Matthew Box: Independent OT Tips

My Experiences As An Independent OT: Matthew Box Director Of Inclusion.Me

I’ve met a lot of entrepreneurs over the past few years and they come in all shapes and sizes, but there is one thing they ALL seem to have in common. It’s this:

THEY DID IT AND AFTER THEY’D DONE IT, THEY WISH THEY’D DONE IT EARLIER.

I’m glad I took the leap, but I wish I’d had the courage to jump a bit earlier in my career. I certainly wish I’d planned it a bit better at the start, so that the point I’m at now might have been a smoother journey.

When I started working for myself I loved it! It re-ignited my passion for OT, it gave me the chance to develop my professional skills and at the time of the arrival of our first child it gave me the work life balance I’d craved. 7 years down the line I’ve added another child, I’ve become a company and I’ve learnt more as an OT & in business than I thought possible. We’ve even been fortunate enough to win the odd award along the way, but unfortunately that work life balance isn’t maybe quite as even as I previously enjoyed and most of the time my kids now think I’m some distant relation who turns up stressed and grumpy just before bed time. But it certainly doesn’t need to be that way.....

If your tempted to step out into being a private OT, think about what you’re going to offer & plan how you’re going to do it. Think goals, aims & objectives but with some grown up stuff like insurance, money & legal costs thrown in. Discuss it with whomever you can and make sure you plan your journey properly (you wouldn’t start travelling to Scotland without a map so why start a business without a business plan)? Then do it, try it out and see if it’s for you....There are lots of ways you can get into independent practice & it might just be the best thing you’ve ever done. Then again you might think it’s not for you and you prefer the safety of a regular job, with a steady monthly wage and holidays. Either way I bet you’ll be glad you did it on some level and I’m pretty sure you’ll wish you’d done it earlier!

To talk to Matthew and find out how we can help you in your journey as an independent OT please call 01892 704065 or email info@inclusion.me.uk.