Three Things You Must Do in Private Practice

The following is a transcript of Kate's You Tube video uploaded May 19, 2022. Welcome to everyone who is joining today. Today I'm going to discuss 3 important things to do in private practice. If you’re watching the replay, I’m so glad you’re here. This is part of what I’m trying to do to really help folks learn the basics in an affordable way. I mean, let’s face it. The basics never change. I was an orchestra teacher for 15 years. I taught the bow grip eight zillion times. The bow grip has been around for about 500 years; it hasn’t changed. And so when I teach the bow grip, I get a little bored.

When you’re learning the basics, there’s really no need to spend a lot of money. I mean, you’re learning the basics so you can get started, but they really don’t change. So I’m trying to give you guys the basics for as low cost, inexpensive, free, as I possibly can, so you can spend your money on the good stuff: specialized training, HIPAA-compliant software, supervisor training, all of those things that are really going to make your practice more robust. 

So one of the things I want to remind you guys is that, again, you can get this replay at KateWalkerTraining.com. If you’re not a Step It Up member, you can get it for $20. I’m going to post in the thread so you can join Step It Up for 50% off today. And if you’re in the Step It Up group, it goes into your archive, so that’s pretty cool.

Important Information for Private Practice

Alright, so three things that I thought of – it might not be the three things that you think of. One of the things that we sent out to members of the Step It Up community was an article by one of those companies that will pay you to be on their account or something like that, so they’ll kind of take care of you in that way. I’m not going to say the name because they’re not paying me, but here are some of the things that they talk about that are important:

1. Define an ideal customer.
2. Create a digital presence.
3. Build your referral network.
4. Get an EHR practice management tool (hint, hint, that’s what they’re selling).
5. Additional resources.

All of that is well and good and it’s wonderful and those are things that you need. But let’s be real. The first thing you need when you’re starting your private practice is a bank account. You will make money and you will take client income; you will take money from your clients. And LPC associates, you can do this now. You can take money from your clients. So you must have a bank account to put those funds into. And the way most folks set up a bank account is by having a DBA in their hand, or LLC, or PLLC paperwork. So that will tell the bank, hey, I’m in business and the money will be coming into here through either some sort of a service like Ivy Pay or something that will hide your clients’ names because that’s protected health information, and then that money goes here.

How to Make Money in Private Practice

You will keep it separate from your personal funds so you can track it easily for taxes. So when you have to buy your couch or your computer, all the things, that’s an expense that you will then write off at the end of the year. So you have to have a bank account, first and foremost.

Number two: consistent marketing. Even if you plan on being on insurance panels, you must be a consistent marketer in your community. I mean, this month is fabulous, right? Because it’s May, it’s Mental Health Awareness month, it’s a great big theme. You can come up with cool graphics and you can send out emails and you can do all the social media posts. And then May is over. Okay, now you’ve got to do it again. You’ve got to do it again in June. Oh, and you have to do it in July. And August. Oh – by the way, you have to do it all the time.

And if you don’t do it, what happens is the people who are listening to you, watching you, counting on you for those posts. Those Facebook posts, those Twitter things, those TikTok dances or whatever it is that you do to market your practice, well, they’re going to keep scrolling and they’re going to keep going and you will fade into the background. 

Managing Your Private Practice with Digital Presence

So whatever your voice is, whatever is your chosen form of getting yourself out there, you must be consistent. So that’s why I don’t put number two as just marketing or get a digital presence. Anybody can do that. My kiddo can do that. My husband can do that. Anybody can get a digital presence, but it won’t work if you are not consistent. One of the things I’m going to do this month is I’m going to walk folks through my editorial calendar and my marketing calendar.

It’s something that I started really disciplining myself to do a couple of months ago and I’m so excited for future me. 2023 Kate is so happy right now because she won’t have to do near the work that 2022 Kate is having to do because every time I put something into the editorial calendar for May, next year we can use the same content, tweak it a little bit, and put it out. So way less work as we go year by year by year. But yeah, right now, on the front end, it’s not easy. I’m very email-heavy very night and I’m very social media heavy right now. I’m putting out all kinds of things – and you’ve probably noticed that in your email box. That is all planned and it’s according to a schedule and it’s according to a theme. 

How To Use Marketing To Grow Your Business

So that point number two, having a consistent marketing strategy, I’m going to help you do that. I think I’m going to do that next Thursday. If you’re watching the replay, just look for it in the title. I’m going to help walk you through my editorial calendar. Super important.

Number three: You’ve got to avoid burnout. I know seeing clients is such a joy, it’s your dream, it’s everything you’ve ever wanted. And graduate students, when you get that LPC Associate going, you’re like, this is it. I’m doing my dream job. And you are, and we want you to feel like you’re doing your dream job. But here’s the thing. It’s sort of the bow grip dilemma – you remember a minute ago when I talked about the bow grip? After a while, you kind of get tired. You get a little worn down.

I had one interview that I did with the amazing Ebony Harris. She’s so cool. She’s so awesome. And she’s my former intern – that’s what we called them back in the day. And she actually came up with some materials that her new couple intake folks, they could have before their first session. She’s like, Kate, I’m telling them the same thing in the first two-to-three sessions anyway, so why not give them a workbook, have them go through that, and then when they get to me, it’s like we’re already rolling. And it’s not only for the couple, it’s for her, right, because it fights that sort of monotony of having to do the same thing over and over again.

How To Manage Your Stress As A Therapist

So what I’m going to talk about this month are three things. We’re having a virtual conference in June on the 1st, the 2nd, and the 7th. It’s about how adding things can actually decrease that stress and that sort of heaviness that you feel after a while in your practice. Of course, it’s also a great way to add additional streams of income. But it can be used for marketing, it can be used for income, it can be used as an added resource for your clients.

