Your Group Practice

Authenticity and emotional well-being in business are the foundation of sustainable leadership, especially for practice owners carrying the emotional weight of care, culture, and client outcomes. In this episode of Your Group Practice, Dan King sits down with Yummii Nguyen for a heart-forward conversation about growth, healing, and what happens when our business becomes a mirror for our unmet needs.

Yummii shares that transformation isn’t about “fixing yourself,” but about surrendering to your humanity, and letting your work become an expression of love rather than a reenactment of childhood wounds. Together, Dan and Yummii explore why so many high-performing founders default to control, overwork, and attachment to outcomes… and how those patterns quietly erode joy, health, and presence.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

• Why “chaos” and “fear” often signal old patterning, not current reality
• How childhood wounds can turn your business into a survival strategy
• The difference between you and the “gift” moving through you
• Why your business is meant to serve your wellbeing (not the other way around)
• A powerful reframe for clinicians: you don’t “hold” space you allow space to expand

If you’ve been feeling the weight of leadership, this conversation offers a radical permission slip: slow down, listen more deeply, and let the work evolve as you evolve.

Transform Your Group Practice

Actionable insights for practice owners and clinicians who want to lead, grow, or exit with purpose. This is the podcast shaping a stronger mental health system — one practice at a time.

• Subscribe and listen to more episodes: https://yourgrouppractice.com/
• Want to be a guest? Reach out: [email protected]

About the Host

Dan King is a lawyer turned private equity founder with a passion for fixing burnout in mental health. With a background in M&A, Shark Tank deals, and psychology, he now leads Fireside Strategic — investing in group practices that put people first.

• LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/danmking
• Website: firesidestrategic.com

Selling a group practice can feel like handing over your life’s work, especially when your culture, clinicians, and community relationships are the “why” behind everything you built.

In this episode of Your Group Practice, Dan King sits down with Danielle Hayes, founder of Therapy Austin and now Clinical Strategy Advisor at Mindfully Behavioral Health, to unpack what it really takes to grow with integrity and transition ownership without sacrificing mission.

Danielle shares how her practice scaled organically from two clinicians to nearly 150 across five locations, and why locally-owned, mission-driven practices often deliver the most compassionate care. She explains the real trade-offs that show up with scale: how systems can protect culture, how decision-making changes when non-clinicians enter the mix, and why the “quality-first” mindset needs to be designed into the agency waterline.

You’ll also hear Danielle’s candid perspective on the selling process, especially how the pandemic shifted the market, what she learned from sorting through misaligned buyers, and why leadership retention (and values alignment) can be the difference between a legacy preserved and a legacy diluted.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

• How to scale without watering down mission and clinician support
• What to consider when choosing a co-founder (and why it can reduce decision fatigue)
• How to build an advisor network that actually understands mental health businesses
• What practice owners should do a year in advance before considering a sale
• How to “date the buyer” to protect culture, quality of care, and long-term purpose

Transform Your Group Practice

Actionable insights for practice owners and clinicians who want to lead, grow, or exit with purpose. This is the podcast shaping a stronger mental health system — one practice at a time.

• Subscribe and listen to more episodes: https://yourgrouppractice.com/
• Want to be a guest? Reach out: [email protected]

About the Host

Dan King is a lawyer turned private equity founder with a passion for fixing burnout in mental health. With a background in M&A, Shark Tank deals, and psychology, he now leads Fireside Strategic — investing in group practices that put people first.

• LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/danmking
• Website: firesidestrategic.com

Therapist autonomy in group practice isn’t a perk; it’s often the condition for great clinical work and sustainable growth. In this episode of Your Group Practice, Dan King sits down with Patrick Cleveland, LMFT, founder of Daybreak Counseling Center in Southern California, to unpack how he moved from loving solo private practice to building a values-aligned group practice, almost by accident.

Patrick shares what happened when clinician demand (and a strong website presence) pulled him into group ownership, and how repeated intake calls from clients with “bad therapy experiences” clarified his mission: create a place where clients can tell their story and clinicians can practice with authenticity.

In this conversation, you’ll hear:

• Why Patrick sees therapy as more art than science, and what gets lost when we obsess over metrics
• How aligned hiring is his primary quality-control lever (and why “not hearing complaints” matters more than surveys)
• The hidden downside of outcome-fixation: therapists becoming agenda-driven and missing the client’s lived experience
• How philosophy and meaning-making show up in the therapy room, especially for younger clients questioning the “traditional path”
• Daybreak’s operating model: tools + support, without micromanagement, so clinicians can thrive and stay

If you’re building (or rebuilding) a group practice culture, this episode is a grounded reminder that autonomy, trust, and safety aren’t “soft” ideas; they’re strategic.

