Health practitioners join forces in new business

Two local therapists have joined forces to launch Health Hub Professionals NI – a forward-thinking health clinic specialising in physiotherapy, hand, and occupational therapy – thanks to the Go For It Programme in collaboration with Derry City and Strabane District Council.

The Go For It Programme is part funded by Invest Northern Ireland and the European Regional Development Fund under the Investment for Growth and Jobs Northern Ireland (2014-2020) programme.

Two qualified practitioners, Karen Murphy and Anne-Marie Campbell came into contact with one another when Karen required Anne-Marie’s physiotherapy expertise following the birth of her child.

Karen commented, “I needed Anne-Marie’s expertise to help me with my recovery following the birth of my child. We got talking during my treatment and we realised that we were both at very similar stages in our careers and indeed that we practiced therapy treatments which were very complimentary. We got talking and had the idea of joining forces to open our own private practice and so the idea for Health Hub Professionals was born.

Health Hub Professionals NI is a private clinic based in Derry specialising in hand therapy, medical – legal assessment and reporting, women’s health physiotherapy and specialist postnatal physiotherapy. The clinic often treats patients who are experiencing sprains and strains, fractures and arthritis in the hand, wrist, elbow, and shoulder as well as specialist women’s health issues including pregnancy related back and pelvic pain.

Anne-Marie added, “Waiting lists are very lengthy for some of our services, it is really much more beneficial for clients to have their treatment quickly so that they can get back to living their daily lives. Our primary concern is to take care of our clients. We both have very extensive expertise in our respective fields but lacked the business knowledge to bring it all together into a viable business.

Speaking about how they got in touch with the Go For It Programme, Karen said, “We are both involved in the Women in Business network and from there we were made aware of the programme. We got speaking to our business advisor very soon after registering our interest and it all went from there.”

“We were able to piece all aspects of the business together like a jigsaw, deciding on our proposition, how to price our time and how many clients we would be able to schedule daily. The programme was fantastic for signposting us in the direction of so many other aspects of our business. For instance, we were advised of many free workshops our council were holding which were relevant to us such as a social media workshop. It is amazing that this is a free resource, the expert advice and support has been and continues to be so valuable to us.”

Anne continued, “We completed financial projections, sales forecasts and looked into legal aspects of the business including insurances. It helped me to see what we needed to put in and what was possible from the business. We completed a comprehensive competitor analysis also which assisted with pricing and gave us an in-depth knowledge of what was currently available in Northern Ireland.

The Go For It programme is delivered free of charge by a team of experienced business mentors through Northern Ireland’s wide network of enterprise agencies. It provides expert advice and help with developing a robust business plan to help turn ideas into a commercial enterprise.

Kevin O’Connor, Head of Business at Derry City and Strabane District Council said: “The Go For It Programme provides accessible, free, expert business support – giving people the confidence, connections and the information they need at the start up stage of their business. I wish Karen and Anne-Marie every continued success with Health Hub Professionals and encourage anyone thinking about starting their own business to go for it and get in touch!”

Carrie McCafferty, Business Development Executive with Enterprise North West for Derry City and Strabane District Council, said; “Karen and Anne-Marie had a very unique offering and from their expertise in the area, it was clear they had identified a great opportunity to launch their business. We were delighted to be able to provide support and advice to assist Health Hub Professionals to begin trading.

“Through the completion of a business plan, we were able to firm up the business proposition and really articulate the specific USPs for the business. The services Karen and Anne-Marie offer are very oversubscribed on the NHS, with very lengthy waiting lists, their business provides an option for their clients to seek treatment quickly and effectively.”

If you have a business idea you’d like to develop or if you are thinking about starting a business contact the Go For It Programme on 0800 027 0639 or visit: www.goforitni.com.