How to Grow Fast in Private Practice with Colleen Wenner | FP 134

Share this content
On this therapist podcast, Colleen Wenner talks about how to Grow Fast in Private Practice

Is one-on-one coaching a good investment of your time and money? Can your practice go from solo to staffed in under a year? Do you want accountability and help in scaling your group practice?

In this podcast episode, Whitney Owens speaks with Colleen Wenner about how to grow fast in private practice.

Podcast Sponsor: Brighter Vision

An image of Brighter Vision Web Solutions is featured as the sponsor on Faith in Practice Podcast, a therapist podcast. Brighter Vision builds all in one websites for therapists.

If warmer weather has you feeling like it’s time for a website refresh, or you’d like to boost your online presence, look no further than Brighter Vision’s custom digital marketing solutions, designed specifically for therapists.

And the timing couldn’t be better because they just kicked off their Spring Cleaning sale! Sign up with Brighter Vision before April 30th and you’ll get $10/month off of your first year of website service with the Brighter Vision team, plus they’ll throw in 3 FREE months of Social Genie to give your therapist blog and social media pages a serious boost, so you can focus on what matters most – your patients!

So get a jumpstart on your private practice’s spring cleaning list by contacting Brighter Vision. To get started and learn more, visit brightervision.com/joe.

Meet Colleen Wenner

A photo of Colleen Wenner is captured. She is the founder and owner of New Heights Counseling and Consulting. Colleen is featured on Faith in Practice, a therapist podcast.Colleen is the founder and owner of New Heights Counseling and Consulting in Fort Walton Beach, FL where she and her team provide individual and group counseling to the surrounding community.

Working with people throughout the years Colleen has found her ability to relate to young and old an asset. She is a Master Certified Addiction Professional, a Certified EMDR trauma specialist and currently a Consultant in training through EMDRIA.

Visit New Heights Counseling and Consulting and connect with them on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and LinkedIn.

Email Colleen at: [email protected]

In This Podcast

  • Solo to six staff in under a year
  • Return on investment
  • Colleen’s tips to grow your practice quickly and effectively
  • Colleen’s advice to Christian counselors

Solo to six staff in under a year

After being part of Group Practice Launch, Colleen went from starting her business from scratch to managing a group practice with six staff members in under one year.

She hired interns, clinicians, and later, her husband as a life coach for clients. Now her practice is thriving.

Return on investment

Without a doubt [the investment has paid itself off]. From the beginning I knew that it would be an investment, and doing one-on-one [coaching] with [Whitney] … I knew that was a great way to start and to make that investment. (Colleen Wenner)

Even though investing in coaching and purchasing entry into a Mastermind is expensive, it is a direct investment into the success of your practice.

Since getting coaching from Whitney and having been part of the Mastermind, Colleen’s income has doubled since last November and tripled since last May.

Colleen’s tips to grow your practice quickly and effectively

I would say [to] do the individual consulting first because [Whitney] was laser-focused on where [I] was at and where [I] wanted to be, and [showed] me the next steps [I] needed to take. (Colleen Wenner)

  • Invest in getting high-quality one-on-one coaching
  • Purchase a ticket to join Mastermind groups
  • Be prepared to take risks because it can help you to land great rewards

Colleen’s advice to Christian counselors

Make decisions for yourself and your business based on your values and core beliefs.

Useful links mentioned in this episode:

Check out these additional resources:

Meet Whitney Owens

Photo of Christian therapist Whitney Owens. Whitney helps other christian counselors grow faith based private practices!Whitney is a licensed professional counselor and owns a growing group practice in Savannah, Georgia. Along with a wealth of experience managing a practice, she also has an extensive history working in a variety of clinical and religious settings, allowing her to specialize in consulting for faith-based practices and those wanting to connect with religious organizations.

Knowing the pains and difficulties surrounding building a private practice, she started this podcast to help clinicians start, grow, and scale a faith-based practice. She has learned how to start and grow a successful practice that adheres to her own faith and values. And as a private practice consultant, she has helped many clinicians do the same.

Visit her website and listen to her podcast here. Connect on Instagram or join the Faith in Practice Facebook group. Email her at [email protected]

Thanks For Listening!

