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How Dr. Zaki Built a Seven-Figure Cash PT Practice (and Why He’d Do It Faster Today)

Introduction: From Nervous New Grad to Multi-Clinic Owner

In 2019, Dr. Zaki packed his car, drove to Las Vegas, and started what most of us would recognize as the “classic” beginnings of a cash PT clinic: renting space inside a big-box gym with no private room, just open floor and hustle.

Fast forward to today:

  • He runs a 3,600+ sq ft performance-style clinic in Vegas

  • Has five other PTs, plus a massage therapist, trainer, and golf coach

  • Opened a second location in Michigan that hit $25k/month by month four

  • Is now planning a second Vegas clinic and moving fully into the CEO role

If you’re grinding in your cash practice and wondering, “Will this ever actually work?”—his story matters. Not because he’s special, but because he’s brutally honest about the beliefs he had to break and the pressure he had to grow through to get here.

The Money Mindset Shift That Changed Everything

When he launched, Zaki charged $175 per visit and even gave his first session—his former professor—away for free because he was too nervous to say his price out loud.

That version of him asked, “How much does it cost?” every time he considered mentorship, coaching, or marketing support.

Today, he asks a different question:
“How effective is it, and how committed am I to getting the result?”

That one shift—from price-focused to ROI-focused—changed how fast he could grow.

Over time, his pricing evolved:

  • $175 → $199 → $249 → $289 → $379 per visit for him

  • His team PTs are at $319 per visit

  • Packages moved from 6 visits → 8 & 10 → now 10 & 16 visit plans

Every time he raised his prices and expanded his packages, one surprising thing happened:

Conversion rates stayed the same or went up.

Why? Because his pricing finally matched the level of transformation he was promising.

Patients don’t buy visits. They buy certainty, belief, and a clear path to getting back to the life they want.

Why Premium Pricing Is Part of Treatment (Not Just Business)

A lot of PTs get stuck in the idea that “being more affordable” is somehow more noble or more ethical.

Zaki completely rejects that.

Charging premium prices allows him to:

  • Hire and retain A-level clinicians

  • Create a culture where PTs can actually grow, earn six figures, and stay long term

  • Offer pro bono care to people who truly can’t afford it (like the Brazilian window washer whose livelihood—and visa status—depended on getting his shoulder fixed)

That last piece is huge. He wouldn’t be able to treat that guy for free if his margins were razor-thin and his team underpaid.

If you truly care about access and impact, a strong, profitable, premium practice gives you the resources to:

  • Build programs that serve underserved communities

  • Sponsor non-profits or free clinics

  • Give away care strategically without burning out or resenting your own business

You can’t help people if your clinic is always on the brink of collapse.

Obsession, Identity, and Choosing the Hard Path on Purpose

The word “obsession” can sound unhealthy—until you point it at the right target.

Zaki doesn’t describe himself as obsessed with money. He’s obsessed with:

  • Becoming the sharpest version of himself

  • Building a place his team loves to work

  • Being the kind of leader his family, staff, and patients can rely on

He uses a simple mental exercise to stay aligned:

The funeral test.

Imagine your coworkers, friends, and family speaking at your funeral.
What do you want them to say about you—and are you living in a way that makes those words true?

For him, that reframed everything. It made the uncomfortable decisions—raising rates, firing the wrong fit, investing heavily in his own growth—feel less like selfish moves and more like necessary steps toward becoming the person he actually wants to be.

And it reshaped his relationship with pressure.

Instead of seeing pressure as a sign he’s failing, he now treats it like:

  • Fuel

  • Feedback

  • Proof he’s playing a bigger game

When you know your only true control is how you respond, uncertainty stops being a threat and starts looking more like an invitation.

From Clinician to CEO: Letting a Part of You “Die”

One of the most honest parts of Zaki’s journey is this:

He spent a decade becoming a clinical ninja—residency, fellowship, endless continuing ed. And now he’s actively stepping out of patient care.

