I Quit the APTA (revisited)

[00:00:00] Hey what's up, Darren and welcome back today I'm gonna talk about the APTA and why I quit

[00:00:07] and why I dropped my membership. But first before we get into the show, if there's anything

[00:00:12] that you've ever learned on this show or appreciate, you're anything you really appreciate

[00:00:16] if I start writing or view over on iTunes and just let us know in your view here's what

[00:00:21] I learned, here's what most helpful, here's what was impactful about it for my business

[00:00:25] and here's why someone else should listen. I would really appreciate that. It would mean a lot to me

[00:00:29] but it'd also be a way for you to share with me what's working and what's helpful about this.

[00:00:35] So today I want to talk about why I quit the APTA. I put up a post recently, actually my

[00:00:41] VA actually did it. It was great. It was one of these memes and it was a scooby-do meme

[00:00:46] and it's like where Fred ePulz the mask off of us, let's see who got us into this

[00:00:52] mess and it's the APTA. To be honest, I'm doing that just to get a reaction out of everyone.

[00:00:57] Number one, right? Like we talk about, I want a reaction. I want to hit an emotional trigger for you

[00:01:04] so that you pay attention, right? Number two, the APTA has done a lot of good for us.

[00:01:11] I mean without the APTA we wouldn't be where we are. I mean it really is kind of like that.

[00:01:18] It's like there are only unified voice as PT's for policy change. They've helped us do

[00:01:23] some of these things that we're organized and there's some things that we need to do.

[00:01:27] Like as if we didn't have a voice, I wouldn't be able to do dry kneeling in North Carolina.

[00:01:33] I wouldn't be able to manipulate spine like when I started practicing here we've had

[00:01:38] as a PT. We had direct access except for spinal manipulation.

[00:01:45] Like I couldn't do I would have to get a physician or a carpractors referral to do like a grade

[00:01:49] five mobilization of a high-villacity thrust manipulation.

[00:01:56] You know, we could work around it pretty easy. We'll work with it. But in the last few years maybe

[00:02:02] pre-pandemic we were able to get that restriction to manipulation taken out of our practice act

[00:02:08] and we were able to defend ourselves against the acupuncture association who was trying to say

[00:02:14] we're violating their practice act, et cetera. And without the APTA we wouldn't have that.

[00:02:19] So they've done a lot of good. And for years I was a member. I was a member

[00:02:25] up until renewal in 2020 and I'm going to tell you why. But you know I think if we all joined the

[00:02:32] APTA right now we could change a lot of things. And I'm not so sure that if everyone here listening

[00:02:38] if we had it 6,000 new people, I mean I'm not going to step up and be president someone's got to do that.

[00:02:45] Someone has to do it and I think maybe things are going to change slowly. Maybe it's a dinosaur

[00:02:50] that you know is waiting to die or it's really um it's just something it's just a humongous ship

[00:02:57] that takes a long time to turn and change. But I tried for a long time to impact and influence

[00:03:05] and only got put up with roadblocks. So it may or may not be your experience and a lot of people

[00:03:12] I know we're like APTA sucks. I'm going to complain and not going to do anything about it.

[00:03:16] Okay, it's not me. I want you to understand that. That is not me. I don't complain and not do something.

[00:03:23] I'm a step up and do it and say here let me let me help with this idea. Let me help with this thing.

[00:03:29] I'm going to show you like I may not be the one that does the groundwork. You know which is I've said recently

[00:03:36] like I think our Greensburg Jewish Federation called a few years ago and said hey we want

[00:03:41] you to come in and make some phone calls. And I was like great I did that last year I made five

[00:03:44] phone calls and we sat around for 45 minutes. Like I will how about instead of making five phone calls?

[00:03:50] How about I write an email sequence that we can email at the everyone who's a less than $50

[00:03:54] year donor and you know I'll do that because I know if I spend two or three hours doing that

[00:04:00] that sequence can be used over and over again. It can reach hundreds of people and they said no

[00:04:05] because they did not understand. Okay now what I would rather do and I even offered that to our

[00:04:12] kids school. I mean I would do that for your organization. I do that for our platform. I'm

[00:04:16] as to my members and people in the PTEE Mel engine. I've written out the email sequences and I can

[00:04:20] give them to you and I know that that time that I spent writing the sequences and creating the

[00:04:26] program and writing out the forms that you need to run your business and to market your business

[00:04:31] whether it's in a clinic or it's an online coaching business. I know that that time was well worth it

[00:04:38] because I can now multiply my impact. I don't have to write that email for you every day.

