Dr. Sterling Carter & Stephen Levi Carter: How to Build Profitable, Mission-Driven Healthcare Businesses - Healthy Wealthy & Smart | Lyssna här

Building a Profitable, Mission-Driven Healthcare Business with Sterling and Stephen Carter

Twin brothers Dr. Sterling Carter, a physical therapist, Army and Army Reserve veteran (retired major) and CEO of Sterling Physical Therapy and Wellness, and Stephen Levi Carter, MBA, an Army combat medic veteran in Desert Storm with a finance background, join host Dr. Karen Litzy. Together they co-lead Cartera Health, which spans outpatient PT, healthcare staffing, and hospice. Listen for a practical look at splitting roles between clinical and business partners, scaling past the hustle phase, and becoming bankable.

In this episode

· Partnership:

Sterling brings the clinical expertise and Stephen the business and finance skills. They stay in their own lanes and have defined which decisions need both of them. Sterling says to align on roles and a 3-5 year vision before partnering.

· Military lessons:

Sterling cites servant leadership, discipline, and learning to follow before you lead. Stephen adds documented processes and standard operating procedures.

· The HEAL framework from The Business of Healing:

Hustle, establish, accelerate, lead. Sterling says the lead stage usually sits around $3-5 million and up, and few PT private practices reach it.

· The 80/20 rule:

Stephen says to teach others to do at least 80% of what you can do, moving from solopreneur to entrepreneur.

· SOPs and KPIs:

Sterling describes the clinic's own evidence-based Sterling Treatment Method and recommends 3-5 lead measures. Stephen says everyone should know their top 2-3 KPIs daily.

· Profit-first payer decisions:

They started from a target net profit margin per clinic, renegotiated rates, and walked away from payers that did not work.

· Being bankable:

Sterling and Stephen cover credit, low debt, an owner who can step away, multiple referral sources, clean books, and a banker relationship built early. Sterling says acquirers look for roughly $2-3 million or more with margins of 10% or higher.

· Certifications:

Veteran set-asides help them win RFPs for their staffing company. Minority and women-owned programs have largely gone away in Texas, though Karen notes New York still has them. Stephen says their Joint Commission certification adds points to RFP responses.

· Culture:

Daily huddles, weekly leadership meetings, monthly all-team meetings, quarterly community service, and a leadership academy.

· Sterling CARES:

A not-for-profit offering scholarships, mentoring, and application and interview coaching for students accepted into DPT programs.

Timestamps

0:02 - Introducing the Carter brothers and Cartera Health

1:48 - Twins, and how they split the work without killing each other

5:04 - What the Army taught about leadership and processes

7:50 - What a clinician should settle before taking a non-clinician partner

11:11 - Who wins a disagreement: expertise decides

12:54 - The HEAL framework: hustle, establish, accelerate, lead

16:37 - Why revenue claims without take-home pay mislead

18:18 - Perfectionism, the 80/20 rule, and earning while you sleep

19:56 - Which SOPs to write first and the Sterling Treatment Method

23:47 - KPIs for every department and the holy grail metrics

26:44 - Renegotiating payer rates and walking away

27:37 - What lenders and acquirers need to see

32:34 - Veteran and minority certifications and RFPs

36:10 - Keeping culture consistent across clinics and markets

38:02 - Sterling Cares scholarship program

39:15 - Closing thoughts and the book

40:38 - Lightning round

43:26 - Staying healthy, wealthy, and smart

45:14 - Where to find the Carter brothers

More about The Sterling Brothers:

Stephen Levi Carter is a U.S. Army combat veteran, healthcare entrepreneur, and co-author of The Business of Healing, which introduces the HEAL framework for building purpose-driven healthcare organizations. Alongside his fraternal twin brother, Dr. Sterling L. Carter, he co-founded Cartera Health, a family of companies that includes Sterling Staffing Solutions, White Orchid Hospice, and Sterling Physical Therapy & Wellness. The companies serve patients across Greater Houston, San Antonio, Corpus Christi, and Oklahoma City. In 2026, all three were named to the Inc. 5000 list of America's fastest-growing private companies with total revenues exceeding $20M.

Dr. Sterling Carter, a physical therapist with more than 25 years in practice and President and CEO of Sterling Physical Therapy & Wellness, with five clinics across the Greater Houston area. Sterling spent 25 years in the U.S. Army and Army Reserve and retired as a Major. He served as a physical therapist and medical officer, including in Desert Storm and Operation Iraqi Freedom. He also spent nearly a decade as lead orthopedic PT at the Michael E. DeBakey VA Medical Center. Today he co-leads Cartera Health with his twin brother and business partner, a group of healthcare companies that includes revenue cycle management, healthcare staffing, and hospice care. All three Cartera Health companies were named to the 2026 Inc. 5000. Sterling is the co-author of Double your Success, and their next book, The Business of Healing, just launched in September and it is a Amazon Best seller in seven different categories. Joining him is his brother and business partner, Stephen Carter, who co-owns Cartera Health.

Resources From this Episode:

The Business of Healing Book

The Carter Brothers Website

Dr. Sterling Carter Website

Stephen Carter's Website

Sterling Therapy

Stephen Carter on LinkedIn

The Carters on Facebook

Dr. Sterling Carter on Instagram

Jane Sponsorship Information:

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