Feel free to leave a comment below or share this podcast on social media by clicking on one of the social media links below! Alternatively, leave a review on iTunes and subscribe!

Faith in Practice is part of the Practice of the Practice Podcast Network, a network of podcasts that are changing the world. To hear other podcasts like Empowered and Unapologetic, Bomb Mom, Imperfect Thriving, Marketing a Practice or Beta Male Revolution, go to practiceofthepractice.com/network.

Podcast Transcription

[WHITNEY OWENS]:
Welcome to the Faith in Practice podcast. I’m your host Whitney Owens recording live from Savannah, Georgia. I’m a licensed professional counselor, group practice owner, and private practice consultant. Each week through personal story or amazing interviews, I will help you learn how to start, grow and scale your practice from a faith-based perspective. I will show you how to have an awesome faith-based practice without being cheesy or fake. You too can have a successful practice, make lots of money, and be true to yourself.

Welcome to the Faith in Practice podcast. Thanks for taking the time to hang out with me today. You are listening to episode 134 and the title is how to grow fast in private practice. I’m interviewing Colleen Wenner here today. But before we get into the episode, I have a couple of things I wanted to let you know about. First of all, I know my voice sounds different. I have lost it for like six days now, but I’m rallying because I need to do some podcasting and I can’t really go that long without talking to you. So here I am. So please forgive my voice. It will improve later.

Also I wanted to let you know about a free webinar that I’m hosting with Alison Pidgeon, the other group practice guru in my life. It’s going to be on May 3rd at noon Eastern, and the title is how to delegate in your group practice while working less and making more. Alison and I are going to go through, how do you delegate appropriately? What things could you, should you consider delegating? What should you not delegate? What should you think about with cost and all these things? So if you’re a solo practice owner or a group practice owner, it’s helpful for both, even though it’s mostly for group practice owners, because there’s a lot of things that a group practice owner needs to delegate. So that webinar, like I said, how to delegate in your group, practice, working less, making more May 3rd at noon, Eastern time. To register for that, you can go to practiceofthepractice.com/delegate and it’s that easy, so totally free. So I look forward to meeting you there.

Then we’re going to hop into this episode here today. Let me tell you a little bit about Colleen. Colleen Wenner is the founder and owner of New Heights Counseling and Consulting in Fort Walton, beach, Florida, where she and her team provide individual and group counseling to the surrounding community. She’s dually licensed in Florida and Virginia as an LMHC, LPC, respectively. Working with people throughout the years, she has found her ability to relate to young and old an asset. She’s a master’s certified addiction professional and a certified EMDR trauma specialist. She’s currently a consultant in training with EMDRIA. In her free time she enjoys sewing, reading and spending time with her family; her husband her three adult children. So thank you again for taking the time to listen. You’re going to love hanging out with Colleen. I met her at a conference just last year and was amazed by the growth that she had in her practice and I had to have her on the podcast. So here we are episode 134, how to grow fast in private practice.
[WHITNEY]:
Colleen, thanks for hanging out with me on the podcast today.
[COLLEEN WENNER]:
Thanks for the invitation. It’s great to be here, Whitney.
[WHITNEY]:
Fantastic. All right, well, let’s jump. In this episode we’re going to focus on your growth because just a few weeks ago when we were chatting, I was like, oh my gosh, Colleen has really grown so fast. Like this is incredible. Of course, a lot of that attributes to God and His work in your life, but also you and the choices that you’ve made. So I want to share that with the community today. So why don’t you start out by talking about how you first got into private practice and just share your story with us?
[COLLEEN]:
Sure, absolutely. It has been quite a journey, quite a whirlwind actually. But it was this month, last year, March 11th, when I started New Heights Counseling and Consulting. So I’m 12 months in. I started with myself and some clients that came with me from a practice that I had been working at. I had I had built a decent amount of clients that I thought, okay, I think I can make this transition a positive one for both them and me, and then build a practice out of it. Shortly after I got started, I realized that the office space I thought was going to work out, didn’t work out. So I was scrambling doing a whole lot of telehealth. Thank goodness we could do that.

