Overspending on Trainings
We all want to provide the best clinical care to our clients, and trainings are an excellent way to improve our skills. However, spending excess money on trainings and certifications can actually decrease from your business productivity and success. Let me explain. Trainings are an important part of your growth. But relying on a new certificate or training to build your business is a mistake. No matter how well trained you are, you will still have to put in the work to manage your business and market your practice. Make sure to establish trainings as a part of your private practice budget. Decide how much you plan to spend on trainings each year and stick to that financial goal.
Hiring Associates / Interns Without Thinking It Through
Now hear me out on this one. Hiring interns / associates is an excellent way to give back to the profession, make extra money, and contribute to the growth and development of another therapist. I completely support taking on interns/associates. However, many therapists do it because it is the “next thing” they think they “should be” doing to earn passive income. What they don’t realize is that taking on an intern requires you to commit time and effort to training your intern/associate. There are also no guarantees that your associate will make money but there are guarantees that your associate will mean increased liability. I challenge my clients to take on interns/associates firstly because they want to mentor, teach, and grow with a new therapist and secondly because they might make extra money doing so. If you have decided to take on an intern ONLY because you want to make extra money doing so…then I’d challenge you to think about easier forms of passive income.
Aligning Yourself with Therapists with a Bad Reputation
Let’s face it, not all therapists have a great reputation. One of the most important things you can do is begin to align yourself with therapists who provide excellent care, have exemplary ethical standards, and are kind to other therapists in your community. One of the easiest ways to align yourself with these type of clinicians is to sublet an office in a therapy suite of clinicians who you respect and admire. When you first enter the world of private practice, be sure not to keep a watchful eye out for therapists with poor ethics or appear more focused on superficial relationships than lasting business connections. Surround yourself by clinical and business excellence and you’ll be surprised by the results.