[00:04:42] Those emails are already done. So if we're chance you're interested in getting a $1 trial to the

[00:04:49] PTEE Mel engine. Go to pTEEmailengine.com. That's pTEEmailengine.com. You get a $1 trial on me and we'll

[00:04:56] get your whole system for you. But that's beside the point. Let me get back to the APTA. Okay,

[00:05:03] they've done a lot of good and maybe if we all joined we could really start pushing that ship

[00:05:08] but it's going to take all of us to do it. I used to say hey I don't agree with everything but

[00:05:14] you should be a member of the APTA and I'm not saying you shouldn't be a member of the APTA. I'm not

[00:05:19] saying that's bad. I'm saying I'm going to tell you why I'm not a member of the APTA because it

[00:05:24] probably resonates with you to some extent. Okay, so when I was in PTEE school I did a rotation at

[00:05:32] Sports Mess in Atlanta with Bob Duval and Bob had a presentation. He put together a presentation

[00:05:37] to Aaron which would like to be part of it and it was the four out. It was me and Bob and a guy from

[00:05:42] Oak Works and I think Benny Vaughan who was on the Sosh therapist in Arizona and there was

[00:05:49] Aaron the student and I talked about integrating massage therapy and alternative therapies into a

[00:05:57] typical clinic because I helped Bob do that or we did that during my rotation as well as

[00:06:02] and that's a rotation where I saw 43 patients in one day and realized that cash practice was my

[00:06:08] future not a traditional practice but that's a different story. So I did that. I spoke there in 2006

[00:06:13] it was great. I was a student speaking at the PPS conference. It was great. Or 2007 you know

[00:06:21] it was like two more years plus three years of cash practice. I'm starting to grow like and

[00:06:34] coach and consult people and launch the cash PT blueprint and like okay I want to speak at PPS

[00:06:40] I want to speak at CSM or PPS. I think someone had asked me or I was like you know I want

[00:06:43] to do this. It took me three I'd apply for three years to get accepted. I got accepted it to the

[00:06:49] in 2015 and I spoke at CSM when Twitter was actually something going on then you know like

[00:06:56] every PT Twitter like everyone was on it they would tweet the whole conference and people would

[00:07:00] follow along and create a hashtag for the event and it was stop it was skip MDs it was about how to

[00:07:05] market directly to patients and we don't need like referrals or approval from physicians for us

[00:07:12] to market and grow our businesses and it resonated with some people at totally divide others and

[00:07:19] especially on Twitter they didn't understand why I thought we should skip out on physicians. Well like

[00:07:24] I'm saying skip them we don't need to beg them for referrals right vision 2020 is autonomous

[00:07:30] practitioner I know there's a new vision but whatever autonomous practitioners don't beg other

[00:07:34] people for referrals okay so I spoke there it was great at the end someone from PPS was like yeah you

[00:07:40] come speak at PPS this year or next year apply and whatever okay so it took me I applied twice

[00:07:47] I got in on the third time and then I applied five more times to speak at PPS and CSM again about

[00:07:52] different topics here's the problem with that it wasn't just the rejection it was the fact that

[00:07:56] I got rejected without any feedback is to what could be better so the first time around I applied

[00:08:02] and did it myself one of the reasons I met Greg Todd is because I was sharing this and he was like hey let me

[00:08:07] go over this with you and I Greg went over my proposal for the next year maybe it was the first year

[00:08:12] with me because I didn't know what to put on there I'd never done it and then that didn't get accepted

[00:08:17] and then Jerry my friend Jerry Durham who had spoken in your multiple times helped me go through

[00:08:21] once again this is great and then the next year I think I maybe I got accepted I can't

[00:08:26] or which one I got accepted but I also went through working with this guy Brad Grahowski who was

[00:08:31] great he had been on the previous years like a panel for accept and he helped me and those things

[00:08:37] still didn't help me get my talks approved and never did I get any feedback about what could have