So when I talk about that, it’s going to flow nicely into the editorial calendar. So, for example, adding a podcast. Adding a blog. That takes consistency. That takes a message, a clear message, that you put out there all the time. But it’s a wonderful way for your clients to access a little piece of you before they book that appointment. With a podcast, they get to hear your voice, they get to hear your cadence, how you speak, the points you make, in the blog posts, they get to see the way you frame things. It’s really a way to make a relationship before that first phone call. 

How To Make The Most Money As A Counselor

Of course you can monetize these things, and we’ll talk about that. How to monetize your blog, how to monetize your podcast. But having those things in place – also public speaking. We’re going to talk about public speaking in one of our virtual conferences. How to make money doing that and of course how to use it as a marketing tool. There is a way that you could develop a press kit so it’s ready to go, you can send it out and inform your audience. You can have this sort of not a canned speech, but it’s basically the same talk that you give again and again and again. Who are you talking to? You’re talking to your ideal client. We do want you to find out who your ideal client is, and once you find that ideal client, talk to them. Form a relationship with them. Consistently.

And the last thing, I know a lot of people have asked me how I put courses together, how I put them online. I’m going to talk about that on the seventh, that’s going to be our final virtual conference topic. Adding CEs, courses, workshops to your practice. This is such a fun way to get your colleagues involved in your business, right? Because in Texas, there’s no approved provider, so all it takes is just following the rules that a CE provider has to follow: taking attendance, making sure you have certificates, keeping a copy of those certificates for a certain number of years. There are certain things that you do that will make you a great CE provider and then you can monetize that and add it for an additional stream of income for your practice. 

How To Grow Your Private Practice

So you can see what’s happening here, right? Yes, you’ve got these 20, 25, 30 client hours that you’re going to deliver every week. And then one day, you’re like, wait a second, my online courses just took the place of five clients. I don’t have to see 30 clients this week; I can see 25. Or, oh, wait, my online courses and my speaking opportunities just took care of 10 client hours, the money I would have made. I think can see 20 clients.  So just by doing these sort of bigger opportunities that you can monetize, it’s going to help with your burnout, it’s going to help liven up your practice, and it’s going to help reduce the number of hours, the number of direct hours that you’ll spend seeing clients. And that, of course, is to help you with your burnout. 

Today we’ve covered three things that I think are essential for not only new practice owners but for any practice owners. We all tend to make the same mistakes early on. And again, if we’re all going to make the same mistakes and we’re all going to be beginners doing the same things early on, what is the point of charging you a lot of money to learn this stuff? That’s why I’m giving it to you for free. I’ll charge you later when you take my supervisor training or you take my HIPAA training, but right now, just getting you started, getting you in your community. Remember, I want you out there in rural Texas. I want you out there serving the underserved. I’m not going to charge you a lot of money – like, none – to get you out there doing what you do best, seeing clients.

Three Things To Grow Your Psychology Practice

So the three things are:

1. Open a freaking bank account, whether it’s with a DBA or you’ve got your little envelope of corporate papers and you’re a PLLC now, open a bank account dedicated solely to your business, connect it to the thing that’s going to collect the money from the client. Make sure that you protect the information in a HIPAA-compliant fashion.
2. Don’t just market, don’t just have a website. Don’t just do social media. Market consistently. Watch my video where I walk you through my editorial calendar, my marketing calendar. 2023 Kate is jumping up and down, she is like patting me on the back, she is so happy with me right now because I am doing all the work for her so next year she can go do something else. I don’t know, maybe she’ll write another book; that would be super cool.
3. Add to your practice to lessen the stress on you to help you avoid burnout, to increase income, of course, but also to liven up what you do. And this can also be part of your consistent marketing strategy. So you can join our virtual conference if you’re watching this live, if you’re watching this on a replay after June 7th, sorry, you’re going to have to wait for next year. This year it’s June 1st, June 2nd, and June 7th, and we’re going to talk about blogging, podcasting, non-traditional modalities. I didn’t even talk about how you can add yoga, you can add walk-talk therapy to your practice with the proper training and supervision. 

Using Virtual Conferences To Grow Your Business

The other thing we’re going to talk about is public speaking. I love public speaking as a marketing tool. I wrote a book, I take my book with me, and when I do my public speaking everybody in the audience can take a little piece of me with them for $20. Also, adding courses. Adding continuing education, offering that certificate to your colleagues for their continuing educational requirements for the year. It’s a great service and you can charge for it. And, if you figure out how to do it online, you can make money while you sleep, which then reduces that client load and makes your brain a happy camper.

When you come to the virtual conference, I believe on the 7th we’re going to talk about courses. I’m going to walk you through everything. I’ll show you what storefront I use. I’ll show you the learning management system I use because I just switched from a really big – it was too big, it was too much for what we needed, to something that is so much simpler, I love it. I’m going to walk you through everything. Nothing held back. I’ll show you how I put courses online.

So please make a note of clicking here, and the cost for the virtual conference, it’s free. Why? Because it’s basic. Remember, if it’s basic, I’m going to give it to you for nothing or close to nothing. Yes, I’m going to charge you for the supervisor training, but this basic stuff, you need it, and you need it now.

So, that’s it. Thank you so much for watching. I’m Dr. Kate Walker, I’m an LPC and LMFT Supervisor in Texas and I’m so glad you tuned in today. I will see you around. Subscribe, click, like, save, do all the things. I will see you soon.

Texas LPC and LMFT Supervisor Archives

Blog post by Kate Walker Ph.D., LPC/LMFT Supervisor
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