Welcome to A Counselors Journey To Private Practice. I'm your host, Juan.

In this episode, we cover 10 Checklist To Starting A Private Practice. Here are 10 key take-aways:

1. Mission. What is the mission of the business? What does your business look like in 6 months? Or in 10 years? Create a mission statement that connects to the foundation of the business.
2. Create a business plan. I like to think of a business plan similar to a treatment plan that is set for the client.  
3. Insurance. Take time to get you and your practice covered with insurance that includes professional and general liability.
4. Time off. Self-care is vital and should not be on the back burner. Instead, I encourage business owners to build their practice around their self-care and not the other way around. Meaning that you are working to create the lifestyle you desire. 
5. Bank account. Set up a separate account (business account) that is under your business name/practice group name and tax ID number. This account is used to receive and pay all business-related monies. 
6. Set up a legal structure. Take time to meet with a CPA and/or business attorney to explore setting this up. Structures can range from LLC to Corporation. When deciding on the structure take time to think long term, explore how the structure impacts your taxes, and so forth. 
7. Finding a location. You have options when it comes to how you want to set up shop. I’ll share the options below as they impact set up fees. Clinician Home-based therapy. This structure means that you operate your counseling practice out of your home. This can be done through face to face to telehealth. Client Home-based therapy. This structure means that you are going to the home of the client to provide services. Subleasing an office space from a large office. This structure means that you rent an office from a suite that is already being rented by another person.
   Renting an entire office. This structure means that you rent an entire office suite.
   Purchasing a commercial property. This structure means that you purchase a property. Very similar to purchasing a home versus renting a home.
8. Creating a website. Counselors in private practice should have a website. A place that potential visitors can learn more about the services that you are providing. 
   Having a website can serve many purposes. Your website can be a place that gives you space to share your thoughts. Such as a blog all about your journey or how you help people with anxiety.
9. Accounting system. Take time to select an accounting system for your practice. The example includes QuickBooks. 
10. General areas to explore. Take time to explore the following questions in an effort to solidify the foundation to your private practice: What is the process for paying bills associated with the practice? (such as paying for rent or insurance). What is the process for paying taxes?

Are you interested in receiving help with your counseling business?

CLICK HERE

Thank you for listening.

Please leave an awesome review and subscribe to the podcast so that you never miss an episode in your journey of private practice.

I'm always looking for awesome counselors that are ready to share their story. Visit the link below, let's connect.

Visit http://acounselorsjourney.com/be-a-guest/
Watch the episode on the YouTube Channel: https://youtu.be/M2d0z5ziQaw

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Welcome to A Counselors Journey To Private Practice. I'm your host, Juan.

Rebekah is a private practice owner in Texas where she specializes in supporting families and children. She is a Licensed Professional Counselor and member of the Association for Play Therapy. Rebekah has over 10 years of experience giving her unique insight when working with children and teens. She has served as a director of a therapeutic foster care agency, with CPS, immigration evaluations, and her clinical role as a clinician.

Rebekah wants everyone to get started in her immigration course. As an affiliate for Rebekah, I want to share with you her course that you can get started with.

Click Here to purchase the course.

Rebekah is an expert when it comes to understanding how to work with children when writing immigration evaluations. The immigration evaluations are written reports that clinicians provide for clients who are navigating their immigration proceedings. In this interview, Rebekah shares her story and journey in building a counseling private practice.

Common Immigration Cases: 

• U-Visa, VAWA (violence against women act), DACA, Asylum by providing mental health evaluations. 
• Check out a complete guide walking you through adding immigration evaluations to your counseling practice. https://youtu.be/2vTu71Es_Sg

Evaluations for immigration proceedings include:

• Extreme Hardship
• Asylum
• Waivers
• Violence Against Women Act (VAWA)
• U Visa
• Cancellation of Removal

To connect with Rebekah visit: 

• https://coursecraft.net/c/immigrationchildren/a/cpmYFEt9Y

I hope that this episode supports your growth in your journey of growing a counseling private practice.

Thank you for listening.

Please leave an awesome review and subscribe to the podcast so that you never miss an episode in your journey of private practice.

I'm always looking for awesome counselors that are ready to share their story. Visit the link below, let's connect.

Visit http://acounselorsjourney.com/be-a-guest/
Watch the episode on the YouTube Channel: https://youtu.be/WCPH3m91OLg
Visit the website: http://acounselorsjourney.com

Support the show

Welcome to A Counselors Journey To Private Practice. I'm your host, Juan.

