This is guest post by Ron N Gad, MA, LMFT.
So was sitting at my desk with a gap between clients, wondering how I could expand my private practice. But it’s more than just growing my practice, right?
It’s my brand.
More often than not, I feel ridiculous considering myself a brand, but I think about more than just increasing my weekly client schedule; I imagine expanding my visibility, sharing my knowledge, and helping those who can benefit from what I’ve got to give – everything I have to give, and that’s more than just a weekly rendezvous on the couch. So yes, I dream about ways to boost my brand. But how?
How to Boost your Brand
If you’re anything like me, you ponder all the possibilities, envision the potential, and fantasize about your own Oprah moment – now don’t play like you’ve never daydreamt about being a guest on your favorite talk show.
And why not?
Why shouldn’t I anticipate the possibility of becoming the go-to clinician for self-concept, self-identity, and self-esteem in Los Angeles. And why can’t you visualize a time when people in your city, your state, the country, and even the world are coming to you for information about your expertise.
After all, it is your expertise, isn’t it?
You’re an Expert
You’re an expert because you have something to say about the topic, because you’ve studied it, you practice it, and because you continue to devote your professional life to helping people find ways to extract value from your familiarity with it. You’re able do it because you embody what it takes to reach success. The pathway to success however, isn’t all that easy. So I thought I would help you out, and combine the private practice consultant’s top suggestions into one master list. You’re welcome!
But as I sat there sifting through this podcast and that blog, taking fervorous notes of the various “must have” listicles to clinical success, I came across the 100th different suggestion for creating a successful private practice.
And that’s when I started to wonder if these aren’t just variations of the same essentials. With the hopes of helping you focus, weed out repetition, and be more time efficient, I broke them down into categories. I took the categories and filed them down into sub-categories, and as any respectable categorizer would do, I whittled those down into double-secret-super-sub-categories. You’re welcome!
100 to 1
I assume you’ve read the title of this blog, so you don’t need a drumroll to lead you into my belief that there’s really only one must have needed to cultivate a successful clinical practice. That essential is a true and honest sense of self.
You were called to this kind of work.
You can’t forget that. Because that is what will ultimately propel you to success. There’s this sense within you that believes you have what it takes as a clinician to help people. We’ve already established, after all, that you have the expertise that people need. The only thing standing in the way of becoming the foremost, sought-after expert in {insert your specialty here}, is an unconditional positive regard in yourself.
Let’s not get lost in a fantasy land of passivity though. Success comes to those who work hard and make the efforts needed to share their vision with others. It takes an active commitment, an engaging website, regular blogposts, and most of the remaining 97 “must haves” consultants preach. But there is really only one essential to a successful private practice, and that is YOU. A genuine, honest, vulnerable version of yourself must be incorporated in every component of your practice.
If you can find a way to put your true self into every “must have” and “essential” trick of the private practice trade, you will thrive.
If you believe in your own expertise, you will increase your brand.
If you are able to integrate your sense of self into every marketing tool, networking email, and phone consultation, you will have mastered the one essential to creating a successful private practice brand.
Meet Ron
Ron Gad was born and raised in Los Angeles. At age 18, he left Southern California on what ended up being a multi-year, life-enriching adventure away from LA. He lived in New York state, where he graduated from Syracuse University and remained to teach high school English. Leaving the cold for sandy beaches, Ron moved to St. Thomas, in the US Virgin Islands. In the Caribbean, he immersed himself in the cruise ship and vacation industries learning the art of sales, marketing, and the nuances of what motivates people.
Today, Ron is a dissertation away from his doctorate in clinical psychology and an internship away from being eligible to license as a psychologist in the state of California. Ron recently left the mental health clinics and treatment facilities to put his professional and clinical expertise to work at his Beverly Hills, fee-for- service private practice, Gad Therapy.
From Ron: Do you sometimes doubt your ability to create a therapeutic environment that will attract clients? Are you having difficulty envisioning yourself as the expert you desire to be? Podcasts and blogs sound good, get you excited, but you haven’t been able to put things into action. Your passivity and procrastination is likely connected to self-doubt and a fear of failure. Take the first step to strengthening your self-concept, visit www.GadTherapy.com
