The Grow Your Private Practice Show

Aah 2020, what a year you’ve been! But as 2020 limps to a close, I’d like to invite you to take a closer look and reflect on some of the lessons it’s taught us. I for one have learned a lot - about myself, my business, life…

… And to dismiss all we have experienced without reflection is such a waste. 

So let’s reflect on some positives from 2020 so you can get more of the good stuff in your life, let go of some things that no longer serve you and see how you can protect yourself going forward. 

In this episode we look at:

• 5 Questions for reflection
• Other questions to consider

Take what you can from this year and use it to help you going forward. 

And if you need help getting off to a good start in 2021 come join us in the Grow Your Private Practice Club

And join before 8 pm UK time on 7th January 2021 to get locked into the current price and beat the price rise. 

Today's podcast is my 26th so that means I have recorded a podcast every week consistently for 6 months. So I wanted to talk a little about consistency, and it might not be what you think.

Consistency is what we want, but you can get to consistency via different routes, and it’s about working out the right way for you. 

• Why consistency is so important
• Why we struggle with it
• Creativity and waiting for inspiration
• The impact of energy levels and making it work for you
• The power of deadlines and accountability
• Using rewards 
• What to do when you’ve lost that consistency
• One important thing NOT to do

If you recognise yourself in this, then don’t struggle alone, come join the Grow Your Private Practice Club. GYPP is all about removing overwhelm, tackling those fears and taking action to move your practice forward and attract more clients and make more money. 

• Consistency is best - make a commitment and stick to it wherever possible
• Quality over quantity - don’t post just anything because you haven’t posted for a while.
• Things happen, just get back on the horse and learn what you can - 
• Protect yourself by prep in advance, comment on others posts if you don’t do your own
• Take into account your personality 

So there you go, a few thoughts about consistency. Yes, there are many many benefits to being consistent. But sometimes life happens and things don’t go as planned. 

The important thing is to do what you can to prepare in advance so you have something to post when you need it. 

Work out what works best for YOU and take advantage of your own way of working.

And if you lost consistency, just get started again as soon as you can and don’t beat yourself up about it, just learn what you can to protect yourself going forward. 

Episode 8: What is social media engagement, and why you need to know

Episode 17: 10 Reasons why blogging will attract more counselling clients

Episode 23: How to avoid the feast and famine cycle in your private practice

Episode 24: Managing your diary with time blocking

Episode 12: Your Business, Your Rules: Making it work FOR YOU

In this episode, I’m delighted to have Kat Love as my guest.

Driven by personal experience Kat is on a mission to give back so more people get to experience the power of therapy. So they help therapists with websites, copy and coaching in order to get more clients and referrals.

In this episode we look at:

Kat shares 4 main mistakes that you could accidentally be making on your website along with how to fix them.

Including:

• How to stop sounding like everyone else
• How to encourage visitors to take the next step
• How to stop being Wikipedia for mental health issues 
• How to write with clarity and warmth

Kat also shares some great tips about really making connections with potential clients on your website via the copy. And we also discuss how important it is for your client that they get a sense of you in order to choose the right counsellor for them. 

Links to follow:

Check out Kat’s services that help with copywriting for therapists and marketing and business coaching for therapists.

https://www.katlove.com/

https://empathycopy.com/

And connect on Facebook

Episode 3: Drop the psychobabble, get more clients

Episode 15: What to include on your FAQ page

Time - or the lack of it - is something that will hamper your private practice success, so take control now and prioritise your practice. 

In this episode, I share a highly effective yet extremely simple way to take manage your diary with time blocking. 

This follows on from last weeks episode about how to avoid feast and famine in your private practice, so if you haven’t already check out episode 23.

Yes, time blocking will help you prioritise your time to ensure your business works in the way YOU want it to But it’s not just about work, you also prioritise family, social and leisure time as well as self-care.

• What time blocking is
• Why it’s going to really help you take control of your week
• How it will increase productivity and reduce overwhelm
• How it helps with self-care, work-life balance and reducing stress
• How to get started
• How it helps you be realistic in how much time you have and need. 

