By Joseph R. Sanok, MA, LLP, LPC, NCC
Being in private practice is a lot of work. We don’t realize it, but we all have micro-moments of time that we can fit in small sprints of progress that will help our businesses grow. Here are tips that you can do quickly to grow your private practice
- Be fully present: Work to enjoy your life and what you are doing throughout the day.
- Take a deep breath: We tell our clients this all the time, but it’s easy to skip deep breathing to clear our minds before we get going.
- Create your “To Do” list for the day or week: Everyday I look at my list to make sure I am on track for my own business goals.
- Download the app IF: This app allows you to set up “recipes” to increase productivity. My favorite one is to find articles on StumbleUpon. When I like one of the articles, it automatically posts to my Twitter something like this “Love this #counseling article “automatically insert title” [link].
- Go through emails that are quick to delete or archive: I do “inbox zero” where I set aside time to plow through my email. Everything gets put in four categories: delete without reading, read then delete/archive, read and give a quick response or read and take a longer action.
- Respond to tweets: Being involved on Twitter can quickly build your business and authority.
- Comment on Facebook posts: Showing that you are a mental health expert in community forums and discussions can grow your private practice really quickly.
- Explore new groups on Facebook: What’s your niche? What groups are out there? As you explore more specialties it’s good to see what others are doing.
- Read part of an e-book: Often business and counseling e-books are free or cheap; reading a few pages in an e-book can help inspire you to make substantial changes in your private practice that will help you grow influence and income.
- Listen to part of a business podcast: Examples are Practice of the Practice, Smart Passive Income and Youpreneur.
- Accept LinkedIn invites: Growing your LinkedIn network is a great way to build referral sources and expertise in your community. As you become an expert, you’ll earn more referrals in your town.
- Plan to attend a conference that will help you to grow your business, such as The Most Awesome Conference.
- Pin your blog posts: You are probably already spending a substantial amount of time blogging, and if you’re not, you should. Take the time to promote your blog posts by pinning graphics into Pinterest.
- Review other therapist’s websites on mobile: Reviewing other local therapist’s websites is a great way to see how you can learn and grow. Also, if their sites show up funny on mobile, sending them a screenshot with a kind word can build a feeling of collaboration. Here’s what the email might say, “Hey Jim, I was looking at your website on my iPhone 6 and it showed up really funny, I thought you’d like to know. Hope the practice is going great! – Joe”
- Go through your email and find common questions: What are questions or themes that clients often ask you about? Could you write some blog posts that would help answer these questions before you get an email? The more content you create the more you will demonstrate expertise and rank higher in Google.
- Find contact information for local radio personalities: Getting on local radio is a great way to build a bedrock of exposure in your community. Local radio hosts are always looking for interesting people to be on their shows.
- Find counselors in your area with the same specialty: Reaching out to other therapists is a surefire way to get more referrals.
- Break down a big goal into smaller goals that are five to 10 minute chunks: If you have a big goal, like hitting six-figures, what are five minute steps you can take to achieve that?
- Text a significant other something you love about them: In the book “The Millionaire Next Door” they talk about how millionaires often stay married longer. Keeping a supportive partner or spouse is really important in business. That’s not to say that single people can’t be successful too. Appreciating people in our life helps us stay connected to why we work so hard!
- Look at your Google Analytics and find out the top five pages people land on: Then optimize those pages to help people schedule a counseling appointment with you.
- Divide your ideas into “Today” and “Soon” within the notes section of your phone: Understanding your focus each day and what is not your focus is a learned skill. It helps you to get more done in a short period of time. Start sorting ideas into “today” and “soon.”
- Brainstorm numbers: For example, if I see 15 people per week now and I make an average of $79 per person, that is $1,185/week. What if I did totally private pay at $120 that would be only 10 people per week. If i want to make $100k this year and work 46 weeks, that’s $2,173.91/week. If I only want to see 15 people I need to charge $144.93 per session.
- Dream about paying for something: paying off your house, car, student loans. How much would it cost? For example, if I have $120k left on my house, if I want to pay it off in five years, divide by 60 that means I need to put $2,000/month on it.
- Block out time in your schedule to exercise, have lunch, and be with friends/family, put it on repeat each week. By doing this, you are keeping the most important things most important.
As you take micro-moments to get small steps done, you will see huge changes in your private practice. For example, if you found an extra 10 minutes per day, that would be 50 minutes in a five day work week. If you work 48 weeks per year, that’s an extra 40 hours of productivity. It’s like giving yourself an extra week per year!Source: http://pro.psychcentral.com/24-quick-ways-to-grow-a-private-practice/0011938.html