Home
>
Top Quick Tips
>
Private Practice Success: 10 Essentials for Starting a Practice

Private Practice Success: 10 Essentials for Starting a Practice

As a counselor, therapist or healing professional (massage therapist, physiotherapist, alternative health practitioner, etc.) it is quite likely that you did not chose your profession because you wanted to be a business person. As a result, it can be challenging to go into business for yourself and be successful. Taking time to prepare and plan as you build your private practice will help you avoid costly and time-consuming mistakes. Below are ten areas to address to help ensure your success.

1. Get Your Life in Excellent Shape

Counselors, therapists and healing professionals know that our personal lives affect our professional lives, yet many who are struggling to market a private practice fail to take this into account. Look at all aspects of your life and determine what seems to be working for you and what needs to change. Determine any activities you need to reduce or eliminate in order to have the time and energy to market your practice. Examine your lifestyle and personal work habits and see where improvement needs to be made. The more your life is on order, the more time and energy you will have for marketing and building a practice.

2. Develop a Financial Plan

Before you start your private practice, assess your financial situation and make a financial plan. Make sure you have funds from other sources until your practice becomes established. Do not put your self in a position where you are desperate to secure clients in order to pay your bills. Potential clients may sense your desperation and may not be eager to hire you. Feeling secure financially will allow you to market and build your practice with greater confidence and ease.

3. Know that You Are a Business Owner

It is essential that you start seeing yourself as a business owner if you haven't made this mind-shift already. You must pay careful attention to all aspects of your business--your revenue and expenses, how you spend your time, methods of attracting clients, and developing operating systems that allow your business to run smoothly.

4. Develop a Vision for Your Practice

It's difficult to get somewhere if you don't know where you are going. Develop a detailed vision of what you want your priavte practice to look like in 6 months, 1 year and 5 years and write it down. How many clients do you want to have? What days and hours do you want to work? How much income do you need/want? The more clarity and specificity you have, the more likely you will turn your vision into reality.

5. Develop at Least One Specialization

Helping and healing professionals new to private practice often fear that if they are too narrow in the type of services they offer, they will rule out many other potential clients. The opposite is actually more often true as people tend to want to hire specialists. The more targeted you are in marketing your practice, the more you will stand out from others and become known for your expertise. In addition, it's easier to market your practice to a particular group if you know where to find them.

6. Determine Any Negative Attitudes and Fears You Have About Marketing

Many counselors, therapists, and healing professionals are uncomfortable with the marketing aspect of being in private practice. They see their role as to be there for others and not to promote themselves. Our repeated exposure to negative and manipulative types of marketing further contributes to the belief that marketing ourselves is somehow inappropriate. Any negative attitudes and fears you have about marketing a practice need to be eliminated. You can and should find ways to market with integrity and authenticity. Be proud of your services and have confidence that you have something to offer people that they need and want.

7. Develop a Marketing Plan

In order to market your private practice successfully you must have an integrated marketing plan. One of the most common mistakes helping and healing professionals make is trying a few methods of marketing your practice haphazardly, and when the results are not immediate, they erroneously assume the techniques don't work. Flourishing private practices are frequently built upon a number of marketing strategies that work together over time. To market effectively you must make yourself repeatedly visible to potential clients and referral sources so that they get to know and trust you.

8. Choose Marketing Methods That Excite You

Take some time to explore and develop marketing methods that suit your unique talents and interests. There are numerous ways to promote your practice. To get ideas, read books, take courses, ask other professionals how they built their practices, or hire a marketing consultant or coach. Marketing can be an enjoyable and creative process that provides a balance to the work you do with your clients. Find a way to take pleasure in this aspect of your business and you will be more motivated to do it.

9. Make a Commitment To Build Your Practice

Typically it can take anywhere from 1-3+ years to build a full practice. Exactly how long will depend on several factors including the size of your current network, how effectively you market, the demand for your area of expertise, and how much time you spend developing your practice. Make a commitment to take action steps on a regular basis. It's best if you set aside a specific amount of time on a weekly basis for marketing your practice, and try to stick to this schedule even when you become discouraged or become tempted to allow other things to take priority.

10. Get Support

Because you will be primarily working alone, you may feel isolated and discouraged at times. It's important to have people and resources you can access for support. Most successful people have consistently had other people helping them. Whether you get expert guidance from a professional business coach or consultant, or get help from your colleagues and friends, getting support, guidance and feedback on your ideas and goals is essential. The more support you get, the greater your chances of success with your private practice.

Many professionals who are having difficulty building their private practices tell me the reason they can't get clients is either because there is too much competition or because of tight economic times. While it may be true that competition for clients has increased and that financial resources are limited for many people, there will always be those professionals in your particular field who do have a full practice.