And I also share my favourite productivity tip with you too. 

If you’ve ever felt like you don’t have enough hours in the day or have trouble finding time to focus on your practice because you have so many other things going on in your life, you’re going to love this.

And if you need help with any aspect of marketing your practice no matter what stage you are in, then come and join the Grow Your Private Practice Club and see how much difference the extra focus and support will make.

Being self-employed and running your own private practice has many many benefits to you. But one of the downsides is the potential insecurity of the ‘feast and famine’ ie busy periods followed by quiet periods. 

So in this week’s podcast, I’ll be exploring this, and sharing how you can protect yourself, your practice and your income. 

In this episode we look at:

• My personal experience of this and the lessons I learned
• Why it happens 
• How to protect yourself
• How protecting yourself might sound counterintuitive
• The not very sexy but highly effective solution

In order to run a successful and sustainable practice, it’s important to take control. And in the next episode, I’ll be sharing a super simple way to take control of your diary so you can make or find the time in order keep a steady stream of new clients to your practice.

Links:

Episode 6: Do you need to be an expert to attract counselling clients 

How are you feeling?

I ask because I am tired and emotional, which I know is often code for how we describe people at the end of a night out after having one too many glasses of vino, but I am literally tired and emotional. 

By 9 pm I am falling asleep. I sleep well, but still wake tired. 

And I wouldn't describe myself as a cryer, but the other morning I cried twice before 9.30 am.

So I asked the Grow Your Private Practice community if anyone else felt this and yup, loads of people reported similar. One even cried at a Macdonalds advert. Emotions are funny, aren't they?

So in this episode, I want to know how YOU are feeling because one thing I know about counsellors is we tend to be a bit rubbish at taking our own advice. 

• Our tendency to have unrealistic expectations of ourselves
• Feeling guilty
• Taking our own advice
• Mindful viewing

You are an expert at self-care and I bet you make sure that others increase theirs and stop being so hard on themselves. 

So whenever you hear a critical voice in your head, or feel guilty for doing something for yourself, or snap at others or whatever thing happens to make you feel guilty I’d like you to consider what your reaction would be if a client said that. 

You would treat them with kindness, compassion and respect. 

So do the same for yourself. 

What do you need to know before you start marketing your private practice?

Whether you want a full time practice and bring in a full time income, or a small one that fits in around other commitments, you will need to attract clients and keep attracting them consistently. This way you’ll have a steady flow of client enquiries to avoid the ‘feast and famine’ situation. So you have a new set of skills to learn. 

And as with all businesses, it takes time and effort to attract clients and keep attracting clients.

So lean closer, I'm going to share with you 5 things therapists need to know before starting in private practice.

In this episode we look at:

1. Why it’s a marathon, not a sprint
2. Why it’s important to ‘feel the fear and do it anyway’
3. How to increase the ‘know, like and trust’ factor
4. How progress beats perfection every time
5. Why it’s important to find the marketing activities you enjoy

Consistent marketing activities are essential in private practice, so make it a priority. Consider how you can make them part of your regular weekly activities and it’ll make your life easier and your practice more profitable. 

And if you need help getting started attracting clients, in the Grow Your Private Practice Club, I have 2 courses that will really help. 

1. The Foundations course gets you off to the best possible start. It covers time management, personal development, who you want to attract and the way you can start attracting them
2. The Quickstart course. How to get started quickly and without a website. 

Links:

Episode 20: ‘How to banish shiny object syndrome and stay focussed’

For full show notes, go to janetravis.co.uk/21

This week in the GYPP club one of my members said ‘Well, I've just set up a Twitter account. No idea what to do next or who to follow lol’

It turns out she already was on 2 social media platforms And I thought hhmm… whats going on here. So I thought it would be a great subject for the podcast. 

So let’s look at how to banish shiny object syndrome and stay focussed.

In this episode we look at:

• What IS shiny object syndrome?
• Why it's bad
• Why do we do it?
• How to get focussed
• 5 things you can do to banish shiny object syndrome

Shiny object syndrome is extremely common and is just one more hurdle to get over when in business. But as with everything, once you’re aware of it you can protect yourself.

