Nell Mead, 47, physiotherapist with a 7-month waiting list and author of an Amazon bestselling book

I qualified as a physiotherapist in 2000 and started my career as a young officer in the British Army. I loved helping people move better and recover from injuries, but I got to the point where I was about to be promoted out of clinical work. So I left in 2010 and started my own clinic at the age of 32. For nine years, I grew it from just me to a team of 10 – a mix of admin and therapy staff – but eventually it was so financially tough that I had to shut it down.

In 2019 I went solo again with my own practice in central London. The biggest breakthrough has been in the last two years, writing my book How To Be Your Own Physio and teaching online courses. Now I have a seven-month waiting list for my solo work as a physio and a book that is an Amazon bestseller.

Don’t be afraid to change direction

I shed a lot of exhausted tears over making the final decision to close my clinic – I’d put so much money, time and effort into building it. But I’m so much happier – and less exhausted – working solo with a book and courses. I feel like I’ve got my life back.

I started to feel properly successful when my book launched in November 2024 – just before I turned 47. That was my biggest milestone – not the revenue figures, but knowing I’d created something that could help thousands, and even maybe millions, of people and not just the ones who could afford to see me privately.

Your struggles can become your superpowers

When I was a young physio in the army, I somehow worried about getting old and irrelevant, so I think what surprises me now (in a good way) is how much my age and experience have become an advantage rather than a limitation.

My own body has a long history of injuries and surgery: I fell off a cliff in 2000, had an ovarian cystectomy in 2001, a wrist and shoulder surgery in 2005, multiple calf tears, a hip labrum tear in 2018 and knee surgery in 2023, but being able to share my experience of recovery makes me more credible. Plus, my own sporting background (my highest world ranking in tennis was number 34 in the over-35 category) and my experience in sports and military physiotherapy means I understand performance from a lot of different angles.

Working harder isn’t always the answer

This was a huge one for me. I worked my butt off running and growing my clinic for nearly 10 years, and by the time I closed it, I was pretty burnt out. I was also significantly poorer financially than when I started.

Today, I know it’s about finding what’s right for you, not running yourself into the ground doing something that doesn’t work anymore. I don’t need to compete with 25-year-olds (or with anyone, in fact). I need to serve the people who need exactly what my 25 years of experience – including all the setbacks – can offer them.

Carol Hickson, 61, therapist and author of two books

In my early career, I spent over 15 years working in various teaching roles in primary and secondary schools, and I was living in France when my partner suddenly died. I realised that life was too short, and that I wanted to work with people more closely because I had enjoyed my teaching role in France. For the first time in my life, I had the confidence to know that I was good at it.

Back in the UK, I took any part-time work I could – as a waitress, bar staff, in school administration – and began working towards a degree at night school. I was 49 when I got my degree in education, and later I re-qualified as a multi-disciplined therapist and life coach.

Over the last eight years, I’ve worked with up to 20 clients a week on anxiety, stress, pain management, sleep and insomnia, relationships, bereavement and weight. I’ve done training workshops and created courses for businesses on mental health and resilience. I now build wellness strategies, write and deliver training, coach individual employees and train mental health first aiders in England and Wales. I’m also the author of two books – my first one is The Resilience Template – 7 Steps To Improve Your Mental Health.

You have to be your own cheerleader

I’m a child of two alcoholic parents, and my childhood was difficult. Because of what I’ve been through, I want to help people move on from their childhoods. For years, it never occurred to me that people like me, from families like mine, could become role models for other people.

It’s taken time, but one of my biggest successes is that my clients see and value my humanity, resilience and compassion. I’ve slowly built my visibility on social media and become my own cheerleader.

Fake it until you make it

I started to feel that I was ‘somebody’ when I got my degree aged 49. Two years later, when I graduated as a teacher, I realised the importance of the phrase ‘fake it until you make it’.

I was probably 60 when I realised that not only had I had a little success, according to my own barometer, but that I could continue to keep going. Reaching the age of 60 has given me a sense of privilege and opportunity. My best friend died when she was 32, my partner died when he was 53. I am no longer afraid of judgment; instead, I’m more afraid of not living to my full potential, of not leaving a worthwhile legacy and of wasting the time I have left.

I have had many milestones, including very late academic achievements, publishing two books that I’m immensely proud of, and building an online course based on my books and the training sessions that I create.

Don’t idolise money, but appreciate the freedom it can give you

I’ve worked for minimum wage, and I’ve earned term-time only pro rata salaries. Now I can earn more in a day than I earned some months in the past, but money has little value for me. The benefit of earning good money now is that I can be more selective about the number of days that I work, the clients that I work with and the time I can spend writing.

Thinking you are ‘behind’ will hold you back

‘Behind’ implies measurement, and who are you measuring yourself against? Comparison is the thief of all achievement because there will always be people who achieve more than you do. There’s a technique we use in clinical hypnotherapy where we take a client to the end of their life and ask them what it is they would like to see, and what the person before them is like. That can be our sat nav. So, set your sat nav, know what you’re working towards, know too that that can change depending on circumstances, and set off with an open heart and a willingness to be the best you.

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