Today we interview clinician Brianna Toomes who has a private practice in North Carolina.

Learn how Brianna got started in private practice and what she did to overcome challenges and build a successful counseling business. To connect with Brianna visit: https://irenictherapy.com/

Key areas to focus on when building a counseling private practice:

1. Relationship building. Create relationships with referral partners in the community. This is a great way to expand your counseling practice while building healthy and genuine relationships with counselors in the community.
2. Strategic marketing. Explore adding additional services that connect to your community. Take time to understand the needs of your community and how you can bridge the gap. As an example, if your community has a need for teen groups. Create one. 
3. Excellent service. Part of building a business includes customer service. In addition to serving your clients with excellent clinical skills, take time to serve appropriately. Explore if you are able to have snacks and water in your office. Small touches like this can go a long way.
4. Work on your website. A website is a strong connection to your business. As such, it is important to grow your business and website. When your fees increase take time to reflect the change on your website. When new counselors enter your practice, take the time to add the change to your website.  
5. Create content with a focus on keywords. When writing pages or posts, take time to identify what your potential clients are searching for. Use the found keywords as the foundation for writing your content. 
6. Email list. Start an email list focused on those that you serve in your counseling practice. An email list is a beautiful platform that helps you communicate with those that you serve. I like using my email list as a direct source of keeping people updated. Just like every week those that subscribe to this podcast receive an update of the new episode, the email list can serve in a similar way.
7.  Reuse content. If you are a counselor that helps couples. This can give you an edge to creating tools as a board game that helps couples strengthen their communication. Each stage of the board game can have a mixture of education and coping skills. 
8. Structure your business. Take time to consider how you will structure your business. Some counselors in private practice take the LLC route, corporation, or other options. At the end of the day, it's up to you.
9. Create additional streams of income. Examples of additional streams of income for counselors in private practice include: write a book and have it published, get paid to write for publications and major magazines, create a product to help your clients, create merchandise focused on wellness, develop courses to teach what you are teaching in counseling sessions, create courses to help counselors learn how you help your clients or start a YouTube Channel and monetize. 

Are you interested in receiving help with your counseling practice? CLICK HERE

Thank you for listening. Please leave an awesome review and subscribe to the podcast so that you never miss an episode in your journey of private practice.

Visit http://acounselorsjourney.com/be-a-guest/
Watch the episode on the YouTube Channel: https://youtu.be/WCPH3m91OLg
Visit the website: http://acounselorsjourney.com/

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Welcome to A Counselors Journey To Private Practice. I'm your host, Juan.

In this episode, we cover Setting Fees and Rates In Counseling Private Practice. Here are 6 key take-aways:

1. Focus on your market. Take time to search online and do a careful study of your market. This process is referred to as, Market Research. The goal is to identify what fees and rates are around your area.

2. Have a long term plan. Focus on what your fees are today and what they will be 5 years from now. This is the process that helps clinicians in private practice build success one step at a time.

3. Know your numbers. In your private practice, you should have a spreadsheet that goes over money coming and out. Identify what your rate should be based on (a) expenses (b) savings (c) other associated fees.

4. Reflection. Answers to key questions allow the private practice to become a successful private practice. 

• How many clients do you need in your private practice for you to reach your level of success? 
• What is the average income in your area? Or the area that your practice is located? 
• What type of lifestyle do you desire to create from your private practice?

5. Caping your session rate. This will take place. At some point, you will go from an $ 100.00-hour session to $300.00. At some number, you'll notice that you can't keep going up. 

At this point, you can continue to play with your fees by adding additional services. An example can include, adding a group to your practice. Your session fee can cap at $300.00 per hour. While your group includes 10 clients each at $50.00. This will come to $500.00 per hour.

6. Raising fees. Consider the variables: education, additional training, and continuing years of experience. Each of the variables focuses on reasons why you can increase your fees. The rate of increase should be in increments. Even a small $10.00 increase can go along way. Consider if you worked with 40 clients per month at $100.00 per hour compared to $110.00 per hour. The increase in fee would lead to an additional $400.00 per month or $4800.00. 

Are you interested in receiving help with your counseling private practice?

CLICK HERE

Thank you for listening.

Please leave an awesome review and subscribe to the podcast so that you never miss an episode in your journey of private practice.

I'm always looking for awesome counselors that are ready to share their story. Visit the link below, let's connect.

