George Ciresi on three years of growing ProCare with MHA
The co-owner of Professional Care Physical Therapy and the ProCare family of practices on Long Island talks about choosing an advisor, dialing in KPIs, developing leaders, a first acquisition and why he wishes he had called sooner.
In George's words
Why he reached out
We've been with Martin Healthcare Advisors for about three years, so that takes us back to around 2023. I remember in 2022 thinking that we probably needed some guidance. We were going through a little bit of an expansion. We had just opened our third office, and I remember having that feeling like, if we really want to keep quality up, I think we need a little bit of help for the next steps.
I was active in the Private Practice Section of the APTA. I was in a peer-to-peer group, and four of the seven members of my group actually use Martin Healthcare Advisors. So the name kept coming up and coming up. Of course, I did my due diligence and asked questions, and I felt like it was the right thing to do to at least have a conversation and see what they could offer.
Any fears going in
To be honest, I wasn't that fearful. If anything, I wondered whether the return on the investment was going to be worth the price. But after speaking to a lot of my colleagues who are clients of Martin Healthcare, and speaking with Josh, I had a good feeling. Even if it wasn't a good fit, I could back out at any time, and there really was very little risk.
My partner and I did our due diligence, thought it out and took the leap, and we're really happy that we did.
What made him pick up the phone
I'm a big believer in not having to reinvent the wheel. There are people a lot smarter than me who have done this already. After hearing so many positive things about Martin Healthcare Advisors, and having friends who use them and rave about them, I didn't really have any fears.
It was almost a necessity. If I really want to take the next step, I need professional guidance. I don't know what I don't know. And it really was an easy transition.
Where things landed
Things landed so much better than I would have expected. Going into it, to be fair, I looked at the price and asked, are we going to get that return on the investment?
It started with the Outside-In Assessment, and then really dialing in our KPIs. I'm a numbers person. I love looking at KPIs, and I thought I was pretty detailed. After the first few sessions, seeing all the other KPIs that are out there really helped us dial ours in.
We've taken two cohorts through the Emerging Leaders program, and that's been extremely successful. And you held our hand through a recent acquisition, which we wouldn't have known how to do without you. So it landed much better than we expected.
Working with Josh
I love Josh. He's such a professional person. He's super intelligent, and I really like his positive attitude all the time. I probably ask him so many extra things: could you help us out with this report, how do you do that? He's always happy to go above and beyond.
We're very fortunate to have Josh. I know there are a lot of other advisors, but I wouldn't change a thing. Josh is our guy.
Getting educated before selling
There really weren't any other advisors on our radar. Everybody who was in the know pointed to Martin Healthcare Advisors.
We did have some interest from other entities in acquiring us, and that's another reason I wanted to get more educated about the process. If and when we're ever ready to sell, I didn't want that to be the first time we went through the experience. We've been through a couple of these situations already, and it's nice having Martin Healthcare there with the guidance they provide.
Why an outside view
I think it's always a good idea to have a fresh set of eyes look at something. We're all inherently biased in our own ways. Having an outside entity look at what we're doing and give an honest opinion of what we do well and where we can improve couldn't hurt.
His one regret
The only thing I wish is that I did it sooner. We opened the practice in 2009, so we've been doing this for 17 or 18 years now, and we've been with Martin Healthcare for three. I wish I had started sooner. Having that knowledge a little sooner probably would have advanced the practice further along than where it is now.
Advice to other owners
It doesn't cost anything to have a conversation. Pick up the phone and do your due diligence. Speak to other clients who have worked with Paul Martin and his staff.
I think you'd be surprised how much you could do to improve your practice, whether that's day-to-day operations or preparing for an exit strategy. It can't hurt to make a phone call.
Shared with George Ciresi's permission. Transcript lightly edited for readability.
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