[00:08:44] been better was there something I did technically wrong or were they just not interested in the

[00:08:48] topic this year even though the list of topics was marketing strategy cash-based practice models

[00:08:54] etc like I just couldn't get accepted I don't know why politics they didn't like my original

[00:09:01] message etc so I stopped applying like you know I got accepted once in eight times it's time to

[00:09:08] stop after a couple of those it was rejected but it was like hey you can come and do a webinar for us

[00:09:12] so I came and did a webinar for you know in like 2016 or 2017 you can probably I think you can still find

[00:09:17] the webinar on the APTA and or PPS's website I don't know that it's credited as Aaron LaBauer I'm

[00:09:25] pretty sure that they're at least one of them this for sale you know I don't get any money from it

[00:09:29] donated my time and expertise to the organization whether I get money from her or not isn't a

[00:09:34] big deal but it'd be nice to get credit or to have access to it myself but I'm not a member

[00:09:40] you know like it'd be great to get a percentage of the sales but whatever they can have as a

[00:09:46] donation I'm pretty sure I signed that right away when I agreed to do this I was at a North Carolina meeting

[00:09:51] and I think it was in Greensboro and I went and they were talking about how and this was probably

[00:09:57] 2017 and how the younger generation isn't connected to the APTA and they're not here at the meeting

[00:10:02] and below and I was like well we should connect our Instagram and Twitter so that you know we post about this

[00:10:08] but it goes out on Facebook and created Facebook page and group and do these things to you know

[00:10:13] connect through social media and they go oh that's a great idea why don't you head that up and I was like

[00:10:18] really okay I was just here for the idea but all right I can do that so I got put on a committee

[00:10:22] me and two other people the first thing we were tasked with was redesigning the Nc

[00:10:28] APTA's logo so the logo on the Nc APTA website I helped to prove it I didn't design it I just helped

[00:10:33] to prove it into the direction but that took a year and then we were done with it I was like okay

[00:10:38] how about this social media thing while the new president of the APTA at that point was like we're

[00:10:42] not interested in that we don't need you okay so I volunteered to help the NcAPTA connect with the younger

[00:10:50] generation of PT's especially through social media and I got co-boshed by the time we got there

[00:10:57] it was there was no interest no understanding whatever I was just another cog in the wheel

[00:11:01] and another person slowing things down or something hey what's up it Darren real quick if you

[00:11:06] already own a cash practice you're already seeing patients but you've struggled to really hit five

[00:11:10] k months or maybe now you finally quit your job or you got let go and you're ready to go all in

[00:11:16] and you'd like some help hitting six figures or more in the fastest time possible you might be a

[00:11:20] great fit for our cash PT Academy coaching program in our cash PT Academy you'll get access to

[00:11:25] our extensive training vault private Facebook community buy monthly coaching calls to get all your

[00:11:31] questions answered and a personalized game plan every 90 days so you're gonna exactly what to work on

[00:11:36] and win if that's you let up on a call will brainstorm some ideas and make a plan just go to call

[00:11:41] there and dot com and book in the time or shoot me a message on instagram with the word academy

[00:11:46] and we'll go from there now back to the show piece was what then at some point I got asked to write

[00:11:52] an article I think I submitted an article for the PPS magazine when I was a member and you know

[00:11:58] like it was a short one I would got asked to write an article and I and it was like hey but we need

[00:12:03] this for next month like we have a deadline can you get it to you within two or three weeks it's like

[00:12:08] a drop everything a bus mass write an article and it was about marketing and how we you know

[00:12:14] you know as PT's we need to position ourselves as primary care providers and market directly

[00:12:19] to patients so it patients come to us and if we can't help them we send them out to physicians and

[00:12:23] I can't remember exactly but it was like here's marketing strategies well I was a member of the

[00:12:28] PPS and like the magazines get coming my article within there and after six months I contacted the

[00:12:32] guys like what's up with my article he's like why don't know I'm not on that committee anymore let me check

[00:12:37] it turns out my article was never approved I don't think it was officially rejected and no one

[00:12:42] ever said to me Aaron you know can you change these things about your article and it ends up I think

[00:12:46] what he gathered was that didn't like my tone about not marketing to physicians and how we

