In last week’s article, “The #1 Factor in Private Practice Success,” we got down and dirty about what it takes to truly excel in private practice. What is the difference between those who succeed in building thriving practices and those who sputter along, eventually settling for much less? Perseverance.
“Perseverance, schmerseverance!” You declare, curling your lip, a little spittle making its way down your chin.
I know, I know. I get it. I, too, used to be incredibly frustrated with the vague language around success.
Just “stick to it!”
“Don’t give up!”
“GRIT!”
There was a time when I experienced anxiety, frustration and envy when I imagined building my practice. I’d see other people’s success and be worried that they had access to something that I didn’t have. They were just naturally charming, or smart, or business-savvy. They had been blessed throughout their lives with more resources, social capital, education, those whacky black and white baby toys that spewed Mozart and made them mini-geniuses!
Then, slowly, I began to understand that business skills can be learned. There was no mystery. There was no magic bullet. Everyone struggles. Some more, some less. Some with this thing, some with that. But, at the end of the day – me, you – we have the capacity to succeed in private practice if we set ourselves up to flourish.
It is my goal to make the process of prospering in private practice as clear, transparent and accessible as possible for clinicians who come from all walks of life. Yes – that includes you.
As I noted last week, being able to persevere, come what may, is the primary factor in private practice success. And, from whence does that perseverance stem?
The answer: Knowing your why. Your raisons d’être. Your bliss.
To that aim, in these next three weeks, I will help you break down the broad idea of “knowing your why” into specific, actionable steps.
This week’s step…
Setting Your Private Practice Up for Success: Time
Like many therapists, you likely went into private practice knowing you wanted 1) clients and 2) the ability to pay your bills. Achieving these two goals was your hallmark of success.
This is a problem. When setting up your practice, if you’re not clear about your why beyond 1) more clients and 2) paying bills, you will likely find yourself overwhelmed, stressed out and – yes – paying only your bills, but that’s about it.
Why? Because you set your north star to seeing clients and paying bills.
When you set an intention, that is often what you get. Be vague about your intention and your outcome will likely be equally vague. So, today, I’m going to help you craft a clear and specific intention.
The first intention we will focus on is time.
Your time is valuable, even more valuable than money. Money is, in essence, simply a form of exchange that can buy you more time – time to spend on the floor with your growing toddler, time to fly out to see your aging parents, time to cook a romantic dinner for your Love. It is essential that you’re spending your time in ways that bring you joy.
To that end, when thinking about building a private practice, the first consideration must be around how you want to spend your time. Then set up your entire practice around this aim. The way you envision spending the precious days of your existence here on earth will determine how many clients you see, what kind of therapy you practice, how many weeks out of the year you work, your practice policies and so on.
Putting it Into Practice: Grab a pen. Grab a journal. And take 10 minutes to answer these questions that will help you understand how the value of your time will shape your practice.
- Think about the most fulfilling moments you’ve had over the past 15 years. What were you doing? Who were you with?
- What does your perfect morning look like? What do you feel like after a morning like this?
- Even if you love your clients and love your work, we all have a max capacity. What is the total number of clients you can see in a day, before you start fantasizing about getting home to that glass of wine and tub of ice cream?
- How many days of rest does it take to truly recharge and look forward to seeing your clients again? Two? Three? Four?!
- How many weeks can you go before you start dreaming of a spa day? A weekend away? A trip to Italy?
- Zoom yourself into the future. You are now 72. What do you regret the most about missing out on over the past 32 years?
And done! If you’re very bold, email this article to a trusted friend and commit to sharing your answers with each other.
You simply cannot create a sustainable private practice, without considering how you want to spend the days of your life. In order to provide the best service to your clients, you must make sure your cup of joy is filled to the brim. The first order of business in filling said cup is to be aware of, acknowledge and work within the boundaries of time. Gaining a firm understanding of how you want to fill these limited days is essential to building a thriving practice.
So, what do you do with these answers? Hold them close. Next week, we dive in to the second factor: Money!At the end of this series, we’ll pull it all together and use it to create the foundation to your thriving practice. If you haven’t read the original article, I suggest you go back and check it out first.
photo credits: Rafael Ben-Ari, Suphakaln Wongcompune, Graham Oliver
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