But then I came across just a little place called workspace suites that I was able to rent a spot from and that started to open up because a lot of people did want to come back and do face to face and all of my intakes were really requesting face to face. So instead of having to put people off any longer, I was able to see them right away. So I started seeing four days a week eight o’clock to five o’clock and I’d take a lunch. It was a pretty good rhythm for a couple of months. I think it was the end of April or the beginning of May, of last year when Honey Lake had their conference. That’s where we met.
[WHITNEY]:
Can you remind me, Colleen, how did you hear about that conference?
[COLLEEN]:
I believe it was through an email link probably connected with your podcast. I actually was listening to your podcast and Joe’s podcast and Alison’s podcast, several, to try to get my head around what it was going to be like before I actually made the leap into my own practice. So yes, that’s I think where I heard it from.
[WHITNEY]:
Yes, well, this already speaks to something important that I want to point out, like the guts that it took for you to show up at a conference from someone you just listened to on a podcast. Like, it’s not like you brought anyone with you, you didn’t know me personally and it really did some amazing things in your life after that from us meeting and just the relationships that we made with other people at Honey Lake. I was really impressed when they told me about that conference and invited me to come, I just posted on social media and I think 10 people within 24 hours had signed up. I was like, dang, this is awesome. People wanted to get back out there. So anyway, it was just a lot of fun. I love it.
[COLLEEN]:
It was a great conference because that’s where I got to meet you face to face, not knowing necessarily that you were going to be there. I didn’t have my head screwed on straight with respect to, oh, I’m listening to this podcaster and they might be there and I’m listening to this podcaster and they might be there. I never thought of that. I just thought, oh, I’m going to go to this refreshing retreat that they were doing to thank healthcare, mental health care providers, because of COVID and how taxing is bad and all that and come to find out, I was sitting at a table with, I think it was David Sturgis and he said, “Oh, well, Whitney’s right over there.” I’m like, what? That’s when I stood up and said I’m just going to go introduce myself to her. So it really was the springboard for a lot of great things to come.
[WHITNEY]:
That’s so awesome. David, he’s such a good guy. I loved working with him as well. Okay, so we did the conference and go from there. How did your practice grow after that?
[COLLEEN]:
Well, at the conference, I think is when I asked you if you would do individual consulting with me and I was all in from the beginning to do that because I didn’t really have anybody in my local area that was going into business for themselves, not in this field. I didn’t really want to do it alone. So jumped at the chance to meet somebody that’s 10 steps ahead of me and that’s willing to share some knowledge with me and that was you. So I really, I got a lot out of running with you. I think it was that first three months we did just one on one. You paced with me. I was like, yep, I got my checklist done. What’s next every time we would meet and it still though felt like it was going so slow.

