Starting a Private Practice in Austin — Without the Five-Year Lease

Most practitioners we meet aren't scared of going independent — they're scared of the lease. A 2,000-square-foot clinical suite on South Lamar runs $4,800 a month, plus utilities, plus a $40k build-out, plus a front-desk hire. By the time you treat your first patient, you've spent $80k.

Here's the math we walk every prospective member through, and why we built a membership model around it instead of room-by-room rentals.

The traditional path

Three months of rent and deposits before doors open. A general contractor for HIPAA-grade build-out. Cabinets, treatment tables, a $4,500 reception desk for someone you don't have time to hire yet. By month six you're either at 30 clients a week or you're shutting it down.

The version most practitioners regret isn't the build-out. It's signing a five-year lease before they know what their actual steady-state demand looks like.

The membership path

Start at WellSuite Basic — $99/mo founders rate. You get a real commercial address (2043 S Lamar), GBP setup help, and 4 in-room hours a month. Treat the rest of your caseload via telehealth or wherever you're already working. Your overhead is $1,200 for the year, not $80k.

When you start seeing clients in-person consistently — 5+ sessions a week — move to Pro at $150/mo. 12 included hours, 50% off everything beyond that, member directory listing, active marketing help. Most of our solo practitioners stay here for years.

When you're booked 20+ hours a week and want priority booking + the deepest discount on extra hours, Premium at $250/mo. 24 included hours, 75% off everything beyond.

What changes at each step

Basic → Pro: marketing turns on. You appear in the directory, you get social shoutouts, and the room access matches your real schedule.

Pro → Premium: priority access and active brand-building. Premium members lead our content calendar, get featured in member events, and get first right of refusal when an exclusive suite opens up.

Premium → Exclusive (limited availability): we have a small number of dedicated suites for members consistently at 25+ sessions a week. That's the right point to think about lease-grade overhead — but most practices never need to go that far.

The 12-month founders window

Founding members hold their tier price for 12 months. After we open to the public, the regular rate applies ($199 / $200 / $300 across the three tiers). The window closes when we hit our founders cap.

The takeaway

Don't sign a lease before you know your client flow. The whole point of WellSuite is to give you room to find out without writing a $40,000 check on day one. Call (512) 775-9264 to lock in your founders rate before we open to the public.