The NEXTLEVEL Owner Podcast

The Preparation Gap Is Real. Which Side Of It Are You On?

The PT rehab M&A market has not slowed down, it has gotten more selective. Paul Martin on why the gap between a prepared practice and an unprepared one has never been wider.

When 6 Acquirers Say The Same Thing, You Should Pay Attention

Paul Martin asked six of the most active acquirers in PT the same question and got the same answer. What that tells owners about the promise they are most likely to hear before a deal closes.

The Mistake That Keeps PT Practice Owners Stuck at $1M to $3M

Many PT business owners stall between $1M and $3M because the business still depends on them. Jamey Schrier, founder of Practice Freedom U, joins Paul Martin on the identity patterns that keep owners stuck, the first thing to hand off, and why acquirers value a practice less when the owner is the business.

Thank You, Tom: 20 Years of Changing PT Owners' Lives

Tom Carden, Managing Director of Mergers and Acquisitions at Martin Healthcare Advisors, is retiring after 20 years advising PT business owners. Paul Martin and Tom look back on the team he built, the transactions he is proudest of, and what comes next.

Acquirers Don't Buy Your PT Clinic. They Buy This.

Acquirers do not buy your PT clinic, they buy your cash flow. Paul Martin joins Neil Trickett on the Practice Marketing Podcast to explain what a quality of earnings review looks for and how financials, leadership and recruiting shape the multiple PT business owners receive in a transaction.

The Exit Myth That Can Take 20 Years to Pay You

Is an ESOP a real exit for a PT business owner? Paul Martin walks through the ESOP, the employee ownership trust, a staff buyout, passing the business to your kids, and stepping back, and shows who is still carrying the risk after each one.

How to Build a PT Leadership Team Like a Championship Coach

In most larger transactions today the owner stays three years or longer. Paul Martin explains why the real question is what leadership team an acquirer finds when it walks in the door, and how to build one the way championship coaches do.

The PT Acquirer Most Owners Don't Know Exists

A family office has completed five transactions in about fifteen months. Paul Martin explains how family office acquirers compare to strategic partners backed by private equity on time horizon, structure, and fit.

Is AI About to Change How PT Practices Transition?

A professional transaction takes six to eight months today. Paul Martin joins Mikulas Zach on Consulting Rainmakers to talk about what AI is already doing inside PT clinics, how MHA uses it, and how it could shorten the path to a transition.

The $250,000 Mistake PT Owners Make When They Add Up Their Own Profit

Most PT owners add both owner salaries back and stop there. An acquirer adds them back and then subtracts what it costs to replace those people. Paul Martin walks through that math with Jimmy McKay of PT Pintcast.

3 Clinics To 21: Who Ran Our Transition

Who should represent you when you transition your PT practice? Paul Martin goes back to 1996, when he and his partners sold the 21-clinic company they built, and explains why who represents you determines your outcome.

The PTA Myth That's Costing PT Practices Growth

Paul Martin joins Katie Sutton, PTA, host of the PTA Plus podcast, to unpack how one PT practice grew from 3 clinics to 21 and where PTAs fit into that growth story.

Remind Yourself Why You Built Your Firm

Paul steps away from deal talk this week for something bigger. A short message on what 250 years of independence has to do with the business you built from nothing.

Why Do Some PT Practices Sell for Twice as Much?

Two practices can post the exact same earnings and land wildly different offers. Today Paul explains what actually moves the needle when it comes to valuation.

What the Knicks' Championship Run Teaches PT Owners

The New York Knicks just won their first championship in 53 years, and the way they did it is a lesson every PT owner needs to hear.

The 5 Things That Acquirers Value Most In A Partner

When you ask the top thought leaders of our industry what attracts them most to a buyer, a clear pattern emerges. Tune in as we focus on key moments from previous episodes that will help you get to the top of any acquirer's list.

Leadership Lessons from Sports' Most Dominant Champions

Paul draws from four episodes to show what championship-level thinking looks like inside a physical therapy practice.

Six Strategies That Can Actually Keep Your Clinics Fully Staffed

Paul Martin walks through six forward-thinking methods that work for both recruiting and keeping the people you hire.

When More Effort Isn't the Answer

Business resilience operates by different rules than most owners expect. Paul Martin breaks down what it actually takes to push through the hardest stretches of growth.

The Will to Prepare: Six Lessons on Failure, Loyalty, and Momentum

Paul Martin draws six business lessons for PT practice owners from Rory McIlroy's journey to back-to-back Masters titles covering how to use failure as fuel, why loyalty to your team compounds over time, and what to do when a breakthrough finally arrives.

How to Get to the Top of Every Acquirer's List

Paul Martin breaks down what separates the practices getting premium multiples from the ones leaving money on the table, and the six things you should be doing right now to position yourself at the top of the list.

What Owners Don't Know Is Costing Them at Closing

Joseph Anzur, Director of M&A, and Josh Meyers, Director of Consulting Services, break down why a busy, performing practice is not the same as a market-ready one, and what that gap costs owners at the close.

What Championship Basketball Can Teach Every PT Practice Owner

In today's episode, Paul explains how every lesson from that run applies directly to building and growing a physical therapy practice.

When You've Done the Work, the Right Partner Is Worth Waiting For

Norene Christensen spent 20 years building Four Pines Physical Therapy the right way, and it showed when it was time to sell. MHA consultants Kevin Anderson and Dave Pearce walk through the full journey, from financial chaos to a sale that kept her name, her team, and her culture intact.