Visit http://acounselorsjourney.com/be-a-guest/
Watch the episode on the YouTube Channel: https://youtu.be/M2d0z5ziQaw
Visit the website: http://acounselorsjourney.com

Support the show

Welcome to A Counselors Journey To Private Practice. I'm your host, Juan.

In this episode, we cover Mistakes To Avoid In Your Counseling Website. Here are 10 key take-aways:

1. Do not have inconsistent colors or font. Pages and posts on your website should be consistent. This gives users that land on your website a great experience. 
2. Do not write a blog post or create a page without focusing on keywords. When writing pages or posts, take time to identify what your potential clients are searching for. Use the found keywords as the foundation for writing your content. 
3. Do not forget about compatibility. It's important for your website to be optimized to fit the screen of cell phones, tablets, and other smart devices. Not doing so can lead a potential client to have a bad experience and leaving your website too early.
4. Do not information hidden. When people visit your website it is important to have the items that need to be found right in the front. As an example, a potential client visiting your website will be looking for a button to schedule an appointment. Or a place that they can contact you, review your fees, or see your location. 
5. Do not have a slow loading website. Your website has a loading speed. This is basically how fast a page or post loads. Most people have an attention span. With this in mind, I want you to consider how long it takes your website to load.
6. Do not use bad images. There is such a thing as a bad image. Consider a professional picture of your office that has dark lighting and makes it difficult for your potential clients to see the space. Or a picture of an address that is difficult to read. The basic point here is to make sure that your website is clear and has great quality images.
7. Do not skip key points. When potential clients visit your website take time to give them key answers to questions that they have. As an example, include the following: fees, location, types of services, short bios of the counselors in the office, and insurance information.
8. Do not ramble. It's great to explore topics in a blog post or share details regarding the counseling services provided. The area we want to steer away from is rambling on topics for too long. This tends to steer people away. Instead, try to mix your content with videos, infographics, and writing. 
9. Do not have expired content. Websites can have pages that are expired or with broken links. Basically a page that doesn't load. It is important to understand how your potential client will feel if they click on a page on your site and find themselves lost. Take time to address this issue.
10. Do not stop working on your website. A website is a strong connection to your business. As such, it is important to grow your business and website. When your fees increase take time to reflect the change on your website. When new counselors enter your practice, take the time to add the change to your website.  

Are you interested in receiving help with your counseling website?

CLICK HERE 

Thank you for listening.

Please leave an awesome review and subscribe to the podcast so that you never miss an episode in your journey of private practice.

I'm always looking for awesome counselors that are ready to share their story. Visit the link below, let's connect.

Visit http://acounselorsjourney.com/be-a-guest/
Watch the episode on the YouTube Channel: https://youtu.be/M2d0z5ziQaw
Visit the website:

Support the show

Welcome to A Counselors Journey To Private Practice. I'm your host, Juan.

Nicole Liloia has a rich business background aimed to help professionals move forward in their business ventures. Nicole uses her skills and knowledge to help clinicians and working professionals to identify ways to create passive income. She has a Masters in Social Work, has been on Forbes, Huffington Post, and more. In the podcast, Nicole shares her professional experience and insights so that counselors and working professionals can use the skills and knowledge they have in creative ways.

Creative ways to start the process of adding additional sources of income:

•  Identify ways to recycle your skills. For example, if you are a counselor that helps anxious kids. This can give you an edge to creating tools as a board game that helps kids navigate anxiety. Each stage of the board game can have a mixture of education and coping skills. 
•  Course creation. Have you thought about creating a course that mirrors what you are doing in the face to face setting? Let’s take the example of a counselor that helps adults with anger. The course can be an exact replica that connects to those who are not ready for face to face support and need a different style of aid that is still beneficial.
•  Start an email list focused on those that you serve. An email list is a beautiful platform that helps you communicate with those that you serve. I like using my email list as a direct source of keeping people updated. Just like every week those that subscribe to this podcast receive an update of the new episode, the email list can serve in a similar way.
• Creating a list of ideas for multiple streams of income. The list can include so many unique and creative avenues. Check out Building Multiple Streams of Income In Private Practice.

Learn how to reach new clients so that you can build a consistent income. This process takes place through the creation of building structures and systems that are purposeful. Versus creating a system with the hope that it will work well and build an income. After all, creating a business is very different than taking on a hobby. The process of income stream development often works better when professionals, such as counselors, are able to focus on what they are currently doing versus reinventing the wheel. During the podcast, Nicole shares the importance of recycling information. Such as transitioning the content used during a session to an actionable workbook sold on Amazon.