It felt like, it was just like, is anything going to happen? Am I ever going to hire anybody? I think it was like the second or third month when I was just like all down and everything. You picked me back up and you were like, it’s going to happen. You’re doing all the steps. Just have to keep doing it. So it was in July of, was like the next month June, I think was our third month together. Then in July I ended up hiring two interns, which I probably never would’ve done if it wasn’t for you because I was like, I don’t know, do I want to hire interns? I really want a licensed person. I was going back and forth and back and forth and then you’re like, why not hire them? So I was like, okay and it was the best move. It was the best move.
[WHITNEY]:
That’s so funny that you felt like you were running slow. I think a lot of people feel that way, but when I saw you, I felt like you were going really fast because you had just started your practice and not a lot of people go from solo to group in like three months.
[COLLEEN]:
Now when I look back —
[WHITNEY]:
Definitely, and you had a lot of gumption. You really wanted it and you worked hard for it. I love the model that you’re doing. You first hired those two interns and I had never actually consulted someone who had used interns as their base for their, I’d consulted people who brought interns into their groups. Definitely, but not as the first hires, but it’s perfect because then you get to see how they’re doing. I absolutely love the intern model. So yes, now both of them have joined your team, is that right?
[COLLEEN]:
Yes they have. They have. They actually networked with one of their other people from Troy University and I got one more intern in January and what’s great is that they all came from the same school. They’re all high-quality people. They really want to build a good caseload and service people well. I really am thankful. I feel like the fall was a huge blur being in your mastermind and having the time to like really hear where other people are at and how they’re building. But Killin’It Camp was really awesome for me because there was a speaker there. I think it was Valerie Harris when, she said she did her whole talk on building a practice with interns. I was like glued to it. I remember in the little hotel room I was in, I was like glued to the TV, writing down everything she said, and I really have used a lot of her information and I’ve gotten in touch with her too through email just to consult because she really was a wealth of information on how to use interns and teach well not just use interns for free labor, but to teach well too. Each segment along the way of what they need to learn was important to me too. So that was a really good moment that Killin’It Camp message from Valerie.
[WHITNEY]:
Yes. So we were at the conference, we started working together. We did a three-month package and then you hired your two interns and then you moved into the mastermind group, which if those of you who haven’t listened to the show for a while or not sure what a mastermind group is, I run these groups based on what your phase is and your practice. They all have a faith-based component and bring people together to work on something similar. So that group that Colleen jumped into was all group practice owners working on their business. So can you talk a little bit about what the mastermind group was like and how did you grow your practice while you were in that group?
[COLLEEN]:
Hmm, yes, sure. For sure. I really enjoyed being able to talk with people from east coast, west coast, middle America knowing that we all were at the same pace, maybe had hired one or two people, but maybe not yet hired someone and we’re just feeling out that whole process of moving forward in that next step. It was great to know I wasn’t alone and it was great to have some people that were just a bit ahead of me that I could learn from their choices and whatnot, because some of them were insurance based and some of them were cash based and me I’ve been on the fence. So the mastermind for me was a lot of validation and a lot of, it meant a lot to me to know that they really cared about me. We could talk to each other and ask each other how we all were doing. There was just an investment there that I think really helped propel me in my private practice.
[WHITNEY]:
I love that.
[BRIGHTER VISION]:
If warmer weather has you feeling like it’s time for a website refresh or you’d like to boost your online presence, look no further than Brighter Vision’s custom digital marketing solutions designed specifically for therapists. The timing Couldn’t be better because they just kicked off their spring-cleaning sale. Sign up with Brighter Vision before April 30th, and you’ll get $10 a month off your first year of website services with the Brighter Vision team. Plus they’ll throw in three, free months of Social Genie to give your therapist blog and social media pages a serious boost, so you can focus on what matters most your patients. Get a jump start on your private practice, spring cleaning list by contacting Brighter Vision. To get started and learn more, go to brightervision.com/joe. That’s brightervision.com/joe.
[WHITNEY OWENS]:
Okay, tell me about how your practice has grown since your first two interns.
[COLLEEN]:
So my interns graduated their program in December, so I hired them right on in. Well, I had like a minor crisis in August, actually, if I back up for a second. My admin assistant that I had hired in July had a major family emergency and so she had to stop. So my interns, they did clinical hours, but they also were my admin support for all of the fall. After they got the hang of things, it was like so nice, but I knew once they became therapists, I wasn’t going to want to necessarily have them still do an admin work. So I hired them on and hoping that they would be able to do admin until I could transition in someone else. They did, they were gracious. They were wonderful and then met their friend, brought on my third intern in January.