He’s offloading his caseload before his third child is born so he can:

  • Lead his growing team

  • Open new locations

  • Focus on marketing, culture, and strategy

And he’s real about the fact that part of his identity feels like it’s “dying.”

But he doesn’t treat it like a funeral. He treats it like a celebration of life.

That version of him served its purpose. Now he’s stepping into the CEO role—not because he doesn’t love treating, but because his impact is bigger when he’s:

  • Building systems

  • Mentoring PTs

  • Designing a culture where great clinicians can thrive

If you’re stuck halfway—trying to be full-time clinician and full-time CEO—you might be in that awkward in-between, too. At some point, growth demands that you let an old identity go.

The Power of Relationships, Not Just Marketing

Yes, Zaki runs ads and uses AI, but the unsexy stuff is what’s really compounding.

He and his team:

  • Re-engage past patients monthly with genuine check-ins

  • Keep detailed notes on personal details (kids, hobbies, milestones) so follow-ups feel human, not automated

  • Encourage his therapists to stay top-of-mind as “the PT next door,” not some distant medical provider

It’s less, “Hey, how’s your shoulder?” and more:

“How was your son’s hockey tournament?”
“Did you and your spouse get to go out for your anniversary?”

That kind of relationship-building:

  • Increases lifetime value

  • Generates referrals naturally

  • Makes you feel less like a vendor and more like a trusted partner in their life

On top of that, his team uses simple, scalable outreach like Instagram DMs to connect with followers who already raised their hand by clicking “Follow.”

No spammy scripts—just:

“Hey, thanks for the follow! Are you here just for the content, or are you dealing with something specific right now?”

The result? Warm leads from people who already know, like, and trust the brand.

So… What Should You Take From This?

You don’t need to copy Zaki’s exact model to learn from his journey. But if you’re serious about growing your cash practice, here are the core takeaways:

  • Stop asking, “What does it cost?” and start asking, “What result will this help me get?”

  • Don’t sell features (60-minute sessions, one-on-one care). Sell certainty and outcomes.

  • Charge in a way that supports world-class care, team growth, and your future, not just survival.

  • Accept that pressure isn’t a glitch—it’s part of the game. Your job is to become the kind of person who can hold more of it.

  • Be willing to let old versions of yourself go—especially the one who has to be in the treatment room every hour to feel valuable.

Most importantly:
You are the ROI.

Every skill you build, belief you shift, and difficult season you survive makes you more valuable—no matter what market you’re in or how many times you have to start over.

Watch and Listen to the Full Video

For a deeper dive into a cash physical therapists’ journeys, make sure to listen to the full video: How Dr. Zaki Scaled from $0 to $1.5M- and Built A Multi-Clinic Cash Physical Therapy Empire. 

About Author:

Jordan Mather
Jordan Mather got started in the entrepreneurship game at 18 with a medical software startup that revolutionized the physical therapy patient experience. As CEO for 5 years, Jordan participated in top Startup Accelerator Programs, collaborated with a major Wisconsin hospital, raised over $250K in funding, and earned a spot on Wisconsin’s ‘Top 25 Entrepreneurs Under 25’ list.

Although the company eventually failed, it provided Jordan with invaluable learning experiences. He became passionate about designing world-class patient experiences and building efficient marketing & sales funnels for cash physical therapists. Utilizing this expertise, Jordan became the CMO of a well-known physical therapy media company, and consulted for and built marketing funnels for some of the top physical therapy business coaches.

Eventually growing tired of the typical agency and consulting grind, Jordan, alongside Max Zirbel, founded Clinical Marketer. They infused it with the hands-on support and mentorship that they benefited from in their initial venture. The company was a success from the start, aiding clinics in scaling to 6 and 7 figures in revenue. During its first launch, Jordan and his team met Dr. Ben Bagge, whom they later partnered with after helping him grow his business from $200K/year to over $1M/year in three years.
 
Now, Jordan is focused on empowering clients in the cash physical therapy space, sharing his accumulated skills, processes, and hiring strategies to help them increase their revenue and impact without proportionally increasing their workload.
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