Cornerstone Physical Therapy

Shani Johnson has an impressive collection of diplomas and professional certificates hanging on the wall at her year-old physical therapy practice. Among them is one from an Entrepreneurial Training Course that she completed shortly after she opened the door to Cornerstone Physical Therapy.

The course that Johnson took is offered through the Small Business Development Center (SBDC) at the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire. She received partial tuition reimbursement under an Entrepreneurial Training Grant program sponsored by the Wisconsin Department of Commerce.

"To me the course was a great opportunity. I'm a venturesome person, and this really fit into my plans to open my own clinic." Johnson and her entrepreneurial classmates studied all of the issues that have to be considered before writing a business plan. They included business description, marketing and competitive analysis, legal structure, risks, start-up capital required, and financial projections.

"I recommend the course to others," says Johnson.

"Shani came to me in the fall of 2000," said Kevin Jones, SBDC director at UW-Eau Claire. "She was studying the feasibility of her own practice. She was ecstatic about participating in the entrepreneurial series program."

Johnson worked as a rehabilitation director for five years before deciding to take the entrepreneurial plunge. She says she has the full support of her husband, Michael Johnson, who works as an occupational therapist. A big motivator in her decision was patient-centered: "I wanted the ability to always treat patients the way they should be treated."

As a manual physical therapist, Johnson says that if a patient needs an hour of her time, she wants to be able to give it, "and not be limited to arbitrary 15-minute appointment blocks."

Business Plan is Key

Johnson completed a business plan as part of her entrepreneurial training. "I had done what I thought was a budget. When Kevin reviewed it, he went way above and beyond my work by providing needed detail. It was a tremendous help."

Johnson did market research primarily by meeting with local physicians who were familiar with her work. She opened her clinic in downtown Chippewa Falls within blocks of two other physical therapy offices.

"This suite had been an outpatient physical therapy clinic, but it was vacant for six years before we rented it. All we had to do was paint it and replace the carpeting."

Even with a location close to competitors, Johnson says she is ahead of her financial projections in building her practice. "I started with a small loan to cover cash flows before insurance reimbursements started coming in. Four months into the business, I could start taking a draw."

Johnson also sees patients in Menomonie, 30 miles west of Chippewa Falls. Her near-term goals include growing her practice at the Menomonie location and adding occupational therapy services, using her husband's skills. For the longer term, she is looking at off-site treatment for adults and children using horse riding (hippotherapy).

And . . . she's counting on the counseling services of the SBDC to help guide her future business decisions!