[00:12:51] or how we shouldn't market to physicians and how we should go after patients or something like that

[00:12:54] I never gotten the official anything but that was like after six months and I was like okay

[00:12:58] clearly you know what I'm doing people don't like but here's what I can tell you is that if you

[00:13:02] know me long enough you know that I've been doing this for a long time I'm one of the first people

[00:13:06] to start teaching and coaching people on how to grow a cash practice how to market directly to patients

[00:13:11] how to bypass physician referrals and market directly to our patients physician referrals are

[00:13:16] important but I shouldn't rely on them I'm a doctor like I'm not going to do your plan

[00:13:20] to care I'm gonna create my own plan to care for my patient you're maybe with your input in collaboration

[00:13:24] but I'm not gonna follow physicians orders and that's really what a referral is people see it as

[00:13:28] my physician said I need x y and z you know like those things just don't work especially

[00:13:33] in cash practice for many reasons but they didn't like it okay our goal rejected that wasn't the final

[00:13:38] straw like someone asked me for an article a couple like pre-pandemic and was just like you know

[00:13:44] Aaron we want an article and I was like are you serious I was like because the last article I

[00:13:48] was asked for what even rejected it just got it's said got sad on someone's desk and no one gave

[00:13:53] me feedback or nothing for six months until I'd done I was like are you sure and he was like yes

[00:13:58] you know my wife's in your program and I really love what you're doing we want another article

[00:14:02] from you so I submitted an article was like based on 35 marketing strategies guide that I put

[00:14:08] out I think it was like 29 marketing strategies or something like that but if you want to see it

[00:14:13] go to 35 marketing strategies dot com you can download it for free because I'm gonna give away

[00:14:17] my best stuff for free 35 marketing strategies dot com if you need to pause this and go open

[00:14:23] another browser you can do that if you actually want a PDF of the article let me know I'll see

[00:14:28] if I can get it to you the point is I was like really like but look the leadership changes and

[00:14:33] I don't know what's going on in the background like why was my stuff rejected so many times like

[00:14:37] there wasn't transparency okay I'm still in the APT at this point here's the thing that that really

[00:14:44] got me and why I didn't renew in 2020 COVID came around

[00:14:50] there was no direction or instruction from the APT A about how we should operate as providers

[00:14:59] or business owners with COVID like there was nothing like if there's one thing that I wanted

[00:15:06] was some guidance from my organization about when I should work should I wear a mask what should

[00:15:12] we clean you know what are the screening questions because especially at that time the information coming out

[00:15:19] you know was really hard to sift through and I've got a lot of things to deal with like a business to

[00:15:24] keep keep going and I didn't get anything and at the time look I wasn't a member of PPS at that

[00:15:30] point I was still a member of the APT A but I joined like the health policy group because they were

[00:15:34] doing more at some point they were supposed to be doing more of like a digital like online

[00:15:39] I don't know was it marketing or online like therapy more like there was a sub group of the health

[00:15:49] like technology I don't know that it's still around and I didn't get much out of that

[00:15:55] kind of the technology group sent me some emails that if a technology group shouldn't be sending so anyways

[00:16:02] but there was nothing the best thing so for me in my cash practice my physical therapy business

[00:16:09] the best resources that I was able to find on how to open after being shut down from COVID were from

[00:16:15] the American dental association and the American spa association so massage therapists and dentist

[00:16:21] giving more information and concrete information about how to open and what we should be providing

[00:16:26] our patients et cetera then the APT A. APT A dropped the ball like this was a chance to lead okay

[00:16:33] the PPS section had some resources but guess what it was behind their firewall you had to be a

[00:16:39] member to get it and I even reached out to the president and I was like hey I finally found this

[00:16:44] but I have to be a member to get it they're like yeah you need to be a member I'm like

[00:16:48] but I'm not like you could be doing a huge service to all PT business owners and probably get more people

[00:16:55] as members if you gave this away for free but what they saw was hey PPS 75 dollars for this information

[00:17:02] or become a member and get this for free as the way to bring it in that's not the way to bring it

[00:17:06] in the way to bring it in is provide value first and I said this I said you should be providing

[00:17:11] this for free and exchange for email and contacting so help people and then they'll feel compelled