Also in January I’ve hired my first licensed person who was moving here from Washington state and wanted to be closer to family here in Florida. So he came on and that was really a gem finding a man and then I got that. We see a lot of vets here and sometimes vets want to see men. That was a really good move. So I have the four of them as therapists plus myself. Then last month we brought on my husband as a life coach. So that’s been a neat journey too.
[WHITNEY]:
Wow. So what you’re saying, I hear all, everything correctly, within one year you went from being a solo, starting a practice, not just solo, starting your practice to having six people working at your practice in under your year.
[COLLEEN]:
Yes, yes.
[WHITNEY]:
That’s crazy. That’s so cool.
[COLLEEN]:
It feels weird to hear you say that.
[WHITNEY]:
Okay, I want you to think about this for a second because a lot of times Colleen, the reason that people don’t do consulting and all this that I hear is the cost. So when you think about what you were making, maybe back in May or June before you hired and what you’re making now, what would you say? Like, is it double, triple? I’m assuming it’s more.
[COLLEEN]:
Oh goodness, it’s triple.
[WHITNEY]:
Wow. Would you say that pretty much you’ve paid for the consulting and more like by the amount of money that you’ve made it’s paid for the consulting?
[COLLEEN]:
Oh, without a doubt, without a doubt. From the beginning I knew that it would be an investment. Doing it one on one with you, I just figured, okay, this is part of, I build up quite a savings so that I could start my business and weather the storm, so to speak. I knew that that was a great way to start and make that investment but since yes, I know that we just did numbers at noon today and brought in more this month than last month, which is always a good thing. But at least it’s double since November and it’s triple since last May. So absolutely. And I’m not even sure yet I’m still trying to fill my therapist schedules. So that’s the beauty of it is that I still have lots of hours to fill even though I’d rather have them all filled. But I’m still in process. So I’ve got more to do, more work, to do more people to help.
[WHITNEY]:
Girl, we’re all still in process. Personally, and in our business. So Colleen, what would you say if somebody was thinking I really need to grow my practice? What are the tips that you would have for them if they need to grow quickly and effectively?
[COLLEEN]:
Well, I think if they were wired like me and want to really get jump started, I would say do the individual consulting first because I felt like you were really laser focused on, okay, here’s where you’re at. Here’s where you want to be. These are the next steps you need to take. I mean, you walked me through fixing my phone system. You walked me through making sure that I had an accountant and I had already had an attorney, but you just were like, all those beginning steps. You were laser focused on helping me make the right decisions about those and just really brought up things to consider that I wouldn’t have thought of. But since, that just really got me on my feet. If it was somebody that likes to move maybe a little bit slower, a little more methodical, maybe a little more balanced at times, I would say investigate the masterminds because of the plethora of knowledge that you get from so many people that they want to pour into you and they’re asking questions that you have in your mind to ask as well. So it’s really helpful that way.
[WHITNEY]:
Yes, definitely. Well, that’s so good. I hear a lot as you’re talking the importance of taking risks. You know that if you want to grow, you really do have to take risks. And it’s not always easy. Things don’t always work out the way we want them to, but that’s where we get great reward when we take greater risks. You’ve definitely done that along the way, and God has blessed you in the process. So it’s really been a joy watching you. So you’ve been in the mastermind groups and now you’re in Group Practice Boss as well, correct?
[COLLEEN]:
Yes.
[COLLEEN]:
So could you talk a little bit about what is Group Practice Boss for someone maybe that doesn’t know what it is at all?
[COLLEEN]:
Well, for me, it’s been yet another connection with other professionals through the Facebook group, hearing them ask questions I wouldn’t have thought of yet and incorporating things in my practice, materials that they offer. Somebody develops a new form for something and there it is on Group Practice Boss and you can edit it and make it your own. I haven’t taken full advantage of all of the video recordings that you and Alison did at the beginning, but I’ve been working my way through them. It’s interesting now how they dove tell where I’m at in some respects. So the video, I think that was a really smart thing that y’all did, is get all those little, two and three minute videos just real quick; here’s how you do this. Here’s how you do this. I can skip through down to the ones that I think are most helpful. I think you guys started that in Next Level Practice and expanded it into Group Practice Boss or, but either way, it’s been really helpful.
[WHITNEY]:
Awesome. We have a lot of courses. Every time we do a course, we load it into the Teachable. That way, if somebody wants something later, we can be like, oh yes, well we covered that last July or whatever. They can go back and watch videos on that. Yes, Group Practice Boss is our membership community for people who have at least two clinicians and then themselves, so three total, and they’re wanting to work on foundations, systems, growth, scaling within their group practice. So every month we cover different topics related to being a group practice owner. Last month we covered protecting your practice, so like different insurance policies that you might want to look into having a professional will created.

Then next month we’re going to talk about culture, having a good culture so that people want to stay at your practice. I have found that as one of the main reasons why people stay, it’s not always about the money, even though we think that. It’s about the culture and what you offer your people. We’re having experts come in in different areas and so, yes, it’s a place to learn, a place for community and definitely all those courses and handouts and all those things that you mentioned.