Transform Your Group Practice

Actionable insights for practice owners and clinicians who want to lead, grow, or exit with purpose. This is the podcast shaping a stronger mental health system — one practice at a time.

• Subscribe and listen to more episodes: https://yourgrouppractice.com/
• Want to be a guest? Reach out: [email protected]

About the Host

Dan King is a lawyer turned private equity founder with a passion for fixing burnout in mental health. With a background in M&A, Shark Tank deals, and psychology, he now leads Fireside Strategic — investing in group practices that put people first.

• LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/danmking
• Website: firesidestrategic.com

Five-step scaling method for therapy practices is the difference between “busy and stuck” and “built to grow.” In this episode of Your Group Practice, Dan King sits down with Nicole McCance, a retired psychologist and business coach for therapists, to unpack the exact framework she used to grow her practice to 55 therapists in three years without sacrificing her life outside work.

Nicole breaks down a practical, CEO-level path for scaling that doesn’t rely on hustle or guesswork:

1) Systemize operations before you hire. Build the container before you fill it, SOPs, manuals, practice management workflows, and clear admin responsibilities to avoid becoming the “chief question answerer.”
2) Build a cohesive team. Nicole explains why your first clinician hire should be a “mini-me” to maintain brand consistency and how to consider complementary skill sets without compromising the client experience.
3) Attract clients with digital marketing. From SEO foundations to preparing for AI-driven search (ChatGPT and Gemini), Nicole shares what practice owners should prioritize, and what they should never DIY.
4) Convert leads with consult calls. Why online booking matters (people often book after 7pm), how to structure a 20-minute consult, and what to cover to increase follow-through.
5) Retain clients with follow-up. The simple follow-up behaviors most clinicians avoid and why clients often interpret them as care, not “sales.”

They also dig into the inner work: self-worth, pricing, and the identity shift from clinician to leader.

Want to go deeper? Explore Nicole’s free masterclass: https://linktr.ee/Mccancemethod

Transform Your Group Practice

Actionable insights for practice owners and clinicians who want to lead, grow, or exit with purpose. This is the podcast shaping a stronger mental health system — one practice at a time.

• Subscribe and listen to more episodes: https://yourgrouppractice.com/
• Want to be a guest? Reach out: [email protected]

About the Host

Dan King is a lawyer turned private equity founder with a passion for fixing burnout in mental health. With a background in M&A, Shark Tank deals, and psychology, he now leads Fireside Strategic — investing in group practices that put people first.

• LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/danmking
• Website: firesidestrategic.com

Operational clarity in behavioral health practices is one of the fastest ways to reduce overwhelm, strengthen culture, and build a business that can scale without losing its values. In this episode of Your Group Practice, Dan King sits down with Justin Shuman, Chief Commercial Officer at HealtheMed, to unpack what practice owners can measure (gently), how to create visibility without turning work into “pressure,” and why the best operations work is surprisingly similar to therapy.

Justin shares his personal path into behavioral health, shaped by his own experiences as a therapy client during a difficult season and why he chose to support the industry through business leadership and consulting rather than becoming a clinician. From there, the conversation gets practical.

You’ll hear actionable takeaways like:

• Why “blocking and tackling” matters, and how understanding unit economics helps you hire more intentionally
• A simple operational move in SimplePractice to separate service lines so you can actually see revenue and units clearly
• How to approach measurement with compassion, especially in a field sensitive to “efficiency” language
• What it looks like to bridge communication gaps between clinicians, payers, investors, and operators without losing trust
• How creating psychological safety at work can increase both morale and performance in a remote-heavy world

Justin closes with a powerful analogy: evaluating your practice operations is like the therapeutic process, uncovering truths (some uncomfortable, some celebratory) that lead to growth.

Transform Your Group Practice

Actionable insights for practice owners and clinicians who want to lead, grow, or exit with purpose. This is the podcast shaping a stronger mental health system — one practice at a time.

• Subscribe and listen to more episodes: https://yourgrouppractice.com/
• Want to be a guest? Reach out: [email protected]

About the Host

Dan King is a lawyer turned private equity founder with a passion for fixing burnout in mental health. With a background in M&A, Shark Tank deals, and psychology, he now leads Fireside Strategic — investing in group practices that put people first.

• LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/danmking
• Website: firesidestrategic.com

Selling an outpatient therapy practice in 2026 will look different from how it did during the post-pandemic acquisition frenzy, and practice owners who understand the shift will be positioned to win, even in a soft buyer’s market.

In this solo episode of Your Group Practice, Dan King breaks down what’s changed in the M&A landscape and why buyers are now far more selective after overpaying for underperforming assets in 2021–2022. Transactions are still happening, but the bar for “buyable” has moved.

Dan outlines three practical strategies that practice owners can use to increase marketability and attract serious buyers:

1. Hit the profitability threshold buyers care about. Dan shares a rough baseline: practices in the $750K–$1M profit range are more likely to attract professional buyers. (He also notes that how owner compensation is treated can materially shape how buyers evaluate profitability.)
2. Build a distinctive offering that stands out. Generic differentiation is not enough. Dan discusses examples of “investor-relevant” distinctiveness, such as unusually strong payer contracts, structured teaching programs with favorable margin dynamics, and higher-margin service lines like medication management, ketamine, or psychological testing.
3. Understand local market dynamics. Some buyers have state-specific expansion theses. That can create a pathway to a transaction even for smaller practices—if your geography aligns with a buyer’s strategy.

If you’re thinking about selling—even if it’s not imminent—this episode will help you evaluate where you sit in today’s market and what to prioritize now to create options later.

Transform Your Group Practice

Actionable insights for practice owners and clinicians who want to lead, grow, or exit with purpose. This is the podcast shaping a stronger mental health system — one practice at a time.

• Subscribe and listen to more episodes: https://yourgrouppractice.com/
• Want to be a guest? Reach out: [email protected]

About the Host

Dan King is a lawyer turned private equity founder with a passion for fixing burnout in mental health. With a background in M&A, Shark Tank deals, and psychology, he now leads Fireside Strategic — investing in group practices that put people first.

• LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/danmking
• Website: firesidestrategic.com

Business valuation for group practice owners is one of the most overlooked levers for building long-term wealth, reducing risk, and creating true optionality.

In this episode of Your Group Practice, Dan King sits down with Alan Franks, Certified Financial Planner, author of Empowered Money, and founder of the Business Planning Institute, to unpack why many practice owners work incredibly hard… yet still feel financially unclear, emotionally drained, and overly dependent on their business.

Alan makes a simple but powerful point: your practice is an asset, just like your retirement accounts, and if you’re not tracking its value, you’re making major decisions without a scoreboard.

In this conversation, you’ll learn:

• Why knowing your practice’s value is psychologically empowering and strategically essential
• How a baseline valuation helps you reverse-engineer retirement goals and growth targets
• What continuity planning should look like (the “Italy test”… and the “cancer test”)
• How frameworks like Profit First can help you pay yourself consistently, plan for taxes, and reduce financial stress
• Why most owners need a better “professional team” and how to align accountants, attorneys, and advisors who often operate in silos

If you’re building a group practice and want more freedom without sacrificing growth, this episode will help you think more clearly about valuation, cash flow, and the systems that support financial independence.

Transform Your Group Practice

Actionable insights for practice owners and clinicians who want to lead, grow, or exit with purpose. This is the podcast shaping a stronger mental health system — one practice at a time.

• Subscribe and listen to more episodes: https://yourgrouppractice.com/
• Want to be a guest? Reach out: [email protected]

About the Host

Dan King is a lawyer turned private equity founder with a passion for fixing burnout in mental health. With a background in M&A, Shark Tank deals, and psychology, he now leads Fireside Strategic — investing in group practices that put people first.

• LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/danmking
• Website: firesidestrategic.com

Hidden 401 (k) fees for group practice owners can quietly drain retirement outcomes, and many practice leaders never see a real invoice. In this episode of Your Group Practice, Dan King sits down with Paul Sippil, a forensic retirement consultant known as the “401k vigilante,” to unpack how plan fees actually work, where they hide, and why healthcare and other professional service firms are often hit the hardest.

Paul explains how public Form 5500 filings can reveal the true service charges inside a plan, and why “out of sight, out of mind” is exactly what some providers count on. You will hear how asset-based fee models can punish high balance participants, often the owners, without adding any meaningful increase in service. Paul also clarifies the major players involved, advisory, recordkeeping, administration, and custody, and what each is supposed to do, so you can separate real value from vague jargon.