[00:17:17] to join I don't know that that's what happened it certainly didn't happen in time because I

[00:17:21] found all my information from elsewhere they dropped the ball big time they didn't help me

[00:17:25] in a time of need when I needed help like I needed help in guidance from my professional organization

[00:17:30] and I wasn't getting it but they don't see marketing the way I see marketing and I think that's

[00:17:36] one of the problems when it came time to renew in 2020 and I got my renewal thing and I was

[00:17:41] going to be six turn box I was like whatever six turn box you know like it's not that much money

[00:17:46] to me but it was the whole idea of just being let down over and over and over again being you

[00:17:51] having walls put up in front of me like this is a sign I'm just I'm not going to pay this this year

[00:17:57] I'm just not I got better things I want to do with that six turn box you know it's not like

[00:18:02] need to pay to be a speaker like I can create most speaking events like PTB is gone I can create

[00:18:07] my own webinars and get more people on them it's not that is not the validation it's like okay

[00:18:11] I see a problem I want to help I'm going to stay hey there's a problem let me stand up and try to

[00:18:16] help and the organization saying no we don't really want your help that's at least how I'm reading

[00:18:22] it's like we don't want your help totally fine I'm not going to go and run for office just to have

[00:18:28] a voice I shouldn't have to do that right that's not my that's not my role and what I see my role

[00:18:33] is is helping change our profession but I'm not going to do it from the way everyone else has done

[00:18:38] it you know I came in as a profession from being an adult in another profession in massage therapy

[00:18:43] and there's so many things that I learned in massage therapy that we weren't being taught in PT school

[00:18:47] like business like how to reschedule patients how to keep people on your schedule how to

[00:18:58] have never learned how to center themselves and keep their energy and keep their patients

[00:19:05] negative uncomfortable painful energy all the things that patients are going from affecting them

[00:19:10] personally but we learn that massage therapy school they know whenever talks about that in PT

[00:19:14] they can be there can be a better way and things can be different and the way we're going to do

[00:19:18] that is from outside of I'm gonna do that from outside the APTA that doesn't mean you have to quit

[00:19:23] and you shouldn't join I'm just saying this is why I'm no longer a member I would love to know

[00:19:28] whether you're a member or not put it in the comments below so if you're watching on YouTube

[00:19:31] comment below let me know whether you are aren't and why I want to know and if you have a complaint

[00:19:36] what I really want to know is have you tried to do something about it complaints about an

[00:19:40] organization without trying to help fix it or worthless I'm not complaining I'm just saying here's

[00:19:45] all the things that I tried to do and here's why I'm no longer a member it wasn't like hey I'm not

[00:19:50] gonna be a member it was like the bill came in unlike I'm not paying this this year like I don't

[00:19:53] feel it you know I don't feel the value it's not helping me grow my business it's not helping

[00:19:59] me as a physical therapist right now other than being able to manipulate and do dry needling

[00:20:05] but I'll donate to the PT pack again so would love to know are you an APTA member or not why

[00:20:10] why not do you agree with me do you see what I see have you had a different experience or have

[00:20:14] you had the same I'd love to know put a comment below the video if you're just listening to

[00:20:19] sign iTunes take a screenshot tag me and post in the Instagram story or post on your Instagram

[00:20:24] wall if you have more to say and tag me up and I'll see you guys on the next show peace hey what's

[00:20:30] up it's Aaron thanks for listening to the show whenever you're ready here's three ways I can

[00:20:34] help you grow your physical therapy business number one you have a free copy of my book it's

[00:20:39] the roadmap to launch growing scale your physical therapy business go to cash PT blueprint book.com or

[00:20:45] DM me the word book over on Instagram and I'll send you a link to get a ship to you for free number two

[00:20:51] join our cash PT blueprint case study program I'm putting it together a new case study group this month

[00:20:56] and if you'd like to work with me to launch a six figure cash practice and start seeing patients

[00:21:00] in just 90 days send me a message of running Instagram with the words case study

[00:21:04] and our playback skills all the details number three enjoying our cash PT academy coaching

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[00:21:35] academy over on Instagram I'll set up a time chat and for some reason if you're not one of those

[00:21:42] and you own a business brand you want to work with me directly to help you add 7 figures to your

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