We’re going to be opening the doors to Group Practice Boss in the very beginning of May. So just in a couple of weeks, that’s going to be May 3rd through the 6th. So if you’re interested in joining that and go on over to practiceofthepractice.com/grouppracticeboss, and you can join that. We do have an early bird special on the 3rd and 4th, where you can get membership for only $129 a month for the month. The regular rate is $149 a month, but for the amount of consulting and resources that you get, it’s well worth the money that you’re putting into that group. You make some really cool friendships too, right Colleen?
[COLLEEN]:
Yes. Looking forward to the Faith in Practice Conference to meet face to face with some people that I’ve been working with for a year now.
[WHITNEY]:
Actually, when we sat down to start recording and I was typing in the date, this is going to air on April 20th.
[COLLEEN]:
Oh, great.
[WHITNEY]:
So I was thinking, oh, this is the episode that’s going to go live the day of the conference. It was the day before the conference really but it’s going to be fun that when this goes live. I’ll actually see you. So it’ll be great.
[COLLEEN]:
Yes.
[WHITNEY]:
Wonderful. Is there anything else that we left out that you would say is important to your practice journey that you want to make sure that the audience knows about?
[COLLEEN]:
I think that I am most thankful for the ability to not just have the business backing and the support for building the business, but also the faith background. It means a lot to me to put a practice into the community that is available to all faith backgrounds. We make decisions based on our values and we want, we don’t necessarily hide the fact that we’re Christians, the majority of us, although I do have one Buddhist on my team as well. But we are just, we’re low key about it because we know that we can minister to anyone that comes into us, but the support that the mastermind has helped building the community of faith and to me that’s exciting.
[WHITNEY]:
Yes, so pivotal, I can’t, I can’t imagine starting and growing my practice without that.
[COLLEEN]:
Yes.
[WHITNEY]:
Yes, for sure. All right. Well, Colleen, if anybody wants to get in touch with you, what’s the best way for them to do that?
[COLLEEN]:
Oh, absolutely. My website is florida-counseling.com and all the links on there lead you to either me or one of my therapists. So we’d be happy to see on there. Also [email protected] is my email. I’d love to hear from someone.
[WHITNEY]:
Perfect. All right. I’m going to ask you what I ask everyone at the end of the show, what do you believe every Christian counselor needs to know?
[COLLEEN]:
I love this question at the end of your show because it gives you just a little more of a hint into who you’ve interviewed. I think what I believe every Christian counselor needs to know is what they believe and how they operate and with respect to what they believe making decisions from their values, like I was alluding to a minute ago. I know it’s important to me and my values and my business are very important to me. I think that if I make decisions and I stick to what is true for me, then the Lord honors that because He brought my mission, He brought my vision, He brought my values, solidifying them as I was developing in as a professional all these years. So doing some good values work, I think is really important. Allowing the Lord to guide you in that I think is what I would say.
[WHITNEY]:
Well, thank you. I think that’s very important. Always going back to values. It’s our mission. It’s the why we do what we do. Well, thank you Colleen, for taking the time to be on the show. I think you have a fantastic story and I’m honored that I’ve gotten to be a part of your journey.
[COLLEEN]:
Thank you, Whitney. It was a pleasure being here today.
[WHITNEY]:
We want to thank Brighter Vision for sponsoring today’s episode. If you would like to get $10 off a month on your first year of website service by April 30th, please head on over to brightervision.com/joe.

Thank you for listening to the Faith in Practice podcast. If you love this podcast, please rate and review on iTunes or your favorite podcast player. If you liked this episode and want to know more, check out the Practice of the Practice website. Also there, you can learn more about me, options for working together, such as individual and in group consulting, or just shoot me an email, [email protected]. Would love to hear from you.

This podcast is designed to provide accurate and authoritative information in regard to the subject matter covered. This is given with the understanding that neither the host, Practice of the Practice, or the guests are providing legal, mental health, or other professional information. If you need a professional, you should find one.