To connect with Nicole visit: https://nicoleliloia.com/mentorship

Thank you for listening.

Please leave an awesome review and subscribe to the podcast so that you never miss an episode in your journey of private practice.

I'm always looking for awesome counselors that are ready to share their story. Visit the link below, let's connect.

Visit http://acounselorsjourney.com/be-a-guest/
Watch the episode on the YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FhR0kBAYuwU
Visit the website: http://acounselorsjourney.

Support the show

Welcome to A Counselors Journey To Private Practice. I'm your host, Juan.

Alison is a clinician in Pennsylvania, called Move Foward Counseling. In the interview, Alison shares the importance of understanding methods that work when making the transition from a solo practice to group practice. Alison is the owner of Move Foward Counseling and Move Forward Assistants LLC.

Key changes to take on when transitioning a solo practice to a group counseling private practice:

• Change the language from "I" to "We". When clinicians operate a solo counseling practice, the focus is on the individual. While when clinicians have a group practice, the focus should be on the clinicians that are part of the counseling business.
• Create a theme that connects all the clinicians in your practice. For Santos Counseling PLLC, the theme is focused on helping the Greensboro community. Examples can include relationship, anxiety, helping women, or anger management. Overall, having a theme helps give the group practice a sense of identity.
• Focus on the marketing budget. The focus should be on how much money is being spent to market the clinicians in the group practice compared to the income generated from the clinician. 
• Hire help. As the practice is growing, this essentially means that we need to go from working "in" the practice of working "on" the practice. Working on the business means that clinicians are finding smart people to do the jobs that they are doing. In my case, it would be to hire a marketing team that removes the job from me. Doing this being to free up time and allow me to do other things that help the business continue to grow. In the interview, Alison, mentions the importance of hiring virtual assistance as a way to transform practice to a successful business.

To connect with Alison visit: https://www.practiceofthepractice.com/

Thank you for listening.

Please leave an awesome review and subscribe to the podcast so that you never miss an episode in your journey of private practice.

I'm always looking for awesome counselors that are ready to share their story. Visit the link below, let's connect.

Visit http://acounselorsjourney.com/be-a-guest/
Watch the episode on the YouTube Channel: https://youtu.be/M2d0z5ziQaw
Visit the website: http://acounselorsjourney.com/

Support the show

Welcome to A Counselors Journey To Private Practice. I'm your host, Juan.

Taylor is a clinician in Greensboro, North Carolina that has an awesome counseling practice right next to the most amazing biscuits. He is the owner of Krumroy Group. In the interview, Taylor shares the importance of building relationships, marketing effectively, and taking time to find your focus while building a private practice. Taylor shares how he started from a solo practice and now is growing slowly to add more clinicians to his private practice.

Key takeaways from the episode that you can apply today:

• When switching from a solo counseling practice to a group practice take time to shift the language on the website. The switch is made when you go from using "I" to using "WE" in your website. The "I" has the website focused on one clinician while the "WE" tells visitors of your website that your practice has multiple clinicians.
• Take time to build relationships with partners in the community. Building relationships is a beautiful way to being the marketing process for your counseling practice. The focus should not be on what you can get out of the relationship. Instead, make friends. Get to know local physicians, members of churches, or join the city council. The goal is to integrate yourself into your community. Become an advocate and a voice for those that you serve while giving your referrals a chance to get to know the real you.  
• Use marketing systems like Psychology Today or GoodTherapy to start building your caseload. As you use the marketing systems focus on ROI. This stands for a return in investment. Make sure that if you are spending $30.00 a month a Psychology today, you are seeing a few clients come in per month. 

To connect with Taylor visit: https://krumroygroup.com/

Thank you for listening.

Please leave an awesome review and subscribe to the podcast so that you never miss an episode in your journey of private practice.

I'm always looking for awesome counselors that are ready to share their story. Visit the link below, let's connect.

Visit http://acounselorsjourney.com/be-a-guest/
Watch the episode on the YouTube Channel: https://youtu.be/IBJ5qk2O0hQ
Visit the website: http://acounselorsjourney.com/

Support the show

Welcome to A Counselors Journey To Private Practice. I'm your host, Juan.

Cecilia wants everyone to get started in her immigration courses. As an affiliate for Cecilia, I want to share with you two courses that you can get started with. 