Key takeaways include, how to look up your Form 5500 and spot red flags, why fixed fee pricing is often more aligned with the work being done, how revenue sharing and “credits” can mask conflicts of interest, what fiduciary responsibility actually means in day to day plan decisions, and the simplest next step you can take this week to pressure test your current setup.

If you lead a group practice and want a clearer, fairer retirement plan for your team, start here and take action.

Transform Your Group Practice

Actionable insights for practice owners and clinicians who want to lead, grow, or exit with purpose. This is the podcast shaping a stronger mental health system — one practice at a time.

• Subscribe and listen to more episodes: https://yourgrouppractice.com/
• Want to be a guest? Reach out: [email protected]

About the Host

Dan King is a lawyer turned private equity founder with a passion for fixing burnout in mental health. With a background in M&A, Shark Tank deals, and psychology, he now leads Fireside Strategic — investing in group practices that put people first.

• LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/danmking
• Website: firesidestrategic.com

Exit planning for group practice owners isn’t something you “figure out later”; it’s a strategy you build while the practice is healthy, profitable, and running without you in every decision. In this episode of Your Group Practice, Dan King sits down with Erik Brenner, founder and CEO of Hilltop Wealth & Tax Solutions, to unpack what proactive planning looks like for clinicians and practice owners who want both freedom and security.

Erik explains why so many healthcare business owners end up working in the business rather than on it, and how that blind spot shows up most painfully when it’s time to step away. His rule of thumb: begin serious exit planning roughly three years before a transition so you’re making decisions with facts and data, not urgency and emotion.

You’ll learn:

• Why “exit planning” includes succession planning for illness, incapacity, or sudden life changes
• The difference between a gross deal vs. a net deal, and why net is what actually matters
• How to use a third-party guide to get competent, impartial support during major decisions
• When proactive tax planning becomes essential as revenue grows (and why guessing is expensive)

If you’re building a sustainable group practice and want options when it’s time to sell, step back, or restructure, this conversation will help you be intentional earlier than most.

https://hilltopwealthtax.com/podcast/

Transform Your Group Practice

Actionable insights for practice owners and clinicians who want to lead, grow, or exit with purpose. This is the podcast shaping a stronger mental health system — one practice at a time.

• Subscribe and listen to more episodes: https://yourgrouppractice.com/
• Want to be a guest? Reach out: [email protected]

About the Host

Dan King is a lawyer turned private equity founder with a passion for fixing burnout in mental health. With a background in M&A, Shark Tank deals, and psychology, he now leads Fireside Strategic — investing in group practices that put people first.

• LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/danmking
• Website: firesidestrategic.com

Google Ads for therapy practices can be a powerful growth lever when the fundamentals are in place, and you’re tracking what actually matters. In this episode of Your Group Practice, Dan King sits down with John Sanders, founder of RevKey, to break down what it really takes to make Google Ads work in mental health without getting misled by inflated metrics or “vanity conversions.”

John shares how he moved from dental marketing into the therapy space (inspired by his wife’s work as a psychologist) and why mental health practice owners often struggle with the business side of growth, especially in a post-COVID market where “build a website, and they’ll come” no longer holds up.

In this conversation, you’ll learn:

• Why a professional, conversion-ready website is often the bottleneck (and how to spot a “homebrew” site fast)
• The single best place to sanity-check performance: search terms (are you paying for clicks you don’t want?)
• What “real” conversion tracking should include (forms, scheduled consults, not just contact page visits)
• How to think about ROAS using lifetime value, not month-to-month anxiety
• Why admin speed matters: if your team responds in two days, your lead likely found someone yesterday

John also explains the unique constraints of marketing in mental health (no remarketing, ethical limitations around reviews) and why Google Ads can outperform SEO in terms of speed, while still requiring realistic expectations and solid backend operations.

Transform Your Group Practice

Actionable insights for practice owners and clinicians who want to lead, grow, or exit with purpose. This is the podcast shaping a stronger mental health system — one practice at a time.

• Subscribe and listen to more episodes: https://yourgrouppractice.com/
• Want to be a guest? Reach out: [email protected]

About the Host

Dan King is a lawyer turned private equity founder with a passion for fixing burnout in mental health. With a background in M&A, Shark Tank deals, and psychology, he now leads Fireside Strategic — investing in group practices that put people first.

• LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/danmking
• Website: firesidestrategic.com