And if you protect yourself, you can move your practice forward by focusing your precious time, energy 

So it’s got to be worth taking stock of.

And I really DO want you to spend less time and energy on your marketing and get better results. Imagine how that will feel?

Marketing your practice is actually not that hard, you just follow some steps and there you go! It's your mindset issues that really hold you back. Fears, and things like Imposter Syndrome, procrastination, perfectionism, shiny object syndrome syndrome, inner critic, comparisons and money mindset. Phew! 

In the Grow Your Private Practice book there is a whole section devoted to mindset issues to help you manage these so they don't stop you from the success you have worked so hard for. Check it out on Amazon, just click here. 

If you’re a counsellor or psychotherapist, CPD is something you’ll be doing throughout your professional life. So today we have special guest John Wilson from Onlinevents who knows a thing or two about training and CPD. 

A psychotherapist since 2005, he’s also a trainer at Temenos and has run Onlinevents with his sister for 10 years.

Onlinevents provides a vast range of varied CPD activities for counsellors and psychotherapists, from interviews with specialists, trainers and authors to interactive workshops. 

Today he shares some of his vast experience to help us get the most out of the CPD we consume.

• Where would you recommend a newly qualified counsellor start with CPD?
• The benefits of ‘dipping your toe in’ with different training and trainers before you commit to a larger piece of training
• How there’s more to training than just learning
• The importance of personal development for both you and your client work.

I do hope you’ve enjoyed this episode. If you did, please be sure to hit subscribe so you get the latest episodes delivered directly to your device. 

Have a fabulous day and hope to see you next week.

John has been facilitating Counselling & Psychotherapy programmes in the UK for more than 10 years.

Currently the director at Temenos Education he also has a private practice where he offers online Psychotherapy and Supervision using video and chat communication platforms along with virtual environments.

He is also the co-founder of Onlinevents which has grown to be the world’s largest library of online video and audio content with instant certification and a learning log.

As well as this, he is also a past chair of the Association for Counselling & Therapy Online (ACTO) and has served for 6 years on the board of the World Association for Person Centered & Experiential Psychotherapy & Counselling.

His passion to bring online learning into the field of Counselling & Psychotherapy has also led to the development of online experiential learning within the Temenos programme, facilitating the exposure of Temenos students to external tutors who are located in different parts of the world. 

You can read an article John co-authored about online group facilitation here

Temenos 

Onlinevents CPD Library

Find Onlinevents on all the social media platforms - NOTE there is only one E in the middle! 

Onlinevents' Twitter

When I asked counsellors what they struggled with when it comes to blogging, knowing what to write about was a common concern. 

So in this episode, I share 7 ways for therapists to find with blog post ideas. 

• Why blogging is so good for your business
• Why you can relax - you don’t have to answer lifes questions
• How blogging is no place for perfectionism
• How to avoid procrastination
• 7 Ways for therapists to find inspiration

So there you are, inspiration for blog post ideas. All of them simple, all of them effective. 

And for a little extra inspiration, download the free guide ‘101 headlines for your therapy blog’, which shows 101 headlines for just one niche. You will find this at janetravis.co.uk/18

Blogging can be an excellent way to attract more clients and more income to your practice, so is it time you got started?

And remember, the Blogging With Confidence course will help you with all aspects of blogging, whether you are new to blogging or want to improve your results. 

It includes everything you need, including:

• A quickstart section for if you’re brand new
• The Blogging Blueprint, which is a system to simplify writing
• Template to get you going
• How to never, ever run out of things to write about
• How to make the most of every blog post for years to come

So come and join us in the Grow Your Private Practice Club for this and a comprehensive training library, along with a supportive group of peers. 

Have a great week, and see you again soon

Links from this episode

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Episode 4: 7 Steps to sharing great quotes on social media

Episode 15: What to include on your FAQ page

Episode 17: 10 Reasons why blogging will attract more counselling clients

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