The first one is for the Mastering Hardship Waiver Evaluations (which covers extreme hardship and cancellation cases):

• https://www.immigrationevaluationinstitute.com/courses/hardship-waivers/?ref=4

The second link is for the Mastering Asylum Evaluations (which covers asylum, VAWA, U visas, and T visas):

• https://www.immigrationevaluationinstitute.com/courses/asylum-evaluations/?ref=4

Below takeaways from the episode with Cecilia.

Cecilia has over 20 years of experience serving individuals to overcome life challenges. She has a practice focused on writing immigration evaluations. Cecilia is licensed in MD, VA, and DC. She is a certified social worker, experienced in areas connected to trauma and EMDR.

The immigration process ranges depending on the needs of the client. For hardship waivers, this entails a process in which a petition is made for a family member to remain in the United States. The person asking for the petition is an immediate relative (such as a spouse, parent, or child). For more details on the waiver click here.

Common Immigration Cases: 

• U-Visa, VAWA (violence against women act), DACA, Asylum by providing mental health evaluations. 

 
Common symptoms and behaviors include:

• Problems sleeping
• Difficult making decisions
• Crying
• Sadness
• Worry
• Stress
• Anxiety
• Irregular changes to appetite

To connect with Cecilia visit: 

• https://www.immigrationevaluationinstitute.com/courses/hardship-waivers/?ref=4

I hope that this episode supports your growth in your journey of growing a counseling private practice.

Thank you for listening.

Please leave an awesome review and subscribe to the podcast so that you never miss an episode in your journey of private practice.

I'm always looking for awesome counselors that are ready to share their story. Visit the link below, let's connect.

Visit http://acounselorsjourney.com/be-a-guest/
Watch the episode on the YouTube Channel: https://youtu.be/WCPH3m91OLg
Visit the website: http://acounselorsjourney.com/

Support the show

Welcome to A Counselors Journey To Private Practice. I'm your host, Juan.

Today we interview clinician, Vanessa Lech who owns a private practice. She is an innovative clinician who has branched out into creating a podcast, "Unraveled", creating products from an anger management therapy card game to authoring books such as her latest, "Burn Out Self Care for Behavioral Health Clinicians" (http://TherapistAssets.com/)

To connect with or learn more about Vanessa, please visit: https://linktr.ee/govanessalech
Learn how Vanessa got started in private practice and what she did to overcome challenges and build a successful counseling business, start a podcast, and write books.

Below are types of multiple streams of income that you can implement in your counseling practice:

• Write a book and have it published. 
• Get paid to write for publications and major magazines. 
• Create a product to help your clients. 
• Create merchandise focused on wellness. 
• Develop courses to teach what you are teaching in counseling sessions.
• Create courses to help counselors learn how you help your clients.
• Start a YouTube Channel and monetize. 

Below are Resources Vanessa Mentioned in the Interview:

Kevin Petersen is a Licensed Marriage Family Therapist (LMFT) and he has recently written a book, "Chronic Hope: Parenting the Addicted Child". Kevin was featured on my podcast, "Unraveled" twice over the last couple of years. Season 2, Episode 18: Full Podcast Episode - Kevin Petersen 🎤 Talks Spanish, Addiction, Parenting, Co-Dependence & More!🔥 https://anchor.fm/unraveledhumanbehavior/episodes/Kevin-Petersen--Talks-Spanish--Addiction--Parenting--Co-Dependence--More-ec225g

Season 2, Episode 5: Full Length Podcast: Kevin Petersen Talks Behavioral Health Care Management, Family Recovery Programs & Substance Abuse. https://anchor.fm/unraveledhumanbehavior/episodes/Kevin-Petersen-Talks-Behavioral-Health-Care-Management--Family-Recovery-Programs--Substance-Abuse-ec225q
https://www.petersenfamilycounseling.com/about-petersen-family-counseling/in-the-media/
https://www.amazon.com/Chronic-Hope-Parenting-Addicted-Child/dp/1699658102 https://www.petersenfamilycounseling.com/about-petersen-family-counseling/counseling-staff/
https://www.petersenfamilycounseling.com/

Ernesto Segismundo is a Licensed Marriage Family Therapist (LMFT) and he has created conferences in exotic locations such as Kauai, an island located in the Central Pacific. His latest conference that just wrapped up provided some continuing education credits. Ernesto was also featured on my podcast, "Unraveled". Season 1, Episode 16: Full Length Podcast - Ernesto Segismundo Talks Entrepreneurship, Broadcasting Addiction & Anger.

Thank you for listening!

Watch the episode on the YouTube Channel: https://youtu.be/uVVHBJOWLR4
Visit the website:

Support the show