As part of the Morning Lazziness series highlighting empowering women who are making a remarkable impact with their ideas, I had the pleasure of interviewing Gilly Woodhouse.
Gilly Woodhouse breaks the Monday-morning slump with straight-talk business coaching that sparks real change. Armed with sharp insight, generous support, and a healthy dose of sass, she helps pale and tired osteopaths and clinic owners feel alive again – not by hustling harder (yuk), but by working smarter.
Forget burnout and overwhelm: Gilly shows business owners how to build thriving practices that feel fun and fulfilling again. She skips the corporate fluff and serves up clarity, systems, and confidence, so clients can stop spinning and start winning. Whether she’s on stage, hosting a workshop, or chatting 1:1, you’ll find her full of energy, infectious laughs, and a refreshing push to get things done – with style.
Off the clock, Gilly’s most likely clutching a bold espresso, devouring a fascinating business book or plotting her next bold move. She’s here to prove business doesn’t have to be all grind; it can be gratifying, profitable, and yes, a little bit lazy-chic.
In this interview, she discusses her entrepreneurial evolution, from early struggles to the achievements that shaped her online business success.
What inspired you to start your business, and what problem were you passionate about solving?
Gentle osteopathic treatment had unbelievable results for my 12-year-old son, who had suffered heart failure and a stroke due to the debilitating amounts of chemotherapy he had as a little toddler. The consultants at Great Ormond Street Hospital said he needed an immediate heart transplant but after regular treatments with my osteopath friend Anne, he began to rally and even rode a bike to school and back every day! Osteopathy kept his body functioning as best as it could. GOSH continuously monitored him and was amazed at his almost normal life despite serious cardiomyopathy. Whilst working part-time with a small osteopathic teaching faculty, I kept hearing that these wonderful people struggled to market themselves. They didn’t know how to help people understand that they didn’t treat just backs – they help the whole body back to health. I was driven to guide them and educate more people to try osteopathy. And so just as my son had his heart transplant five whole years later at 17yo (which was a miracle in itself) I was pounding on my laptop in the parents’ room, setting up Osteobiz!
How has your business evolved since its launch, and what key decisions have helped drive that growth?
Having researched what help was available for osteopaths to grow their businesses, it became apparent that the little there was could only be accessed by travelling huge distances to hotels and attending courses. It seemed obvious to me that in the early digital age of 2013, it would be much easier to reach thousands of clinics and help them via online courses, so that they didn’t have those huge extra expenses.
In your view, what truly sets your brand apart in today’s competitive market?
My story touches these wonderful people and they love that I’m so passionate about their work. I have also created an incredibly engaged Facebook community group, where they can connect with each other, all over the world. It has become THE place for them to discuss complex cases, find associates and professional development opportunities and much more.
What has been your most effective marketing strategy to date, and why do you think it worked so well?
I have consistently networked on social media, almost every day and when a new client comes to me they’ll often say that I’m ‘all over social media’! I also sponsor the Institute of Osteopathy’s conferences and their annual Large Clinic of the Year Award.
How do you stay connected to your ideal audience and understand their needs or behaviors?
I’m a great listener and so I take great care to continuously read their posts, understand what struggles they have and create solutions to make clinic life easier for them. Many of them think that I just teach marketing, but in fac,t I have created a simple clinic operations framework, which gently nurtures their patients and saves them mountains of paperwork, tasks and time-draining jobs so that they get their time back too.
What’s one branding move or campaign that helped elevate your business to the next level?
A few years ago I travelled down under for four months, my trusty laptop by my side. I posted videos from the places I visited and talked about what I’d seen. Off the back of that I promoted working one to one with me to grow their practices and my new client numbers soared like crazy!
What does success look like for you, not just in numbers, but in purpose or impact?
My greater purpose is to help millions more people to understand how osteopathy can help them achieve better health. Every time I take a struggling clinic with low patient numbers to a team who are fully booked, I know that I’m achieving the impact I set out to make.
How do you personally define success, beyond revenue and growth metrics?
Simply that I’m leading the profession in growing awareness and increasing patient numbers everywhere I can but it is never about me; it’s always about demonstrating how they can serve more people with ease.
Can you share a challenge or setback that ultimately became a turning point for your brand?
It’s been interesting that over the years, several people have come and gone, attempting to emulate what I’m doing. That keeps me sharp! And I think that my passion and purpose resonates strongly with the profession because I am far more than simply a business. I am utterly driven by what I do and roll my eyes at anyone who mentions the word ‘retirement’ – as a farmer’s daughter from Shropshire, I have no idea what that is.
What daily habits or rituals keep you focused, creative, and grounded as a leader?
In the mornings, I don’t have breakfast as I like to fast as long as I can and so I launch straight into my beloved work! Also, I have strict boundaries on my time and give myself regular days off where I am not coaching clients. Getting out into nature and giving myself space to breathe and think keeps me fresh. I’m like a fountain of ideas when I do that. And I’m the sort who wakes up in the dead of night, my mind whirring with fresh projects to try out. My poor husband often mumbles, “Gilly, please stop thinking!”
How do you approach innovation and risk in your business strategy?
You won’t catch me jumping out of a plane or clambering up a mountain but in business I will innovate constantly. I love to take the risk of offering something new and different and testing it. If it flies, great. If not, I simply learn from it and move on.
What advice would you give to someone starting a business in today’s fast-changing digital world?
Move faster than you feel comfortable with, innovate and do things differently to everyone else. Stay ahead of the game and believe in yourself, your innate gifts and trust your inner wisdom.
Where can our audience connect with you and learn more about your work or offerings?
You can find more about how I support osteopaths and health clinics at osteobiz.com and you’ll find me all over social media apparently!
