scripted — these are things said in coaching sessions, shared with permission.
“This is what I’ve been looking for. I’ve been looking for a mentor — but I hadn’t found one - until now.”
Sophie — OT & Sensory Super System® Lead Licensee
CASE STUDY
Natalie’s first six months
An experienced OT, driving to London, wanting to build something of her own — and stuck at the same point she’d reached several times before. In her own words, from our coaching calls: first to last.
WHERE SHE STARTED
“I got stuck in a bit of a loop, and then I thought — I don’t know. I’m not sure what I’m doing, so I’m just not going to do anything. That’s kind of where I’ve got to in the past.”
WHAT CHANGED
“It was having more structure — having a bit of a pause and a bit of guidance to actually reflect on what you’re doing and why, and what the purpose is. Just having that clarity.”
THE TURNING POINT
“This feels like a big hump that I’ve got over — because this is probably where I’ve got to a few times before and just not made that jump to actually do things.”
THE DEEPER WORK
“I didn’t expect the mindset change to be so drastic. This has been the deepest learning curve of all of it so far — but it’s fascinating. It’s so interesting.”
THE NUMBERS
“I’m averaging over £1,000 a week for just 2 assessments— compared to what it has been, that’s a big jump.”
THE LIFE SHE WANTED
“Being able to work around the corner from home — it’s heaps better than getting in the car and driving down to London. I’m not missing that in the slightest.”
NO GOING BACK
“It’s very freeing, and it really reinforces it’s the right thing to do. There’s no way I could ever go back to any sort of NHS community.”
AND WHEN IT WOBBLES
“I had a wobble — and now I’ve got a real big purpose and a big bit to be getting on with this week.”
SHE CLOSED THE DOOR
“Putting the other work on hold — then saying, no thanks, I don’t actually want to do that anymore, you can take me off your books. I’m just going to do it my own way.”
WHAT THE FREEDOM IS WORTH
“Being able to take time off when I feel like it, at the drop of a hat, just because I can. I’ll wake up and go — I feel like it today, I’m not doing anything. That freedom is priceless. Absolutely priceless. And I probably should have done this a long time ago.”
THE BIG EPIPHANY
“It’s not necessarily the training that people go to. It’s the person, and all of that side of things — you forget how important that is. You see the CV and think that’s what’s important, and it’s just a part of it, isn’t it? It’s not all of it. That was a big epiphany.”
LOOKING BACK
“It seemed like a big mountain at the time, but now it’s just — where can we go now? So, yeah, really exciting.”
SIX MONTHS ON
“I would still be umming and ahhing about it — in that happy bubble, doing the associate work and getting on with it, but not realising all of this potential. Thank you for helping me find this path. That’s priceless, really, isn’t it?”
Natalie — OT in independent practice
More, in Natalie’s own words
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“I never took the blinkers off. I never thought about it, because you were on the hamster wheel. I really wish at that point it had occurred to me — because I’d have had this balance a lot, lot longer.”
“I felt that I needed to know all the knowledge before I was able to go out there and use that. But that isn’t how life works — because you never get to that point.”
“It’s all about what you have, and not what you know, or what shiny pages you have to show things sometimes.”
“It almost feels like I’ve retrained in OT. If I think about what I was doing 10 years ago, it just feels like a very different OT and person.”
“Not feeling funny about communicating prices — understanding your worth, and that it’s not for free. It is a service, but hopefully a very high quality service, and for that you can’t expect it to be cheap as chips.”
“I take it at the child’s pace, and we go by what works for them. It’s working on their terms, which is the whole bit about OT, isn’t it? What’s important to them — not, this is what I provide, and if that doesn’t fit, I’m sorry, I can’t do it.”
“There have been quite a few comments from parents — wow, I wouldn’t have thought that, we’ve done this with all these people — and then all of a sudden it’s, oh, okay, this makes sense, now we’ve got somewhere we can go.”
“It’s nice to be able to do things in the way that you feel they should be, to do right by the people that you’re providing a service to.”
“I’ve done a lot more learning and reflection than I ever would have done being paid by somebody else for it.”
“It was just being brave enough to take that first step — which, in hindsight, wasn’t a big deal, but it felt like a big deal at the time.”
“It’s good to know you’re there in the wings, in the background, to fall upon.”
“You have to source and find your own person to do that. So it’s nice to be able to find such a good one.”
“It’s funny how OTs still need OT themselves, isn’t it?”
“I’m so grateful to be on this right path, and it definitely feels the right path now.”
Others, just getting started
OTs at the beginning of the same road.
“Everything you’ve done looks just incredible. It’s so useful. I was thinking to myself — how on earth would you set up a business like this?”
Sophie, OT
“The transition is hard, from therapist to business. It doesn’t help working in the NHS all those years — it almost feels like you work for free. You don’t, I know you have a salary, but it’s just so different from private practice.”
Kelly, OT
Ready for your own turning point?
If you're an OT who knows you can help people but isn't sure how to build the business around it — that's exactly the gap I coach through.