Competition is not going to go away and you have you don't have control over the economy. You need to find a way to develop and sustain a private practice in spite of these apparent obstacles. If you act on the above ten guidelines on a consistent basis, you should have a thriving practice within a few years. Be persistent, believe in yourself, learn from your mistakes, and most importantly, get out there and market your practice.

? Juliet Austin

Bio of Author

Juliet assists helping and healing professionals (coaches, therapists, counselors, massage therapists, chiropractors, etc.) who are struggling to build their practices. She helps her clients overcome resistances to marketing, learn no or low-cost marketing strategies, create compelling promotional materials, and write effective website copy.

A graduate of both Coach U, The Institute for Life Coach Training and member of The School of Coaching, Juliet has been a practicing coach for almost 7 years. Juliet is also the Director of the Canadian Office of The Institute for Life Coach Training, a training program for therapists wanting to become coaches. She is former member of the founding board of the Vancouver Chapter of the International Coaching Federation (ICF) and a current member of the ICF and Coachville.

Juliet can be reached through her website at: http://www.julietaustin.com or through her marketing blog at http://www.julietaustin.com

to o hare transportation Riverwoods .. Lockport Chicago limo O’Hare

In The News:

Kurt the CyberGuy walks through steps he recommends immediately taking after getting new electronics — like phones or TVs — as gifts this holiday season.

When speaking becomes physically challenging, you can preserve your unique voice using Apple's Personal Voice and Live Speech technology.

Google Maps is deleting location history soon. Tech expert Kurt “CyberGuy" Knutsson shows you how to back it up before it's gone.

iOS 18.2 lets AirTag owners securely share item locations with trusted individuals. Tech expert Kurt “CyberGuy" Knutsson examines the powerful new feature.

The FBI is warning timeshare owners of a telemarketing scam tied to a Mexican drug cartel. Tech expert Kurt “CyberGuy" Knutsson provides steps to stay safe.

Protecting your home network includes securing your router, just like your phone or laptop. Kurt “CyberGuy" Knutsson reveals six ways to protect your Wi-Fi router from hackers.

Kurt “CyberGuy" Knutsson: ConnectOnCall breach leaks sensitive data of 910,000+ patients.

Rising elder scams: How to recognize them and protect yourself and your loved ones. Tech expert Kurt “CyberGuy" Knutsson helps you outsmart the scammers.

There are common habits and oversights that could leave your financial information vulnerable to cybercriminals, according to Kurt the CyberGuy.

Counting calories just got easier with The Drop, the world's first automated nutrition tracker using advanced computer vision and artificial intelligence.

A virtual private network can help ensure your information remains security and your privacy remains intact. Kurt the CyberGuy explains.

Stay up to date on the latest AI technology advancements and learn about the challenges and opportunities AI presents now and for the future.

Artificial intelligence-based cameras are giving air defense operators unprecedented capabilities in monitoring and protecting airspace.

Apple's iOS 18.1 Inactivity Reboot automatically reboots your iPhone if it hasn't been used or unlocked for more than three days, providing better data protection.

An inventor designed rooftop solar panels for a Tesla that draws solar energy while the car is parked, adding travel mileage without plugging in.

There are currently no laws governing what artificial intelligence can and cannot do with the information it gathers; here are 10 things to avoid telling AI chatbots to keep yourself safe.

A credit union with over 240,000 members recently revealed it was targeted by cybercriminals, resulting in a data breach that was part of a two-month attack by hackers.

Scammers have become skilled at creating convincing fake websites that can easily fool unsuspecting users. The CyberGuy offers tips to protect yourself.

Stay up to date on the latest AI technology advancements and learn about the challenges and opportunities AI presents now and for the future.

CAPTCHAs, which are used by websites to confirm whether users are people or bots, are harmless, but hackers are using them to infect PCs with malware.

Hackers recently leaked personal information of about 500,000 Americans and stole patient medical records that included lab results and insurance details.

The holiday season sees a rise in mobile shopping scams. Tech expert Kurt “CyberGuy" Knutsson helps you learn how to stay safe.

Tech expert Kurt “CyberGuy" Knutsson says a VPN enhances online banking security by encrypting data and protecting privacy.

Beware of these six sneaky holiday scams. Tech expert Kurt “CyberGuy" Knutsson gives you tips to avoid falling victim.

Tech expert Kurt “CyberGuy" Knutsson reveals how to securely back up and factory reset your Android to protect your privacy and data.

Private Practice Success: 10 Essentials for Starting a Practice

Top Quick Tips