About
Hi, I’m Lorcan.
I’m a podiatrist. I qualified from the London Foot Hospital in 1998, I still own and run Achilles Foot Clinic in Cork, and I coach podiatrists who own clinics. Everything I teach, I’ve tested in my own clinic first.
Ten years of doing it the hard way
Like most podiatrists, I opened my own clinic because I wanted to be my own boss, to be in charge of my own future and build a good life for my family.
For the first ten years, I didn’t treat it as a business. I was working sixty to seventy hours a week and barely making enough to justify it. I believed that if I was a good enough podiatrist, the rest would follow. It didn’t.
It came to a head one Christmas, when I had to borrow money from my elderly parents to pay my staff’s wages. I was close to going bust.
Being clinically excellent is not a guarantee of a profitable business.
What changed
I finally got a business coach. They showed me it was okay, even necessary, to run my clinic as a proper business, without ever compromising on patient care. And they gave me a clear path to follow.
I started treating business learning like CPD, the same way I’d always treated clinical skills. I got honest about my numbers. I fixed the leaks in my follow-up and rebooking. I built systems so the clinic didn’t depend on me for everything.
Then I did the thing that scared me most: I raised my prices, significantly. Nothing bad happened. Patients kept rebooking and new patients kept coming. That’s when I realised fear had been holding me back far more than the market ever had.
Today Achilles Foot Clinic is profitable, my family’s financial future is secure, and I have the freedom I wanted when I first opened the doors.
Why I coach podiatrists
My biggest regret is not getting help sooner. If I could go back, I’d invest in business coaching from day one, in whatever way I could afford.
Podiatry school taught us nail surgery, biomechanics and wound care. Nobody taught us pricing, marketing, hiring or how to read a profit and loss account. So most podiatrists I meet are brilliant clinicians running a busy diary, but not a business.
Generic business coaches don’t understand what happens in a podiatry clinic, and most marketing agencies don’t understand running one. I’ve lived both sides, so I can help you with both.
A few things I believe
Being a great podiatrist isn't the same as running a great clinic
They're two different skills. The business side can be learned, the same way you learned your clinical skills: one step at a time.
Word of mouth isn't a growth plan
Referrals are wonderful, but they're unpredictable. Your diary should be full because of decisions you made, not chance.
Most podiatrists charge too little
The patients you want pay for outcomes and experience, not the cheapest nail cutting on the high street.
Employ your podiatrists, and hire for character
Associates can feel safer, but employed podiatrists on a fair, steady wage usually bring more loyalty and better systems. Skills can be taught; culture fit can't.
Keep learning
The Podiatry Business Podcast
Weekly conversations for podiatrists who want a clinic that works without them.
Podiatry Business Success Secrets
My free book on pricing, systems, marketing and getting your time back.
How satisfied are you with your podiatry clinic right now?
Is it giving you the life you hoped for when you first opened it? If the honest answer is "not quite", let's talk. A free call, no pressure, and you'll leave with a clearer picture either way.