When we launched A SMART PRACTICE earlier this year, our goal was simple: To provide engaging content to help practicians build their practices. We are six months in and have published over 50 articles by almost a dozen contributors and engaged our readers with bi-monthly newsletters. This week we launched a new feature of our site: Private […]
image courtesy of www.gotcredit.com From a practice management standpoint, this might be the single most important habit to setup: Develop on a budget. Income will be variable, and to keep money from sinking your business (or credit), you need a plan. Regardless if you practice a budget in your personal life (and I think you […]
– Guest-post on other blogs – Offer a support group for the parents of kids with crisis pregnancies. – Start a “new-professionals” group for goal setting, idea sharing, and accountability. – Host a workshop on secondary trauma for Police, 911, and emergency dispatchers. – Connect with other professionals on LinkedIn. Setup times to meet for […]
Happy New Year! Each year I try to identify a single word that is my focus for the year. Last year was “Finish,” this year is “Risk.” I’m generally a risk averse person, even though many of my friends would not say that about me. For me, taking risks means that I have to face […]
The Premise: My professional crush with Brene Brown started a few years ago with her infamous TEDx talk on the power of vulnerability. She spoke so beautifully; holding a great tension between information and vulnerability. She’s done a marvelous job bringing rich research and marrying it to real life settings and relationships. Daring Greatly is a book about […]
Editors note: This is a guest post from Jeff Morgan. We occasionally have other practitioners share their story and experience of building a private practice. Jeff shares some insights he has gained from building a private practice in Nashville. We’d love to hear your story. If you have ideas you’d like to share with our readers, click here to contact us for […]
We therapists are notorious for not being able (or perhaps we’re not willing?) to answer the phone. Often this is because of how our schedules work. I have traded voicemails with potential clients for many days due to not being able to connect at the right time. There are times at the end of a […]
In the past 5-7 years the range of payment options for counselors has had a significant expansion. This is primarily linked to the smartphone and the capabilities it possesses in business functions. If you’re not accepting credit card payments, you might be missing out on potential clients. But, what to do about the fee the […]
Facebook can be a fantastic resource for community and even for marketing. Something I’ve noticed in my own usage of the site is that it’s easy to get distracted. I can intend to get on the site for business purposes, but can get sidetracked with other conversations that don’t really have anything to do with […]
I’d furnished my office, printed my business cards, and met with several potential referral sources. It was my first full week in private practice, and I had no idea when my first client would call and set an appointment. In those first few weeks and months, I spent a lot of time making sure all my marketing […]
Everyone needs an online presence, that’s just a fact of business in the 21st century. But you don’t really know much about the web and design, so trying to do one yourself isn’t really an option. There are literally tens of thousands of options out there from fully customized to cookie-cutter styles. There is no […]
In the last Tidbit I suggested that you get out and speak as a way to build your practice. I wanted to follow up on that with a few suggestions for where you can find speaking gigs. The reality is you will have to create these opportunities: – Call a beauty salon, offer to come train […]
It’s a difficult balance to strike between running a profitable business yet not becoming overly obsessed with the financial health of your practice. Profit is not a four letter word, yet it’s easy to assume that because we deal with the complexities of others’ lives, we don’t need to profit from them. And to a large extent, I agree: […]
