SINGAPORE: Two sisters are hoping to change the way independent allied health professionals work by creating a health hub where practitioners can run their own business without feeling isolated.
Speech therapist Montana DeGiacomi and osteopath Sachi DeGiacomi officially opened Health Hub Highton on August 12 after spending more than a year transforming a house at 14 Barrabool Rd into a shared space for allied health professionals.
The sisters, who run their own businesses, Mojo Speech Pathology and The Healing Field, said the idea was born from their own experiences as sole traders navigating the rewards and challenges of self-employment.
“As sole traders ourselves, we wanted to create a space where other allied health professionals and small business owners could come together,” Ms Montana DeGiacomi said.
“It’s about creating a community where people can collaborate, share ideas, build referral pathways and grow their business together.”
Ms Montana DeGiacomi said affordable options for small business owners had been difficult to find when she established her own practice.
“I previously rented in a shared space and loved that I could work alongside people from completely different professions,” she said.
“We wanted to create something that was really small-business friendly so people starting out, downsizing of looking to cut costs still have the opportunity to run a successful business.”
Ms Sachi DeGiacomi said one of the biggest challenges of running a business was the isolation.
“You love the thought of working for yourself, but you don’t realise how isolating it can be until you’re actually doing it,” she said.
“Our biggest idea was working for yourself, not by yourself,” Ms Sachi DeGiacomi said.
“You still get the freedom of running your own business but you have people to chat to over lunch, bounce ideas off and celebrate the wins with.”
“We believe practitioners shouldn’t have to choose between independence and connection,” Ms Montana DeGiacomi added.
The sisters spent months searching for the right property across Grovedale and Newtown before purchasing the Highton site in June 2025.
During the inspection they found an unexpected reminder of family – a butterfly stone fireplace.
The sisters said the design was a symbol of their late Nonna.
“It felt like a quiet sign that we were exactly where we were meant to be,” they said.